Wow. This is something special. I don't want to give anything away, but if the quality of storytelling in this first episode (which seems to be more of a prologue) is any indication of what's to come, this is going to turn out to be a wonderful show. And I'm not afraid to admit that one particular scene near the end had me fighting back tears. Very, very good stuff.

The animation doesn't exactly seem like anything to write home about at first, but I actually like the simpler, classic character designs and painted backgrounds. And I've already fallen in love with the OP theme.