Watched the entire thing in a row last night. I really like the anthology format with lots of little short stories, especially since its mostly darker sci-fi, sometimes even cyberpunk. I kind of ruined it for myself by bingeing the entire thing, but there was always room for just one more.
Too bad most of the stories were either not that good or not really stories that needed telling. Much like the Animatrix, there are one or two really good ones, a few mediocre ones, and the rest are not worth any time at all, but you can't tell until you watch them and before you can reach for the remote its over and its on to the next one.
Also like the Animatrix, everything is animated, sometimes as photo-realistic as can be done at this level of production, sometimes not even good enough for kids cartoons, and everywhere in-between.
The more I think about it, this really is content for young adults (not withstanding all the gratuitous genitalia). A lot of the stories are short not because they make a good point quickly, but because there's just not much there.
* spoilers *
The first story is the best, and if you hate it you can just stop right here. Remote control monster gladitorial combat, not a bad premise. I am immediately on notice (for bad writing) by the businessman's open and desperate attempts at fixing the match, as if a guy at that level got there and stays there by acting like a whiny teenager. He just met these people, who knows if they aren't recording the whole conversation, and ruining the whole sport? Why not send in a trusted subordinate to approach them with carrots and sticks, while keeping his own hands clean? He acts the way a grade school writer thinks mob bosses / CEOs / politicans / etc. behave.
There's no safety fence in the arena. Maybe the lower rows are the cheap seats, where people risk their lives for a better view. But this looks so routinely dangerous that it doesn't seem like something even dedicated fans would want to do. The antagonist gladiatorial opponent seems to be in a state of permanent 'roid rage, and probably wouldn't be able to get through a bar brawl, let alone high intensity combat.
The end reveal is nice, even with the little exposition dump it takes to get there, and I always like it when the title makes sense only at the end. More unrealistic behavior from mob/business/whatever guy; killing people who win at your area is just not good for business.
Good animation, some OK writing, the story is entertaining enough, and then its over before you can really complain about anything.
There's really nothing to say about the rest of the stories.
