I wore them for about a month now so I am ready to share some thoughts:
- they look great and they feel great when put on
- the toe area is big; some may not like to feel their toes moving free, but I do, since this means it is less likely to sweat when hot outside
- after a month of constant wearing, they look very good - nothing broke or teared apart

Regarding the size, I am 38-39 European, so I bought 8.5 (my usual US shoe size and the one I would have chosen from the Size Chart as corresponding to 38.5). They are seem a little big (maybe because the front part is so spacious) and inside them the size correspondence as written by the manufacturer is: 8.5 US -> 6.5 UK -> 40 European -> 25.5JPN.
However, they are definitely not size 40 European - maybe 39.