Ranked #1442

Amatsuki

I'll start by telling you that the manga this thirteen-episode series is based on, has been running for over three years now. From this alone, you can deduce that it's too short, and doesn't end properly. That's very true, and these thirteen episodes seem like an introduction arc to something much more grand. But despite being too short, it showed so much potential that I'm gonna read the manga. And hope for a second season.

Read the sumamry, and you'll have the basic premise of this show. Rikugou Tokidoki gets trapped in an alternate world, where demons and the like isn't an unsual thing. After getting trapped here, he is suddenly confronted with a lot of things; he has to change the way he thinks about and lives life, and he's the one person in that world who doesn't have a fate, which has resulted in him possessing a special power. Amatsuki also begins to explore the relations between demons and humans: are either good or evil? Is there something else behind it all?

As I said, it sets the base for one helluva great show, and then stops. Fortunately, they didn't try to resolve things that much during the course of the thirteen episodes. I say fortunately because this definitely leaves room for a new season to continue the show, something they might not have been able to if they tried to close up the ending.

The characters are all okay, with some great supporting characters and a new kind of main character in Tokidoki. He's not the completely laid-back type, and he's definitely not the overly rash type of guy. He's just a kind guy who cares for those around him without having to show it by killing everyone around him.

Studio DEEN did a great job on the animation. The coloring is good, shading effects are good too, backgrounds are great, and characters designs are fine, with the exception of their eyes; the pupils are a bit large compared to the size of the eyes. I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of it. Nevertheless, the animation's great.

The soundtrack is really great, though a bit unvaried; it was the same few background songs that played during the series, and I noticed that one of them was just an instrumental version of the ED theme, which in its original vesion is astounding. The OP theme's good too. The soundtrack did a decent job for this series, but it lacked a few things to become truly awesome.

One more thing to note is that things may happen a bit quickly at times; this is most likely a product of its short length. I've noticed other people complaining about this, and true enough, I didn't quite catch what was happening without pausing and/or rewinding a few times to think over things.

All in all Amatsuki is a series that may leave you a bit confused, and it'll make you long for a second season, but it's definitely good, and it holds the potential to become truly great. It just needs a second season!

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =) read more

Amatsuki is an interesting show. It has all the elements that should make it great - interesting show mythology, intriguing moral dilemmas, some interesting and cool characters, an interesting and unique setting, and some supernatural stuff at play. The first couple episodes really draw you in a promise a good story. What the show gives falls somewhat short of that. Throughout the show, all manner of hints are teased out about what the large plot of the story is and where it is going, who the characters are and why they are important and all that manner of thing. However, while the show builds up all the main plot, it actually focuses on a much smaller plot, a single story piece. While this enjoyable, and does occasionally illuminate the larger scope of the show, it merely only hints at what could be truly great. In the end, the show does resolve its story properly but leaves you wondering about the larger, overarching plot and really feels like the first part of an epic continuous story. While I did appreciate how the smaller plot was handled, over several episodes - so it didn't feel like useless filler, the larger plot elements were not elaborated on enough and the show really left you wanting much more. To that end, a continuation is hopefully in the works because the story just seems to getting started (The Manga itself is still ongoing). I, for one, was very interested in the plot and enjoyed all the supernatural elements. This is definitely a series I'd be watching the second part of. The art is exceptional, very nice to look at and there are some very interesting and skillful artistic effects. Otherwise, it serves its purpose well as it deals with ghostly entities and monsters. The character designs are interesting. Some of them are very unique and interesting to see. The most interesting looking characters are also the most interesting in terms of plot and are actually characters worth watching. Heihachi is one that surprised me in the end. His character, for an ordinary person in such a strange world, plays out very well. The music is also particularly appealing. The opening theme is wonderful but all the internal music is appropriate and compelling as well. Overall, I'd say this is a wonderful show that has much story to deal with yet, hopefully in a sequel series. read more