I will try to demonstrate how much varied this show is even if it rest on earth and even if there's no fantastic element.
Story: 10/10
How I can put this?
This isn't your typical confrontation anime.
Not even a police mystery even if this anime is clearly partially a police anime.
In fact, it's a manhunt in all of Germany and a bit more.
There is much worse than the man that Tenma want to capture.
The story paints the human in a very sad and evil way.
In fact, one last thing, the series will take many reversals and many outstanding course of action. There's also a high value of philosophical term in it.
We have in the beginning the synopsis that tell already a philosophical question. If you can save the life of somebody that is a serial killer, will you do it? Remember that letting someone die is the same as killing him, in a case where you risk nothing at saving him. For the rest of the philosophical toughs you can have, I will explain some more in the character department. Now, the major division in the story include. The synopsis that is been telling by my anime list. The search for the sister of Johan and her new identity. An orphanage that is trying to repeat an old experience on kids. Neo Nazis and their plot to burn a town. The not known son of an old man that will receive his heritage while in a book donation ceremony, a plot to kill every one present there. A false accusation and a past that is starting to be reveal in Prague. An old mansion and his atrocious past. A prison break. A major murder series by many different people all related. Neo Nazis and a preparation for a next Fuehrer. (Now, this is maybe the part of the story that is the most unrealistic, because I have a German friend that hasn’t seen this show but is practically sure that Neo Nazis can’t go that far without been arrested, but he haven’t told me it was impossible. This friend study in history and even knows more than me about my own country, so I think his opinion is something to consider. If someday I have the time to view this show with him, I will make sure to come make an update) Finally, like it wasn’t enough already, a complete town that going crazy because of fear.
Art: 9/10
A very good art with, for a change, very realistic touches. It has also a dark touches when it needs to. The souvenirs have been taken with weird angles and with a very dark ambience. What I mean with realistic touches is the fact that there are no exaggerate hair, no artificial wind and no exaggerated reflection of light in the hair, something that I have seen not that often in anime that came after 2003. I mean, the majority of the anime adapt a realistic corpse but when it comes to the hairs, the reflection of lights is more than not exaggerated. If not that, there’s always many scene where artificial wind appears. The effects of particles like fire is pretty good rendered too. The details when we see dead people are precise. Maybe too much for people that doesn’t like blood...
Sound: 10/10
The voice acting is superb, very emotional and realist. When they cry or when they are happy, voices goes with it, when they are shocked, there’s little grasp or sound that myself will be doing if I were in the same position.
The op song is actually a psychedelic song that fit perfectly with the anime. (The fact that the anime is very sad and borderline depressing, and pretty introspective (Human is evil but can be good))
The ep song fit also very well with the philosophical aspect of the show with the little distorted opera vocals that can have been influence form a church chorus (Very floating verse).
And the music while the play fit very much. A dark music while what’s happening is dark or bad. The moment that are calmer, there’s also a much calmer sound behind.
Character: 10/10 even more
We have a character for all the level of goodness on a legend out of 10.
While one would mean angel, and 10 would mean pure evil...
Note that the man that Tenma is hunting is only at 7, so at least, there's 3 more bad characters than him...
Even Tenma is 3, there are two characters that even beat him in goodness.
All of those are totally respected and act normally. The author has even found a way to put a character that is a bit funny on how he acts. (Heckel, maybe 5 on the legend)
For a proof of the extreme variety of character there’s in this show, I will named many while giving a brief description and where they appear on my legend with explanation.
Director Heinemann is actually a director that only want reputation for his hospital, he don’t care at all for the people he’s suppose to care about. In term of moral, I’m not sure if we already have somebody that is worse than Johan, if it’s the case, I put him at 8. How a director of a hospital can be like him, or how he could have the job, just think about it, in the capitalist world, the only important thing is the job done, the popularity and the reconnaissance. So, with the fact that he helps celebrities, even if some people receive a bad treatment, the overall state in the media will be that he save a celebrity. The capitalist objective been accomplish, this guy is perfect for a private hospital, even if we hate that fact. (8 in my legend, he just don’t kill anyone directly)
Hartmann, a character that appear in episode 11 for only three episodes, is maybe the more evil of the series. Even if he sees what has done Johan while been a kid in this orphanage, he still wants to repeat the same experience on another kid. This is completely sick and crazy, actually, he enjoy doing this experience that can turn a kid to be emotionless. I’m not sure if I put him in 9 or in 10.
Dieter, the little refugee from the orphanage, this kid while been controlled by Hartmann has found a way to think by himself. He then becomes one the character that is truly good. Considering what he has lived before knowing Tenma, this kid has a very great will of good and that make him a 2 on my legend.
Anna Liebert, this character start like only the sister of the bad guy but turns out to be much more deep and detailed than we can possibly known. She seems to have her own bad thing in her past. These bad memories are so bad that it’s pretty unbelievable how she want to be good, she act not less good than Tenma while many people beside her would have become completely crazy. That’s why I think it’s the character that is the most good in the show. (1 on my legend)
Helmut Wolf is an ancient Nazi that now understands how foolish he was in the past. He will help Tenma know more about the atrocious story of the red rose’s mansion. An evil character that doesn’t wants to continue his wrong doing and wants to do good things is not that bad. That’s why I put it in 6 on my legend. He has done too many bad things in his past to be forgotten, but he is still better than someone that rest evil all the show. (6 on my legend)
Why Johan isn’t the most evil character, it’s only because he don’t enjoy the bad thing he does. This guy thinks hard that life isn’t good. Johan is more someone that wants to suicide while not is the only one to falling into despair while accomplishing his suicide. (for that the 7 on my legend)
Christof Sievernich, this is next Fuehrer. Till I need to be even more precise... that’s why I put him at 9 or 10 on my legend because I truly don’t know whose worse, Hartmann or Christof.
Roberto, the man beside Johan that help him with all he can. You will think that he is less dangerous or evil than Johan, but the story tells otherwise. He actually enjoys the thing that does Johan while Johan don’t like it. The only reason that I don’t think he’s pure evil is the fact that he was in the orphanage at the moment of the incident, so he has a traumatism that explain his behaviour. (So 8 on my legend, for the 9 and 10t stage of evilness, it’s when they don’t talk about any traumatism)
Eva Heinemann, while in the beginning of the series, she seem like a total bitch, the way that her character evolutes is very interesting. Many times we will be surprise on how she will act. The more we advance in the story, the more her character get involve. In the secondary character department, I will say that she’s the best. She will for example been completely involved into the Neo Nazis thing to encounter the next Fuehrer. For the goodness, I will say that she’s not good more than many others, but while she may be too much in love with Tenma, she will still act like she think. She try to help in his own way (She’s more good than evil, but its stop there, so 4 on my legend)
Heckel, the thief that is not that present in the show, but when he’s there, he makes for a bit of humours. The fact is that man isn’t very bad or good. Actually, he wants to steal and while stealing is bad, if he hasn’t steal anything, than the show will have been even more depressing. So because he doesn’t harm anyone and maybe save people without knowing it, I put it in the middle of my legend (5 on my legend).
Grimmer and Lunge are the two other character that are present for a more entertaining reason. Lunge with his weird thinking and analysis. Lunge also tends to be a bit sure of himself. Grimmer is always smiling while his past is not something to smile about. Actually, you may cry while learning what has happened to him. How Grimmer act has a more funny way than many other characters, that’s why I have said he is an entertaining character more than other ones.
Enjoyment: 10/10
The enjoyment really depends if you can accept that this series paint the human like being evil person, but demonstrate that any human can be good with will. Wolf is one of the characters that demonstrate this by the fact that he has regrets of his past. Not only this one, there also Franz Bonaparta that wanted to retire and lived a normal life. (Dieter too) After that, the psychological mind of kids, how the story tells that you can make child become killers. Just say that you take a kid and start telling story as grey as the story of the monster in the show. Without any reference to what’s good or bad. The kid will start to think weird and will maybe think that killing other is necessary to his own living. If it starts to think that way, congratulation, there’s a crazy kid on the planet. Second thing that is maybe seems weird, how a village can go crazy just with fear? Think about some places in the United States, were all people have weapon, and where people are able to shoot at you if they see you on their terrain. If this seems excessive for you, these kinds of laws have been decided because of fear. (fear of been attacked, fear of others etc.) Fear can go really high sometimes.
Ok, it was a long reading isn’t it, but it has to be that long for me to prove everything that I try to tell you here.
Reason why I like it that much.
1- High philosophical term.
2- Extreme variety of character.
3- A story that while unbelievable can be explained.
4- An outstanding sound performance.
Don't see this anime if you want something relax or funny.
Fan of magic, battle, etc; go away, this isn't for you.
If you are open minded, or like James Bond or stuff like that, or maybe, you only like philosophy, this anime is exactly for you.
