In case you dont wanna read the whole thing heres a summary of this review Kiba is an original shounen fantasy anime from studio Madhouse and its directed by Hiroshi Koujina Hunter x Hunter 2011 Rainbow etc. For a shounen it has a relatively grim tone and adult themes that are more common in war dramas. But at the same time its set in a fantasy setting where people fight with swords and Pokemonstyle monsters. Its not a perfect series but if you want a wellpaced wellanimated dark and complete shounen series with a reasonable episode count that isnt at the mercy of any source material and isnt called Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 then I recommend giving it a try. And now for the full review: Story As I said Kiba takes place in a fantasy universe in which humans live on different nation planets and each planet has a vastly different way of life. Each seems to be a thinly veiled allegory to real world government systems theres a democracy a theocracy a communist and an imperialistic nation and theyre quite thoroughly explored in the narrative. Some of these planets have Shard Casters which is basically a warrior who casts spells or summons monsters through these marble thingies. Also Shard Casters normally use swords as well and fight together with the monster. This series uses these elements not in having friendly battles that are just for fun but in real wars between different nation planets in which people actually end up dead most of the time. And even though this series has little to no blood in it characters die in very brutal ways and life is very cheap. The story centers on a troublemaking boy who manages to stumble in to another planet while running from the authorities on his home planet and where he eventually becomes a Shard Caster. Throughout the series he learns about different ways of life interacts/fights many different character and enters many scenarios that continue to shape him as the series advances. I dont want this review to be a synopsis but what I will say is that the heart and soul of the series is the conflict between the main character Zed and his former best friend Noah as well as their roles in this world. It might feel a little random and almost aimless at first. However it does find its stride pretty quickly has a pretty large scale and some cool and frankly shocking twists and turns along the way. It is reasonably paced and complete with a satisfying ending. It can be a little clunky in places due to irrational decisions made by some of the characters from time to time. That aside the central theme is spread out nicely in the narrative and is visible through the common thread between many of the characters which is the struggle to free yourself from the circumstances you were born into with emphasis on the word free. That struggle is presented in both positive and negative ways depending on the characters actions and the circumstances theyre in. This is also presented through visual symbolism in the form of a paper plane which reappears in the series occasionally. Characters The main characters here are introduced very well. The main character Zed like I mentioned before is a troublemaker and a rebel without a cause who has mommy issues and Noah is a straightlaced bythebook type of person. Over the course of the series they develop in ways that feel like natural extensions of who they are but are shaped differently due to their experiences in these other worlds. To avoid spoilers Im not gonna go into any specifics but I will say that Zed actually finds a cause to rebel against and Noah continues to be a by the book type of person but in an extremely different context. The villains in the series are not exactly your standard shounen villains. Not so much because of their motivations which arent super interesting if Im being honest but theyre very threatening because their actions are very cruel and their body count is high. At times supporting characters arent handled all that well sadly. They sometimes appear to do irrational things. Things you can understand the basic reasoning behind but its still really dumb and is often proven to be so soon afterward. From time to time some characters can come across as quite over the top and/or having development that feels overblown and jarring. For example theres a twist villain from the early episodes who seemed extremely sympathetic at first but once he was revealed for who he is that sympathy is thrown out the window very quickly because of how heinous his actions are. Hell even his tone of voice changes dramatically in to having a more cartoonishly evil vibe and it just leaves me puzzled as to why he was handled like that since it doesnt seem to be in line with the way he was before. With that said most other characters are passable and are utilized in the series well enough and are usually given at least some depth. All in all Id say the characters are mostly good. The main characters Zed and Noah and their respective paths are definitely handled well even if the latter is a little over the top as well but the rest range from fine to pretty questionable at worst. Art The character designs are pretty well done. They have a unique eye shape clothes that complement their personalities and/or where they came from and the Main Character Zed is consistently color coded red to make him stand out from the crowd. Some of the monster designs are ok while others are kinda lame Amil Gaoul and theyre generally pretty creepy looking but not always in a good way. It also has some good background art. There are some very nicelooking landscapes with bright colors and although not super detailed they fit well with the foreground and there is a lot of variety in locations as well as a good use of shading. The animation is pretty good too. Its not particularly great either and it does take shortcuts here and there but this series also avoids the pitfall of a great deal of tv anime particularly of adaptations this isnt one though of having characters stand around and talk for too long that never really happens in this show. Plus it has a lot of action and though its not spectacular its always brutal quick and fun to watch. These fights involve a lot of people getting stabbed falling of cliffs getting burned to death etc did I mention that this show had a Saturday morning timeslot?. Sound There are two openings in this series and both of them are pretty good rock/pop kinda songs especially the second opening which I think was crafted very well. The ending songs werent bad but were pretty forgettable. The soundtrack is excellent its mostly unnerving but perfectly complements every tone the series attempts to communicate even if it gets a little repetitive. The sound design is sadly quite basic at best. Theres heavy use of YGO sound effects and other sound effects just sound plain weird or loud. But they at least have a fantasyesque feel to them and dont sound out of place per se. I think its voice acting is fine but they overdo it with the screaming which becomes a tad silly at points. With that said it does have many famous voice actors that youd probably recognize and voices fit just fine with each of the characters. Overall Kiba is not perfect but it is one of a kind in many ways and pretty crazy if Im being honest. If it sounds even remotely interesting to you I highly recommend to at least check it out.