Ranked #1050

Hundred Stories

Requiem from the Darkness is a mind trip. No, scratch that. It's more like someone shoving your mind down some stairs and watching it go splat! several steps down.

It is known also as Hundred Stories, but I'll be referring to it as the first title I've encountered, which is Requiem from the Darkness.

There is an overall story, but for the most part, this series has several story arcs, and is mostly episodic. Each episode is gruesome and has crazy plot twists and dark psychological themes. A young writer, looking for a muse, decides to follow a group of strange, unearthly people who practically act like living juries, condemning sinners and forcing them to acknowledge their sin before they pass on to the underworld. Every person that the writer, Momosuke, encounters has a terrible secret. In essence, Requiem from the Darkness is an anime about horrible people meeting their equally horrible ends.

The shock value is extremely high, story-wise. There is a lot of murder, rape, incest, cannibalism, and other taboo themes. I know that after the first four episodes, my poor jaw couldn't shift back into place. However, the plot eventually becomes convoluted when the storyline shifts from being episodic to having arcs. But on an initial viewing, especially for the first couple of episodes, this anime's stories will blow you away.

The art is pretty experimental. It sort of looks cartoon-y, or like a comic book, with its shading. The animation isn't always tight, and the art itself could have been a little better. But it has a unique style. The blood and gore scenes are probably even weirder because of the unusual art style. However, like any good psychological or horror anime, Requiem from the Darkness makes great use of point-of-view and camera angles. The first episode alone had an amazing scene that completely and perfectly made use of the direction.

Requiem from the Darkness has some good sound effects and mood-creating music. The OP and ED themes are strange and haunting. So is most of the score. It sort of creeps you out, and that's great, because that's what the rest of the anime will do: frighten, shock, and creep you out.

However, the characters could have used some more fleshing out. The recurring cast mostly just appear, interact with the subjects of each episode, say their lines and then disappear until the next episode. We don't learn anything about most of them except for Momosuke and to a lesser extent, Ogin. The episodes mostly focus on the characters behind each individual story. Think of a superhero/monster-a-day anime. With Requiem from the Darkness, the spotlight falls on the monster, not the heroes. But then, there are no real "good guys" in this anime. Everyone is flawed, and everyone has evil in them in some way, as the characters point out.

For the first few episodes, this anime will shock and surprise you and have you itching to see more. Then after you get used to it or start to expect the unexpected, it loses flavour, but it doesn't get bad. Thank goodness this series is short; any longer, and it would have become tedious to watch.

Recommended? Maybe the test the first few episodes and see if it's interesting enough for you to continue. If you don't like shocking anime, with controversial themes and lots of violence and psychopaths, then you most likely will hate this anime.

For a strange display of the unnatural and supernatural, Requiem from the Darkness may just be the thing. read more

Hundred stories, More commonly known as "Requiem From the Darkness" is a horror anime like no other. 13 episodes of the most disturbing and gory stories you'll ever witness. The basic plot of the story is about a young man who is an author journeying to lands where there are mysterious rumors in order to write a book of 100 Japanese horror stories. Every time he encounters the supernatural though he runs into a group of the "Exorcists" traveling Japan to destroy the darkness in people's hearts.

Story: Each episode is a separate story in another village, but even though its "Episodic" the relationship between main characters is still developing. Most episodes start with a very disturbing scene, usually a brutal murder that hints at the "Darkness" behind the episode~ it really pulls you in from episode one~ The first half is setting the stage and characters for the story and how the main character the author meets them. The second half of the episode is discovering the malignant evil in the perpetrator~ catching him commit his crime, and then the exorcists killing him in some manner.

What really sets this apart from other anime is the length it went to in shock value; most episodes revolve around the murder, rape, and or plain torture of women and small children...And the story is played out in a way you never see it coming~ Be warned that this is Rated R for these reasons... if you have a weak constitution to gore or horror in general I wouldn't advise you watch this series. No matter how much you think "They're not going to show it... they're going to pane away..." they do show it... generally in the most gruesome manner and in slow motion.

Art: The art is very... "Original" I guess~ It is not Standard animation which gives it a nice flair sometimes~ But on some occasions the animation is just so overdone in its unique style that it doesn't look nice on the eyes, or you don't even know whats happening.

Sound: The opening and ending are nice, I don't know if they really match with the feeling of the anime, but they're ok; the ending is very calming... which may be something you need to hear after some of the crazy conclusions to episodes. The OST music didn't stick out very much, but it wasn't poorly done at least and it effectively portrayed the mood.

Character: The main character balance is a little off; they were original I suppose, but the story almost flows without their presence since each episode is about the episodic characters than the main characters usually (Similar to Jigoku Shoujo).

Enjoyment: 95% of the episodes were original and had me on the edge of my seat. They broke so many expectation barriers on Gore... and even more socially taboo things which I will leave as teasers for people who haven't seen the show. If you're more of a fluffy luv luv anime lover, or want some luls... this definitely is not the anime for you~ But if you're thirsting blood and hellish plot twists this anime is right up your alley.

Rating: 8/10 read more