ART: I have seen this anime a dozen times on tumblr with the tag "scenery porn." And it is that. The scenery is so gorgeous that it's almost distracting. Heck, no almost about it: it IS distracting because it's beautiful and abstract (in a good way). The setting is Eden-esque, throwing you into a future era in a seemingly perfect world.
While the character design is definitely different, so much work was put into the animation of the characters that you'll learn to love it.
The anime is very different from the manga in terms of the way the content is presented and the art work itself.
CHARACTERS: What I like about these characters and the way the anime is presented is that it really puts you in their heads. A big black cloud of murder isn't really scary (Lost aside), but when you're made to feel the same terror as the characters by seeing and hearing what they're experiencing both real and imagined, it makes you clamor for the next episode.
Time skips abound! We get not one but two time skips (as of episode 20), three if you count the narrator's setting who is telling the story of her past history.
STORY: Starts out a little confusing. They immerse you in the world of these characters and expect you to just go along with it without every little detail being explained to you. I like that. I'm not a fan of anime where explanatory exposition takes precedence and the characters are like:
A: I have to tell you something important.
B: Something important?
A: About this world.
B: This world? This one right here?
A: Yes, the one that we live in.
B: The one we live in...
A: Yeah. You're going to get some super powers and be the leader of this world we live in.
B: Powers? Me?!
Ugh. Which is why even the exposition and dialogue heavy episodes of this show are enjoyable. They don't treat you like an idiot and they know conversations don't really happen like the above mentioned.
Great show, go watch it!
