Ranked #643

Nurarihyon no Mago

Edited this review by the way :)
Grammar Nazis? GTFO lol. This review is not for you. Why not create your own then? :P

Glad that my friend let me watch this great stuff.
Okay now let’s start.
What will you do if you will become a powerful commander?

Story: 9/10
The story revolves around Nura Clan. A Clan of “youkai” that controls 10,000 demons. Amongst them is what they called “supreme commander” a very powerful “youkai”.
Now for the protagonist story so far. Nurarhiyon no Mago didn’t lack story backgrounds at all. They explained what happened in the past with the right execution. Except for the flashbacks that his season lacked. The jabs also were at the right timing and in the right scene.
The first antagonist didn’t lack also the background which is a factor plus because you know why he did that and those. Over all pacing are great. There is no filler. None at all. Some scenes from manga are cut here and placed at the second season instead.

Art: 8/10
IMO the sword/katana fighting are the main stream of this, the animation was great. Also the opening credits were great it’s well drawn. The ending credits weren’t that good compare to the opening. The chibi or the miniture forms of the characters didn’t fit. The genre of this was supposed to be "Monster" not a "Cute" or "Moe" one.
The youkai are well drawn, Animations are really great.

Sound: 8/10
Opening song was great. Fast Forward by Money Majik. Every time I’m listening to the full version I also sang.The BGM when Nurarhiyon attacks a youkai has a good execution. The back ground tracks fit every scene Nurarhiyon no Mago has to offer. What destroyed the good sounds is the ending song. It didn’t fit what genre nurarhiyon has. The 2nd one didn't make it for me either.

Characters: 8/10
The characters fit what personalities they have. Adding characters while the story progress with their background is also a plus factor, at the same time Rukio is “growing” every episode. They also didn’t lack time executing who is going to “grow” with the explanation.
The character development is great. Overall the adaption from the manga onto an anime didn't lacked anything except less than 10 chapters form the start but not that huge character back story. Try to read the manga first rather knowing it here (at the review)

Enjoyment: 9/10
I really did enjoy this. Various scenes will be enjoyable while watching this. You will be caught in suspense, laugh at the jabs and get excited on the katana fights. And this anime already leave a huge impression to me and still continued for the 2nd season!

Final Score: 9/10
It’s up to you to decide whether you gonna watch this or ditch it, but imo this anime is great. The jokes are in the right time. Great Music and the BGM is really mixed on the scenes. Great Art and Character development.
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Ah...Nurarihyon no Mago. An interesting anime indeed.

Before I start reviewing, I have to admit, I'm a big sucker for Jun Fukuyama voicing characters with alter egos (e.g. Lelouch/Zero in Code Geass, Ryner/Ryner with Alpha Stigma activated in Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu and of course, Rikuo Day/Rikuo Night in Nurarihyon no Mago), so excuse me if I sound a bit biased here.

Now, on to the actual review:

Story (7/10): You have your classic reluctant hero, Nura Rikuo, heir to the Nura Clan. 3/4 human and 1/4 youkai, he lives a normal school life by day and controls an army of youkai by night. The story details the challenges Rikuo face as a part human in a youkai household and as a part youkai in human society. Sounds cliched, right? I agree. Even so, the story isn't all that bad. Although the development of the plot is painfully slow, it also allows the viewer to gain a greater insight into the characters.

Art (8/10): Studio Deen has never really done a bad job with their animations, so there's nothing much I can critique here. I really liked the colour contrast between the human and youkai societies. You can see that anything relating to humans generally has warmer colours, whereas anything relating to youkai generally has cooler colours.

Sound (7/10): The OSTs in this anime are brilliant. Then again, I shouldn't say OSTs, because it's more like just one OST with many variations, but it still sounds good nonetheless. Seiyuus were well casted for the most part, though I really don't think Akira Ishida sounds good in any part except Arthrun Zala from Gundam Seed, no offense. Again, I'm a sucker for Jun Fukuyama voicing characters with "double" lives, so I have no complaints there. Openings were...decent. Endings were...not so decent. Not the best OPs or ENDs I've seen recently.

Character (9/10): Like I mentioned earlier, I think the characters were well developed because of the slow movement of the plot. There were some crucial flashblacks that I really enjoyed because they cleared up character motivations brilliantly (e.g. Gyuki's flashback regarding his relationship with the Nurarihyon and Kana's flashback regarding her relationship with Night Rikuo). However, because of the large cast of youkai, not many of them are examined in detail, so many of the characters are just kind of there...you don't really know much about them other than little insignificant hints dropped here and there.

Enjoyment (7/10): I must say, I enjoyed this anime, mostly because of its subtle comedy. The names of the youkai are hilarious first of all. Kubinashi (literally meaning "no neck") has no neck. I found that funny. Kana's misunderstanding about Rikuo. I totally saw it coming, but I laughed anyways. Everytime Rikuo transformed, I also laughed, mostly because it reminded me of the cliched: weak character becomes strong through wicked transformation. The worst thing about the anime by far is the slow plot development. And when I say slow, I mean slow. The Shikoku arc was like 12 episodes, when it really should've been something like 6 because half of it was about Rikuo hesitating.

Overall (7/10): It was good, but hey, if you have as much time on your hands as I do, go do something productive instead. Cheers! read more

I was looking forwad to this show, as i had heard a lot of good things about its source. After the first episode i felt euphoric; a shounen that would provide bad ass fights, but has a dark background, and looks like it will avoid the pitfalls of the others. A plot based on the complexity of a nation of youkai but the simplicity of a shounen. A mix of the happy day rikou and the dark mysterious commander at night.

Expectation: 8-9
Episode Scores: -,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-, 5, 5, 3, 2, 6, 7, 6, 5
Actual: 4 (Bad)

However while everything could have been promising every episode i cried about the pace. There was not really anything horribly wrong with the story, and it was really good to tell the truth. Yet, the story crawls at a snails pace that it just ruins the whole experience. Through the start i was just thinking of how the build up was great, but then it hit me. The climax could never reach those expecations it builds up for a whole season. I had my hopes up since it was only 26 episodes, but it felt like i was watching reborn, naruto, bleach. It felt like i was watching filler!

The fights were not impressive. They were good in that Nura kicks ass with nothing more than his brain and a sword, but the animation is poor and honesty the expectation issue comes back again. They did not make up for the wait either. Another complaint is how there was also no real challenge for Nura throughout the season either.

The youkai characters did not get a lot of air time or development at all but they seemed interesting. The majority of the characters are intelligent, respectable, and most of all extremely useful by nature. They follow Nura because his is an indeed admirable character; he is not our typical useless lead, but smart and knows how to put on a good show for us. I was cheering at him at multiple points in the show for his impressive displays. That said his school friends play little part. In fact they are total weights on the story; they don't do anything yet get just as much air time as the youkai. Another issue is how they can all stay in the headquarters for youkai over a weekend and not even meet one. Essentially if i said that the girls go help his mom cook dinner you can infer the level of depth and intelligence given to them.

As soon as i wrote down these initial thoughts i went and started the manga. Decide ending on such a depressing note i read the large quantity of chapters to the most recent one in a few days. I will leave it on a note, seeing the anime first, that the manga is many times superior. If you don't want to read it, then you will be watching a pretty bad adaption. read more

If there's one word I could describe Nurarihyon no Mago, it would have to be BORING.

Having read the adaptation I really had high hopes for this series as the formula to which Mago is about, is seldom used in shonén anime and if done right, would have definitely been one of the better series for 2010.

...but like I said, BORING. Here's why:

Story - 8
Nurarihyon no Mago is a tale of the supernatural. It's a tale of demons and spirits and the co-existence between their kind and ours. It's also a tale of Rikuo Nura and how he takes over his grandfathers clan known as the Hyakki Yakō, a clan made up of yōkai(demons) and other familiar spirits of Japanese folklore. Nurarihyon no Mago is about the trials and tribulations Rikuo goes through to achieve being the head of that clan(to which at first he has no interest in) while knowing that he is only a quarter yōkai himself.

What makes the story even more interesting is how the Nura yōkai clan portray chivalry, similar to those you'd find in yakuza(Japanese gangster) movies, and how this series uses fear to gauge their strength.

Nurarihyon no Mago is Rikuo's story, as he struggles to find his place between both worlds, and it's a tale of superiority between other yōkai clans as you'll find in the second half of the series.

So far so good right? So what went wrong?

Art & Animation - 6
This is where it was a miss for me. While I was happy the art stayed true to Hiroshi Shiibashi's manga, giving you a richly detailed account to Japan's yōkai like you'd find in an old Japanese tapestry, I was really disappointed in its animation. For a shonén title, the series really lacked 'fluidity' for a better word making each scene seem like your watching still-frame art from the 90's. The execution and pacing was lacking and for a series made late 2010, the choreography was non-existent.

While there are times when you think animation might improve(like watching the intricacies of a Sakura tree blossom at night), you are let down the next moment when characters clash....very...slowly. Even anime such as Hikaru no Go, which is a series about an Asian 'bored' game provided better excitement. I usually have a benchmark when it comes to shonén anime(specially ones released in the last few years) and Mago simply did not cut it for me.

If I had to make a comparison to Mago's animation, it would probably come close to Samurai Deeper Kyo(which aired back in 2002), another anime that had all the right premises but didn't deliver.

Yes, Nurarihyon no Mago may have picked up after 20 episodes into the series, but that's 20+ episodes too late! For some people, an anime is good if it entices you through the first few episodes. NOT at the very end where people have already dropped it or have put it on hold waiting for someone to tell them to pick it up again. It's not fine wine which you to mature(unless you're one who don't drop anime regardless)

Sound - 5
While I have no complaints about the voice actors chosen for Mago(besides the obvious of some being miscasted), where I really felt the series was also lacking was a 'strong' musical score. Shonén anime can be gripping when a running score is played in the background. The series I mentioned earlier, Hikaru no Go is a very good example to this in that it has such a moving soundtrack, that regardless how boring the game is played in Hikaru it still keeps you riveted, and at times even on edge. Whilst Nurarihyon no Mago does have BGM running(softly), none felt suited to the tempo of each scene making it seem like I was watching an 80's series due to just hearing dialogue.

I will commend that the OP's for both arcs in the series were consistent( with both titles performed by Monkey Majik) giving you that feeling for what the show is going to be, but I'll be honest and admit that the ED's(performed by Katate☆Size) just did not feel appropriate for each ending episode. Instead of thinking I was watching a series about demons and the supernatural, the upbeat tempo at the end of each episode made it sound like it was done by a backyard DJ adding music to his favorite home video.

Characters - 6
The series as a whole only really shines through its characters. For one, you have Rikuo who is a quarter yōkai which means like any shonén anime, there is a part of the main character that would make any fan who's into transformations go: "Wow! Sick! I want to see more of this!" And I admit, when I had first read the adaptation, I was pretty much all over it the moment Rikuo turned into the 'Master of the Night'.

Just seeing his transformation made me feel like a little boy again watching Goku turn into Super-Saiyijinn 3.

Nurarihyon no Mago also features a huge cast of characters which at most 'can' be likable, but I wouldn't start saying that they'd be memorable like other well known shonén supporting characters and the only one I'd take real note of is Kiyotsugu(of the Kiyo Paranormal Squad) who happens to probably be the most annoying side character in all of anime history.

Enjoyment and Overall - 5
In all honesty, I have mixed feelings for this series as a part of me wants to grow to like it thanks to having known how the manga continues, while the other half is screaming "Bloody Murder!" at the anime director.

Overall I am clearly disappointed with Mago as an anime due to the segments I had mentioned earlier and I'm surprised that it's even getting a second season when there are clearly far better anime out there who hasn't seen the light of day since they first aired(Berserk & Kenichi to name a few). I can only hope that they find a better director(or another studio take it up) for season 2 as there is no way I'd be buying the first once its licensed.

Nurarihyon no Mago is more 'superficial' then it is supernatural and at best may pass time for people with nothing to do, but it definitely isn't praiseworthy let alone top-shelf when it comes to action anime. read more

I was very excited to watch this show and had been looking forward to the first episode, and it was quite a letdown. That was my opinion of the first episode. And I would say after watching the first episode, I would have given this show a 6.

I felt the same after watching the second episode.
I was feeling quite disapointed with this show, but as the episodes progressed, I came to enjoy the episodes more and now at five episodes I know that it's a show I plan on watching all the way through.

That isn't meant to say that the show magically became interesting and the plot twisted to something really epic. It isn't like that at all. If you're looking for an intense and suspensful anime, I don't think this is the right choice for you.

Basically, the show is about a boy named Rikuo, who is a weak kid and happens to have a separate form of a demon that takes over sometimes and kicks ass. After just that one sentence, you can see that this story is not completely original and for the most part follows the same path as hundreds of other shows. Which is why I only give this show an 8. There is nothing that stands out from other anime shows from what I have watched.
I'm not trying to put this show down! Don't get me wrong. It's just not as awesome as other shows I've watched.

8 / 10 in my opinion. It's not incredible, but it's not horrible. read more

"Yet,when dawn breaks,you will return to your human form.And then will you forget that you are an youkai? If the day does not recognize your youkai form.Are you one person by day and another by night?"
"From the moment I became aware of my blood,my wish has been the same."

Nurarihyon no Mago is a breath of fresh air in the supernatural genre.The most awaited anime of the summer 2010,or even of the whole year? Absolutely !When I first read the manga in Autumn 2009 I had the same feeling when I read Fairy Tail,Kaichou wa Maid-sama,Letter Bee etc.,no,they don't have much in common,but it was the same feeling that these mangas will be adapted into an anime,and I was right,ne ? ^^
What makes this anime stand out from the clichéic “shounen” pattern, is in the first place the vision of the author itself,that takes us in a world of eternal misticism and combines the elements of the japanese folklore,especially kaidan,a way and even art of telling horror storys, with the world of modern Japan,a country where tehnology and nuclear resorces are premordial.This manga takes japanese people to their true origins,to their roots,maybe because of that they felt very attached by this manga and author,and in less than two years and a half it recived its well deserved place.

Story: (It maybe a spoiler if you didn't watched the first episode:The story telling line of the anime begins abruptly with the scene of Rikuo facing Gyuki...That scene is happening in the fourteen chapter!! The anime prologue is in a reverse clockwise order.)

Highly inspired by Toriyama Sekien, most famous for his attempt to catalogue all species of yōkai in the Hyakki Yakō series,Hiroshi Shiibashi-sensei creates the story line and characters that are directly connected and revolving around Gazu Hyakki Yakō (画図百鬼夜行 "The Illustrated Night Parade of A Hundred Demons") ,Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (画図百器徒然袋?, "The Illustrated Bag of One Hundred Random Demons") and other such masterpieces of japanese youkai mitology.
The plot is not scary altogheter,we meet youkai,phantoms and kami under the command of the "Supreme Commander" father and grandfather of part humans.This youkai is named "Nurarihyon" .His past and interaction with youkai and humans will have a very great decision in the life of his family,including his grandson that has only a quatre the power of his ancestors .From here comes the inner battle that the main charater,Rikuo Nura is fighting for years,will he accept his fate to be the "Third Supreme Commender of all youkais" or will he continue living a perfect peaceful normal life? (even if his life is not quite peaceful itself,because he has hundreds youkai in his household, that lived with and around him from the moment he was born).
As a strict definition of "Nurarihyon" we find him a very discrete yokai who sneaks into houses on busy evenings.
On nights when everyone is busy preparing the evening meal, Nurarihyon sometimes sneak into the house, smoking the family's tobacco and drinking their tea.
Though he is said to be the supreme commander of the yokai, his manner is refined and so confident that everyone simply assumes he is the master of the house.
Not quite scary,right? But if I tell you that he is the strongest youkai will you believe me?
The level of strenght is measured according to the level of "Fear"."The Fear" means the amount of one youkai's power,the most darker and intimidating "Fear" is Nurarihyon's "Fear".
Rikuo must learn to discover his own self-contained power,he must learn how to used it,he also needs to find what a true leader is,but the most important part is to face his ownself,his demonic part,he must control his own fear,before he would be swallowed by it.A teengager chosing his path in life may be difficult,but since he has a kind and considerate personality and with the help of his friends,he will bring balance between the chaotic world of youkai and the ignorant world of humans.
Note: 10


Art : The drawing style of Hiroshi Shiibashi-sensei is very sophisticated and hard to reproduce,so I was quite scared at the beginning,but when I saw the NuraMago trailer in march I was very enthusiastic ^^ I was really disappointed in Fairy Tail and Kaichou wa Maid-sama's artwork,since it was not constant to the manga representation.In any case, Studio DEEN (07-Ghost, Amatsuki,Fate/stay night ,Fruits Basket,Full Moon wo Sagashite,GetBackers,Hetalia Axis Powers, GetBackers, Hakuouki, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ,Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Vampire Knight,Rurouni Kenshin, tactics, The Law of Ueki etc.), done a good job here, the studio is renowned for its variated,versatile and diverse palette,from dark and sober animes to heart-warming and colorful ones.
The lines are fluent and cursive,the lights iluminiscent but also insidious ,the backgrounds are refined,the design of the characters...Couldn't hope for
more.Studio DEEN really made a magnificent job,they really caught the essence of this phenomenal story.I truly feel blessed.Amen.
Note : 10

Sound : Well...Here's an interesting topic.The sound was...I should describe it as...Energic ^^
The ending theme was mecha mecha kawaii^^ The soundtracks are powerful and descriptive.Every scene is accompanied and matches perfectly the feelings of the characters and the watcher.And there's also the theme of the anime that reminds me of a theme song from the Harry Potter movies written by John Williams.I was quite stupefied and excited when I first heard it in one of the anime's trailers.There's so epic music playing in the anime,so be sure to don't miss it.
Note: 10

Characters: Considering that there are a LOT of characters,which is very natural,since in the japanese folklore there are hundreds of different reigns of youkai,ghosts and kamis,I will humbly resume at the most interesting characters:
Rikuo Nura has made a huge impact on me.His simple existence is highly venerated by me.Yeah,you can laugh,he's just a 12-13 pubertin teenger with glasses...But he's also a very kind-hearted considerate boy,with a beautiful heart and mind and very timid and shy.And oh yeah,he also has a super-duper hot double personality...Yeah,no big deal...Just joking,it's quite amazing,to keep your cool and good personality without facade even if your father was murdred by a...youkai,your own kind,oh yeah,that's a great deal.To still trust in both youkai and humans,to still be friend with them,even if the humans,some treated you like a freak,or taking profit of your somewhat naive and kind personality...
I don't say that he is a VERY original character,no,he is quite in the pattern of the usual hero with a second personality that saves his sorry ass all the time,well no...Even if Rikuo is not in his "night form" he still is courageous,brave and still has the inner power of will to save and protect hi friends, Nurarihyon's character is higly influenced by Rikuo's character,even if he still keeps his specific sarcatic comportament and speach,Rikuo succesfully changes the Nurarihyon. Hiroshi Shiibashi-sensei improves the hero stereotype, filling with realism and heart the "icon" of his series.
There are also some very interesting characters...I will talk about them later...

Note : 10

Enjoyment : I truly enjoyed this series for almost a year,and I hope that I will enjoy many years from now on ^^

Note : 10

Total : 10



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This is my first review, so please leave comments.

Story:

The story is really good, sometimes it just goes a little to fast. There are also a few errors in the story. Because they say in one episode that the enemy is a coward, because the fight with one against two. But two episodes later they do exact the same thing as the enemy, fighting two against one.

Art:

The art was amazing, that is all I can say about it.

Sound:

The voice acting is well done for the most character. And the openings are really good and they stick in your head.

Characters:

There are good characters, but I didn't like most of the characters.

Enjoyment:

You will enjoy yourself with this anime. Only sometimes you may think why did they put this episode in it, or why did this fight happen. You sometimes just feel like you are watching a useless and not important episodes. read more

Nurarihyon is a unique take on the yokai genre, and a very enjoyable one at that. I have to admit, when I first started watching the show I immediately thought: "Oh great, it's a yokai version of Katekyou Hitman Reborn."
But Nurarihyon no Mago isn't as naive, and it keeps surprising you in little ways.
The story starts with a 12 year old boy, Nura Rikuo, who lives in a house full of yokai, and is a quarter yokai himself, and thus his true demon form can only be released for a quarter of a day, under cover of darkness. He is the grandson of Nurarihyon, the Supreme Commander of Yokai, and is next in line for succession. But he doesn't want to be a Supreme Commander of all the Yokai, he wants to live as a human. However circumstances do not allow him to remain detached, and the manner in which he embraces his inheritance, with fully formed resolve and responsibility is a treat in comparison to other shonen heroes.
The art throughout the show is amazing, and if nothing else I'd watch the show just for the quality of animation.
However, I feel the characters are rather half-baked, especially the demon-form of Rikuo, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered and didn't have much depth for me. He strikes me as just a generic 'Hero' character, which is sort of off-putting.
Otherwise the show is awesome. Definitely a reccomendable show :D read more

This would be my first ever review so please bear with me haha:D

Nurarihyon is a manga adapted by Studio DEEN. It’s like a combination of Katekyo Hitman Reborn with an Inuyasha infused yokai theme and more. The story is great, even though it’s quite normal being an heir (involuntarily) and fighting of others that want to get your position, too much proving (with regards to your worth as an heir) and those entire allegiances thing with the other characters (value of friendship and trust) and a pretty obvious love interest since the girl the protagonist likes looks like her mom with an addition of slightly harem effect with regards to girls liking the protagonist Rikuo, despite all of that I still dig the story. I can’t seem to think of a wow twist in the story YET but like I said it’s still a great animé. It’s refreshing and a sort of stress relief everyday animé, the kind of animé you would love to watch after a heavy day that would make you feel normal again, also when you don’t like those awesome yet problematic and complicate animés that will give you another headache. Another thing is that even if sometimes you know that there’s nothing that much exciting on the next episode you would still want to watch more of it.

The opening themes by monkey majik are AWESOME and the fight scenes too are great. The ending songs are cute because of the chibi version of the three main female lead, Yuki Onna, Kana and Yura singing and dancing to the ending songs. The character designs have those HUGE eyes; I know most animés do have big eyes but theirs are way too big at first you would be like whoa! But after a while you’ll get used to it and some characters still look pretty and some boys (yokai boys since there aren’t much “normal” boys to begin with) are HOT like the male lead, night rikuo himself the yokais (which aren’t on human form) ranges from ugly weird to cute weird but not too scary at all. It’s a must animé that I hope will go main stream.
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I happened to stumble on this anime by accident. I wasn't looking to watch a new anime, but I saw a picture and was immediately drawn to the image of Rikuo in his demon form and thought I'd give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did!

The story line is great, though the first few episodes are quite slow and repetitive, but it's enough to keep you interested. It's only on episode 11 as of this week, but I'm already hooked and can't wait to see how it pans out.

The art is spot on. I love the character designs, especially Rikuo's demon form. For some reason I'm really loving the hair, it's so unique and fits the character to a tee. Very easy on the eyes. ;o)

The opening theme is catchy! I have it stuck in my head all the time. The ending theme....not so much.

There's some romantic vibes starting up which has me quite interested to see what comes of it. I thoroughly enjoy a good love story!

Overall, this anime has been fantastic and it's only getting better. I hope a second season is in store!! read more

Now my opinion might differ from some but i would like to speak my mind on this matter

The anime has a well thought out plot which i applaud but in all honesty i couldn't actually understand the whole story it was rather confusing. The show revolves around our main protagonist Rikuo who is 1 quarter yokai ( supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore) and three quarter human and his journey to be a lord of the pandemonium/lord of the night. Now as i had to watch to the series a couple of time to get a idea of what i seen i came to the conclusion that i have the lowest intention span in the universe as i still couldn't get it. However i still enjoyed how its slightly was different from other anime as it doesn't have high school themes like most anime and if your one of the people that think great anime is all about high school i have to say get back to reality . the fight scenes pushes you onwards through out the show.All in all i have to say it is a great anime nether the less. the art is great the character show some development. i give this anime a 7/10 (need a third season otherwise it will always confuse me) read more

Story (6): Don't get me wrong, the story has good potential, but for some reason I kept feeling sometimes it moved too slow and other times it skiped important development and moved too fast.

Art (9): The art is very enjoyable, specially the design of the yokai, each character is very singular and deteiled in it's own way.

Sound (6): The ending quite grows on you, but I think the sound, plus Rikuo's classmates took a lot of the seriousness this story could have had.

Characters (10): Again, the youkai are very varied and well developed, having so many different characters, one would have not thought they would take the time to give each one (at least the main ones) a chance to show their abilities and personalities.

Enjoyment (6): I must admit it kept me pretty interested till the end, the fights are quite nicely done.

Overall: If you like youkai, specially the ones that not necesarilly interact with humans as evil creatures, you'll probably enjoy it, don't expect to watch a very serious anime though, prepare for some lighthearted laughs and nice fights. read more

Nurarihyon no Mago is an almost typical shonen show with an almost typical premise. Why “almost” you may ask? Well, the lead character is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, and that magically makes everything look better for the casual viewers. Damn, how easy it is for people to like a show for what is going on behind the scenes and not on the stage. If the above magician’s trick isn’t enough to con you, then you will mostly see this anime as something average with some rare outbursts at good. And by average I am referring to how it follows the basic shonen formula, minus the constant shouting and perpetual on-going training and fighting.

So the lead hero is a combo of a harem lead and a shonen lead. And no, don’t believe that this makes a good spin on the formula because it’s not a blend but a disjoined coexistence. He has a split personality! His harem side is that of the archetypical weak dork with glasses, going to school and constantly being ridiculed at every turn of the way with his lame behaviour towards women and his zero power. His shonen side is on the other hand a dark personality living withing him, coming out for some hours every night and kicking ass of monsters. Definitely cooler but with very broken powers and eventually nothing but the typical dark hidden personality all shonen leads have.

So he is the son of a very powerful youkai and destined to succeed him one day. Yet all he wants is to have a normal school life, even if he is useless. At this point I was clearly seeing this as a rehash of Hitman Reborn, with some Inu Yasha action with youkai; definitely nothing we haven’t seen before. The support characters are other youkai at his service or human schoolmates and platonic romantic interests that typically head nowhere because of his harem side. In fact, most of the show is not going anywhere for the same reason. Despite him playing it courageous and strong willed, when the time comes he still is completely useless to do anything unless he transforms to his cooler alter ego; something that happens only at specific hours and not at will. Thus he is plain bothersome to follow around and you mostly wait for the action to come along.

The plot is basically him trying to live a normal life and keeping his secret hidden from his human friends, while looking for a killer youkai that is after his family. Sounds ok but the pacing is terribly slow to the most part and the rest of it follows the typical stuff we see in shonen. The cast is also way too big in number and most of them are practically background decoration. Furthermore, the story is very light and often comedic thus most characters are treated as nothing but comedy generators with various silly gimmicks. The youkai for example are named after and defined by a quirk in their look, a thing that makes them all shallow and eventually passable. The humans on the other hand are too normal to stand out for anything particular in whatever they are doing. When the plot feels like it, it provides immersion to some of them and fleshes them a bit with flashbacks and daily activities. Yet to no avail, as eventually nobody’s story is important to the plot or even that special to remember as a stand alone.

The focal point of the whole story is of course the cool lead alter ego and his amazing voice actor. Well ok, even that ain’t anything special as he beats all monsters easily and the action choreography doesn’t excel anywhere. It is simple and, like everything else in this show, slow. There is no true challenge in battle and the search for the killer is simplistic at best. Most problems came to them instead of looking for them anyway.

The production values are… cute. That is the best way to describe them. There were no special in the setting, which was typical school grounds and traditional estates. The colours and the detail in drawings were ok, albeit too commonplace in most anime and thus again rather boring. Make that too boring if you add the slow plot. In all the artwork is typical but nice, while the animation is scarce as a cheap way to save money and slow down the plot. As for the soundtrack, well, it’s a mess. The openings are good, the endings are ridiculous jpops, and the BGM is soft to the point you don’t even notice it. Overall, nothing exciting, or atmospheric, or memorable. As for voice acting… WHO CARES; FUKUYAMA IS HERE; ALL HAIL LELOUCH!

So is it a good show? Well, it could have been if it had a faster plot, better action, more secondary character impact in the story, and if Fukuyama wasn’t the one and only thing the producers based on for the show to sell. Plus the premise is a rehash of other shonen which are more enjoyable in overall (not by a lot but they are). So no, I don’t consider this a worthy anime unless you are looking for an average time killer or you are Fukuyama fangirls. read more

Another review for this show mentioned that it took a few episodes for them to get into it and I have to say that I agree completely. A good while back I watched the first episode, and I was kind of "meh"

Some time later I was a bit bored, so I started reading the manga, and it was kind of the same way. But, after getting through the first few chapters, I found myself really getting into it. Really, this anime is quite a lot of fun, and I would say it is worth it once you get into the meat of the story. Anyone who liked InuYasha back in the day should be able to enjoy Nurarihyon.

Now I just have to hope that the anime won't catch up to the manga, so I don't have to deal with fillers....

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"My grandson,when will u gonna to succeeding me?" "But i told u i wanna live as a human!"
"How many youkai I must change sake cups with? I'll take the seat of Third Heir and protect the weak youkai" "Darn! If the dawn breaks,his forms will change again and he'll forget for what he just said.What a pity,master.."

Cute in day, handsome in night....!! Very rare youkai in new adventures!
It's very great anime! Tell the truth, I didn't like the art of its manga so much. Kinda make me creepy. But its anime now, have change it! I must said, the design characters drawn me first, and then the story! The youkai themselves is drawn very beautiful. Really can inivite both male and female fans to crazy about this anime. Hope the story will also reach the greatest battle of Nuragumi with most strongest youkai, like its manga version

Plus the theme songs! I prefer the opening ^^ Kinda familiar with the music theme,remind me of Harry Potter's music >.< but perhaps it's only my imagine hehhe. read more

Nurarihyon no Mago is your typical supernatural shounen anime with a boy who gets stronger over time, because he wants to protect something. “Nakama”, comrades, is a very important topic in this anime. This is where the “typical” mostly stops. Some people compare this anime to DN Angel, because the main character has a day-form and a night-form. The author makes this transformation mysterious: does he have a split personality or is it still the same Rikuo with his youkai blood awakened - which makes him more confident in his abilities? There are hints into both directions in this series.

There are a few things that drive this story along: Rikuo’s need to hide his true identity, other youkai groups who want to make use of the Nura clan’s current weakness to conquer their territory, his school club’s frequent hunting of youkais, Rikuo’s reluctance and finally determination to become the heir.

I like the characters. It is a big plus that our main is very like-able in both forms once he decides to take things into his hands (aka to become the 3rd commander). His youkais are a merry group and humour is used in all the right places.

The soundtrack is awesome: The OPs were created by Monkey Majik, a group consisting of two Japanese and two Canadians. It is my first time listening to a song that mixes two languages that well (even though some people call their Japanese “slang”). The OST reminds me of Harry Potter at times; it has a magical feel to it. The use of music in the series is neither overdone nor underdone.

Art: B+, very colourful, detailed and beautiful art. I think this studio is more used to shoujo titles though, because they made the eyes kind of big. I got to admit though; some characters in the manga looked like bi-shounen so they can be forgiven ;)

Overall:
In my opinion they could have made more detailed battle scenes. Furthermore I’m really confused: why did they change the last few episodes? I liked the happenings in the manga better.

Otherwise this was a very enjoyable series for me! read more

how come you say its only 24 episodes...i watched it and its 26 episodes, i can't even change it.
the story wasn't like so catchy but i liked it and I'm watching it to the end.

When I saw the trailer on Animax, you have no idea how excited I was. Though I actually expected the demons to be Satan, but actually it ended up more interesting.
I believe this anime is misjudged too much.

Story - 8
Why would you expect a 12 year old mostly human child to straight away accept he is a heir of a Yokai clan that has tonnes of youkai? God - I hate people like that.
The story includes Rikuo Nura, a 3/4 human and 1/4 demon(youkai) boy who is soon to be a heir of the clan. But he is not a mischievous type of person and he was also used to his ordinary, human life. He has a lot of friends in reality, as well as - the yokai world. Obviously, yokai are feared creatures in Japan (most of them). And they are actually in folkore, check it out if you like.
He has to prove his clan, his family and his friends that he is indeed a worthy person.
Though things that really put me to disappoint is flashbacks of the previous episodes and unnecessary fillers. It would've been fine as just 20-22 episodes skipping those fillers.

Art - 10
Not much to say about art but it's amazing. They've put their effort to make the yokai as it should be - a beautiful but dangerous women, scary looking dragons, floating heads etc.

Sound - 10
AH! the best thing ever! The OP, you can NOT resist singing along. Who knew Canadians can sing Japanese so well (if you're wondering why he says the English bits very fluently, the lead is Canadian)? The ED was cute. Soundtrack suspending. Very good.

Character - 6
This is what I'm disappointed with. I love Rikuo, but they put too much Rikuo. But at least in the end everyone had their role.

Enjoyment - 8
Fights, adventure, decisions, future. That's all I have to say.

Overall 9 read more

Let me start off by saying that Nurarihyon is one sexy Yokai!

*ehem*err* Alright, now I have gotten that out of the way...

Story: 7 - For me it's just the typical Human/Yokai story... it has an 'Inuyasha' feel to it... the plot is not boring, it's actually fast paced, but maybe I was looking for something more... the characters were developed quite nicely and the fight scenes aren't bad either... since Nurarihyon was strong, i wanted the antagonist to be a bada**... Also, the human by day and yokai by night is okay... not that Rikuo is not cute, but i wanted more Nurarihyon... waiting for the transformation kinda gets old...

Overall/Enjoyment: 8 - Nura and his clan are so fun to watch... Nurarihyon is the leader of a bunch of Yokai - most of them appear harmless and they'll be the mischievous spirits at best... his most loyal subjects are Yuki Onna, Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kubinashi (Headless)... they provide comic relief to a seemigly serious story... We also have a "love angle" but being 12 yr olds, they are a little bit too young to be excited about... and i like Yura better than Kana, btw...
Ending had a nice feel to it and was not too mushy... though it did make me go 'Aaawww - that's cute...' -
What I also liked best here is the Sakura tree... it was mesmerizing... i am still waiting if it has some kind of significance in the story or maybe i missed it... :P

Now watching the 2nd season and by the looks of it, the 2nd part is much more promising... can't wait... :)

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Story: 8/10 This is a Anime about, young Nura Rikuo the grandson of the supreme commander of the Nura yokai clan. As heir to the most powerful clan of yokai, he has to live up to a great expectation set by his grandfather the Nurarihyon. This season of the show goes through the internal struggles of the Nura clan to the fight against the evil Shikoku yokai. The story is really interesting and really pulled me in. I have not read the manga so I wouldn’t know if it was slow or not. The pace of the show was good, tho at the beginning it felt a little slow but it was manageable. The second half of the Anime has got to be the best part of the Anime. The pacing was good and the story pulled me in and I could not put it down.

Art 9/10. The art was amazing for the show and was very colorful. The character design's were great too. From Yuki Onna's gold rinnegan eyes to Rikuo's epic night form.

Sound 10/10: this is where Nurarihyon no Mago excels greatly, the two openings Fast Forward and Sunshine we're perfect for the series. They are extremely catchy and sometime the band that sung them felt like a English alternative band. I personally enjoy the first more than the second but all in all they both were amazing. The two endings are good but they cannot beat the amazing opening themes. I suggest checking them out.

Character 8/10: The characters we're really interesting and made the series really fun at times. Rikuo was gotta be the best character of the series. His dark form is really awesome, and Jun Fukuyama does a freaking amazing job as the seiyuu for him. Other cool characters were Yuki Onna (Tsurara), Zen, and Yura Keikain. I think that the series would of done a little better if there were more character development and some more romance scenes. I personally think that Rikuo should of told his friends who he was especially to Kana, or I wish they saw him change his forms or something. It would of made the series a lot more interesting and would of bumped up my rating. I hope this happens in season 2 sometime or later on in the series. Also, after a while it got ridiculous that all those demons in his house would always hide and they would never be found even when it was completely obvious that they were there. Though, I always felt sorry for Kiyotsugu... he always wanted to see the yokai but never did even though everyone else around him saw them it was pretty funny tho.

Enjoyment/Overall 8/10: I think this series was great. It had a lot of high points and some low points but overall I'm glad I watched it. Though from what I heard, those who read or have read the manga won't like it because it is “slow”. Other than that, this series is really good and down the road I might want to rewatch it again. I cannot wait for season 2, I hope it will be bigger and better than this season! read more