First impressions were: this feels like a fantastical retelling of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day (where people were raised in orphanage-looking farms in order to grow organs for medical use in the real world). It's dark, but unlike Ryan Murphy or MXTX where the excessive insertion of fridge horror comes across as camp, the story-telling is deliberative and measured; the antagonist in this anime is voted as the best villain in myanimelist for 2019 because she's so relatable and anyone in her shoes might behave similarly. I also love how there isn't any romance plotlines at all, but rather, it's simply about children learning how to strategically survive in the hellscape that they are given, and sometimes that may involve betrayal, backstabbing and selling out people close to you. It's also about the redemptive power of family - even if these are people whom are not related to you by birth. We see how faith and unconditional love for family exists even after death, and how it can motivate people to change for the better, give you strength and even, every once in a while, the power to reverse destiny.
