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I believe this anime really deserves a chance.

Anybody who decides to watch Ajin, may need some time to get used to the animation style (3D), as it looks quite different from the majority of animes out there.

I eventually did grow used to it (say, after 3 to 4 episodes). As a matter of a fact, I even grew fond of it, because it definitely added some depth to the anime (expression-wise).

There is what I would refer to as a "marionette-effect", as the characters converse, move and interact.

They tend to appear as if they're manipulated by a puppet master, who pulls (invisible) strings to make the ... characters move accordingly, (if you've ever played adventure games, where the main character's head follows your mouse pointer wherever you aim, you'll probably understand what I mean).

And for this reason, Ajin may feel a bit funny to the eye at first, because at times the characters' heads and limbs move abruptly, in a rather unnatural fashion (to the point where it's very obvious).

To me, this visual "marionette-effect" ironically did add a layer of realism to this anime, because it had the characters mimicking real life emotions (through their posture and movement, in very detailed ways even).

So even though it looked a bit awkward some of the time, at other times the movements were really spot-on and it felt like watching real people interact with each other :).

Although I found the facial expressions not possessing the same level of sophistication (sometimes rather bland), but still good enough to convey the right message.

I do believe this is because the graphic designers probably still need some practice in getting it to look right.

As for the story, I really liked it! I'm not easy to please when it comes to that, as I'm very keen on logics, and Ajin's story progression did make sense.

I was especially fond of the battle scenes :). These looked amazing & enticing in 3D-style. It was like watching a movie and I was completely absorbed by them.

The movements were very graceful, swift, powerful and well executed (without seeming overdone) - plus, they looked realistic and made quite a visual impact.

I was equally charmed by the character development (especially the protagonist - Kei Nagai, gradually showing what he's really made of).

What was mentioned about him in the anime, did corroborate with the way he behaved (as in, being rather cool, detached, calculated). Not only was he described as such, but his behaviour actually did reflect this.

I've watched animes where characters are sometimes described being a certain way, without these supposed characteristics being demonstrated throughout the animation.

In Ajin, the characters all have very distinct (and very believable) personalities (which ultimately kept me coming back for more, as I considered it being one of the stronger & valuable aspects in this anime).

Finally, I found the OST more than good enough (though lacking in originality). The sound effects were of high quality and did a very good job at supporting the visual content.

I'm really hoping there will be a second season, as it would add a lot more value and perhaps uncover more about the Ajin phenomenon as it is very intriguing!

keywords: life, death, crisis, friendship, persecution, radicalism, combat, sci-fi/supernatural

Pros:
- decent OP & ED theme song
- catchy battle & story music
- a wide variety of characters
- bad ass main character
- fun characters, nice outfits, lovely weapons

Cons:
- very lazy animation (some of the fighting scenes are pretty much "still images")
- basic facial expressions
... - repetitive parts
- annoying mid-episode breaks
- awkward story progression
- limited techniques (battle-wise)

This is an anime I've watched again and again throughout the years, and now I just can't stand to watch it anymore.

If it wasn't for the music, I probably would have fallen asleep a couple of times.

There are parts where some of the side characters talk an itty bitty too much, with very little action (which made me doze off and think of something else while watching).

Luckily, the music does what it's meant to do (i.e. getting the viewer's attention, creating a certain atmosphere and maintaining it throughout the anime), which helped me keep focused at times.

And even though I've heard more sophisticated tracks before, the sound is good enough and some of the tunes are very catchy!

As for the story, it starts out pretty well, but gets painful to watch due to repetitive story-telling and "empty" battle scenes due to "lazy" animation (it's a joke, really - it unintentionally got me to giggle at times).

Quite a shame, because the characters are fun to watch & easy to remember (thanks to their distinctive outfits & the neatly executed voice acting).

Alas... no juicy battle scenes or amazing techniques :(. I really missed that.

All in all, the story was okay, and the concept in itself was good, but lacked balance due to the addition of a totally superfluous character which was introduced midway, all the way thru the end (and felt really out of place & unnatural to me).

But o well. I'd suggest to give it a try anyhow :).

At least this show left me with a favourite character ;).