PLOT: Highly original plot and setting for this anime. It’s all about the concept of memories and what constitutes an individual. In the world of Kaiba memories can be stored on chips and an individual can implant these memory chips in any body they so wish – this leads to quite a bit of body swapping over the course of the series which was quite an interesting plot thread. Kaiba isn’t afraid to address quite adult themes and complex ethical issues – it’s a very interesting if unusual anime. Of course at its core its a mystery anime – lots of flashbacks and convoluted plotlines that don’t all get resolved at the end as we try to determine who the main character actually is. The ending is actually very chaotic and I’m not entirely sure if I know what happened! The show had quite a slow start while it was introducing the world and letting the viewer get used to the setting, these early episodes were very episodic and hit or miss for me. However once we got to the middle section and got to main meat of the plot the show became quite interesting indeed. Very good storytelling in this anime.
ANIMATION: Hmmm I still think a 6-year-old could produce better character designs. I wasn’t all that fond of the very abstract animation in this show – however the lack of structure worked well for the concept – the world is just as fluid and changeable as peoples memories and bodies. Regardless I found it difficult to reconcile the weird childish style and the quite mature, complex subject matter and this hindered my enjoyment quite a bit. Still I appreciate that the creators where attempting to present something new and original.
MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I really liked the OP & ED, both are quite melancholy ballads and fit well with the general tone of the show. The background score was also quite fitting throughout. Great voice cast as well – made it easier to sympathise with characters that sometimes looked like large multicoloured blobs
Overall an interesting show but fairly difficult to review without getting stuck into the themes the show addresses. It was hard to get into at the beginning but well worth sticking with for its originality and engaging subject matter.
