No, this encompasses every single reason I hate anime. I remember watching this at a friend's house and thinking "Wow, something worse than FLCL. I'm impressed."

same studio

but these days I think Redline is the new Dead Leaves anyways, and even that is years old, sigh

We're on completely opposite ends of the opinion spectrum. This and Redline encompasses every single reason I like anime. Or at least is a more modern example of why I was excited by the genre in the 80's and 90's. Style. Energy. Visually interesting.

The plot here is just one big mcguffin allowing the artists/animators to let loose with a pretty unique style (for Japan). It's a pretty jarring contrast to the genre's current norm, which is a lot of still pictures panning while characters monologue about their awkward adolescent feelings.