07-Ghost is a Studio Deen anime from '09 based off of a manga by Amemiya Yuki & Ichihara Yukino. So, this was around the same time that Deen was releasing stuff like , Hetalia and Rapey Yaoi.

Story:

Our narrative focuses on young Teito Klein, an amnesiac hero with strong abilities and a mysterious power who's about to graduate from the Barsburg Empire's military academy. That is until a piece of his memory comes back and he attacks a superior officer. He manages to escape with the help of his very close friend, Mikage and takes sanctuary in a religious area that the empire doesn't have power over. From there the anime focuses on the Empire's attempts at dealing with him and his efforts to unravel the secrets of his past so that he can retaliate against the Empire.

I do have some issues with the story in this. First of all, the pacing is awkward. A lot of the series is quite slow and leisurely while dealing with Teito's life in the church but then there are big moments where there's a very abrupt rise in the action, particularly towards the end where everything just escalates very quickly. There's also a bit of awkward dialogue that feels like it's straight out of a JRPG where the NPCs are telling you where you need to go next except this isn't a game nor is it based off of one so it just comes across as a bit stilted when Teito stops to explain exactly what he needs to do next in a very repetitive way. There are also some elements that don't really work. For example, Teito spends a good chunk at the beginning of the anime in chains in spite of being in a sanctuary and having people around who could remove said chains. There's also a slave collar that they briefly talk about removing but never do for no adequately explored reason. One minor thing that bothered me is that every episode opens with a short clip of something that'll happen later on in the episode which feels like a waste of time and something that diminishes the impact of those moments.

One thing worth mentioning that's neither a problem nor a positive element is that the anime is incomplete. It feels like they were setting up for a sequel that never happened. I will add that the stopping point is really good in that regard. Deen did exactly what you should do and provided some closure while leaving plenty of unanswered threads to be explored later. Just be aware that if you want the complete story, you'll have to track down the manga.

In terms of positive elements, the narrative is compelling throughout. There's always something intriguing happening. The world building is also very strong. There are a lot of interesting components that get explored enough to make the world feel complex. And most of it is done naturally rather than by using awkward exposition. The series is also good at balancing some more serious moments with some more comedic moments without going too far in either direction and thereby diminishing the impact of the serious moments or making the comedic moments seem out of place.

Characters:

The characters vary quite a bit. The main cast are interesting enough, but a lot of the antagonists are pretty much evil for the evils and the side characters range from fairly interesting with some compelling background details to just kind of bland.

I will add that the main cast have some strong dynamics amongst them that do develop as the series commences. They're also highly homoerotic.

Art:

The artwork mostly looks good. There are some parts where the animation is a little awkward. Aside from that, there are strong character designs, solid animations and a lot of nice details.

Sound:

The acting is very solid. Suwabe Junichi, Saiga Mitsuki, Hayami Show, Namikaawa Daisuke, Fukuyama Jun and the rest of the cast all deliver solid performances. Even when they slightly exaggerate for comedic effect they never go too far. The music is pretty strong. Nakagawa Koutarou did a great job.

Ho-yay:

There is a lot of ho-yay in this. Teito's relationships with three different guys (Mikage, Frau and Hakuren) all come across as replete with ho-yay. More than one of the villainous Ayanami's henchmen seem to have designs on what's beneath his trousers. And two of his henchmen, Haruse & Kuroyuri, seem to have a romantic relationship. So, there's a lot of subtext to enjoy.

Areas of Improvement:

  1. Don't waste time with preview clips for the episode we're about to watch. It makes no sense whatsoever.
  2. Give your antagonists more complexity. I'm not saying that they need to be likeable or sympathetic but it does help when they have more depth.
  3. Pick up the pace. Most of the series feels overly slow, except the climax which feels rushed.

Final Thoughts:

07-Ghost is a pretty good anime. It has some issues, certainly, but it was interesting and enjoyable. The character dynamics were well developed and compelling. The world building was very strong. The acting, music and art were all very solid. If it seems like your type of thing, give the anime a try, check out the manga if it grabs your attention. I'll probably do that myself because I do kind of want to know what happens. Overall, I'm giving it a 7/10.

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