I have NO clue why this show is so highly rated here. Touching moments? Sure, it has a few! But there's no reason to sit through EIGHT HOURS OF FILLER just for a couple of them. "It can't be that bad, can it?" Allow me to explain AT LENGTH.

The first episode is where they fool you hardest, to draw in the suckers. It starts with Teito, our main kid, at a military academy. There, he shows that he's a high-level serious student who's the most skilled fighter in his entire class, which he shows off in a decently impressive little combat test. Sound interesting? Well, sit back down, because after this episode he NEVER DEMONSTRATES HIS SUPPOSEDLY TOP-TIER SKILLS AGAIN.

The fight scenes in this show from that point forward are IMPOSSIBLY DULL. Here's how 90% of every fight goes: Character 1 raises his hand, some 3D spell-word mess circles around, and <random sparkle blast> flies at Character 2. Character 2 holds up a hand with his own 3D spell-scribbles around it, and the blast gets blocked. Character 1 is surprised by this and grits his teeth. SOUND EXCITING??? Nobody's power distinguishes itself in more than appearance, so you have absolutely no idea whose spell-blasts are going to break whose shields, robbing all tension from the fight. There isn't an ounce of variety to the combat, either; characters rarely leap around skillfully, and even when they do, it doesn't matter because all the spells are generic homing sparkle-blasts which only vary slightly in size and color. If there were variety to the combat spells, you'd see something like a "SURPRISE ATTACK" to spice things up, but this show apparently never thought of that, and you'll find that not a single person gets struck from behind by anything. The priests actually have interesting, unique powers that SHOULD have mixed the combat scenes up a bit, if this show had the slightest ambition to use them creatively. But no. One priest can... slash at things with a scythe. Another can... wrap people up in string. But wait, don't go!!! There's another one who wraps people up in PLANTS! That's totally different! No, in practice, all their unique powers essentially work the same as those sparkle-blasts with a different look. Seriously, the only fight where ANYTHING CREATIVE happens at all -- and this is JUST ONE fight, mind you -- involves someone using puppet clones to fool someone and feign death from their attacks. Congratulations, 07-Ghost! You just brought a fight scene to half the level of a Naruto one. People are really gonna remember THAT kind of action, eh?

But this show is about the PLOT and FEELINGS, right? The MYSTERY? Well, maybe some of the middle one and a little less of the anything else. First off, the majority of the show is spent at a church. (Military academy? What military academy?) Most of each episode is filled primarily with (1) "HOW LIFE IS AT THIS CHURCH", (2) "HOW WONDERFUL THE CHURCH IS", and (3) the priests all worrying pensively about how the main character Teito is holding up or what 'ominous stuff' he'll have to face. If this wasn't talking about a generic fantasy religion, I'd be left wondering how the characters from <insert angsty boring anime here> ended up in my VeggieTales DVDs. It's sort of like this enormous church is actually a Mary Sue, and half the show is devoted to how great and wholesome and perfect said Mary Sue is.

Is there "mystery" in the church? In the main character's backstory? In the nature of the opposition? Yes! And the show strives to make that mystery as THIN AND MEANINGLESS as possible. Characters learn what's going on at about a droplet an episode. Things they should have figured out in one episode take six episodes to land. The answers to the larger mysteries either AREN'T COVERED IN THE SHOW -- surprise, surprise -- or have about ZERO IMPACT on what our characters should do or how they should be moving forward. The show even chooses to make a handful of the early episodes into uber-generic, practically identical "monster-of-the-week" eps, I kid you not. Hey, any of you people who liked this anime, you hordes who rated it with five freakin' stars? Name me ONE revelation in this entire show that was surprising. You knew the main character with AMNESIA was going to have been someone special. You knew he'd end up having "GREAT POWER" he needs to "LEARN TO HARNESS", because that's the plot of half the animes in existence. You knew he'd have something to do with this church he's found himself stuck in for most of the plot, because the church is SO 'good' and pure and wonderful, how could he not have? Note that none of those are under a spoiler tag, because they don't *need* a spoiler tag. They're too obvious.

So, with fighting and plot out of the way, the only way to derive meaning from this nigh-worthless show is in the morals it's purporting to support with this church-based fantasy religious system, the struggles against the opposition and what that opposition represents. And this is something that makes me really upset with this show, because it COULD have been so much more.

The basic foes are entities called "Kor". They corrupt people by promising to easily grant their innermost wishes, doing so in a way that drains them of fulfillment and happiness and turns their hearts away from the light, putting their souls and bodies in a Kor's control. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING. Foes could use the darkness and doubt inherent in the characters' hearts as weapons against them, and combatting these Kor could have involved some sort of magical dialogue between our protagonists and the (let's say) 'infected', letting us LEARN what corrupted the individual and having the characters overturn it to bring these individuals toward the light from the inside.

Nope! Our protagonists learn to exorcise them with... MAGIC BLASTS. The reasons most of the Kor-corrupted individuals they have to fight GOT corrupted in the first place is either (1) left unsaid, with them spontaneously turning to normal after they're fixed, OR (2) they were FORCIBLY INFECTED by the opposing bad guy's super special abilities for NO REASON THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE INFECTED PERSON IN QUESTION. What a waste!!! And even these potentially interesting minor baddies are quickly replaced by the bad guy's lieutenants, who are almost all uniformly generically evil with no notable motivations of their own except blind love and loyalty to <bad guy> for no reason.

It's not all bad, and certainly not all vapid. The protagonists DO have the occasional complex motivations, and for all the generic talk of the "darkness in the main character's heart", the main character does sort of actually face said darkness in his heart and develop a bit. And certainly, one of the main themes of the show is boys who become such good friends that they'd die for each other, which can be nice but -- I unfortunately suspect -- is likely why so many people enthusiastically gave this show as many stars as they could without thinking clearly about the shortcomings. (I mean, two boys THAT close to each other? You can hear the squeals. Note: I'm perfectly fine with such close friends, and even explicit homosexuality, WHEN IT'S DONE WELL. It isn't here, which I go into below.) The way they come to understand each other even leads to genuinely touching moments.

The biggest problem with all of that, and the nail that absolutely destroys this series, is the fact that it's hard to care about characters with no defining traits beyond their love for each other. They're cardboard props.

Those of you who rated the series five stars? Name one character trait of Mikage other than how much he cares about Teito or is willing to stand up for him. Just one. I'm waiting.

Name one such characteristic about Hakuren. He looks up to Bishop Frau? Congratulations, that's SO interesting.

Bishop Frau is the only one with a personality approaching... well, a personality. His schtick is that he's a bishop who doesn't act much like a bishop, keeps dirty magazines around and such. HILARIOUS. It adds about two, maybe three laughs, but it's not enough to drive the series, is it? Instead of characterizing anyone, the show is too busy making them angst arbitrarily about oh-how-much Teito has to deal with. And watching other people act constantly "concerned" about the main character from afar gets old really fast.

Please don't waste your time watching this show. And if you ignore this review and watch it anyway, when you're done, please add your OWN review and show everyone else whether I was right or wrong.

Synopsis:
Main character is Teito Klein. Currently serves in the army. He is very special and powerful and emotionally tortured. The reasons for his specialness are revealed throughout the season. In this world, people use zaiphon which is materialized magic in the form of words. These words are constructed from the user's emotions. The people Teito meets on the path to discovering his destiny help him open his heart. Historical conspiracies unravel. Religious mythology becomes fascinating and bad ass.

Plot:
It is so interesting. Well developed story line and mythology. You will want to rewatch the anime just so you can pick up on the things you missed. It is also very touchy-feely, but not in a cheesy makes you cringe way. It tugs at your heart strings and you. will. cry.

Animation/Style:
Superb. So many hot guys! Gotta love men in uniform. ^_^

Characters:
You will get a Yaoi vibe from the character interactions, but they are not. Their bromance is just super deep. You know, the kind of loyalty where characters die for each other. Also, they're are A LOT of characters to keep track of. I feel like the bad guys weren't developed enough. But I suppose the question of what brought them together would be answered in a second season. Overall, I'd say the cast was diverse, each person got their fair share of screen time, we got to know them enough to like them, and you will become invested enough to check out the manga.

Music:
T_T so beautiful you will download the soundtrack and just cry to it. The Raggs Requiem is particularly melancholy and addicting.

Other:
No fan service. No disturbing gore. Limited use of foul language. Some cliche archetypes, but used sparingly and not irritating. Slapstick is actually funny because it balances out the sad stuff. Make sure you skip the spoilers at the beginning of each episode.

Overall:
When I saw the promo poster, I thought this was an action anime. I was so shocked with what I got, in a good way. What I liked about this show was that it didn't shovel distasteful imagery down my eye sockets but was still very intense, moving, and sometimes dark.Thought there is action in it, it's not the main focus. The show is character driven and very emotionally charged. As for the type of action, It's not the devastating explicit gory kind, it's the magical girl, energy blast, superficial scratches, visible manifestation of spiritual suffering, dark clouds, ghost vapors, dissolving into feathers and petals kind. The story is quite uplifting if you see it through. The story will suck you in, male or female, and leave you hungry for a second season. Stupid cliffhanger! I must know how Teito's journey ends!

If you hate emotional journeys and just want some bloody action and jiggling boobs, this is NOT for you. Look elsewhere.

I really liked this show. A deep and rich story filled with more twists and turns then a maze. The characters and character development were very well thought out, and the good or evil struggle of the main character was more unique then most show's I've seen being only black and white while this one had shades of grey. All in all I'd say this show deserves 5 stars but I'll only give it 4 because it ended with so many loose threads and incomplete plot lines. If they add a new season to wrap up all the loose ends, or atleast a movie then I'll come back and give this show 5 stars.

The first episode throws off the pacing for the rest of the show. We hardly learn anything new after the first episode. The show centers around an internal struggle turned external that's so heavy-handed it's painful. We watch Teito Klein grow from being a complete bamf in the first episode to being a pansy for the rest of the show. They went with a personal story and internal struggle that's honestly just boring in a world that has so much potential. The majority of the show is poor little Teito going, "I don't want to kill you." "Yes I do." "No I don't." "OK I don't." The end result of this totally fresh (sarcasm) take on an internal battle between light and dark, good and evil, is that MINOR SPOILER ALERT Teito goes from being unwilling to kill someone to... unwilling to kill someone. The only redeeming aspect is the setting, but even that is poorly presented.

Oh, and if you think the name is relevant to the show... HA. Think again. We end up knowing who 2 of the 7 ghosts are. We assume we know a third. And we never really learn what the big deal is. Maybe 07 Ghost sounds cooler than Two and a half super-bishops.

If you're thinking about watching 07 Ghost, I suggest taking a pass. There's much better anime out there.

The plot is simple and predictable. The main villain who always smirks like he has some intricate plan, does that through the entire series. The main character asks the same questions through the whole series, and it gets old really fast.

The story is bad, there's not a lot of action, and the series is slow. The character development of the main character is somewhat well done though, and the artwork is pretty nice.

If you like almost all anime you run across, you will probably like this one too. If you feel you have to wade through all the bad anime, only to find a few good ones, you will be better off not watching this.

Reviewed: December 2012
Version: English sub

World building is the key to any good fantasy; without a fully developed, believable background, even the most interesting characters can fail to hold the audience in thrall. Fortunately, the creators of 07 Ghost have seen fit to develop an intricate and unique setting for their stories, and it, as much as the compelling characters and driving story arc make 07 Ghost an entertaining viewing experience. The 25-episode first season is a rough adaptation (and not in one-to-one correspondence) of the first 25 chapters of the ongoing manga, and although there is more than enough material for a second season to draw from, as well as a strong fan base, it does not appear that a second season will ever see the light of day—an unfortunate situation, as 07 Ghost is one of the best series of the early 2000s.

There are three main ingredients to 07 Ghost: story, setting, and style. All three draw the viewer in almost immediately. Episode 1, “Where Heartache Leads”, jumps right into the story, introducing the protagonist, Tate* Klein, who is not only a cadet at the Barsburg Military Academy but also a slave to the military, an amnesiac, and a user of zaiphon, or living energy converted to magical power through the manipulation of physically manifested runes. Along with his roommate and only friend, Mikage, he is on the verge of graduation, but he soon begins to have memories of his past, and when he recognizes a senior officer as the possible murderer of his father, he attacks the officer and is imprisoned for his crime, escaping at the very end, with Mikage’s help. The first episode contains much backstory but it is presented at an enjoyable pace in the course of events unfolding, and the second episode continues with the introduction as Tate finds refuge at the Barsburg Church. The rest of the story unfolds from there, occasionally slowing down and nearing tedium, but always picking back up before interest can be lost.

Part of this slowing down is due to the style of the series. 07 Ghost draws heavily upon Romanticism, with its emotionalism and focus on aesthetics; German Romanticism is especially influential, especially with the importance it attaches to humor as an aspect of life (the interactions between Tate and his mentor, Bishop Frau, are especially notable). This means that, at times, the series can seem to be weighted down in emotion or tending toward melodrama, but rather than being superficial and “emo”, there is always that “higher” strain of true Romanticism to make these scenes and subplots tolerable. If nothing else, striking visuals and a beautiful soundtrack keep the eyes and ears focused on the world within the screen.

That world, the setting of 07 Ghost, is exotic, detailed, and engaging. Besides being peopled with three-dimensional human characters, it is also home to gods, demons, and other supernatural creatures, such as the Noel mermaid, Lazette, who serves as the Barsburg Church’s organist. The history and politics of the Barsburg Empire are fleshed out at least as far as necessary to the plot; its architecture (ranging from neo-Baroque to futuristic urban), technology (both biological and mechanical), and complex culture are too. Religious beliefs and practices are prominent facets of the series, and they are quite well developed, as is the magical system of zaiphon. As the story unfolds, the audience continues to be immersed deeper into a world the richness of which never ceases.

Even if the storyline and characters weren’t as well written as they are, the setting and soundtrack—the world of 07 Ghost—would be enough to draw the attention of viewers, but fortunately, Tate and the rest are all compelling characters and their stories are intricately developed and easy to get caught up in. There is little about the series that isn’t excellent in both concept and execution, from its artistic style and soundtrack to its plot and character development—all of which make this one of the must-see anime series of recent years. Unfortunately, as mentioned, only the single season of 25 episodes exists, and the general consensus is that no further seasons will ever be produced; nevertheless, the series is well worth watching, and for anyone whose interest is piqued by the series (and, really, whose wouldn’t be?), the original manga contains a wider world of adventure in which to immerse oneself.

*Note: Although the subtitles leave the Japanese name “Teito” untranslated, given the German-style setting, other German-sounding names, and the character’s own German surname, I have chosen to render “Teito” with the Germanic “Tate”.

The breakdown

Story: 8

At heart, 07 Ghost is the standard heroic tale as outlined by Campbell and Tate Klein just another of the Hero’s thousand faces, but far from being a rehash of the same tired clichés, this version of the tale makes the journey seem fresh as we follow Tate along on his adventure to discover himself and the truth of the past. Although occasionally bogged down by aesthetic and emotional flourishes, it is nonetheless a compelling narrative with enough originality and flair to keep the viewer wanting more, even long after the final episode draws to a close.

Character: 9

The majority of characters who inhabit the world of 07 Ghost, although filling their roles as types, are more than merely that. Besides exhibiting a range of emotion and reaction based on stimuli around them, each is unique and intriguing in his or her own way; many—including Tate, Frau, and even the villain Ayanami—exhibit enough complexity to string the viewer along with revelations throughout the single produced season and well into any hypothetical seasons that might have followed (with the possible exception of the three nuns, who could have been more fully developed).

Art: 9

The artistic style of 07 Ghost is amazing, and the animators adapted it almost perfectly and made it work well on the screen. The artists display deep knowledge of their craft and use light, color, and space both logically and emotionally, to invoke mood. The contrasting styles of both the futuristic and the neo-Baroque technology and architecture are smoothly blended and add to the series’ particular atmosphere. While some details are perhaps a bit rushed, the important ones are crafted with attention and care. Overall, I feel that the art is some of the best to be seen in serial anime.

Sound: 9

There are few technical flaws in dubbing and sound effects these days, so what really draws the audience’s attention in the sound department is the music, and 07 Ghost has some of the best. Noria’s renditions of the ending theme, Hitomi no kotae, and the Raggs’ Requiem, as well as Suzuki Yuki’s of the opening theme, Aka no kakera, are perhaps the most notable pieces of music, but the incidental score itself is amazing. Perfectly fitted to the events on the screen and evocative of the proper moods, Nakagawa Kotaro’s music, like so many other facets of this series, is some of the best in its class—and, for those who are into soundtracks, it is all available on a three-disc, eighty-four track collection called The Melody of Michael.

Enjoyment: 8

With all the necessary elements of a true Hero’s journey—yet bringing to these elements a fresh originality in both general ambience and in specific details of the world and its characters—07 Ghost is one of the better anime series to come out of the first decade of the 2000s. Unfortunately, it suffers slightly (and only slightly) from the occasional slow pacing and emotional flourish, although such flourish is, really, an integral part of its neo-Romantic style and should not count too much against it. Anyone who loves a compelling storyline with complex, intriguing characters, and an intricate, original world in which to set it will certainly enjoy 07 Ghost and find themselves, like I did, wanting more and wishing that there were further seasons to come.

Overall: 8.6
Final Score: 9/10 or 4/5
Grade: A

Rating: PG-13

07 Ghost contains some violence and vulgar language. It doesn't yet have an official rating, but the manga has a teen-level rating, so, although some more liberal parents might be willing to allow children younger than 13 to view it, I'm erring on the side of caution and assigning it PG-13.

Language/Thematic Elements: Language is typically pretty mild, but a few episodes throw in some harsher curse words and epithets. Politics and the military feature heavily, including warfare, the use of people as weapons and slaves, and the roles of church and state. The series explores the themes of love, friendship, growing up, responsibility, revenge, forgiveness, religion, morality, and good vs. evil. While much of this is suitable for those under 13, I feel that children younger than that might not fully grasp the situations.

Violence/Gore: Although there are a number of battles throughout the series, most are waged using zaiphon, the “magic” of 07 Ghost's world and few end in major injury. Blood is an uncommon, but not altogether absent, sight. Death and torture do occur on occasion, but they are primary plot points and are not gory or explicitly violent.

Sexuality/Nudity: 07 Ghost contains no nudity and, aside from the occasional reference to the pornographic magazines some of the characters own, there is little to no sexuality encountered at all. Some have termed this series yaoi, but any sexual attraction between any of the characters, whether homosexual or heterosexual, is left to be inferred by the audience. One of the primary themes of the series is friendship and many cultures—including Western culture of the recent past—have allowed for an emotional and physical closeness between male friends that much of modern society reserves only for a romantic or sexual relationship, so while some might interpret the series as romantic, it is meant to be so only in the capital-R sense of the term.

Final words

+: a compelling storyline balancing drama with lightheartedness, set in a unique world, focused on interesting, three-dimensional characters, and accompanied by visual and auditory splendor

-: occasional lapses into slow, somewhat unnecessary and occasionally redundant narrative, focusing more on emotional impression than story development

Recommended to: anyone 13 or over, with the caveat that the emotional focus and Romantic style bordering on melodrama won't be everyone's cup of tea

If there's one thing I'd have to complain about it would have the be the obvious CG moments. The animation for the show is good otherwise. The drawing style has clean lines and a simple color scheme.

Each character has a unique characteristic or personality that draws you to them. You even find yourself liking the antagonists.



The episodes follow the manga up to a point, but then it kinda stalls in the church and the last few episodes deviate from the manga completely. The last episode leaves you with the feeling that there should be more episodes after it, but you don't have any more to watch. If you do end up watching 07-Ghost I recommend also buying the manga since you'll be able to continue the story.