This show is incredible - and it's only 13 episodes. If you're like me, and you prefer anime shows with a bit more of a mainstream, perhaps even "Westernized" flavor, this is a great choice. The only irritating cutesiness comes from the slapstick duo of Isaac and Miria, a pair of dopey criminals; everything else is brilliantly scripted and slickly animated.
The ridiculously complex plot spans several time periods and involves an enormous cast of characters, all seamlessly intersecting in fascinating ways. Everyone, from the homicidal gangster Ladd Russo to the cocky mafiosi Firo Prochainezo, to the blood-caked assassin Clare Stanfield, receive their share of great scenes. The show is tender, surprising, violent, funny, and always compelling. The editing is some of the best I've seen in an anime, with the subplots bouncing off of each other through different time periods - 1930s Prohibition-era New York, to the 1700s, to the present day. No Japanese aesthetics here, outside of the obvious fact that it's a Japanese cartoon; characters and settings are all clearly influenced by European and American culture.
The action sequences are brutal and fluid, with plenty of great fights throughout. Lots of foul language in the English dub, which suits the show's style. As Anime News Network similarly pointed out, the English dub here is preferable just because of how well the voice cast pulls off all the different accents the characters have. Some characters are French, some are working-class "New Yohkahs" and still others are bourgeoise. One of the best English dubs you're likely to ever hear, I'd say.
There is a supernatural element to the show, but it's wonderfully subtle: some characters are immortals, growing back appendages and digits in wonderfully animated sequences that show every drop of blood coagulating and returning to the flesh from whence they came - almost like a slow-motion vacuum. The ways in which characters can become immortal function as one of the great wrinkles of the show, and there's even a unique way for immortals to kill each other known as "devouring"; saying anymore would be spoiling the fun. Needless to say, the desire to be immortal (or the desire to die) propels lots of the different factions in the show to clash with one another (often unintentionally).
As a feat of multi-pronged, centuries-spanning, character-heavy writing, this is undeniably an anime epic for the ages. I've never seen ANYTHING like it, and I doubt I ever will again. The only flaw is the ending, which feels a bit abrupt - like there should be more (I know the light novel series upon which the show is based did continue after the events of the show). One of my favorite anime shows ever, one that I often think about, and one that I rewatch at least once a year. Near perfection.
