That's exactly it. Well said.

That's the part that I can never fully articulate. Part of what makes it so fascinating is that it's so morally repugnant, and yet you can't help but want the best for them. It's amazing how well they walked the line of it not just being hateful. It's ugly and it's beautiful all at the same time.

Oh, it's a very tough watch, yeah. One of those where you keep thinking: "They're gonna get their act together and stop making terrible life choices any minute now, right? RIGHT!?" But they don't. So I don't blame you that you couldn't finish it.

Now I want Ruffles...

Couldn't have said it better. And your linked reviews match my thoughts exactly. There's nothing "good" about the story, except that it's really well done and makes you feel all sorts of uncomfortable things. That's not a bad thing at all. Kudos to them for committing to the bit.

I’ve been thinking that there seems to be a lack of interest in license rescues from the aughts. Discotek keeps licensing 80s and 90s stuff, but I feel there are a bunch of 00s near-hits — stuff like RaXephon, Gankutsuou, Witch Hunter Robin, Kaleido Star, etc. — that’s just lost.

You never know. Bubblegum Crisis got their shit figured out so we could get BGC2040. Maybe they'll surprise us with Keaton someday, too.

The fact they keep making mediocre sequels in the desperate hope to recapture that energy should be all we need to know to understand just how much of a cultural phenomenon it was.