-INTRODUCTION-
Someone told me that Otogizoushi has a very realistic portrayal of onmyoudo which was the main reason for my interest, along with the ancient Japan setting. Certain character designs caught my attention too, especially Mansairaku.
-STORY- 8/10
"Some day, I wish to dance only for Hikaru-dono..."
Otogizoushi consists of two story arcs. They are very different, I would even say that in a way they contrast each other. Looking at the two arcs together, I developed some very mixed feelings about the overall anime.
The Heian Arc was amazing. The first few minutes were enough to call it a masterpiece. War, epidemic, people are dying, the world is
...
filled with despair. And among all that chaos, a seemingly strong yet vulnerable Hikaru and a mysterious dancer Mansairaku fall in love with each other. The creators did a wonderful job in showing the two contrasting sides: cruel battlefield and people's misery versus the short peaceful moments that Hikaru and Mansairaku share with each other whenever they chance to meet. The way she plays flute for him while he dances for her, the way they comfort each other and complete each other's existence... that sad but gentle romance touch was truly beautiful and left me speechless. I would have given it a 10 without a second thought.
But the story did not end on episode thirteen and instead moved on to the present time, the Kyoto Arc. The second part by itself was also quite interesting, and I found myself easily engaged in the mysteries surrounding the city. It felt somewhat slow paced at times, but overall it was good. There is one big problem though -- it's a completely different story. If it was an independent anime with unrelated characters, then I would not look at it so critically. But it was still Otogizoushi, yet it strayed too far away from the story that I initially fell in love with. True that eventually it started connecting to the Heian Arc, and by the end it even started looking like a sequel instead of a side story, and I won't deny that I still enjoyed it. But after finishing it, and after looking back at the Heian Arc, I realized how beautiful the original story was all by itself, and that the second story might as well not be there at all. It felt like at the end of episode thirteen the creators suddenly decided to make a sequel for the story that already ended and could not continue.
-CHARACTERS- 10/10
I found all main characters very lovable; I liked each one of them as soon as (s)he appeared. They had their flaws, and there were times I got rather angry at their decisions, but I developed a great deal of respect for each one of them. They all had their reasons for stepping (or not stepping) into the battlefield and for helping and loving each other. Portrayal of human bonds was probably the strongest point of Otogizoushi, between the main characters as well as between the antagonists. And as much as I wish the Kyoto Arc did not exist, I liked that the bond between the main characters did not change, even thought they were reborn as completely different people.
Also, Otogizoushi showed the most interesting portrayal of Abe no Seimei I have ever seen in fiction; out of all, this character shocked me the most.
-ART/ANIMATION- 8/10
I loved the art in Heian Arc. The character designs were beautiful, especially the detail in eyes, and the animation was top quality. I was simply speechless at Mansairaku's dance scenes; the battles were great too. Some of the backgrounds looked like paintings, they were that stunning. There were also times when a certain moment would 'morph' into a still image of a slightly different style, and it was such a nice touch.
I honestly don't know anymore whether I am just biased against the Kyoto Arc, but I felt like after episode thirteen the artwork started lacking, along with animation. Maybe the fact that the characters wore different clothes and had different hairstyles threw me off, but in a way it felt like they became different people. I just wasn't as impressed at the art anymore, and there were a lot less moments that I wanted to screenshot. And lastly, I have to say my little personal rant, what on earth did they do to Mansairaku? =/ I do realize that the idea was to 'modernize' the characters, but they didn't have to completely change his hair color and give him that cliche hairstyle that you see everywhere.
-SOUND- 9/10
The music in both arcs was great and fitting. Personally, I enjoyed the soundtrack of the Heian Arc a lot more; it was a lot more soothing and atmospheric. But it was something that would feel right only during that arc, and I do realize that the second arc's music had to be stylized completely differently. Also, I absolutely loved the Kyoto Arc's ending song, which is, interestingly enough, the same song (by the same performer) that Haruhi 'sings' in one of Ouran High School Host Club episodes, but with different lyrics.
I will spare you the seiyuu talk because I would end up writing a paragraph about each one, but I will mention one. Miki Shinichirou did an outstanding job in this anime, by playing both Mansairaku and Hikaru's bed-ridden older brother. I was especially impressed by the second role; his acting was so believable, and his slightly shaking voice sounded so natural, that you could really feel that Raikou was ill and that speaking was difficult for him.
---
As you can see, I have very mixed feelings about this anime and it was difficult putting them in words.
My recommendation would be to watch the Heian Arc and the Kyoto Arc within a few years of each other and judge the second one as a 'what-if' scenario instead of a sequel. But some people might enjoy both arcs equally, so I can't recommend that method to everyone.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: お伽草子
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
26
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jul 7, 2004 to Mar 30, 2005
Premiered:
Summer 2004
Broadcast:
Unknown
Licensors:
Media Blasters
Studios:
Production I.G
Source:
Original
Theme:
Historical
Duration:
23 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#46702
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#5067
Members:
18,035
Favorites:
47
Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 7 / 8
Sort
Your Feelings Categories Jan 22, 2009
-INTRODUCTION-
Someone told me that Otogizoushi has a very realistic portrayal of onmyoudo which was the main reason for my interest, along with the ancient Japan setting. Certain character designs caught my attention too, especially Mansairaku. -STORY- 8/10 "Some day, I wish to dance only for Hikaru-dono..." Otogizoushi consists of two story arcs. They are very different, I would even say that in a way they contrast each other. Looking at the two arcs together, I developed some very mixed feelings about the overall anime. The Heian Arc was amazing. The first few minutes were enough to call it a masterpiece. War, epidemic, people are dying, the world is ... Mar 2, 2012
Watching Otogi Zoshi's two halves felt like I was watching two completely different titles of varying quality. The series is divided up into two different arcs with the first one taking place in Heian era Japan and the other set in Japan's modern era. The Heian arc was an enjoyable watch exploring the developments of Hikaru, under the guise of her brother Raikou, and her companions trying to gather up several magical magatama needed to halt the depraved conditions of many commoners throughout their kingdom. The arc offers solid developments on the challenges faced by Hikaru's group as they face life-threatening decisions, corruption involving those
...
Feb 27, 2008
Story - This is one of the most unique anime I've ever encountered. Otogi Zoushi is actually split into two arcs - The Heian Arc and the Tokyo Arc. While the plot for the Heian arc is pretty simple to follow (to retrieve all 5 Magatama), it gets interesting towards the end. The last episode of the Heian arc does affect, or rather, create the Tokyo arc's storyline. While it does have some supernatural theme in it, don't expect tons of action. Though it's fun to watch the reincarnation of the characters and how they live in the present time.
Art - Just knowing ... Jul 10, 2010
Ok this is going to be a long review as this anime contains 2 very different volumes so I feel they need to be addressed separately.
Volume 1: Volume 1 is the Heian Chapter and it is set in the Heian period of and it is by far the strongest of the volumes. Focusing on the story of Hikaru and her quest to retrieve the stolen Magatama beads to save the capital of this volume focuses heavily on action and suspense and contains a huge plot twist that I did not see coming and was one of the best plot twists that I have ... Mar 2, 2008
Character: Out of all the series I've seen, Otogizoshi probably had the most potential. Right from the start, we're immersed in the plot and enthralled by the main character Hikaru, who must struggle to pose as her brother and fulfill a quest he cannot. While the dialogue is spare, each character's personality comes across clearly, and you come to like Hikaru and Tsuna, even while you wonder about the mysterious character of Mansairaku. They are real and subtle people, so we are more interested in their plight. Hikaru is clearly a noblewoman in every aspect, but she is not squeaky or shrill like most heroines
...
Aug 15, 2010
This is an odd one. I knew going in that the show completely changes half way through and I was expecting the second half to be less to my liking. Turns out I found the modern urban ghost story approach far more entertaining than the rather stale feuda-eral first half.
The animation is quite poor and it's very easy to spot the budget-saving moments of still backgrounds and stop animation scenes. The music is a lot more consistent though and I enjoyed the score for the first half. the sound in the second half is far more atmospheric. In terms of character I thought the first ... May 7, 2021
Otogizoushi was divided into two different arcs that felt like separate series with almost no explanation. The first arc i ended up not liking very much and stopped watching two episodes before the end. All i remember now from it is that it was in the medieval war setting and they are on a quest to obtain a stone. when i came back and continued the series it didn't seem nearly as bad as i thought as lost as i was.
The second arc felt less serious more of a slice of life, comedy, mystery. It was about Hikarus search for her missing brother while ... |