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This will be my first anime review ever that I'm posting so I apologise in advance if I overstep any boundaries in this review.

As an appreciator of anime, having watched 100+ anime over the course of ~1.5 years (as of November 2018), I began to raise my expectations of anime that I consider to be enjoyable after experiencing the various overused anime gags and cliches. However, this superb anime proved to surpass all of my set expectations by a very wide margin.

Story: 10/10

When I first saw this anime being telecasted on Animax, I was expecting a story plot resembling typical shounen anime filled with ... fanservice solely catered to the male audience (meaning boob-shots and beach episodes). Little did I know that I was in for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and deeply captivating story. We, the audience, are transported back to a fictional timeline set in the midst of the industrialization age of western Europe. In this fictional timeline, we are shown firsthand the conflicts between the various fictional world powers and socio classes in modern Europe through the perspectives of the diverse cast of characters consisting of royals, spies, nobles and even samurai. We get to see life in the upper classes and lower classes of modern Europe and the harshness of each livelihood accompanied with each lifestyle without any sugar coating. All I can say now without spoiling the story is that it's great and something you don't find in a lot of anime nowadays where the story isn't that complex and all-encompassing. Also, there's quite a bit of grit in the story which can serve to be a huge plus if you desire a rich story. Be prepared for a story filled with hardships and heart-wrenching emotions. Also, absolutely no fanservice.

Art: 7/10
The art style of this anime by itself does not warrant much praise as I find it to be just good. However, the real game-changer is not the art style but the setting of this anime where the characters are found in. Instead of the atypical modern setting most anime are found in, we are instead fed with gothic style architecture and classy style of clothing we often associate with the upper classes of society. The animation of this anime is also quite good; fighting scenes are considerably well executed. Although I didn't give the art such a high score, I thought that the art aspect of this anime was the most minor attribute when it came to grading this anime as I felt that there was a far stronger emphasis on the story and music, hence perhaps the lack of flair in the art style and thus found it easily overlooked when it comes to enjoying the anime.

Sound: 10/10
Words cannot express the degree of enjoyment I found in this anime's soundtrack. The music was fantastic in every regard in my opinion. Which goes to credit the one and only Yuki Kajura for her fantastic quality of work. The combination of jazz and string ensemble when it came to the provision of background music served only to reinforce the setting of an industrial age Europe which also complemented the fighting scenes of this anime. The OP of this anime provides you with an energetic feel before immersing you in the anime itself while the peaceful ED leaves you pondering over the intricacies of the story and leaves with you excellent music for you to ponder in deep thought.

Character 9/10
Like the story, character development and the background is superbly executed and just plain enjoyable. We get to learn about the background of our main cast of characters and how it led to where they are. We learn to emphasize with them on a personal level. My only issue about this anime is that two of our characters don't get a lot of background story that they justly deserve. Because of that, I didn't get to appreciate these characters as much as I wished. In spite of this, the character development of the other characters helped to overshadow this small failure a great deal.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Personally, I always put the story as the highest priority when it comes to enjoying an anime series. You can give me an anime with fantastic art and even soundtrack (I still consider soundtrack as a major factor when it comes to enjoying anime) but if the story is weak, then I'm sorry but all you're left with is a mediocre anime, above average at best. But with a fantastic story, soundtrack and cast of characters, you'll be left with an excellent anime in my opinion.

Overall: 10/10