I say that this isn't bad for what it is.

While I haven't seen the other installments of this yet; I will say that I see something with some potential behind it. I have also noticed that you uploaded this as a video and to be honest video submissions should be treated like regular flash cartoons and games. However, I think that you should check out either Swift 3D or Milkshape 3D since those programs allow you to convert 3D models into vectors. Aside from this...

In terms of graphics, while far from the worst visuals on here; the style used in this is rather bland and uninteresting. I think you could look elsewhere for inspiration outside of anime, such as old cartoons. (It makes for good animation practice.) On the other hand, you do have a nice desert setting for your backgrounds. When it comes to the sound, I have to agree with Neophyte Ronin on the music. It just doesn't fit the seriousness of the plot and also worth noting is that there is better music in the audio portal (try some of the songs by Maverlyn, Box-Killa, and Nanashi). Plus, don't rip sounds from YouTube videos; it's unnecessary and the quality isn't worth it. As for the voice work, it gets the point across, but could have been done better. Then there's the content--interesting plot so far and the diologue is passable. However, the pace could be ten percent faster, but this isn't the Stick Slayer. Considering that this was based off of a novel, I don't mind derived projects as long as the actual product is good. On the other hand, I have gotten somewhat weary of them due to certain flash cartoons that had great animation, but turned out to suck hard dick.

What I liked:
-Interesting plot, characters, and diologue.
-Nice backgrounds
-Passable animation

What I didn't like:
-Bland art style
-Derived project, but as long as it remains good I'm not going to bitch.
-Unfitting music
-Voices could have been better.

Overall: Here's your seven, and if you do decide to continue this; consider doing the drawn animation in flash.

Solid Effort for a "Lull" in the Plot in "Phase 9"

Thank God you got a voice crew. Their takes could have been sharper, though.

Shorten the length of the intro to near-nil, because long intros to series with more than a dozen episodes tends to grate on the nerves after a while.

Compression is evil. The images are blurred and boxed and everything. It is a cop-out to escort people over to YouTube, a proposition that most loyalists on this site would frown at. There has to be a better balance to compressing and submitting a piece with admirable quality.

Sometimes, the music should transition to something moodier... to befit the mood better. When Pinstripes arrives, inquiring the tavern, the music HAS to change. The selection of music is very pop and jazzy, evoking a cheery sort of epic. While pandering to the youths and teens isn't a bad idea, it might detract from the seriousness of the plot itself. In other words, the music tends to clash with the scenes.

Some parts of the script could use a little polishing too, but on the whole this is actually an interesting trip--far ahead of most of the garbage churned out by so-called "peers"--so having that much a grasp on presenting an animated feature is paying off so far. Be aware of the flaws in this episode as you revise future episodes in "Phase 9".