Note; Review doesn't contain spoilers, so feel free to read without being scared of being spoiled! :)

There aren't many shows that manage to have everything you want in an anime, but this one? It has it all; Intruiging story thats all about self-acceptance and identity, great comedy which it isn't afraid to use, downright gorgeous visuals which is all in CGI and finally; great character development in only 12 episodes. Truly, this show is one you HAVE to watch if you want a magnificent show.

Anyways, enough gushing around and get right to the point; what makes the show unique

The facade of the story

Without spoiling too much, the plot is set in The Land, a huge island that is inhabited by humanoid gems, known as the Lustrous. They try to live their lives everyday in peace, but the Lunarians constantly attack them, in order to harvest them and use their beautiful crystal bodies as jewelry/equipment. The specific character we get to experience this journey with is Phosphophyllite, who goes on a journey to redeem themselfs through the eyes of the other gems, as they are seen as "unreliable", "clumsy" and "idiotic". They also want a purpose in their life, as most of the gems are off fighting, but since they are very fragile, they are not ready to fight yet due to their Sensei.

What i really like about the show is the constant amount of things happening literally every episode. Every episode, a new problem arises which urges you to keep watching the next episode, yet at the same time, it takes its time to develop the world in a way that is interesting and makes use of its run-time to make the world more believable. From learning how the gems bodies work, the Lunarians goals, the whole mystery of the Sensei without missing small things, makes the show much more enjoyable. I would be lying though if i said this was the main reason i watched the show for, infact, what makes the whole show so much more then what i mentioned is the fact that its a coming-of-age story of our main character;
Phosphophyllite.

Oh, Phos.

Under the intense and mysterious story is the journey of our main character that is named Phosphophyllite. From the start, Phos is percieved by their peers as "clumsy", "idiotic", "waste" and all other adjectives that negatively impact their well-being. Considering their weak stature and being the youngest of the gems, its not suprising they aren't meant to fight. However, one line impacts them;

"Why don't you try changing alot?"

Here is where Phosphophyllite's journey begins; what being human is, cost of power, isolation and meaning of life. As the world around them stay the same, what change can Phos bring to the Lustrous? They struggle as they try to find the reasoning for their living, as the gems are immortal, yet its shown as something bad in the context of this show, which is pretty genius. Their attachment to their goal of becoming stronger brings them suffering and the idea of permanence is shown in a bad light, which are both 2 concepts taken from Buddhism and implemented really well into the show that makes Phos much more interesting as a character. What i also love is how Phos really feels like a real human, even if they are a rock. One example is the fact that humans sometimes try different things in a way that can be harmful, but as long as it achieves something, it works which is a hazardous mindset to have, indicitive of the greed which human beings usually show.

What i also love about our main gem is their dark side affects our other gems, which makes the impact of Phos' problems much more believable. The more Phos becomes hurt or loses stuff, the more the other gems get affected aswell, which makes Phosphophyllite shine even more (no pun intented). At the end of the anime, you can really see how much Phos has changed and you start questioning yourself what could have gone better..

Glorious CGI which is the talk of the town

Honestly, this shouldn't come off as a suprise; The CGI in this show is easily the best i have seen in a long time. Honestly, as much as i don't mind CGI, i can be quite discontent if i see it used horribly or just shown in general, since i prefer hand-drawn animation instead. However, i think certain aspects of the show formed the decision for Studio Orange to make the show fully CGI which i think it generally does a splendid job at. The beautiful reflection of the gem's interior shine, more apparent with Diamond in the show, and the downright amazing CGI usage in fights just makes me question why most sword-fighting animes aren't in CGI. Seriously, even if you have the biggest problem with CGI, gives this show a try if all i talked before suits you. Studio Orange still make CGI anime, the most recent and famous one being Beastars, but even that show doesn't stand a chance against this one, seriously they went ALL IN. If you don't like the CGI by the end of Episode 3, i seriously don't know what to tell you.

Uh oh, criticism for the show.

In all honestly, these are minor critcism i have for the show, as i feel like it does alot of stuff well, that it has just a few shortcomings. The only 2 problems i have is the utilization of the side characters. With the huge cast of characters, it is quite difficult to utilize ALL of them so some characters end up not being used to the fullest, which can upset people. Personally though, i am fine with it since the ones that are used are interesting and make sense to the plot, so no big deal for me.

Another one i got is the ending; The anime ending essentially tells you to go ahead and read the manga...which i did. Effective i know, but for some people, it might not end up feeling satisfying to see the final 3 minutes and ask yourself "thats it?" but in all honestly, i still think the last episode is great, even if you haven't read the manga. Do yourself a favour for me though and read the manga, you won't be dissapointed.

Verdict

In all honestly; Its a great show that should be watched by many more people. Great plot for people who wanna watch fights, but it also has something for someone who want a more philosophical and physcological show about a main characters self-inflicted problems and thoughts. Gorgeous visuals and a soundtrack thats melodical with some great comedy that didn't fail to make me laugh, this show is absolutely a must-watch for people who love anime. Everything here is a whole package of goodiness, waiting to be opened up.