The creators of Final Fantasy: Unlimited made only one mistake, in my opinion, and that is not completing the all 52 episodes.I must say that it is laughable that, when people hear "Final Fantasy", they expect to see characters from the games. Every installment of the Final Fantasy game series has its own unique plot and characters, and so does the anime series. FF:U does feature all the usuals – including chocobos, moogles and summon creatures – although it doesn't need these elements to make it a great series.Although the series starts slowly and falls into something of a monster-of-the-day pattern early on, its every character is given special attention and will never cease to entertain you (especially Ai). Every episode packs its fair share of drama, comedy and action. As another reviewer has commented before me, it is when you get to the later episodes that you realize how great FF:U actually was. The plot is imaginative and detailed, and the further you advance into the story, the more exciting it becomes.It is a shame that FF:U was cut down to 25 episodes, as this stands even more true for the rest of the story that was never told. I speak as one who has read the Japanese books in which the untold parts of the story have been published when I say that the best was yet to come. I think no one has the right to bash Final Fantasy: Unlimited until they know the whole story. Unfortunately, it does not seem as if an English adaption of the After series will ever be made.Still, though FF:U might not be for everyone, anyone who is willing to watch this series with an open mind is likely to find himself pleasantly surprised.

Although the lines of the characters are awful most of the time (kuroi kaze is so full of himself!!), I must say that some of the characters are unforgettable, for instance Earl Tyrant, the death lords of Gaudium and, of course, Makenshi. But, what truly makes FFU a great anime is the soundtrack. The music is sumptuous and sometimes epic (the theme illustrating Makenshi's fighting scenes is truly incredible) and also provides some comic relief or accompanies battle scenes, for instance the one where Kaze loads the Demon Gun, with fast-stripped beats. Honestly, it is the main reason for the high grade that I am giving to the show because, in my point of view, the action is too repetitive and the same scenes are reused far too much. Despite that, I think the fans will be delighted to discover that an anime has managed to recreate the unique atmosphere of Final Fantasy.

I've seen a lot of bad reviews about this anime from what I like to call "Anime Snobs." As with any product there will be those who refuse to accept any deviation from the tradition (ie Star Wars fans hating the newer prequels coming out). Here is the truth of the matter: Final Fantasy: Unlimited had me excited from beginning to end.Sure it had a lot of slow moments in the beginning where it was trying to find itself, however the characters suck you in a refuse to let go. If you can get past the animation (which could've been better) and the mix between hand-drawn characters and CGI graphics you'll see FFU for what it is: A Masterpiece! Rating 10/10

*I'll try and keep the spoilers to a minimum* Being a huge fan of the Final Fantasy Series and Anime, when I found out a Final Fantasy Anime was coming out, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to watch it. Needless to say I was disapointed. Those of you who are looking for the deep moving stories usually found in Final Fantasy games, or the intense well animated battles usually found in other animes like Rurouni Kenshin, then don't look here.What we have here is a promising start, a few interesting Ideas (well one actually, and his name is Kaze, and even he gets old) and a bunch of boring villains, and then about twenty six episodes of sheer boredom. The animation is similar in quality to that of Pokemon, or Digimon (etc.) , and probably aimed at a similar audience. Every once in a while, usually when one of the bad guys shows up, a computer graphic type animation will occur, but instead of looking stylish, it just looks stupid.The story is, as I already said, very shallow and you really don't care about what's going on. It's not quite as bad as the last Final Fantasy Anime...but it's close.There is one cool thing about this show though, whenever Kaze, the black robed gunman "summons," I could feel the hair on my arms rise. Of course that's only three seconds out of a twenty minute episode, so it hardly makes the series worth watching.I watched it because I love final fantasy...but I can't recomend it to others.I'd give it * out of 5 (and it gets the star because it's final fantasy)