If you're looking for an anime with cool fights, this isn't it. If you're looking for an amazing storyline with engaging characters, this isn't it. If you're looking for stunning visuals or amazing cinematography, you guessed it, this ain't it. Perhaps the fact that I've been watching top notch anime's lately isn't doing Nabari any favours, but this doesn't diminish the fact that for a ninja oriented anime that focuses on character relationships rather than long flashy battles, Nabari No Ou has absolutely horrid story progression.
I mean my god I found myself skipping an episode or two just so I could finish it quicker, thinking that maybe the fact that everyone had a different stake in the battle would culminate in an amazingly profound ending that would completely redeem everything up to that point. I was wrong. Boy was I ever wrong.. The ending not only failed to redeem the series, it actually exacerbated my utter disdain for the story. Worst of all, for an anime that drags its feet as if they were cemented to the floor, the story isn't even fleshed out.
The rundown: Nabari no Ou centers around a boy named Miharu Rokujou who is unaware that he is endowed with divine powers that grant any wish. Naturally the ninja world becomes aware of this and so he is targeted. Not by the entirety of the ninja world, but mostly just one group. The first ten episodes are about getting the story started and creating a backdrop, then up to episode 16 it's a bit of a garbled mess with some in depth relationship changes, and from then on the story collapses like a house of cards in a windtunnel. The story basically goes tunnelvision on the main character and his personality-twin, about how they are both fragile and keep being used by others, getting captured then escaping only to be captured again, and this process repeats itself a good 4 times by my count, until the final episodes.
When you reach the final episodes your are either filled with a sense of accompishment for having stuck with it, or with a sense of dissapointment for having nothing better to do, either way, you'll end this series feeling depressed. When in a traditional hero's journey the amazing climax comes after the black moment, in nabari no ou they managed to follow up the black moment with another black moment, and then just call it a day.
Do yourself a favour, watch something else. By god if you've seen EVERYTHING but nabari no ou I'd urge you to re-watch your top 20 before even touching this series. Stay away.
