The story was pretty original in the fact that it starts out like any other anime but delves deep into the philosphy of life and its consequences. The humor, when presented, was a nice break from the heavier drama found later on in the series. The animation was detailed when needed and was fluid for the fight scenes (which I tend to be picky about too). The color scheme always matched whatever mood was trying to be set.

Having watched a few episodes of the US release, I would have to say that I feel somewhat disappointed. Everything is the same....except the voice actors. Perhaps it is because I've seen the Japanese version first but the voice the US used don't seem to fit the characters well. The inflection in their voices seem bland at best.