"Ceres" drips with noir charm and earnest chacterizations that honey an already powerful tale of self-discovery. However, a reluctance to shed anime conventions, namely the insertion of inappropriate dollops of humor underneath the mounting tension, pins the show's wings.

Though they may not actually change much, characters shed their masks quite quickly in the piece, shoving Aya into a colorful world of shattered allegiances and filial betrayal. These first three episodes lays down this foundation.

Sparse lines draw focus to the eyes, which are rendered resplendently and with great depth. As a means to build tension throughout the piece, still frames are used to great effect.

Much is lost in the translation and the English dub fails to embrace the gravity of the piece.

The DVD menus phase in through a film of water droplets and are easily to navigate. The disc offers subtitles and dubs, though the latter ought not be considered a legitimate mode of communication. Among its more impressive features, the disc includes a short address by Watase Yu to all of her fans as well as a video of her drawing one of her characters at a past Anime Expo.

Some emotionally and physically brutal violence coupled with indirect allusions to puberty and sex knock this show into an upper bracket. But also, the story is more emotionally than active anyway, so children might very well just get bored by it.

"I'm just an ordinary high school student," quoth the frightened Aya. Yeah, aren't we all. Go whine to Adam Corolla.

How can anyone live up to the superhuman, dashing, altruists with which she peppers her tales of adolescent angst?

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.