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!
