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Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei is one of those rare anime that doesn't conform to the norm in terms of storytelling and art direction, something that's quite refreshing. This coming of age anime is packed with beautiful art and animations, great use of symbolism, and poetic dialogue.

Its unique story structure helps make every episode act like a stand-alone episode, while also being a puzzle that leads up to a very satisfying conclusion by the final episode. It's an interesting way to tell a story, although it can get very repetitive and predictable.

On the other hand, I find the plot to be quite dull, and the presentation/direction ... is best described as pretentious. The narration comes across as bombastic, with excessively wordy and verbose dialogue that doesn't always mean anything. There's a lot of emphasis on style, but not enough substance. Oh and speaking of dialogue... boy is it fast compared to most other anime out there.

The speedy dialogue is very much like a double-edged sword. Having to pause every so often in order to process the fast-paced dialogue can become a frustrating experience from the get-go. When most of one's concentration is focused on keeping up with the narration's speed, it becomes difficult to simultaneously notice and enjoy background elements/scenes. The main character Watari often switches from one topic to another completely random topic within seconds, making it difficult to figure out the point of what he's trying to say at times. On the bright side, there's extra ideas and content squeezed into each episode, which is always a good thing.

Overall, this anime is truly unique in many ways, but that doesn't always equate to it being “genius." To be specific, I'd say it's more along the lines of creative, poetic, avant-garde, and experimental. Even though this anime is personally not my cup of tea, it's still a one-of-a-kind anime that’s worth trying out at least once in your life.