Anime review #1

"The story takes place in the "ideal" and perfect city known as "No.6". Shion, a boy raised in the elite and privileged environment of his home, gives shelter to another boy, who only gives his name as Nezumi ("Rat") on the former's 12th birthday. What Shion soon discovers is how drastically life will change after meeting with the mysterious Nezumi, in whom he had saved one unforgettable, stormy night." - Wikipedia

Title: NO.6

Creator: Atsuko Asano
Studio: Bones
Episodes: 11
Genres: Adventure, drama, psychological, science fiction - ANN
Themes: Dystopia, post apocalyptic, shounen-ai, yaoi - ANN

Published: 2011

Production

The animations are beautifully done and well accompanied with the suiting music. Bones is probably know for their doings on Ouran High School Host Club, Wolf's Rain, Eureka Seven, Scrapped Princess, Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater. Some scenes can be seen "badly" shaded and made, but are often followed/preceded by extra detailed scenes. It's nothing that brings the enjoyment down though. 

I got to say that the choice of voice actors is amazing. Kaji Yuuki as Shion got to be the most arousing thing I've heard in anime story - then again, I've not even heard the BL CD he has done. Hosoya Yoshimasa as Nezumi is no joke either. It's been a long time since I've heard voice actors that suit their characters this perfectly, especially when Yoshimasa can sing too. Once you've come to the part where he starts singing, you will get goosebumps. The ones voicing Inukashi and Rikiga do their parts really well too, seeing that their characters are a bit out of our own world. 

The opening is a song that takes some listens to get used to and after that, either love it or hate it. LAMA does a really good job on this song in my opinion. First time I heard it, I thought it was a bit annoying, but after watching the opening every episode, I fell in love. 
On the other hand, the ending is something you got to love. Aimer sings the piece with ease and the ending itself is beautiful. There's barely any animation in it yet it captures the moments we never got to see and our imagination like it's always been there. When it ends, you want more.

SPOILER ALERT!

Best part
For me, the best part is when we get to see them dancing together, leaving all worries and problems behind them for a moment. Another scene I love dearly is when Shion is standing up against Nezumi, showing Nezumi that he also can do this and that he's not going to drag Nezumi down. 
Actually, I love the whole series and no scene is better than others, but those two are the ones that captured my heart extra. There's some others too, but more and it'll spoil too much.

Worst part
Worst part... hard question, but it got to be the ending. The story itself is based on a 9 book novel and fitting everything in a 11 episodes long anime is tricky. Bones did a good job though and packed the bag nicely too. It doesn't stray too far from the original ending, but it is indeed different.  

Rating

After reading this, I guess the rating might speak of itself? I watched the series in a row, spent the whole afternoon/evening finishing it and I couldn't get enough. I suggest you watch the anime first and then read the novel - you can find a fan-translation here. After that, you can read the manga. As the manga is currently being officially published, only around 20 chapters is available on the internet. You totally won't regret buying the manga though. 
I strongly recommend the novel.