Kaiba

The first half was promising and the whole series could've been a great treatise on the consequences of transhumanism, but they really dropped the ball midway in favor of a shallow, convoluted hero vs. villain plot. It's hard to overstate my disappointment.

Masaaki Yuasa finally disappears up his own ass with this one. The world set up here is very interesting and has a lot of potential, but the first few episodes waste that setting on some of the most blatantly manipulative sob stories that I lost all interest in decoding the rest. The stylistic quirks worked well as flavoring in Kemonozume, but here they drag everything down. Too excessive and convoluted that it blocks all emotional engagement.

Dreamy and strange, this show marries an overly-childish art style with a mature narrative. The actual plot has its ups and downs (some point are almost terrible), but the characters, the music and the art carry the show and make it worth the watch -- and more.