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Moon Phase promised to be a good series and was able to deliver in some ways however this series is clearly not for everyone. My reviews aren't really spoilers so much as the context of the content you should expect.

There is a storyline and it's reasonably interesting however this series is ultimately dominated by the conflicting emotions of the two main characters. The first two episodes will draw you in and depending on your tastes will either be the best thing since sliced bread or a disappointment.

I enjoyed the art and it was definitely above average in my opinion. There were no cheap budget gimmicks ... or at least any that I noticed. I can't really comment on the sound though I have no criticisms in my experience.

The characters are truly a mixed bag. Elfriede (the vampire from Germany) and the grandfather Ryuuhei Mido are definitely the highlight support characters in the series while Seiji Mido is the guiding voice in the series; however they are all ultimately supporting characters. The trouble with the main characters is that they are wallowing in their own sea of emotions. Granted they don't know exactly how each other feels though their inability to communicate their emotions makes up way too much of the time spent watching the series. Essentially the potentially interesting events and plot take a back seat to something that will ultimately appeal to emos which is gravely disappointing because this series had a LOT of promise.

Ultimately this series while having a decent storyline and supporting characters is dominated by emotions. If wallowing in emotions is your thing then this series will rate high when including it's other aspects for you however if you prefer the main protagonist to be a strong character (besides *just* his sense of morals) then this series will leave you feeling conflicted.

In the end I dropped the series because even if the destination / final few episodes would be great sitting through 10 minutes of self-pity and whining in most episodes when the feelings of all the characters has been reasonably established between the characters themselves was not something I found to be entertaining. Moon Phase is ultimately an example of even if a series with a lot of potential relies on cliches especially emotions for content the appeal is ultimately limited.

If you watch more then two episodes of anime a day and have a high tolerance for emos then this series may prove to be worth your time.

If your time for watching anime is restrictive and you do not care about watching a character wallow in a single emotional state for ten minutes straight in half the episodes then look elsewhere.

It's a decent series however there is a ton of emotional and time filler. First the good points however and then the filler issue.

The animation is really nice and the story is reasonably unique. The character design can be summed up as either really good or direly lacking depending on the character in question. The story doesn't move too slow, it's mainly a filler issue. The story has depth though it's not as structured as some others. There is no overwhelming sense of the ultimate structure of the fictional universe...it's more of a perspective of seeing the box from within the box then being able ... to view the box from the outside perspective. It could have used more storyline relating to I suppose the "higher-ups" as it lacks a sense of origins for the main female protagonist. There are others who fill the role but it's feels like okay, got some good guys and some baddies...but no firm sense of ultimate agendas.

I found myself skipping through episodes (4-20 second intervals) towards the end of the series as I was losing my patience waiting for something to actually happen. Watching scenery slowly scroll by and characters being lost in their emotions gets tiring when it's present in half of all the episodes.

The series is fair though if they removed the overly emotional content and the fillers like scrolling slowly past scenery it would have been significantly more enjoyable overall. If you've got the extra time and don't mind the filler you may enjoy the series more however.

It's pure ecchi and it's all about unrealistically large bOObs; all...err, both episodes. You can judge this book...err, series by it's cover. It's actually enjoyable for what it is though if you're looking for something that does not take itself seriously...well look at the cover.

If you plan to watch this I recommend...

- Not watching this with your parents.

- Not bringing this in to school for show and tell.

- Not showing this to your girlfriend if you don't want to go back to being single.

... - Not mentioning having seen this during job interviews.

You have either been warned or encouraged! :-D

Right to the point: if you prefer either an uplifting ending or an ending that says the next season will be even better look elsewhere because most (not all) characters want to just kill.

It's not a horrible series altogether but the journey is much better then the destination, not to speak too highly of the journey though.

The action, animation, and character design are pretty good. However it's just not my personal taste to end a series with tragedy. If that's your thing though you'll likely enjoy this series.

Also ninja fans should be delighted to hear that this series is pirate-free.

This series was recommended to me by an online friend with high praise and it sure delivered. I won't blindly say it was the best thing since my tastes do differ though it was much better then I expected.

Story - I give it an 8 based on my own taste. I place the genre half way between superstition and fantasy in a sense. The story explains everything provided you're paying attention like a fantasy without the doom and gloom of superstition. However it's also a lot of superstitious genre because the elements of fantasy begin to blend in to what feels like elements FROM a ... superstitious source. The monsters don't feel like they are from a fantasy...they look more like they belong in a series where nothing is explained and we're all doomed! Some elements of the story also fit the superstitious genre. It's important for me to feel the need to say that the series HAS fantasy elements but is NOT a fantasy in and of itself. I define fantasy as unicorns, elves, fireballs, and wizards and I'd define scifi as ships blowing up other ships in space...so LOTR would at best be a very light fantasy and stuff like Crysis (the game) would be a futuristic fiction. So this is an old time time-frame of Japan with fantasy elements if you're one to debate the feel of such things.

The storytelling itself is well done and the few battle scenes are done nicely. The story has a fullness to it, I felt like the world as explained in the stories told had the believability element necessary for the story to have the effects you desire when watching a series, especially one that takes itself seriously. I do enjoy serious series but they have to be executed in a certain way and this one does it wonderfully.

Art - This is without a doubt one of the best animated series I've seen. I'm not in to gore though can tolerate blood however this series gracefully executed violence without the excess. I would have younger kids watch this before Bleach if you have a family who'd you like something to watch with. Many things from the first to the last episode impressed me and they didn't cheap out at all. Even in the last episode when you saw a hundred servants kneel at the same time I could see them animate it at least well enough so it looked realistic, it wasn't a solid line of a repeated animation that simple animated perfectly the same all at the same time. You'd actually see a few people slightly out of sequence which is one of the signs of really good animation (as this is what would happen in real life).

Sound - I didn't get to view this on DVD though I don't think the sound blew me away it wasn't bad either. I didn't really notice anything above and beyond though the quality was good enough for me.

Characters - The characters were mostly well balanced out though there are some small things that bothered me. I enjoyed the fact that most of the main characters actually had valuable roles and skills so there was no waiting for dead beats who existed simply for the purpose of humor. The second prince and the girl from the far off village seemed to be vaguely explained in the ending sequences when you last see them though I won't give off any of the story for those who have seen it. However this series had some really great characters and again I can't speak highly enough about how each of the major characters brings a balance in role and skill.

Enjoyment - I'm not in to old style / old time Japanese settings (a couple hundred years ago)...I'm more in to current or future time frames however this series was enjoyable regardless. I do wish there were more battle scenes however I will reiterate that there was no excessive blood and no gore. This series focused a lot on traveling and storytelling. It was reasonably forward moving and wasn't stagnant much if at all. The most progressive storyline I've seen thus far goes to Tengen Toppa where they went from living underground having never seen the sky to going to the far reaches of space...and I'm sure most people have seen a series or two that absolutely dragged on and on...this progresses nicely.

Overall - The animation was outstanding, the story original, though I would have liked to have seen the potential love interest work out between two younger characters. It's difficult for me to express if I'd watch it with more interest over other shows of genres I prefer more because the world setting while being somewhat fantasy isn't fantasy enough to really gain my interest though the series really negates that by having a good story, awesome artwork, great characters, and in general being enjoyable for a serious series. Even if it doesn't look like a series you'd want to watch I recommend giving it a chance. I did and I enjoyed it thoroughly. ^.^