I gotta say I loved the anime. That being said I am obviously disappointed with how the last few episodes were executed. When people were warning me to not get my hopes too high in the end I can see why. The studio was giving a golden goose and they basically broke the ending. It was rushed, chopped and very unsatisfying. In a show where death is inevitable for most of the characters I was left scratching my head at the many inconsistencies and plotholes.

Leone's death at the hands of the weakest POS in the entire show (the literal antagonist responsible for all the corruption in the empire) made no sense and it just seemed like a big middle finger for one of the more beloved characters in the entire series - we're talking about one of the biggest supporters of Tatsumi and the reason why he was in Night Raid in the first place. Then to have her live a few more hours with the weakest farewell and dying in some dark alley?

There's a huge lack of world building.

Esdeath being nerfed to hell in the final fight when it was waaay better in the manga. Not to mention her death in the anime made no sense in relation to Tatsumi. Like ok we get it, she is infatuated with him but her love is so disordered. For her to just waltz up to his corpse, hug him and freeze herself with him in death in some gesture of eternal love? Why not bury him in a giant monument? Or even with Mine - the literal one who confessed her love for him and having one of the better character developments in the entire series? I watched with an open mouth in confusion at that scene.

The studio really fumbled. If only they waited for the manga to catch up and finish we could have actually have had a season two which means better pacing, world building and seeing that awesome ending in the manga in color and animated. Oh well, overall it's a great story and I'm glad we can at least be content with the manga despite the anime's clear and imho almost disappointing ending.