Kirihara though…she’s just a character you can look up to I guess. He morals are firm, but she doesn’t demand the viewer’s approval or understanding. IIRC the deal with Hei’s sister is explained by the end, but it’s far from clear at the moment (the next two discs are out in a week or so at the time of writing BTW…can’t wait).

@usagijen: I’m not sure if the art direction of Akira had a direct influence on this, but the depictions of a nighttime Tokyo are more immersive and convincing than most. And yes, it does look as beautiful as this IRL…I wish I had a better camera so I could’ve captured that better! Mai’s arc still chokes me up though, and there are more arcs of the same level later on! It’s a wonderfully character-driven show.

Thanks for sharing that bit on the behind-the-scenes animation aspect of the series… learn something new everyday~

Seems like I was too focused on the foreground of DtB while I was watching it that the interplay of the background elements alluded me. I felt it, but didn’t exactly notice it to this detail. One more thing to keep an eye out on for my rewatch (currently wondering if I should rewatch the series first before jumping into the 2nd season) :)

And yes Mai’s arc… I wasn’t exactly prepared for that heart-wrenching scene when I watched it, and tears just came out TT__TT All those years the father was trying to protect his daughter, when what she really needed was his presence more than anything. Then again we can’t really blame him either. *sigh* I’m still torn on that ‘issue’ up until now.

Kirihara was my favorite character, possibly because she just wanted to do the right thing and had no ulterior motives. This puts her at an advantage over Hei, because who the hell knows WHAT his motivations are moment by moment? Sure, he wants to know what happened with his sister, but that didn’t explain it all for me. I rarely knew what side he was on, which makes him interesting in that way, I suppose. Kirihara has chosen her ground. I guess I admire that.