Overall, this is a good anime but not great and the ending along with a few other minor things did spoil it for me. This anime was discussed in My Endings Rant as an anime who's ending could've been better. Oh yeah and since I will be discussing the ending...
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High school student Takeru Takemoto works part time as a motorcycle courier. One day he sees a mysterious light pass and fall into a forest. A beautiful girl comes out from a glowing cocoon and calls herself "Hikari." Suddenly a strange monster shows up and attacks them. Takeru and Hikari demonstrate powers of their other selves before Takeru knows what's going on.
On ways This Ugly yet Beautiful World could've been better, my main complaint is on the ending. While there is proof that the main characters are still alive I would've liked to see Takeru and Hikari together as well as Ryou and Akari together too. Additionally, Mari's jealousy and those who feed it, Jennifer Portman and her friends definitely made me rage a little bit. Jennifer Portman is probably one character I did not like as she was the one the series would've been better without.
Ending
My biggest complaint is the ending and like I said previously, the ending will make it or break it for your viewers. While I get the concept I would've liked to see some hint that Hikari and Akari were able to reunite with their loved ones just like in other anime which ending similar but gave a hint like Ano Natsu de Matteru and Mahoromatic. This was another show that had much potential to be great but the ending really ruined it.
Flaws
This series did have a couple other minor flaws. Mari's jealousy and those who feed into it did piss me off a bit. While Mari needed to understand Takeru and Hikari's love and that life isn't fair, it's also the fault of her friends and Jennifer Portman for feeding it. A little message "Jealousy is like a parasite, the more you feed it the worse it gets", so, "don't feed jealousy!" And that life isn't fair, I myself have had a number of girls I'd want to ask out or liked but they already had boyfriends or went out with another guy on a higher level than me.
The other flaw is Jennifer Portman. There's always that one character who you hate who ruins everything and without them the story would be better. For This Ugly yet Beautiful World, that's Jennifer Portman. I mean as a American, F*** her seriously, she's so obnoxious and gives fellow sane Americans a bad name.
I would give This Ugly yet Beautiful World a 4/5 stars or an 8/10. If it weren't for the ending it would've been a 4.5+ stars or 9+/10 rating and subtract the other two flaws and the show would've been perfect. Don't get me wrong it's a good anime but most good anime have their flaws. Another similar but much better anime is Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na: Crescent Love (Brighter than the Dawning Blue). This one also has a similar star-crossed lover theme but with a much better happier ending. In fact this was on my list for the best endings. In fact want to watch this anime again and will be reviewing this in the future.
