Ranked #506

Kemonozume

Imagine: a shady bar, two men off in a booth, one speaking rather raucously about his latest "catch". He is excited and speaks with intense satisfaction and desire about a girl he got. He says he could not help himself and took her back to a hotel room and just ate her up. You think it's about sex. It's not. He ate her. Right down to the intestine. This man is a Flesh Eater.

In the world of Kemonozume, monsters are closer than expected. The origin of these monsters known as Flesh Eaters is depicted by an ancient legend in which one man betrays his people and saves a woman from being sacrificed to the gods. From there, they were cursed by these gods, and their descendants became the Flesh Eaters. This story is mirrored thousands of years later when the heir to a dojo committed to destroying Flesh Eaters gets involved in a whirlwind relationship with one of these monsters.

In a classic story of star-crossed lovers, Toshihiko, practitioner of the Kifuuken martial arts, falls desperately in love with Yuka, a Flesh Eater. Their love affair is doomed from the start, as each one of them has obligations to their own; Toshihiko has his duty to kill all Flesh Eaters while Yuka has her longing and desires to consume humans.

This anime takes what is a traditional tale and puts an amazingly unique spin on it. It builds off of old conceptions and examines them in the most unconventional of ways. It is almost guaranteed that you will never have seen a "Romeo and Juliet" story done this maturely ever before. Another aspect of this series is that it never makes us side with anyone. It is so smartly written, so cleverly directed and presented that it manages to blur the lines between right and wrong, but clearly illustrates the difference between good and evil.

Kemonozume has an unusual though darkly beautiful art style. With its intentionally sketchy character design, excellent animation, visionary artistic direction, and stunning backgrounds and settings, it manages to be one of the most different-looking and most gorgeous anime ever made. Traditional, or rather mainstream and conventional, art styles will not be found in this anime. Perhaps some opinion may be that this anime is probably the ugliest thing ever animated, especially with the character designs, however the animators' mastery of the style used is incredible. Because it is does not follow the standard ideologies of beauty does not make it less beautiful.

Adding to the magnificent visuals are equally magnificent musical elements. Kemonozume's sound is accentuated with a sexy, exuberant, contemplative jazzy score. From the pulse-pounding OP theme with its rough vocals to its soothing ED theme, the sound of this anime manages to be an unusual choice, but one that fits it incredibly well. The brassy loudness of trumpets, low beats of drums, and the smooth piano pieces totally give the scenes an added appeal. It is a score you can never get tired of, one that suits the atmosphere and mood of the anime.

Kemonozume has mature characters and interesting character dynamics. They share amazingly astute, honest dialogue with one another. Rather than just the viewer analysing their characterisations, the characters analyse themselves and those around them, commenting on personalities and people. The characters are probably some of the best out there. It is not often you get a cast for an anime comprised solely of adults (and a monkey), but it is rather refreshing.

Toshihiko is an amusing protagonist with whom it is easy to empathise. All throughout his life, he trained and honed his skills, never breaking the rules and listening to every instruction ever given to him. So when he gets his first girlfriend, we watch him as he carelessly loses himself and gets swept up in love and sex. Or more interestingly, rather than lose himself, he finds himself. He is also faced with numerous situations in which he has to make decisions that most of us try to run away from. To whom does he owe his loyalties? The people who he has known for all his life: his comrades, his friends, his family? Or does he sacrifice that for the woman he is in love with, the one who he wants to make a family with?

Yuka is playful and exuberant in her own way with just a touch of sexuality to her demeanour. She is rather charming, and that charm often makes her victim to doomed relationships. Her struggle to retain her humanity is rather commendable, when the easiest thing to do is just give up and succumb. Her femininity adds a lot to a show that is driven by a lot of violence and sex.

Then there's Toshikiko's hapless younger brother, the unsuccessfully ambitious Kazuma who tries in vain to be noticed, to be better, and to be accepted. His drive for success is tragic, as he is not aware that his ventures become a lust for him, eroding away at his sanity and his personality. Standing alongside Kazuma is Rie, the only woman of the Kifuuken dojo. She is very determined, though it seems like Kazuma, her efforts are futile. She is largely unneeded and this pervades throughout her personality, as she struggles not be considered worthless by the men in her life. The minor characters include a simple-minded though far from gentle giant, members of the Kifuuken dojo who add comic appeal, Flesh Eaters who have a history with Yuka and of course, a strange monkey.

Kemonozume features these people who are clawing desperately to affirm their humanity, whether it be through self satisfaction, sexual gratification, familial acceptance, or societal recognition. Then there are those who revel in monstrosity.

With its utterly beautiful art and music, macabre sense of humour, unusual story, lots of intense drama, overt sexuality, and shocking amounts of violence, Kemonozume manages to be one of the best anime ever made. It has an absorbing beginning, a satisfactory, fulfilling conclusion, and it never lags in between.

How can you tell the difference between a human and a monster? Especially when there are humans who are more monstrous than any beast, and there are monsters who are more humane than a normal person. As Kemonozume shows us, it is particularly hard. And it's harder for those caught in the middle. read more

When I first found out that Yuasa Masaaki was directing an anime, no less one with swords, I thought "Holy crap, my prayers have been answered!" Well, I was partially right. Kemonozume is in the same style as Mind Game and Cat Soup with the very same twisted sequence of events one was to expect. I personally love this bold new animation style, like a sketch colored with water colors that doesn't adhere to any sort of spacial rules (limbs bending way out of shape to emphasize movement). Anyway, I have to say that the love story is frighteningly realistic and very touching, something rarely found. This isn't to say that the action isn't incredible and wonderfully stylistic, hell the whole series is. My complaint with this series is that it slows down immensely in later episodes, but I suppose the production team thought it best. There's a great amount of scheming and terrifying plot twists, something always appreciated. I highly recommend this series, just be forewarned that it is in a very serious tone with little relief (except of course for the ultimate badass monkey master). I'll leave it at that. read more