George Saling

(review after [English subbed] episode 17 while also listening to the beautiful opening song 'Pink Blood') By far, one of the most heartwrenching and powerful anime renditions of a manga (IMHO). You will come across the same sentiment from a myriad of other watchers as well. This is a story of a being that is born into this world with the goal to PRESERVE memories, relationships, and the beauty of living. The being, come to be known as Fushi, is brought into this world with no memories or previous stimulation, literally a vacuum of nothingness until it comes across other organisms that hold their own value of life. He takes their forms upon their death (critters, animals, humans). From the very first episode, you are hooked. Whether you empathize with the character(s) is up to your own personal experiences and desire to relate based on the character's own experiences. As the story progresses, you become even more engrossed due to the anime's beautiful storytelling, art, and the voice actors' emotional performance. The attention to detail in every frame and sound makes this a masterpiece in itself. I am writing this review with no intention to spoil anything except to provide future and current viewers a general sentiment to PICK THIS ANIME up. Even if you are not a big anime or cartoon watcher, this story is so powerful, a live action will never do it justice. As my own suggestion, do not binge this story after episode 6. Once you get to episode 6, start to savor it to give you a more impactful experience, and do watch it subbed first because the Japanese acting is absolutely amazing. The voice actors do a tremendous job of expressing the dialogue's emotional impact. Once you finish the anime (as I will do), attempt to read the manga as well as many reviews say the same thing. In addition, watch this on Crunchy Roll since you can join in on the viewer discussions and hear other's views. If you have a friend or SO, I hope you have the fortitude to cry in front of one another, because it will only be that more cathartic. I don't want this anime season (after E 24?*) to end, I want to watch this for a full year, savoring the wait for each episode every week, while joining the discussions. Keep an open mind, this is a fantasy and nothing will be rooted in reality except for the emotional relating. I hope whoever reads this review will feel the same way I do. I have a feeling this anime and manga will stay rooted in culture for a loooong time. Cheers to you all.