Manga Don't watch the anime, tis bull-crap
Honestly, I was interested by this series. I first was drawn to by it having comparisons on TV Tropes to the likes of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' which strongly pulled me in. The first episode opened up much tension for the kind of series I thought I'd be getting into, but then a dreadful realization hit me;
The series is only 13 episodes. And they spent the first practically doing nothing but having her finding her creature abomination thing and introducing the main character.
But then I thought well Madoka was only 12 episodes, and they managed to tell a riveting story. So I gave it a show.
Never again, this series is a ridiculous let down. It constantly introduces characters and concepts without ever developing or following up on them. Pitches and premises are suggested but then never delivered. There's not even any consistent plot throughout the show other than the occasional following of Shiina and her silly adventures. If they'd had her character development and premise of the last 2 episodes (That these dragonet are generally bad news and will drive people insane) done at the beginning, maybe it would have been a far more interesting series. Or if they'd had more episodes to work with.
But with what they had, there's no reason to praise such a waste of budgeted screen time. The long, dramatic moments questioning life and humanity are interesting, but never have any implications within the show or are never addressed again. They only exist the highlight the mood and without any true use, feel shoe-horned in. Tomonori I thought was an interesting character, but got a pathetic amount of screen time and his motives were never addressed.
Granted the manga hints a lot more at what's happening (Or so I've heard), but as a stand alone anime this show certainly isn't worth your time. If you've read the manga I assume this would be a nice watch, assuming it really adds anything new to the superior manga series. Otherwise try something else with more content.
Manga An Okay Series, But...
I wanted to get into this series because I heard it was disturbing and cynical. It does get darker, granted, but I can't help but feel that I'm missing something. It's as if all the cynicism happens in three chapters near the end. And it wasn't very disturbing. Maybe this is because I'm used to gory things, but even the last five volumes didn't get me to cringe.
Yes, it would be incredibly depressing for the characters in the actual manga, but other than that, I'm feeling a little underwhelmed.
I enjoyed reading it. It was a good way to kill time. BUT: It takes 18 chapters for anything relevant to the plot to happen. Not only that, but it's as if that gets tucked away for some of Shiina's crazy adventures. Maybe it was for the suspense, because it honestly would feel a bit rushed if there were only 25 chapters, which were honestly how many chapters there were that something mildly important happened. The last chapter itself is rushed.
Maybe it'd be a little better if I got to the part with Norio's death, but I can't find that anywhere, so it's as if Norio just disappeared out of nowhere.
The art does start out being rather sloppy, but once you get used to it, it's actually pretty nice. Such a change from the usual cutesy art style where the women have huge breasts and everyone has eyes that almost take up their entire face.
All in all, the manga is good. I have yet to watch the anime, but considering the reviews it gets, I'm deciding against it.
It didn't live up to my expectations, but that's normal. You can't have a completely flawless series. Sure, it's often compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Puella Magi Madoka Magica, although I see little in common between the three. I've seen worse, I've seen better.
(Suddenly I'm starting to feel as if Bokurano is a lot more cynical.)