No.6

Firstly, do I recommend No.06? In a word, no.

With that out of the way, let me explain why this show isn't worth your time with a list:

• Bone simple characters
• Forgettable side characters in general
• Lazy world building
• Weak overarching plot

No.06 takes place in your typical "1984" dystopian future where the government controls every aspect of life. I myself am a sucker for this type of setting with 'A Brave New World' being a particular favorite of mine. Speaking of which, No.06 is basically 'A Brave New World' and '1984' rolled together, but with boy-love thrown into the mix. The main character is a handome male youth named Shion. One day, Shion meets a strange outsider of society named Nezumi who also happens to be a handsome male youth, they instantly bond over their shared youthful handsomeness. Sadly for Shion, Nezumi departs and leaves him with the government's Thought Police on his doorstep.

Several years pass in the story and Shion is now living in a favela outside of the city having been kicked out of the 'utopia'. There is now a unexplained bee plague that has popped up and is now terrorizing random people by rapidly aging them. Shion, having learned of the plague is kidnapped by the Ministry of Love, but is then rescued by Nezumi who has returned. Together the two handsome youthful heroes decide to find the source of the plague against the Ministry of Truth's wishes. Also, it's revealed that Shion has the plague, but doesn't instantly die like everybody else for some reason.

There you have it, a summary of the first two episodes of No.06. No, you did not misread that, two episodes. This entire show is eleven episodes long. Perhaps I should have mentioned that No.06 is based on the light novel series of the same name by Atsuko Asano, which itself totaled nine volumes. Nine volumes, eleven twenty-three minute episodes, that adds up to an entire novel for every twenty-eight minutes of animation. It is no wonder that the characters, plot, and world building are so watered down and poorly executed here. Unfortunately the story goes rapidly downhill with too many characters being introduced and then disappearing immediately afterwards with no explaination or closure with a shoddy crap-shoot ending to cap it all off. If you are familliar with false-utopia sci-fi novels, then you can probably tell how this story will end right from the get-go, it's got all the tropes.

I have to admit, it has been a while since I watched No.06. I seem to remember the environments and backgrounds looking pretty and animation in general being well done. Character designs are above average and are well executed in motion and long-shots as well. Sound is hard to remember, so I'll put that down as forgettable. Overall dispite having a million things happening every episode, you end up forgetting all of it because the characters are paper-thin and the pacing is insane.

Art - 6.5
Sound - 5
Story - 3
Enjoyment - 4.5

Watch 'From the New World' instead. It's got a similar false-utopia setting, but it has its own identity and will keep you hooked from beginning to end.