CrimsonCyclo

It's honestly hard to pinpoint the overall quality of No. 6, enough to where I write this review 1 week after finishing it. Having time pass, I've made my conclusion: for an anime that falls short of greatness, it brought enough along the ride that made it worth the trip.

Story:

FULL DISCLAIMER - No. 6 is tagged as a shounen-ai series, which is somewhat true but also a misnomer. Though  romance (a term loosely-used here) is a factor, it's not an overly showy profession akin to a show like Love Stage. It may be a dealbreaker to some interested in seeing this show, but from my perspective: there's more "baiting" you'd find from the entire Free! series.

This show is first and foremost a dystopian myster-thriller. Two characters brought together under unfortunate circumstances, both past and present. Where the story shines is in its brilliant first episode and overall setup. The way many thematic seeds are planted with subtlety of exposition, as well as some blooming to fruition, bring the show forward immensly. Where it falters falls mainly due to its length. There's not nearly enough time to give all the show's elements room to properly breath and develop, which sadly leads to a much-rushed final episode. Most likely, this will be the end-all to if you'll like the show or not. To me, however, this is only one element.

Animation:

To the real reason I decided to watch this show: Studio Bones' involvement. Bones is easily my favorite animation studio in anime for its simplistic yet individually stylized productions. With No. 6, it's another favorable notch under their wing. It's not one of their best-looking works by general comparison, hence the 7-rating. But that doesn't deter from the sleek production design and animation quality that brings some fluidity into character interactions and points of fast-paced action.

Sound:

On the music front, the show is quite mixed critically. When the soundtrack tries to act ambient, it's exceptional; when it wants to act in favor of action, it sounds cheap. Synthetic instruments can be utilized well (ie, Kaiji, Devilman Crybaby), but here, it tends to inhibit the tense aesthetic a scene might be aiming for.

On the acting front, we are presented with performances from both Yoshimasa Hosoya and Yuki Kaji, and easily these are some of their most overlooked performances so far. Multiple opportunities are given for their characters to shine even in the short 11-episode run. Not to mention songs with the show are sung, and provide some of the high points of the anime.

Characters:

It goes without saying that the development between the show's main characters, Shion and Nezumi, is the best part. What makes them so exceptional against plenty of other archetypes is the fact that their arcs allow them to progress and change naturally as characters unbound by those very archetypes by the end of the show. Other characters such as Sabu, Karan, and Inukashi (nicknamed "Dogloan") also do well to serve intriguing facets to the overall story and themes of the show. Some do suffer underdevelopment on the whole, but given face value of the short runtime, they managed to make do with just enough.

Conclusion:

Some people might come out of No. 6 facing disappointment, which I can't fault given my own experience. That said, the show is still worth the time to check out. I feel I've been watching enough anime that elicited only indifference on my part. In the case of this show, I can say that the experience always piqued something of intrigue and enjoyment.