The Reflection is doomed to be a love-hate series. If you want a typical anime, or are a fan of superhero franchises, then you're probably going to loathe this. If you like artsy animated films and fun shows that capture the pure joy of cartoons, then you'll find a lot to like. I fall into the latter category but fully recognize the flaws of this show: the story and the characters are not particularly interesting or consistent. The heroes and villains are generic and don't have much in the way of backstories. The story doesn't get explained in detail and lacks a definitive ending or beginning.Don't watch this if you require a standard narrative-driven tale.

Where The Reflection really shines is the art and sound: it's visually distinctive with its own unique language, the limited palette and dark atmosphere work really well to capture a classic comic book vibe and allow for some unique action scenes that capture motion and energy brilliantly, and there's a surprising amount of real-world USA (more than just famous landmarks) hidden in plain sight if you keep your eyes open. The use of sound is my favorite thing about The Reflection, where insert songs and sound are kept in the foreground, and are just as important to telling the story as the spoken dialogue.

"The magic of moving pictures" is something that we take for granted, especially as anime fans. If you're conscious of how ridiculously cool it is that a series of flickering pictures can trick our brains into thinking we're witnessing motion, and thrilled when a progression of musical tones can call up an emotional response, then you're probably a good candidate for watching this show. Projects like The Reflection will never appeal to the overwhelming majority of people, which is why well-done artistic efforts deserve praise when their creators go out on a limb to make them - kudos to Stan Lee and everyone else who made this show, you rock!