Review of Laughing Under the Clouds

Donten Ni Warau is a special show. It shows promise, but doesn't build on it as much as it could. The story is like a epic about a fight against evil and overcoming obstacles. I enjoyed the show, but can't give it a higher rating because: Pace: The pace is not worst one I've seen, but definitely not the best one either, as it moves quite slow in the first 50-60% of the show, before suddenly going back in time to explain some of the background, and then speeding towards the end. Story: The story stats of a bit whimsical, with three brother capturing criminals the police let escapeand ferrying them over to a prison island. But there is some darker story in the background that starts coming to light around halfway through. The story was solid enough, with some exceptions, like the ending, where everything goes just about perfect, reaching a "good ending" far to quickly and far to easily. (Not to mention the ridiculousness of the characters during the final battle. Soramaru is the only one who could hurt the Oroshi, SO WHY! are his little brother and one of the Yamainu joining him for the final strike, when they make no difference?)
Art: The art was good, but suffered from a lack of actual animation when it came to the fighting. It usually was just a flash here and a flash there, done.
Sound: the sound felt nice and there was many good voice actors present in the characters.
Characters: The characters had potential and could have been fleshed out a lot more. There were some good stories and backgrounds, but usually they were just "there", you wouldn't feel much from it, though some parts actually made me feel for some of the characters (Like when Tenka was going to be executed and shed a few tears as they pulled the hang-mans hood over his head)
Enjoyment: All in all, I enjoyed the show well enough, but feel like the show could have done much more if it paced itself appropriately and made the final fight less struggle-free.