All in all the best animated series I've seen. It was hardcore. I watched the series in Japanese with English subtitles. The series gives you a feel of the horror and suffering people can endure under the will of a tyrant. Most people will give in to the tyrant and become like the tyrant in their compromise to survive. A few will express good and hope despite the great evil being inflicted upon them and those around them. I'm sure this story derived it's material from the ongoing horror stories throughout the world: child soldiers kidnapped in Africa, young recruits to the Taliban and radical Islamic terrorists, rebels who join the FARC in Colombia, gang recruits in major inner cities throughout the world, etc.