Story.
I gave the story a 7 out of 10. That means that it's a great plot with some minor things I didn't like. I knew from the beginning that this was going to be the type of show where it pushes the limits. However I didn't know if it was going to push the limits the way that 80's rock did (wonderfully) or like Lady Gaga (wtf?).
Most of the time the story pushed the limits in a good way. Most of the time. There were some moments where I felt that the writers put in moments to make the viewer squirm and not in the way that keeps the storyline going. And some moments that they added those factors in just ruined the mood that the scene had.
There were also a few things I would have liked to see more progressed. However I love the ends that it tied together. Even if some of them left me going "What what?" None of my confusion was really bad in the end. I even really enjoyed the ending, but there is no way I can describe it without spoiling it, so I'll just let the future viewer decide how they feel.
Art:
I loved the art style in this show. There were a few moments with derp faces in the background or a cock eye or something, but nothing that I can really point out. I love that the mood is always there in the art style, whether it be a romantic moment or a drastic action moment.
The fact that the style changes in a way so subtle you don't notice but so deeply that it can change the entirety of the situation tells you that they have some wonderful artists working on this project. There was very little wrong I could find in the art style. Why take off one point? Mainly the derp faces in the background and the fact that the version I saw had most of the gore blurred out so I can't judge on it. Sadface.
Sound:
The soundtrack for this show (not including EDs and OPs) was pretty. In all cases. It could have me on the edge of my seat and having goosebumps with the writing, or could have me saying "Aawww!" in the very next moment. I have to say, there was a couple I was rooting for in this series.
I took off a point for the sound because the second season OP was terrible. It was such bad engrish that if not for the karaoke subs up top I wouldn't be able to understand it. The one time I did I thought I heard "Will you kee yo freh if you can foofy you dree" Wait what? Stop that. Speak japanese or GTFO. Both the endings and the first opening were pretty fantastic though. It takes a lot for a japanese song to get stuck in my head but that first opening did it for me.
Characters:
There are so many words I want to put into this section alone but I can sum it up with one. Wow. Okay maybe you need more words than that.
The characters in this show are absolutely amazing. Each one has their own strengths and weaknesses, horrible backgrounds, and they don't skimp on the details at any time. I love each and every game character's story, even if I hate the story, I still love it. I love how they give so much depth to each and every person that you can love them, hate them, and love to hate them. But I can't think of a single person that I was only "eh" over.
The fact that you can get so dedicated and so interested in these characters with this show tells me that the writers put a lot of effort into making this show wonderful and it paid off. I'd give a full summary of every character but I can't spoil it. Let me just say though, Yuno is a gorgeous rounded insanely amazing character. And Yukiteru is the most dynamic character I have ever seen in an anime.
Enjoyment:
The shock factor did take some of the points off on this, and the second opening, and there were some moments that I was really wanting to skip a scene just to see what happens because I was tired of (what I though) was filler. Let me just tell you, btw, if you think it's filler? It's not. Totally necessary every single freaking time. Remember everything.
Because of the major issues with the shock factor I had to take off those points though, because I think that sometimes the writers just needed to know that some things were a little unecessary. But I only took a point and a half off for that. The other half was for that opening...uuugghh
Overall:
I gave this show a 9. Why? I averaged it up and rounded up. If I hate a show I average down, with this one I averaged up. Because I really enjoyed it. Even with the flaws it's still a show I would recommend to anyone that's looking for something after Higurashi especially. And I'm a big fan of survival game series. So I hope after reading this either you agree with me because you've already seen the show, or you decide that it sounds interesting enough and decide to watch it finally. It's pretty great, so enjoy.
