ebert.holly - 2015-11-05 22:04:26

Before we get started I must say that I believe that this show is just a tad underappreciated. It's an anime which I actually managed to get invested in, the story didn't follow all the clichés (which might make it somewhat hard for the casual/new watcher) and managed to surprise me every now and then. Which is something good since I personally have seen way too many shows and I usually end up guessing the entire plot 1/4-2/4 of the show.

Story: As stated above the overarching storyline is good, the key events all tie up together nicely. There are a few problems with it though, the pacing can be slow and it tends to work with a routine villain of the day. All villains are presented in the same fashion, they do something horrible, they're sent to liquidate the MC etc.  . The themes about hidden desires, freedom, capitalism all make up for memorable quotes and can inspire a watcher (is that a correct word?) to think about reality today.

Animation: The aesthetics are nice, it's an older anime which is shown frequently during the series, however I like the artstyle. The only real gripe I have with this is that some of the fights can feel a bit... sluggish.

Sound: The opening is good although they could have done a better job with it, however the soundtrack which is played during the series is simply marvelous. I feel like it really catches the series as a whole. On a side note, this shows's music box theme is one of the two anime soundtracks (the other being Tokyo Ghoul's glassy sky) which can send shivers down my spine. The ending themes are both good as well although I prefer the first one.

Character: First off, all of the main characters are all beautifully fleshed out, we see them evelop nicely through the series and they are all flawed in one way or the other. Other than that this show has got one of the most interesting characters which (*MAYBE A MINOR SPOILER*) seems to sway between being a villain and a anti-hero, his perspective on reality is an interesting one to follow and he just goes to show how difficult it's to label complex characters who are given a whole lot of depth to them. (*SPOILER OVER*) As I've stated above, most of the villains though aren't given any depth or meaningful backstory, they seem more like a pragmatic solution to add some mild shounen flavor to the series and to just add some action. They are all shown doing a bad thing only to be sent to kill the MC.

Enjoyment: I quite enjoyed this series mostly because it was a series with a great storyline, frankly I liked being surprised and I liked thinking about the complex matters presented in this show. It definitely offers a tad of a grim outlook of humanity so don't go to look it  for sheer entertainment, you will be forced to think about the themes presented in the show.

All in all: I think it's definitely worth the watch if you can look past some of it's relatively big flaws.