Despite watching shows like Dragon Ball/Z, The real adventures of johnny quest, Batman Beyond or Peter Pan (anime version), this show was by far the darkest and most disturbing show of them all. This plays you( the kid, at least) on a very emotional level. Not only is the atmosphere intense, but the storyline and the scenes are incredible intense. Pinochio is hunted, beaten, tortured( both physically and mental), and dismembered throughout the whole series all this in a horror like atmosphere. All this while his poor father and the boy himself wanting with whole their hearts and tears to be a "real boy".As a kid it messed with me on very deep and intense levels. One of the shows that marked me the most. And though there are show that maybe I liked more at the time, this left a mark on me more so than some of them. Anyway even then it was one of my favourite shows.