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Magnolia was unexpectedly good. It reminded me very much of Afterschool Nightmare which I, to my surprise, had also enjoyed reading.

I really like stories that try to explore gender on a biological level. Ayato, the main character has physical characteristics of both binary genders. Ayato struggles with finding Ayato's true gender and throughout the story, a range of people try to influence Ayato's decision.

The art is phenomenal and the characters are pretty diverse in personalities. There's a strong physiological theme and many of the characters suffer through their own dilemmas, not just Ayato.

Even though I enjoyed it, I do have to ... complain about the rushed ending. However, the meat of the story is still good.

I've read some terrible manga in my life because I didn't realize they were terrible until I had already committed to a large chunk of the story. This is the case for this disaster of a story, I was too far in and couldn't pull out.

The story is crap. The art is amazing. The shounen-ai is suggested but should be considered nonexistent.

The story is about a Japanese transfer student who becomes a student at some European, English speaking boarding school. The school has no administrative rules and there is a caste system, with the King making up all the rules through a process ... involving "games." I don't know, it wasn't really explained other than used as an excuse for bullying. I guess you can think of the school itself as some giant metaphor like in Angel Beat or After-School Nightmare. Anyway, there's intense bullying, some complex back story involving murder, and the endurance of friendship.

It's a pretty crap story, but it's only 9 chapters so that's 30 minutes of my life I'm never getting back.

Story and character:

I saw this anime a while back, and caught myself thinking about it long after I finished it years ago. This is a generally good sign and I'm glad I can say that George is one of the most memorable characters in anime. The story itself is about Yukari, and while I like how the plot brings out her insecurities and develop her confidence, I was captivated by George. He's a brilliant creation: bold, straight-forward, unyielding, decisive, and cool. These are traits many anime writers want to imbue into their male leads, but while some succeed, many do fail - yet what makes ... George such a great success it that not only is he masculine in having these traits, he is a bisexual clothing designer. His character holds both feminine and masculine details that blur the lines between gender identity. And even better, he is not some gay caricature. This is a person you want leading your team.

The supporting cast is also nothing to scoff at. Since this story focuses on individuality with an emphasis on Japanese counter-culture, the supporting cast are self sustained and believable people. Yukari, being the center of the story, undergoes a coming of age. It is to be expected that she will be annoying at times because she is so insecure about her life and decisions, but overall, her vulnerability contrasts well with George's strength. It also does well to show George's role as the fairy-god mother figure. He is cruel and curt at times, but for a spineless girl like Yukari, George is coldness proved to be the necessary push in the right direction.

Art and Sound:

Loved the art and loved the music. The Intro is some upbeat Japanese pop song that really sets the mood. The ED is a Franz Ferdinand song so I appreciated that. The art is above and beyond. Wonderful bright colors that are used to define the character's personalities. Artistic freedom with some some of the street scenes. It's not an action anime so I didn't expect amazing fluidity, but I liked that the characters weren't too stiff and had dynamic positioning.

Overall Enjoyment:

It's a very good anime. Good for those turbulent teenage years and I'm hesitant to say it, but George had a bit of an impact on me. The plot isn't too out-of-this-world complex. It's about young people finding the determination to take the first big, bold step towards their dreams. Yet, it is sensitive while maintaining a no-nonsense perspective into dealing with all those nice feelings teenagers develop. It excites a little bit of rebellion into the hearts of its viewers. In the end, what I found most memorable was George tinge of cruelty. He has a light bitter taste to him that makes him more enigmatic than his amazing style and carefree sex life.

Story: 9
I found the story very refreshing even though it is different in tone from Miyazaki’s earlier works. There are flaws, especially if you factor in the political brouhaha that comes with over-romanticizing a history of war, violence, and death. This is one of the most difficult Miyazaki films for me to embrace, but in that respect, it is also one of the most complex Miyazaki films out there. It deviates so much from his usual linear, small span narrative and childlike aspects. This is a mature plot with some difficult questions that is befitting of the swan song of one of animation’s most beloved ... figures. With this work, it’s as if Miyazaki is giving the children he usually make films for a glimpse into the adult world and the twisted mess of trying to bring childhood dreams into adult realities.

The most satisfying part of this movie is that it’s about flying. If you’re familiar with Miyazaki’s work, you’ll know he uses flight, wind, and the sky in all of his films. So for his last big bang to be all about the theme of flying and the metaphor of flying is just so fulfilling for a fan like me.

As I’ve already mentioned, the narrative is not restricted to the transient period of childhood but stretches for years into marriage and death. I really like this about the film, because it felt as if Miyazaki was communicating his own journey to us. I would give the plot a ten, if I didn’t think the plot was a little too light-hearted. I know that is Studio Ghibli’s trademark style, but I just can’t see pass the history. The young Japanese men went into war with huge smiles on their faces. The engineers worked for future of Japan with pure hearts and nationalistic pride. Those two aspects made my viewing experience feel eerie.

Art: 10
The art is what you would expect Ghibli art to be like. Watercolor backgrounds with a soft pastel pallet that reminds you of summer, even when it’s depicting winter. The humans are more cartoonlike than most other Japanese animation styles. The clothes look like soft marshmallows. Though, I would say that the backgrounds are little disappointing. Remember the expansive fields of Nausicaa of the Wind? The lush forest in Princess Mononoke? The romantic western architecture of Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle? The grand waterscape of Spirited Away and Ponyo? Yup, not here. At least not with the same intensity. The film focuses more on the characters, but that is not to say there aren’t one or two breathtaking landscape scenes. Just not a memorable amount.

Sound: 10
Good. I don’t know jack about this topic, sorry. All I can say is the music is good and the voice acting includes Hideaki Anno, the NGE creator, so it’s pretty cool. There’s also a really cool sound effect during the more tragic scenes, especially the earthquake one. It’s that low “hum” that echoes throughout, when you hear it you’ll love it.

Character: 9
Hate to say it, but the characters are flat. Jiro is one of the least inspiring Ghibli leads ever, but he’s supposed to be the allegory for inspiration. If had to put my finger on it, I would say Jiro looked lost even though it seems as though he has a goal: to build the best airplane. I say this because he just seems concerned with building airplanes, what they’re used for isn’t really factored into his “passion.” Noako isn’t complex and just fulfills her role as the tragic lover who gives the audience something to cry about while Jiro create war machines that will massacre masses of people and send his own people flying to their deaths. Quite honestly, I found Honjo’s attitude to be more interesting and befitting the lead of a film with this topic. Kurokawa is a great comedic relief and father figure. Caproni is the perfect etheral accessory character that you see so often in Ghibli films. Think “The Baron” from the Cat Returns, except Italian and with more questionable morals.

Overall: 9
Well, it’s a movie that ends, not a movie that begins or one that is career defining. I truly liked it, and I was drawn in. Comparatively, I can’t say I care for it as much as other Miyazaki films, but objectively speaking it still stands above the whopping majority of animation films out there. Its very story oriented movie. The characters are devices that move the plot and are themselves not all that moving. You have to see this film with a focus on the big picture and not the details, which is contradictory to many of other Ghibli films. What are the big questions? Artists and engineers are the pioneers of creativity, but are they morally obligated to bear the burden of their ideas? In that respect, the child’s imagination pioneers the adult life, but if the reality of adulthood isn’t what the child wanted, should he have dreamt in the first place?

Art and Animation: 9

I'll start out by writing about the positive aspects of this anime, which is obviously the art and animation quality. Fantastic fluidity to motions. Very active scenes and active bodies. The color usage is bold and nothing to overlook, however, I did start to find the experimental color gradient to be a little bit of an eyesore at times. Yet, at other times it was definitely effective in setting the mood. The characters were cleanly drawn with slim, delicate figures. Smaller details such as clothing design and the cityscape are fun.

Character: 6

The show is similar to Durarara! in that it incorporates ... a medley of characters in a crowded city with some magical powers sprinkled in. When I saw the plethora of characters, I didn't expect to get a character driven story. And it wasn't. Unlike Durarara!, which was given 24 eps to tell its story, K-Project only got 13. The characters weren't given enough time to truly shine individually, but that is not to say that they weren't able to shine in conjunction with other characters. The relationships between Shiro and Kuroh, Mikoto and Reisi, and Misaki and Fushimi were good enough to add a little complexity to the characters and story. But the number of characters did leave me a bit overwhelmed.

Sound: 7

I am not a fan of the soundtrack, OP, or ED. But I can't say the music was bad. It was average for an anime like this.

Story: 4

Now we get to the part that explains why this anime failed. The story, in short, is too messy and poorly developed. Even though it's supposed to be a mystery about Shiro trying to understand his identity and amnesia, I found myself more drawn to the gang war between the red and blue teams. Yet, that part of the story was never fully developed enough and left me in the dark as to why they were fighting so much. Part of the mythology of the anime revolves around the colors and the powers that come with them. I would have liked to get a crash course on the history and involvement of these powers in their reality. When the mystery is revealed, the resolution is unsatisfying. You couldn't get a strong feel as to why the main antagonist is the way he is, because they spent so little time developing him. There are many subplots, which would have been okay, except that this is a 13 episode anime. Most of the subplots were let to ease to an end instead of approached and dealt with properly. This left me feeling a bit bereft and questioning the whole point of building this whole maze of story.

Enjoyment: 5

I got bored with it halfway through but kept going because it's not bad enough for me to drop. It took me a while to complete it because I got involved with other animes. Despite the incredible visuals, the poorly written story and flat characters failed to enthuse me. The cluttered storyline and mythology kept me confused most of the time as I was trying to play keep up with all the little subplots and characters.

Overall: 6

It's not a bad anime, but it is an example of an anime trying to take on too much at the same time and failing miserably. I would say that maybe if it was given 24 or more episodes, it might have been able to rescue itself. But its biggest flaw was trying to fit a 24 eps story into 13 eps.