最終兵器彼女, Saishū Heiki Kanojo - Saikano (2002)

final verdict for: "最終兵器彼女, Saishū Heiki Kanojo - Saikano" (2002): I first saw this in 2004 and thought it was okay. Turns out I wasn't ready yet. Never before have I seen something so moving. 

Sure, certain plot elements, like Chise turning into the Ultimate Weapon are ridiculous or the amount of explosions Shuji survives while the people around him get blown into pieces. But this is not what this series is about. Most importantly it is about the gruesomeness of war in general, about all the negative aspects of war and about those "positive" aspects of it that one might want to see as negative one's in disguise. 

I don't cry very often, but in every single episode of this brilliant piece of animation I had to, because I really felt with those suffering people. The characters are well thought through, even the minor ones. The animation is okay, nothing special even for it's time. 

I give this first series to receive a final verdict a 7 out of 10. Minuses from a perfect score come from the standard animation and ridiculous story elements that you just have to ignore to see the beauty of this anime.