Bladedance of the Elementalers Review

Bladedance of the Elementalers Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you.

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

Hello everyone, and welcome to the review. Dazz isn't in right now, so I'm here doing it instead. Teehee!

Anyways, Bladedance is a wonderful show, only helped with the addition of me. It's incredible, flawle...

*Door opens*

Restia, what the hell are you doing here?

Umm, what do you think? Doing the review.

Seriously? -_-

Yeah, why do you ask?

NO ONE ASKED YOU! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!

Sorry guys, but you just got introduced to my least favorite character. More on her later.

I first saw this show on Anime News Network, when in Japan, they started to show two promos. I was curious about this show, and decided to check it out.

I noticed that even though this was animated by TNK, and considering their long line of fanservice shows, I was wondering to see how this show did in the end.

Signs of hope appeared. Not as much fanservice, a different character designer, a mix of different girls. The time finally came a little before it was finished to start this series. And to say for sure, this series surprised me.

With interesting characters, a nice plot, and one of the worst villains I have ever seen, this series actually managed to show a lot of promise. But the real fun is just about to start. And I think this needs a second season in order for us to get that.

Meanwhile in the present, let's talk about the story:

Story

In this world, spirits exist, and only maidens (aka girls) have the ability to make a contract with spirits. Maidens from the richest of nobles all gather at Areishia Spirit Academy, where they are trained in order to become elementalists. Once every 3 years, girls are chosen to compete in the Blade Dance, a competition in which the winner gets a wish answered. 3 years prior to the story, a girl named Ren Ashbell won the Blade Dance, which inspired many girls to fight in the tournament as well.

Enter Kamito Kazahaya, a male teenager who can actually contact spirits, and is one of the only reported males to do so. He is sent a invitation by the academy's director, Greyworth Ciel Mais, to come to the academy and train for the Blade Dance. On his way there, he meets a girl named Claire Rouge, who is purifying in a lake. How does she take this? Not so well.

After dressing and then beating the crap out of him, they both stumble into a cave where a legendary spirit sword is held. Claire tries to obtain the spirit for herself, but fails. In order to help save her life, Kamito successfully makes a contract with the spirit himself. Claire is a bit upset about this, and claims that the spirit was stolen. She disregards Kamito of saving her life, and says he must atone it by being her slave spirit. Well, ish.

There's more to this story than generic harem plot lines though. We have other girls who might harbor rivalries, or may know something from Kamito's past. There might be a supposed demon king. What will happen?

The story at the beginning was a bit odd, as I found myself wondering how stereotypical this would be. But with newer situations, and some more depth to some of the characters, the show actually had a decent story. Though I've heard when the Blade Dance comes in, the story is going to get better.

The plot with Ellis's older sister towards the end of the series was probably my favorite event out of all the ones in the series, minus Fianna's. I did like Geo's "demon king" thing, but since that was Restia's main doing, I didn't like it as much.

All in all, the story was interesting. Hearing about majority of the character's pasts might make you sympathize with them a little more, or be intrigued to them. It's a nice treat, and the events that happened did do some justice, though more toward the middle and end.

Characters 

Even though some might find the characters in this series stereotypical, that doesn't really count to me considering that I did like most of them. I found some of them to have some generic stereotypes sure, but they weren't overstretched like others ones I've seen. However, there is one character I despise.

But let's start off with out main lead, Kamito:

Kamito is perhaps the world's only known male elementalist in this day and age. However, he was also Ren Ashbell in the Blade Dance 3 years prior, but only Fianna knows about this. Besides Ellis's older sister, no one can tell that his eyes are the exact same color as in his disguise.

Before becoming the man he is today, Kamito used to be trained as a elite assassin. This made his personality turn into more of a emotionless shell in order to make him a usable tool. That is, until one day, when he meets the spirit Restia. Restia teaches him about the outside world, and such, manages to rekindle his emotions. After the school in which he worked in was attacked, Restia was sealed away by a special ring that belonged to the first Demon King.

Greyworth and Kamito have both met each other, as Greyworth met him before she became the director of the academy, thinking by his skills alone he will become a fearsome sword fighter. She summons him to the academy so that he can once again participate in the Blade Dance. Although his swordsmanship isn't as good, he still has much hope.

At the academy, Kamito often gets into many situations in which majority of the main girls have to compete with him, or get mad at him, in which Claire will use her fire magic or something. He also has gotten rumors spread around the school for him, mainly being called "The Demon King of the Night" due to many thinking that he has perverted capabilities.

So overall, I don't think it would be fair to call Kamito a complete generic main male lead. He had some distinct qualities that I like, and he can be kick ass, unlike Ichika, where it seems that deus ex machina ALWAYS has to come in somehow. I like majority of his friendships with the girls, and even with all of the misunderstandings, I don't think he really cares in the end.

Now onto Claire:

Claire is perhaps the most conflicting character in the series for me. While I can sympathize with her backstory, she's more often a complete bitch to Kamito that I just don't really like her. But she's not as bad as Restia ever will be.

Claire is the youngest daughter of Duke Elstein, and is most famous for something that happened to her sister Rubia four years prior, in which she stole one of the strongest fire spirits, and vanished without a trace. After the previous Blade Dance, both of Claire's parents were arrested, and she was going to have to hand over Scarlet, her own fire spirit. But Greyworth convinced the royals otherwise, and such, is why she is now at the academy. As of this, Rubia is now given the nickname "The Calamity Queen", and has such gone under some teasing from classmates.

From her first appearance, it's somewhat obvious that Claire is just a generic tsundere character. There really isn't anything that I should describe about her that won't make her stand out from others of this trope. At least she has a interesting back story and what not. But I think it's not a surprise that she's just too generic.

What character is this like again? Oh yeah, Houki.

Now onto Rinslet:

Rinslet somewhat reminded me of Cecilia, but only a little bit. It's a bit of a shame that she wasn't developed as enough as some of the other girls, but she's still a likable character.

Rinslet comes from the Laurenfrost family.They were pretty prominent, although less than the Elstein family before their fall. Her two other sisters also have blonde hair and blue eyes. Though she may be a bit of a showoff and can be seen as a rival to Claire, she is quite shy, and actually does have sort of a friendship with Claire. This is because she does know important details about her, such as her birthday.

Rinslet is very skilled in the area of housework, such as cleaning, doing laundry, and even cooking. Even though she does have a maid to help her out, she can manage by herself if she needed to.

Overall, Rinslet is the least developed out of the main girls. Which is a shame, because she does have some potential under there that could come out if this show does manage to grab a second season. As for right now though......

For the plot I guess. *Sigh*

Ellis's turn:

Hello. favorite girl of the series. I had a feeling from Episode 1 that Ellis was perhaps going to be my favorite character. And I was right. This chick just has something unique about her, and that she actually can try to kick ass? Thumbs up.

Ellis is the captain of the Sylphid Knights. They help protect the student body, enforce discipline and morals, and help handle wild spirits. She also has an adopted older sister named Velsaria, who lost to Kamito in the last round of the Blade Dance 3 years prior. She now exhibits a colder personality, due to a cursed seal.

At first, Ellis is very cold to Kamito, and doesn't like him, due to the fact that the only other male elementalist is the demon king, She also is skeptical over the rumors that are spread of him. But later on, he gains respect for him, and generally falls for him. This is done better than Infinite Stratos, where in Cecila and Laura's cases, you get the idea:

Ellis may be a bit stereotypical, but I can still see past her faults. Towards the end of the series, there's some cute scenes between her and Kamito, and I couldn't help but fawn over them. Best girl!

Let's talk about Fianna now:

Fianna is the second princess, but is also known as the Lost Queen. This is because she lost a fight, and her spirit to Claire's older sister. She is also the only character who's actually met Kamito in the past after he saved her from a monster. This is the reason why she came to the academy, in order to see him again. Though she did cheat on the entrance exams, but let's forget that ever happened.

Guys who keep on staring at her impressive rack will be disappointed to find out that she uses padding in order to store a family bloodstone. This actually made me happy, because in comparison to Highschool DXD, tcha. She also has some decent power in her. Besides regaining her spirit who she uses as a shield, she can also create a home field advantage However, this requires some speical treatment, and it does help them defeat Geo, so plus!

Fianna also has a playful personality, occasionally making some dirty jokes. but shes often a good friend, and a great asset to Team Scarlet.

Est's turn:

Est is Kamito's second contacted spirit, besides Restia. Because of Kamito's guilt of contacting another spirit and abandoning Restia, the contract was partly completed, so for that reason she can only manifest 10% of her power. She's still pretty strong though.

Est is literally the cutest thing you will probably see. Not only is her human form ADORABLE, but she has such a cute personality. She often makes misunderstandings just by showing up with Kamito in his bed only in kneesocks, but when she and Kamito interact, I feel a presence lighting up in the room. Some of the girls think Kamito is being a bit too giving to her, but this is what I would do if I had a spirit like her. The power of cuteness compels you, indeed.

Now onto my most hated character, Restia:

Oh, how much do I hate Restia? Let me count the ways...

You guys ready for another character rant?

First off, I haven't seen a villain this bad in anime since Laxus. (Acted like a d**k, but has that classic heart of gold bulls**t in which the ways villains turn around) In fact, she ranks up in that area with how bad she is, with The Trix, (Appearances get old people, The Trix should have been done in Season 3) and Toralei. (Who at the start seemed like a good villain, but after Season 2 of the webisodes, is too busy being that reoccurring villain whose plans always fail. OHMYGOSH, LIKE TEAM ROCKET!)

Secondly, if you want to be a great villain who has a good plan to do something to rekindle something, IT WAS GREAT HOLLY DANDY THAT YOU DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR POINT! YOU HEARD ME, NOTHING! BESIDES SUMMONING MONSTERS AND S**T, AND HELPING GEO IN EPISODE 8, SHE IS WORTH NOTHING. ALL SHE'S GOOD FOR IS THAT WE SEE HER MOST OF THE TIME JUST SITTING THERE, DOING NOTHING, SAYING SOMETHING INCOHERENT, AND THEN VANISHING. RESTIA'S PLAN ISN'T EVEN KNOWN, SO GOOD LUCK TRYING TO GUESS WHAT IT IS, BECAUSE IT MIGHT GET YOU NOWHERE.

LIKE HONESTLY, WHAT WILL BE GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU JUST SIT IN A TREE, DO NOTHING, AND COMMENT HOW KAMITO WILL BE A NICE "DEMON KING" AND WHAT NOT. BECAUSE I SWEAR, THIS CHICK TAKES MORE TIME SITTING DOWN PLACES THAN RATHER DOING ANYTHING. IT'S JUST "SIT AND TWIRL YOUR HAIR" FOR THIS BITCH.

This made me want to rage, like this:

But then again, I watch anime in the early morning around 6 to 7:30 am (or 8) my time. And since I don't want to wake my parents, this rage has gotten bottled inside me.

Look, Restia is perhaps the worst excuse I have ever seen for a villain. Not only is she worthless, she pretty much does nothing. She's only there for Kamito to get all shocked, and for her to be "HAHA I'M SO PRETTY." and to twirl her hair.

It's worse to me that The Dazzlings, who I think are great villains and are a better trio than The Trix, are better than her at evil. And hell, they were in a kid's movie for that matter. That shows just how much Restia disgusts me.

So here you go Restia. These are the last f**ks I give to you:

Ugh, glad that's over.

Other characters include the headmistress, the teacher of the Raven Classroom which is the main class of our characters, the so-called "Demon King's" follow-up who has contract with over a million spirits (exaggerating, but still), Rinslet's maid, and a side villain who's specialty is cursed seals.

Isn't it so sad when the two other villains in this show do more than the main? Yeah, thought so.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by TNK, who are most known for fanservice. Highschool DXD, Daimidaler, Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor. These are the 3 prominent examples in these past 4 years.

The animation for this show was pretty good. Unlike their other shows, which have decent animation but fantastic TNA animation, they managed to combine a bit of both. And the fanservice was toned down from TNK's other material, which is a nice plus. It also is great when you have a different character designer.

So overall, not too much to complain about, again. XD

Sound

The score for this series was done by Yasuyoshi Susuki, who prior to his series, hasn't done much in the scoring department.

For a first timer, this score is pretty good. Some tracks were very good, including one that takes me into my mystery thoughts The battle music is also interesting, and it provides a sense of enjoyment. A solid first effort, and I hope he continues to do more.

The voice acting is pretty great as well. with a lot of voice actors I haven't heard from before made this even more of a enjoyment. It was fairly enjoyable, even one who's been heavily over-used was quite good as well.

Highlights include Makoto Furukawa, Shizuka Ishigami (who sounds so much like Marina Inoue), Kana Yuki, Saori Onishi, Ai Kakuma, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (who's now almost every single "heroic' main male character, it's not even funny), Ayane Sakua, and Harumi Sakurai.

Verdict

Even through some uneven character development and a god-awful villain, this show still managed to be better than I thought it was going to be. With a interesting story, some great character, and some good animation, it was still very exciting to watch.

To the people who have been cautious to try and watch this, go ahead and take a look. I think anyone could find some enjoyment in the show, even through it's faults.

I recommend this show to harem fans who want a show without a lot of fanservice, and to people who love interesting set-ups.

Score: 8.5/10

Positives:

Great storyline.

Some interesting characters.

Good animation.

Unique, yet interesting score.

Negatives:

Some characters aren't as fleshed out as others.

One of the worst villains in anime history.

Wizard Barristers Review

Wizard Barristers Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you.

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

It should come to no one's surprise that I have a love for YA science fiction. Divergent, The 5th Wave, Proxy, and the Shatter Me trilogy are examples of some of my favorite dystopian books from the past two years. 

However, me and science fiction in anime had yet to meet. I was confused on where to start, and with other shows like Steins Gate popping up, I had to think within the lines. However, this one caught my attention in a video of the overall winter 2014 season.

This show looked to provide something interesting, and something engaging. That, and with Yasuomi Umetsu's name slapped on there, I was interested to watch one of his works.

Wizard Barristers is an example of a under-rated show that provides great entertainment to kill. It had a interesting story, likable characters, great animation, and some shocking plot twists. However, it isn't always perfect.

Let's first talk about the story:

Story

In 2018, humans, along with magic users (aka wizards) live peacefully together in Tokyo. Police still exist in this futuristic world to protect society, but instead of being tried by regular law, wizards (who are also given the nicknames wuds) are tried by the law under a different system. This system is called Magic Prohibition Law.

The wuds are defended by a group known as wizard barristers, which the person on trial must do so in the Court of Magic. Though soon, a new barrister is coming to the help of others.

Enter Cecil Sudo, a half-Japanese and half-Canadian 17 year old who besides being a prodigy by acing the bar exam at 15, is the youngest barrister ever. she does have a reason for becoming one though, as she wants to get her mother out of death row. Pretty soon, strange events unravel in Tokyo, and the awakening of Cecil's magic potential will commence, Thus, the group Macal will take note, and try to use her to summon a powerful demon from time's past. What will happen as these strange events unfold? Can Cecil save the day with her magic powers?

The story for this anime is actually very unique, and would work really well for a science fiction novel. The trials of each accused wizard who took the stand were all very interesting and each of them had a mix of innocent and guilty. Although some of the culprits didn't have trials, and were caught in some other unique way. The 4th episode is a perfect example of this, as we are given two twins with one is in jail for the slaying of 15th wuds, This episode is perhaps one of the most intense in the series, and kept me on my seat.

However, mainly one main element soils it down a little. As my one of my favorite Goodreads review likes to call it, "deu ex f**king machina." Or simply a deu ex machina. This is when something convenient comes out of nowhere to help out a character in a situation.  At some points, where Cecil is stuck in a situation where she might likely will die, or get new information about Macal, she awakens a new magic ability, or the person who has information gets killed by Macal.

Umm, okay?

Sometimes, this can get awfully handy. But at some points, it may leave you surprised, and not in a good way.

Other than that, the story is very unique ,and can get complex if it needs too.

Characters

All of the characters in this series, especially all of the main, each have good qualities in them and it's incredibly hard to dislike any of them. Of course, each of them have some major spoilers in the plot, so I can't talk about them all.

Let's first start off with Cecil herself:

A lot of people complain about Cecil's braids in her character design. I'm fine with it, and considering that she doesn't wear them all the time, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Cecil is one of the new people who have joined the wizard barristers. She is also the youngest to do so, as mentioned earlier. Her courtroom outfit, or as she likes to call her battle outfit, consists of mainly white, with other loud colors splashed in and a miniskirt. this gathers the attention of the wizard court judge, who makes note of this special attire.

The main reason why Cecil joined the wizard barristers is so that she could find a way for her mom to get out of death row, as she is accused of killing someone with magic, even though she did it for self-defense. Her determination is very believable, and it's interesting to see someone fight for someone that intensely.

There's more I could go into on this whole case, but spoilers abound, so......

She also has a frog familiar named Nana Genie. She has verbal tick, ending with bon at the end of sentences, and constantly making perverted remarks.

Cecil is an actual decent protagonist. and isn't as bad as some of those awful protagonists some readers catch in books, mainly in the romance genre. She may be a little innocent, but she does have at least some charm that isn't completely fake.

Now onto some of the other barristers, who at least aren't all like this at the office:

Because it seems sometimes with series, we either get a villain or a main character that's just annoying, and might be useless. At least not this show.

I'm not going to talk about everyone, considering some of them aren't that memorable.

Let's first go over Natsuna:

Natsuna is also a new barrister at the Butterfly Law Office. Her powers mainly consist of earth elements.

At first, Natsuna shows resentment toward Cecil due to her feeling that the other barristers are too tolerant towards her. However, when she a Cecil travel to Canada so that Cecil can see her father again, Cecil tells Natsuna the reason why she became a wizard barrister in the first place. Natsuna then gains more respect for her, even supporting her on some things that she didn't before.

So, at least that's clear, since I really didn't want a character who hated the main character, and his or her opinion didn't change.

Now onto Mitsuhisa:

I think the most surprising thing about Mitsuhisa's character is that he actually was a prosecutor in the Court of Magic, but had to resign once his wizard powers awakened. The girlfriend of his most famous case reappears in episode 3 to be tried herself.

His main powers consist of water. And beyond that, he's pretty much the generic silent character, except to the fact that he's older. :P

My personal favorite out of everyone is Moyo, because she actually plays a part in the story. Although it's a big spoiler, so I'm not going to reveal it. And Tsunomi is perhaps one of the nicer characters in the show, but she doesn't really have enough backstory developed, which doesn't make her as interesting.

My favorite personality wise though is Koromo:

Koromo is man crazy, and often wishes that she could have a boyfriend. She also happens to make sexual jokes, a lot.

Her powers mainly consist divination, and she often predicts the future by looking at tarot cards.

Koromo is perhaps a good example of some comic relief that shows sometimes miss. She is a pretty good character mainly for her comedy, and I think could have benefited from a back-story.

Other characters include the two main heads of the Butterfly Law Office, the oldest out of the wizard barristers who has a cool way of winning his cases, two members of a rival law firm, two cops from the Metropolitan Police Department (Where one manages to play a big part in the show's story), the three familiars, the head of the Court of Magic, the main villain of the series, and Cecil's mother.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by the studio Arms. And if anyone knows Arms, then you know they mainly animate shows with a lot of fanservice. They're most known for Ikki Tousen, (I dropped Great Guardians after 8 episodes because the story was getting nowhere. And too many boobs. The OVA was good though) Queen's Blade, (*shudders*) and Elfen Lied. (*hides behind corner*)

What I do like about Arms is despite all of the fanservice majority of there shows have, some things do make up for it. This show doesn't have as much fanservice as some of their previous works. Like in almost Umetsu's other directional projects, he once again designs the characters. It was kind of obvious that Cecil was potentially made to look like Sawa. Because based on first looks, she looks exactly like her, which is a slight problem. At least the other characters have a bit of variety, though some are given the same eye design.

But one character design is used more than once. First it was used for one of the twins in the 4th episode, while the second time it was used for someone from Cecil's past in a younger body. And this got me SO confused, until I finally got it cleared.

So once again, I don't have any serious problems with the animation.

Sound

The score for this series was done by the group MOKA*, who has also helped with the scores of Wanna Be the Strongest in the World, and Hagure Yūsha no Esutetika, two other shows that Arms animated.

I like the show's dramatic pieces the most, because I think they really set the tone of intense moments in the courtroom, and battles. The lighthearted pieces are good as well, and are mainly used in the office, or at Cecil's apartment.

Both opening and ending for this series were really good, and had my expectations high for watching the next episode. Lia, who you might know her voice from the openings of Sword Art Online and Angel Beats, once again has amazing vocals. and Rui Tanabe does extremely well for her first anime ending.

Highlights of the show include Rui Tanabe, Kei Shindou, Ayana Taketatsu, Rumi Okubo, Ayumi Tsunematsu, Wataru Takagi, Junichi Suwabe, Daisuke Ono, Katsuyuki Konishi, Marina Inoue (:3), Norio Wakamoto, and Iemasa Kayumi as the judge himself. 

Verdict

Overall, this is a pretty good science fiction series. I really could connect with the main character, the story was very cool (minus all of the convenient plot twists), and I found myself relating to this series more than I should have.

If your looking for a interesting SF feel, this series would be up your alley. However, if your looking for a interesting story-line with lots of mind-f**ks and twists you don't see coming, you might need to keep looking. Not that this series has any serious plot twists however.

Score: 9/10

Positives:

Original story.

Some great characters.

Interesting plot twists.

Great animation.

Negatives:

Some plot twists only for convenience.

Not all characters are developed.

Black Butler: Book Of Circus Review

Black Butler: Book Of Circus Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you.

Also, this is a review for Season 3. And not for the whole show.

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

I don't really have anything against anime filler. Bleach is going to have some later on, mainly to space out the Aracanar arc. The same goes for Black Butler 2, which was actually a story written exclusively for the anime. This season, which introduced a royal named Alois Trancy, and his butler named Claude. I have not watched this season due mainly to spoilers. But what mainly put some people off was this series ending. I'm not going to spoil it, but it involves Ciel and Sebastian's contract.

When a new season of Black Butler was green lit, I was ecstatic. Beside looking to the OVA's for entertainment, now I could get a new season. I started reading the manga, and has finished the Noah's Ark Circus part of the manga when the season 3 announcement came out the same day. Guess what they were adapting?

Now, I was pumped. With the director behind Bleach in tow, and having it all from the manga, this season was going to be awesome. I patiently waited until July, and then BAM!

While this season had story issues, including changing a part of Ciel's back-story, and potentially confusing viewers who haven't read the manga as to what was going on, this series still had a lot going for it. And, it's Black Butler, so what more could you ask for? XD

This arc was pretty fantastic, and this anime was too. So, let's get on with the story.

Story

The first episode of this season kicks back with a re-introduction of the characters, and Sebastian and Ciel kicking ass. It's in the second episode where we start the circusing.

The Queen of England sends Ciel and Sebastian tickets to the Noah's Ark Circus. They are touring London, and the queen wishes for Ciel to investigate the possible link between the circus, and a string of recent kidnappings of children in the area. After talking with Undertaker, in which he reveals the bodies have not popped up in the underworld, we are given a slight glimmer of hope the the children are alive.

But don't start throwing glitter and confetti yet. After volunteering with Betty the tiger, and ogling on how cute it is, Sebastian decides to go undercover at the circus, and gets a job, much to Ciel's chagrin. It isn't helped by the fact that he is forced to work there as well, and that William is investigating the kidnappings for his own matter.

Once there, a plot will unfold, and it might involve the hunting down of a known Earl. But wait, isn't he at the circus? Yes, but a big plot twist might be coming up later on. ;)

I like this arc, mainly because I find this setup so engaging and suspenseful. The story is built nup perfectly, and the end is quite satisfying if you ask me.

However, there are parts in which they changed that bugged me a bit, and could be potentially confusing to any viewer who hasn't read the manga. First being with the last half of the first season and the complete second season being tossed out the window like it doesn't exist.

I understand why they do this, considering that the arc takes place after Soma and Agni come to London. But then again, we did have the arc where Lizzie gets captured by Dorezzel Cainz (I think I spelled that wrong) before Soma and Agni arrive in the anime. And, Grell is also in that first mentioned arc too. Do some of you see what I mean?

But, the part that irks me off the most is that they changed a bit of Ciel's back story. The part in which it became more convenient doesn't really bother me, considering I found it to be more entertaining than the manga, in which Barlon Kelvin was just killed by the dinner table. However, they change the part in which Ciel and Sebastian first met. So, instead of that dreamy sequence we are presented with in both the beginning of the anime and manga, they first met during a session in which Ciel is being tortured.

I'm sorry, but WHAT?

This was the reason why this anime was going to get a lower score, but the anime managed to add Grell, who wasn't in this arc before, into it. And everyone knows how much I love Grell. :D

Characters

A lot of the characters aren't going to be typically new, but I am going to describe the Noah's Ark Circus, and how each member contributes to the circus, among other things.

The circus's members include Joker, Beast, Dagger, Doll/Freckles, Snake, and Jumbo. There's also Peter and Wendy, but you probably won't remember them until the last 3 episodes since they don't do as much. 

Everyone but Snake faced extreme hardships while growing up. They were forced to live on the streets in terrible conditions, and were thrown out of there homes due to being deformed. That is until Barlon Kelvin (with his "wonderful" new look he got because he's a psycho, just makes him look like a creeper) took them to his mansion to live with them. Kelvin is actually the mastermind behind the kidnappings, as he is very, and I do mean, VERY infatuated with children ever since meeting Ciel when he was younger. He uses the circus as a way to let the members kidnap them.

Of course, some of them actually don't like doing this, but you know, disappointing Daddy is not on there to do list.

Each member of the circus has a deformity, and once they hired the doctor for the circus, who's just simply named Doctor, they each got prosthetics for the body parts they were missing. Well, everyone minus Doll and Snake.

I would go on more about the new characters, but oh, you know. Spoilers and ish.

And the Fred Abberline inconsistencies are still there. I know, he died in season 1, and that was one of my saddest anime deaths of all time. He isn't dead in the manga though, and in season 2, has a twin brother from what I've heard.

The adapters need to clear up lose ends in this, because I do think that if viewers only watch the anime, and not read the manga, they're going to be extremely confused.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by A1 Pictures, who is also famous for animating the other two Black Butler seasons, the co-production of Fairy Tail with Satelight, Sword Art Online, and Magi.

As I mentioned in my season 1 review, Black Butler's animation improves with each season that comes out. While this capture the brightness of season 2 mainly with Grell's hair color, this season still manages to refine some things, and make them look prettier. All of the new characters are given good character designs, and they are very cool to look at in motion.

So, on that count, everything looks good minus the horses. 

Sound

The scores for this series switched over from Taku Iwasaki to Yasunori Mitsuda, who is most known for his compositions to the Inazuma Eleven anime and video games.

While the score isn't incredibly amazing as Taku Iwasaki's, the score still has the haunting presence to it that makes a scene that it plays in so much more memorable. His light pieces are still pretty nice, but I think Taku Iwasaki's score had more presence to it.

The opening and ending of this season are AMAZING! Sid returns from season 1 to sing the opening again, which is an improvement from season 1's, though that was very good as well. AKIRA gives off amazing vocals, that works really well with the progression of the song. And I swear, I get chills every time I hear it.

All of the actors who voice characters from the past 2 seasons, including main and side characters, all return as well, which is also a huge plus. It has been a couple years since the last season of Black Butler, and switching some of the voices would have been a no no to fans, including me.

Highlights include EVERYONE! (Including all, yes all, of the new voices)

Verdict

There's a reason why I love Black Butler and Tenchi Muyo to death. Both franchises have an aspect of combining amazing characters, and including memorable storylines. While the Tenchi Muyo manga has made less of an impact that Black Butler's has, both series are clearly my favorites.

Season 3 of Black Butler not only lived up to my excitement, it delivered on it. I wasn't mainly disappointed in it, though with some minor problems. The arc is amazing, and I wish I can get farther in the manga, because it seems to look more interesting with a twist on Undertaker.

If you don't wish to watch Season 2, go ahead and take a look at this. For viewers who haven't read the manga, I suggest doing a little more research before you jump in. 

Score: 10/10

Positives:

Amazing story.

Interesting new characters.

Fantastic animation.

Adding Grell.

Negatives:

Some confusing story elements.

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Review

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

Normally when I think of school comedies that people ask me about, I would normally recommend Haganai, Lucky Star, or Azumanga Daioh. All of these are great school comedy shows, but Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh have a more slice of life format.

I was looking for a show that had a similar story format like Haganai, and I had seen this show in some MEP's. I also heard this show was pretty good, and that majority of people feeling interested in this show would probably like it.

After I finished The Devil Is A Part Timer and Cuticle Detective Inaba, this was recommended for me via Hulu. So, along with Blood Lad, I decided to watch this series. What did I think about it?

Ehh............. Meh.

I don't regret watching this series, but at the same time, there are only a few things memorable about it. And while some of the characters are great, and the story doesn't go all wonky, just some parts of this show just weren't that exciting.

Not to say I HATED this show, but it wasn't AMAZING either. it was just a mixed bag for me.

So, let's go into the show's story:

Story

Our story begins when the main character named Hachiman is asked (well, mainly forced), by his language teacher to join the service club due to his negative idea to youth. After being led to the room, he meets the club's only member, Yukino Yukinoshita. Yukino isn't the most approachable girl, as she's often set on one thing, but isn't too up her high horse.

The Service Club provides help for students on anything relying to problems that students are facing in there social life, and explores them psychologically. One of there first customers later joins the club, and majority of the story is often helping out with new situations, such as the culture festival, or critiquing a novel made by one of Hachiman;s friends.

Basically, this story is mainly a slice of life. And to be honest, some of the service club's help can be interesting. But sometimes, I felt that the show could have used something more exciting. Majority of them were in that regard, but sometimes the pacing isn't the best, as I felt that the culture festival planning might have been pushed one extra episode. I do like how the main characters deal with the situations, but not all of it is going to be jaw-dropping or remarkable.

The Service Club is mostly effective. Thanks to Hachiman's quite unique aspect on life, his analogies are often funny and do help with the story a bit. But some of the events just might not keep everyone engaged.

Let's go to the characters.

Characters

The characters on the other hand do manage to help bump up this show from being dull, as at least majority of the characters have some sort of personality that makes them unique and fresh.

I'm going to talk about each member of the Service Club, since one event that they experienced was all connected.

Let me start with the main character Hachiman:

Hachiman is almost a typical loner anime character, but he does have something interesting about him. His main idea about youth is that it's just a simple illusion created by hypocrites, for hypocrites. He's not really keen on the idea of making friends due to this reason, and as is such, isolated from majority of the world. He also thinks that he is very insignificant, and will take blame for others if needed.

When he is advised to join the service club, Hachiman isn't really keen on the idea, even though his language teacher hopes that being in the club will at least change his personality. It does in some way, but Hachiman still has the ideas of youth circulating around in his head, for better or for worse.

On this first day of high school, Hachiman was accidentally hit by a car while trying to save a dog. This had him miss three weeks of school, After realizing that Yui and Yukino each were connected in these events, he distanced himself from them, but later re-connected with them when misunderstandings were clear.

I find Hachiman an enjoyable protagonist. He isn't terribly stereotypical like other male protagonists, and also isn't dense. He has a state of mind about himself, even if it's negative. I find his point of view incredibly entertaining, and if the creator had done him anyway differently, let's just say he wouldn't really be memorable.

Let's go to Yukino:

Yukino is the most envied girl in school, possibly due to the fact that she is pretty cute. However, she is often not in the friend crowd, due to her not liking other girls looking up to her instead of improving on themselves. Thus, this and other qualities, (such as being from a wealthy family) gives her the nickname Ice-Cold Beauty.

She is the only member of the Service Club until Hachiman joins her.This helps her with some things, as she doesn't really have to do anything by herself anymore, but she still only sees him as a acquaintance after the cultural festival, and not as a friend. 

Her personality also shows somewhat disgust from the naivete for some people, mainly Yui, and often shows it, though I never caught it. She doesn't also like anyone talking about her family, as it upsets her. And in the past where the 3 characters all connected, she was actually in the car that hit Hachiman. But we aren't sure who drove it.

I like Yukino, but only due to the fact that her cold personality isn't as drawn out, that you won't feel anything for her. I like her interactions with Hachiman, and how sometimes she can be brutally honest. I find her very interesting, and at times, you might sympathize with the fact that she might be someone you can encounter later on in life, and hopefully can become friends with. And when I say hopefully, I mean hopefully.

Let's move on to our last member, Yui:

Yui is in Hachiman's class, and actually was the Service Club's first customer, asking them to help bake cookies for someone. (Like say, Hachiman perhaps?)

The main reason as to why she connects with Yui and Hachiman so much is that she's a bit insecure in the personality department. She is often afraid to express her feelings, due to being worried about losing friends. She connects with both of them because they are able to express there feelings so easily. I think I can easily relate to this, because  the friend who got me into Black Butler also helped me improve my confidence.

Due to this, after her first experience, she starts to attend the Service Club, though Yukino sort of objects earlier on. And her relation to the first day of school event was that her dog was the one that Hachiman. Since then, she has had feelings for him.

I really liked Yui as a main character. The main characters of this series are stereotypical, which makes this anime have some interest. Yui is super sweet, and often is realistic in her feelings for Hachiman. I would really want her as friend if she existed in real life, 

Other characters include a member of the tennis club with a feminine appearance, Yukino's childhood friend who is popular due to his kindness, a popular girl who has a very arrogant personality, a fujoshi, a classmate who's mistaken to be a delinquent, Hachiman's language teacher, Hachiman's friend who is easily the best character in the entire show, and a complete bitch who has no likable qualities in her personality. Who loved it in episode 12 when Hachiman told her off? *raises hand*

Animation

The animation for this series was done by Brain's Base, who is also known for animating Penguindrum, Amnesia, and Kamigami no Asobi.

The animation for this series isn't OHMYGOD AMAZING! It's just average, which is a little disappointing. Though the character designs are pretty cool and look very good in settings, the animation just won't wow some people who expect some unique animation.

I did like it though, but there's better animation out there.

Sound

The score for this series was composed by monaca, who had also worked on the scores for series such as Aikatsu!, Nyakuro, and Working!

This is the first time I've heard of this composing group, so I was very curious to see how it would turn out. Majority of the score in this series is pretty cool, I like some of the slower tracks, but there's one with some cool instruments and some effects that was memorable. Overall, the score does have some pretty good moments in it that people will appreciate.

The opening, which is sung by Nagi Yanagi, is perhaps one of the most heartfelt anime songs that I've heard in recent memory. It's not the best opening I've ever heard, but Nagi's voice is beautiful, and helps make the theme very memorable. The ending, which is sung by the two main female leads, isn't as strong, but is pretty good nonetheless.

Though this show was released in the US in July by Sentai Filmworks, it surprisingly was not packaged with a English dub. They might later on, considering that dubs for Special A, Mayo Chiki, Nyan Koi, and many others have popped up these last two years. The sub is still pretty good though.

Highlights include Takuya Eguchi, Saori Hayami, Nao Toyama, Mikako Komatsu, Marina Inoue, Nozomi Sasaki, Ami Koshimizu, Ryoka Yuzuki, Aoi Yuki, Nobuyuki Hiyama, and Mai Nakahara.

Verdict

As a whole, I do think this show had a lot of good moments. But, if your looking for a really good slice of life show with very good moments, I suggest you look elsewhere. I still found a lot of heart in here, and perhaps other viewers found this series better than I did. 

I recommend this series to people looking for a realistic slice of life story, if you're bored one morning, or are just looking for something to relax your mind.

Score: 7/10

Positives:

Great characters. (well, except one)

Interesting interactions.

Sub-par animation.

Great audio, plus opening theme.

Negatives:

Story isn't the most motivating.

Some parts may bore viewers.

DRAMAtical Murder Review

DRAMAtical Murder Review

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers. If you wish not to know some events in the story, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in the series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you. 

Also, this is a review of the anime, NOT the game.

With that said, thank you, and onto the review:

My opinions on the whole idea of yaoi have been a bit conflicted. While I do enjoy yaoi shippings, and have read some fanfictions, I find it a bit odd that I like it, and am worried that people will judge me for it.

I have heard of some yaoi series that I wish to watch, and have seen some snippets of yaoi OVA's with the sound off as to not creep out my parents. But majority of the time, I just stick to fanfics and kisses. *sighs*

I first heard about the game via a friend from a group I'm in, and have seen some *coughs* interesting scenes from that game, once again muted. Well, except Mink's. Yet I didn't fully know the story. So, when an anime adaptation was announced, I was interested to see what the anime was going to do. Combine the game routes, include some of the steamy scenes, or take the common route's interesting story, and fuse it with development of the characters?

The anime managed to take the 3rd route. It got a slow start with some build-up, episodes 7-9 were epic, 10 wasn't as good, but the last two fleshed it out enough to make me really like this series. 

So, what do you say we get this thing started, shall we?

Story

On the island of Midorijima in the near future, a wealthy businessman named Toue Konzern has purchased an area of the island, and has transformed it into a resort called Platinum Jail. Platinum Jail has been promised to be a area filled with the joys of life, and Toue says constantly to the press that it's a nice way to battle conflict in our modern day society.

In the mean time in the Old Residential District. Aoba Seragaki, our main protagonist, is living a nearly normal live. He happens to not belong to any of the groups known as Ribsitiez, and after being harassed by members of Bug Bomb, one of his friends Mizuki, lets Aoba know of several disappearances of groups due to the organization known as Morphine. Besides this, the cyber game known as Rhyme, has been expanding through-out the region, and Aoba has already sworn not to play it. Little does he know that his world is going to get a few more mind f**ks.

After being dragged into a Rhyme battle via a false delivery by a rabbit-headed doctor, later turning out to be a guy named Noiz, Aoba seems to inhabit a quite different personality. And when 2 more mysterious boys appear. (YAY! BOYS!) it isn't long before Dry Juice vanishes as well. As for Aoba, his past is only starting to be revealed. What more could his past contain to link his connection with everything happening around him?

Okay, doesn't anyone find this story engaging like I did? I was excited to find out about Aoba's past, and it so interesting to find out he actually played Rhyme when he was younger, when his personality was all dark and crap. He still has it though, and it comes back every once in a while during the first Rhyme battle, and when he uses his Scrap power for destroying. More on this Scrap power later.

All of the other guys each have different qualities about them, and their past were mainly adapted into the anime, though Mink's was sloppy. I liked the combination of routes to focus on backstories, and mostly all of them I felt were engaging to different people and fans of the show.

The first 6 episodes detail more about Aoba's past, and strange occurrences in the Old Residential District. When each guy gets an invitation to Platinum Jail, things really start taking off. After development, and meeting our male harem, we each get intel on a tragic event that happened in there past, or their past in general. All of the guys have at least something really cool about them, and I'm sure your going to gain respect if you tell yourself to stick with this series.

All in all, science fiction, and a interesting past make this story all come together. It's all done pretty well, with mostly proper build-up, and interesting backstories.

Characters

If you every played the game, your probably going to remember all of the main characters, as well as love interests. If you are one of those people who have no idea what this show is, and have only heard about it through mouths of friends, here's the main characters for ya. 

Let's start with the main protagonist, Aoba.

Aoba comes from a long line of other great yaoi inventions, in which it seems that the uke just always has to have at least some feminine features. However, the creators of this game decided besides giving him a somewhat feminine face. They decide to give him longer hair as well, which is actually quite unique in that regard.

Aoba is the primary protagonist of the game and series, and live in the Old Residential District with his grand-mother Tae. He also has a job in which he works at the local shop with all kinds of legendary gadgets and trinkets, otherwise known as Mediocrity. Also hidden is his past, he used to play Rhyme.

Back a couple years ago, Aoba used to have a totally different personality than to what he has now. He used to exhibit more violent tropes, often adding in a lot more violence and pain. This is known as the "other Aoba", in which is exactly Aoba, but is more masochistic, as well as sadistic. I think I've invented a character with those two traits before.

Aoba also has a ability known as Scrap. Scrap is an ability which can allow Aoba to enter other people's consciousness just by voice command. This can also be used for command the conscious to do something, and once during the series, almost destroyed one. So yeah, it's pretty harmful stuff.

Aoba is a different protagonist that what I'm used to in anime and in games, and it's actually refreshing. He's not flawless, he's not a pervert, and he isn't a stereotypical clueless guy in yaoi who is just gorgeous, and is immediately dubbed as f**kable. At least he has some unique abilities, and some interesting details to his past that flesh him out then the typical protagonists in paranormal romances.

Let's now go to Koujaku:

Koujaku x Aoba is the main pairing that I've seen fans gush over. Mainly like this:

I understand the shipping of course, but this isn't my main shipping. But anyways, moving on:

Koujaku is Aoba's childhood friend, who he met one day to stand up to some kids who were picking on Aoba just because of his hair. Since then, he and Aoba have maintained a very good friendship, even if Koujaku is 4 years older than Aoba is.

As well as being the leader of a Ribstiez group called Benishigure, Koujaku is also a hairdresser. This makes him really popular, mainly to girls of course. ;)

Due to knowing Aoba for so long. Koujaku shows compassion to him, and doesn't like seeing him in danger, a main example in episode 3, after Noiz randomly appears in Aoba's house, helped out later on by Clears's appearance. Mink isn't really present at this point in time.

I would explain on why he has so many tattoos and scars, and talk about how important his tattoos are to his past, but I would be spoiling the most entertaining back-story to you, so I'm keeping my lips sealed.

Okay, now on to my personal favorite, Noiz:

Don't worry, I'm not going ape on you guys and obsessively fangirl. Noiz may be on my favorite character list, but he's in the not-determined half, because Toshiro is clearly moving up. Oh Toshiro, *sighs* You just....

Oh geez. *puts paper bag on head*

Sorry, it's due to the fanfictions in all seriousness. This image will return sometime soon, possibly in my season 1 review of Bleach.

Back to Noiz, you may have noticed something about him. He looks like a bad-ass, doesn't he? It must be because of the piercings. Ding, ding, ding, ding!

The first thing about why I like Noiz is because of his piercings. They make him stand out as a character, and I like how his piercing can at least have some impact in the game. Since his tounge is pierced, and his *KAHFFKAHFF* is pierced as well.

I read a character like that in Replica, and his name is Kurt Bishop. I didn't know what hair color he had, so I just imagined him as Noiz. And it was only for the piercings.

Noiz originally came from Germany, in which he ran away from after being shut in his home for years, as his parents were to shameful of him. He is not able to feel any pain due to his defense, and often acts very cold because of this. The sole reasons that he plays Rhyme is just to feel a illusion of pain, because he can't feel it himself.

However, unlike cold people in anime who are only often there just to add another stereotype, Noiz is actually quite useful. He is a skilled hacker, and when Aoba goes off to rescue Mizuki, and goes to Platinum Jail with the others, Noiz offers assistance other than fighting, but at this point, at least it's unique.

I love Noiz. Not only is he a interesting character who easily steals the show and makes me lose it every single time he shows up on screen, but he also is such a good love interest. His romantic scenes in the game are just fawn worthy. (Yes I've seen them muted. I think I can at least fangirl to that. *sighs*)

Did I also forget to mention that Noiz is actually younger than Aoba himself? He's also the youngest love interest, as he's only 19. Meanwhile, Aoba's 23. Not that I mind, since the actors in Vampire Academy of the main love interests are 10 YEARS APART IN AGE! *vomits*

Let's go to Mink now:

Now, before episode 10 aired, people were discussing on how they were going to edit Mink for his past when Aoba went inside his mind. All they did was basically slap it on at 5 minutes toward the end of the episode rather than halfway through like the others, leaving it with a bitter taste in my mouth, much like How To Train Your Dragon 2.

They killed off a major character in that movie. I went from this:

Umm okay then?

To:

HOW DARE YOU CREATORS!

P.S. The second movie's worse than the first, but that's my own opinion.

Mink kind of has this same problem. I understand that majority of his route is very dark, I think there's a bunch of inappropriate scenes just halfway through with Aoba alone. But the way they edited him just made him the generic cold character, and that was rather disappointing. Probably the only two things I like about him is that he has a softer personality inside of him, plus the fact that Aoba's words after he visited his mind took control over Toue's artificial crap of Scrap in episode 11.

His backstory also has several problems with it, as in the game, he grew up in a Native American tribe. In the anime, along this rubble when Toue invades, we also see the three kids who normally come into the junk store, plus Tae.

????????????

I think I made my point already.

Time for Clear:

Clear may creep you out by his submarine mask, but that's because he normally doesn't show his face a lot as he worries it's deformed. Don't worry fangirls, his face is beautiful.

Clear is actually an android that used to serve Toue, but was discarded for unknown reasons. Maybe because his Scrap system wasn't working or something. I wouldn't know because it isn't explained. He was taken in by a disposal man, who Clear referred to as his grandfather. He passed away before the events of the story though.

Clear first appears to Aoba out on the street, and spooks him out by calling him Master. Oh, not in Japanese, but in Engrish. Aoba later seems to warm up to him, and Clear's favorite to do is sit outside Aoba's home and sing The Jellyfish Song, a lullaby that his grandfather taught him.

In the meantime, all fangirls swoon.

I actually like Clear, and find him so adorable. His interactions with Aoba are so realistic, and I like due to the fact he's a android, and yet has so much emotion otherwise. I feel somewhat connected to him, and I think he is such a good character that other anime directors could look into, and somewhat adapt into their own.

Other characters include Aoba's allmate, who also plays a important role in the story, but it's in another route, other character's allmates, Mizuki, Aoba's grandmother, Toue, the main antagonist, his allmate, Toue's personal servant (anime only), a mystery character with black hair you'll find more about later on in the series, two of Aoba's friends from the yakuza who later turn out to be major douchebags, three siblings who love to come into Mediocrity to bother Aoba, and a tattoo artist linked to Koujaku's past.

Animation

The animation for this series was done by the studio NAZ, who are also most known for the series that is Hamatora, a series that was aired in the winter 2014 season.

My main applause for NAZ regards with the way they kept the character designs similar to the game, and how the world seemed to fit under it's finger tips. The character designer's efforts on the characters paid off, and they blend well with the scenery. None of the characters outfits or main part to their faces were changed, which is always a plus.

Now, I'm not stopping it here. I'm going to talk about the first airing of Episode 3. The time that it aired, the team accidentally released the beta version of the episode, which caused some viewers to turn heads, and Ren's awkward walking became a GIF right on the spot. Even the kiss couldn't save it.

When I watched it, I didn't know how many times I mainly noticed face inconsistencies, and hair mis-colorings. This was my reaction the entire time I noticed problems:

Thankfully, NAZ did manage to notice this, and later re-aired the episode with more polishing, and THANK GOD they did. Since it looks so much better with it. Here's a comparison video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEWLrGCsAcI

Meanwhile, fans are still upset over the new Fairy Tail series looking bad.

Besides that, the animation is rather good, and it's a treat to see.

Sound

The score for this series was composed by Yuuki Hayashi, who also composed the scores for Blood Lad and Diabolik Lovers.

Like his score for Blood Lad, Yuuki Hayashi manages to provide quite unique tracks, and not make it sound strikingly similar to his score for Blood Lad. He relies more on electronic elements, putting that in majority of the score. It's actually cool to listen to, as the tracks are often whimsical and dreamy.

The next episode preview music is perhaps my favorite out of all of the score. It just struck me in the heart on how pure this song was, and it made for great background music.

All of the voice actors return from the game as well, which is also a plus. Although fangirls, you won't get to hear Atsushi Kisaichi's beast moans though, as I've seen mentioned a lot via My Anime List comments.

Highlights include Ryota Takeuchi, Hiroki Takahashi, Satoshi Hino (WUVWUVWUVWUV), Masatomo Nakazawa, Kenji Takahashi, Fuzuki Kun, Junji Majima, Akira Sasanuma, and Yuichi Iguchi.

Verdict

This anime series was a good choice for me to watch during the summer season. The game sounded interesting, and when the anime adaption was annouced, I was willing to give it a shot.

To the people who abandoned this at the disaster animation of the first airing of Episode 3, you should consider watching the rest of this series. it may be slow to start up, but once we get to the epicness of Platinum Jail, things really start heating up. I also think this fared better than another yaoi game adaptation of the same company, the game being Togainu No Chi.

I recommend this series to yaoi fangirls, fans of science fiction, or people who want something unique.

Score: 8.5/10

Positives:

Unique story.

Interesting characters.

Mainly great animation.

Fantastic score.

Character designs and voices remain the same as in the game.

Negatives:

Takes a while for the show to fully grab your attention.

Awful first airing of Episode 3.