I'll just go ahead and confess.
I really,
really,
really,
REALLY love this game. I almost finished it, and although it certainly isn't perfect, it certainly isn't horrible too. Guess it's because I like the style. It seems to be the fad to hate Nomura's style. Oh well.

It's a fad in the same way that disliking ugly, gaudy things is a fad.

There was already a copyright on It's A Wonderful World. I think it was a movie or something. Squenix couldn't afford those copyright issues, I guess.

Probably because they were too busy milking money from FF7 sequels.

The more I read into it the game is supposed to offer some refreshing style of play, but like everyone else here, there's no way in balls I'm swallowing this art style to get there. Only got through Portrait of Ruin because it's Castlevania.

wordswords

Yes.

@ Dudesoft

Is that the game's intro?  If so, I'm not seeing the vomit inducing side of it. :P

@ LT

It's not so much the character (as I haven't bothered to read up on the story - for obvious reasons - to get a general idea of just what kind of character he is, let alone anyone else).  The whole 'waking up on the proverbial maw of the grim reaper and only having seven days to survive a "game" by tattoo emblazoned beasts and assorted badasses or face "erasure" whilst leveraging elements of some neo contemporary based fictitious world to help you along your way and survive' just kind of welled up a smidgeon of interest on my end.  ;)Anti-social or not, if the game is entertaining then damn that unless this Neku guy simply proves to be one of them annoying heroes.

I like this game a lot. It's not like I'm going to avoid playing this just because I can't "stand" to look at it(I don't even mind it that much).

The story definitely feels similar to the anime/manga Gantz. You are put into a world that you didn't believe in but you are forced to play by the rules for the fear of getting killed. Since I like the concept of Gantz, I am already liking the concept of this. There's no major story here besides that but what gets me into playing more is that I want to know more about this Reaper game.

I remember when I first looked at the screens, I thought the battles were a complete mess and very confusing. But it's actually easier than it looks. It does get complicated simply because you have to keep track of both screens(it's not mandatory to do so though)but you will get the hang of it within the first few game days. The game feels and looks better while you're playing it. Plus flicking objects and enemies is pretty cool!!

I may be the only one but I actually like how they did the scenes. It's simple and gets the job done. I also like the soundtrack of this game. It kinda fits with the Shibuya streets atmosphere.

This is a Square-Enix game so I expected a high quality game and a high quality game is what I got. I agree with what LordTyphoon says about the protagonist though. I am tired of the "I'M ALONE, GET AWAY FROM ME" type.

Just got the game earlier today and only played enough to get to chapter 2.  Battling is actually pretty fun, though I still have to get the hang of the dual control orientation (though I could just let the AI autoplay the other character) it's frantic but it's fun, not frustrating in that sense.  Things are still a bit confusing and somewhat limited, but I guess cause I'm still stuck in the "tutorial" phase of the game right now.  Anyway, regarding Neku's persona I don't think it's such a bad fit; well, at the very least it hasn't gotten to the point where I hate the character (though he's not exactly instantly likeable, and this coming from a guy who enjoyed playing Lloyd in ToS :P) but it makes sense considering what he'll inevitably have to do to get through and that's opening up and interacting with those he comes across.  At the very least it's a good way to make some sense of his unnecessarily cold attitude to everyone else and the world around him; put him in a position where he'll have to look his own values in the face and make the decision where he stands.

By the by, did anybody else's copy come with the WIFI instruction booklet?  What is that in there (if so) - this game isn't wifi compatible is it?

Well I'm on the final Chapter of this game (well, final one if the elements in the game are to be believed anyway) and I have to say, Neku really isn't as bad as put out here.  He definitely has that loner type starting off but he does let up as time goes; both Chapters 5 and 6 are key areas that really show this off especially in regards to the "secret" your partner holds.

@ PTizzle

As mentioned I haven't beaten the game but the story develops quite nicely as move along.  I won't spoil anything of course but the role of the reapers, the "players" and the world the "game" takes place in is brought to light little by little in each chapter and when you finally get a full handle on how everything breaks down, things really do pretty interesting.  The game isn't perfect, but I'd definitely put it up there within my top 5 DS games; it really is a pretty good, different kind of RPG if anything else.