A very unique series but somehow lost its spark in the second half. It's hard to summarize Kaiba into one sentence but it basically tells a tale about one guy trying to retrieve his memories. The first six or seven episodes revolves around him travelling to different planets and meeting different people, all of them are affected by the memory-transfer technology. The concept is nothing original, neither are the plot nor the characters. But the amazing artstyle and the superb director make the first half of Kaiba exceptionally enjoyable. Watch the first episode and you'll know what I'm talking about. I have not seen such a gorgeous artstyle in years. Absolutely a visual feast. The use of color schemes and camera angles are beyond professional. More importantly, they created a unique AND believable universe which is lacked in most animes.
The main plot kicks in during the second half, where more of this guy's past is revealed. I'm not sure why but the story suddently becomes less interesting. There are no big plot holes but it does seem inconsistent at times. I think the problem lies in the fact that Kaiba has a superb director but not-so-superb writers, and when they shifts the story from style-driven to character-driven, it just fails miserably. The writers don't know how to set up a conflict, they don't know how to advance the plot, they don't know how to use foreshadowing properly. Worst of all, they don't know how to reveal plot twists. They actually did that by letting the cyborg dude preaching to the female lead. The final relevation is also a "meh" for me.
Anyways watch Kaiba for its visual style but don't expect much from the story.
