Ranked #1080

Mouryou no Hako

Originally for me, Mouryou no Hako started off somewhat inconspicuous, seeming to be another average, maybe somewhat memorable show. I was certainly wrong for thinking that.

I watch anime raw because it coincides with my interests and I know enough Japanese to fully understand most shows I watch. However, the dialogue was a bit thicker and specific in Mouryou no Hako. Although I understood what needed to be understood for the plot to make sense and fall together, I feel like this show will be deserving of a re-watch once my vocabulary broadens a bit, so I can feel like I fully understood this story.

And that's maybe one warning for some out there.. one of the reasons I found this show refreshing was because it was intelligent. It was well-done. You had to use your brain a bit to understand it, even if you had subtitles. If I can put it into words, this series is like Death note, but is actually made for an intelligent audience. You don't actually know what's going to happen next in this show. When I make this comparison, I'm not trying to insult death note, but the styles are simply different. Mouryou no Hako is all about substance and less about flare, a refreshing and seemingly rare quality in newer anime.

There was a surprisingly deep amount of character development done in just 13 episodes. The pacing was skillfully done and made the conclusion all the more interesting, and depending on preference, satisfying.

The art was also superb. The sort of soft palette for normal scenes, combined with the brilliantly colorful animations used to portray other, somewhat abstract concepts, was very pleasing on the eyes. Some shows such as ef - A tale of memories are praised for their art, and I can easily and confidently say that Mouryou no Hako tops that standard.

All in all, this show was an interesting, "What will happen next?" sort of experience. It's not for some people, as it can get slightly gory at times, and is certainly a very dialogue-rich anime... but I would definitely recommend Mouryou no Hako as one of the best of 2008. read more