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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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So, what did you all think of this short movie ?

I didn't know what to expect but i was slightly shocked by the whole concept of it. So Sorincha had one the day before and handed the demon mask to her brother, but what happens to her? does she get to go back home? Anyway, aside from the story slightly disturbing me i thought it was good. The animation wasn't bad considering you could tell it was done with the computer, and i'm not really a fan of things done with computers.

It was a good watch.

When i first watched it i was like... wtf thats it?

But i watched it a 2nd and 3rd time and it started to look better and better to me but ... well read my review :D thats how i feel aboot it

I watch this on Cartoonnetwork a couple of years ago. But I did like it; I can't exactly comment on every aspect, since it was a long time ago.

Even though I found it to be a little confusing, I still liked it. Gets an 8/10 from me =)

You know for an anime with a premise (and reveal), animation, and action like that...

...this was really freakin' boring.

I just rewatched it today and I realized something. It's not all that scary. Eerie, yes, but not scary. The animation was really unique (the demons looked fantastic), but there are two mind-numbingly long pan shots that go on for at least two-three minutes each. The rushed finish also doesn't help. Still, it's a great premise with an effective atmosphere, but there's just not much substance. I used to rank it an 8, but I give it a 7/10 now.

Even though it wasn't just awe striking, I can't help but just love this sort of...technoshamanism theme.

They take Shinto, and they fuse it with a futuristic dystopian picture of Japan.
And it's actually quite pretty. But it's never terribly scary. But it keep you watching because it's pretty and it moves well enough.

i loved the whole cute girl voice with demononic echo.

I was expecting it to be scarier :s I think above someone said it was eerie and that's about it. I'm not really a big fan of computer generated animation, it doesn't have the same fluidity you get from your everyday drawn anime. The concept, however, was great. I would have loved to see this as a full length film because it felt like it ended too soon and left us too many unanswered questions that could have added to the story.

1.What happens to Sorincha?

2.Do the towns people know what fuels their city? Do they care?

3.What about the families that lose their children, is there are lore about it except through the rumors of children?

4.How do the demons lure the children there in the first place? I understand the main character wanted to find his sister, but what's in it for the rest of them?

5.Where does everyone else go during Kakurenbo? How does everyone else know when their holding a game?

This should DEFINITELY have been a full feature film.

short but fun.
expected more from it, but its all good in the end.

The atmosphere is what made it a winner. The creepy setting lasted all the way through. Though I thought it was pretty obvious that Sorincha was the last enemy. Well, her mask anyway.

Very creepy. I really enjoyed this! Watching the whole city being lit up and the masks made me shudder.

Liked it, but I feel like they shouldn't have actually shown the Oni. They weren't scary looking, and they were animated strangely, so it would have been better to keep them hidden. Plus the story would have an additional layer to make it more interesting - are the children really hearing demons, are they just scared, or is the whole thing being orchestrated by the person who is "it"?

Instead we just get some ugly, slow moving demons running around the city with no explanation for what they are.

Pretty much this. General rule of horror is that something you can't see is always scarier than the real thing. Especially if the real things are... robots? Don't really know what to call them.

The scariest thing in this was probably when they revealed what would happen to you if you are caught... I mean being killed is one thing but being used as a lamp for the rest of your life is ... ugh.

Firstly, Loved this movie to death. I can watch it over and over and not get bored. I'm easily entertained, so I'm not much of a critic, but I loved the visuals and the way the story pulls you in without divulging too much background into anything, really. For instance, they don't waste time on character backgrounds. They don't waste time on how it started or how things work the way they do. There is only whats happening there and then, and the reason it's happening. The character designs were spectacular, there's a little bit of every kind of kid. Short kids, Sissy kid, Kid who climbs on rocks, Etcetera. The monsters were spooky. As in, Spookier than Scooby Doo by a long shot, but not nearly Freddy Kruegar scary.

Actually, In retrospect, I would probably let kids over the age of 7-9 watch this. There is no blood, no graphic parts. The only bad parts are towards the end, which I think as a kid, would have scared the daylights out of me. Perfect selection for a Halloween flick. The Halloween stuff kids have now a days are way too child friendly. If you've ever watched "Scary Godmother", You know exactly what I'm talking about. This would be a wonderful highlight to any Hallows Eve line up.

1. I have a theory about this, actually. Something interesting you might notice, is the twin's masks have red eyes. The twins being my favorite characters, one might overlook it as cool mask design, but then in the end, You'll notice the main char has red eyes as well. This makes me think. The twins were very silent, and they seemed to know EXACTLY what they were doing. Perhaps they did this before...? Previous winners, tempting fate? And if these were previous winners, perhaps the same thing happened to Sorincha. She was released, but for winning, some demonic parts were left as her prize for winning. That's what I think happened.

2. I believe they mentioned the town was abandoned, and no one goes near it anymore. This is why everything is in disrepair, and no one notices what is going on, or questions what the demons do.

3. This is really overthinking things. But I assume the police search, but can't find them, and the families end up wondering what happened for the rest of their lives. I expect that if the police searched this town, there would be some sort of demonic Gimick that would keep them wandering around, but be unable to find the tower.

4. That's just it. Remember the beginning when Sorincha spoke to the child gang, the thug and his cronies? This is how it works. The one who is 'it' is sent out as a lure. They go to play grounds, schools, wherever kids are hanging out, and plant seeds about the mysterious Kakurenbo game. The kids get curious, and wander in none the wiser to prove it isn't true. Kind of like the old haunted house thing. Kids go in, expecting the rumors to be bull, only to find out the rumors are true. The 5th demon is a mask, that controls the child, and uses them to lure others in.

5. See answer 2, and I expect Sorincha told them a time, but they didn't have that part of the conversation in the movie.

The reason some questions are left unanswered is so that there is speculation about them. They did that on purpose so we would have something to think about. It's meant to raise the movie's charm, and IMHO, it does that beautifully.

damn the movie was so scary! it's was awesome!!! even the soundtrack goes with it perfectly.

My theory on the 5th Demon and how the Kakurenbo incident started:


I think the 5th demon is a body taker (Oni) or a processed mask. Somebody (probably a child) might have found it long ago when people used to live in that ruins and it took over that person. Or the Oni might have processed someone and forced him/her to play Otokoyo. Then the processed person encouraged other children to play the game of Otokoyo. They played it in that place and one after another the children started to disappear who played it. Later people deserted that place and it became ruins.The demons disguises as statues until the game starts. The Oni disguises as an extra player and joins up with other players.
Inmu & Yanku (the twins) once played Otokoyo but they escaped.
Or may be the ones that wins the Oni mask are called the Kings and Queens and they recruits new players.


As Hikora became the new 5th Demon at the end, Sorincha was released as well other who believes in demons. The ones that didn't believes in demon was used as fuel for one of the machines that light the city, like Noshiga.

BTW if u read the character descriptions, some confusions might clear up.
new ideas would pop-up after re-watch... LOL

edit: 10/3/10, re-watched

Facts abt the "5th Demon"
it's a host type demon, a mask which processes who wears it (the last person left in the game is the one to wear it)
it recruits new players for otkoyo
it plays the game alongside other kids
........
Some demons resembling the kids is just coincidence for that reason
but the twins having red eyes is a mystery cause u know that only the processed ones have red eyes

That was a lot creepier then I thought it was going to be :p

This was boring as hell, I actually expected SOMETHING...

Do you know where I could find kakurenbo ost or the last composition which is played in the end?

It's almost immpossible to find that last composition...

I really wanted to like this.
The only good thing was it was scary to me.
But thats not exactly an accomplishment. I hate horror and scary stuff.