A journey into Kyousou Giga is an experience like no other. It is perhaps, out of all things, most analogous to wandering in a circus, stumbling upon the Hall of Mirrors, and coming back having witnessed a sensational light show. In other words, Kyousou Giga is a show that stands out for its use of exuberant visuals; it displays a charm that is unique and impressive.
However, looks can often be deceiving, and thankfully, this is not the case for Kyousou Giga. Admittedly, the beginning seems bizarre; lots of random, unrelated events occur spontaneously. Nonetheless, a darker narrative, which Kyousou Giga skillfully weaves with
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its initially lighthearted tone, later takes center stage. And not only does Kyousou Giga manage to blend these heterogeneous elements together, it does it very well. It’s like seeing a constellation of fireworks as they meander into the air, only to explode in a colorful harmony. And never before have fireworks looked so beautiful.
Set in the Mirror Capital, Kyousou Giga begins with the Council of Three. The Capital is a painting originally created by a monk named Myoue, who, gifted with supernatural abilities, can give life to anything he draws. Lady Koto, by way of Myoue’s magic and an encounter with a bodhisattva, transforms from a drawing of a black rabbit to a human, and later confesses her love to Myoue. Myoue soon reciprocates Lady Koto’s affection, and creates the Capital, as society became increasingly intolerant of his supernatural acts, to escape from reality and to foster their family. Their family is composed of three children; Kurama and Yase, created from Myoue’s drawings, and Yakushimaru, a human being. The Council of Three are the three siblings who, after the sudden disappearance of their parents, took over the Capital. One day, as Yakushimaru is observing the Capital, a lightning storm comes by, bringing in its wake an eccentric girl called Koto, who’s searching for a black rabbit.
By a storm Koto arrives, and what a storm Koto will leave. As it turns out, Koto is a catalyst for trouble and chaos. Almost every scene Koto lands on is bound to be marked by havoc: wrecked either by her whimsical tendencies or her monumental, destructive hammer. The first half of the story does an excellent job of establishing her impulsive character and the second of fleshing it out. Particularly, as the central mystery of the black rabbit is slowly unveiled, Koto begins to gain a sense of belonging. As she searches for something that’s missing from her heart, the Capital becomes her compass, her guidance, and her home. Every character she stumbles upon gradually shapes who she is, and by the end, Koto has found the ultimate bliss. Thankfully, this development is paced properly and thereby blossoms naturally.
Koto also brings about excitement to those surrounding her. Acts of kindness and acts of joy, Koto’s true talent lies with her ability to inspire change by way of her impetuous acts. Her interactions with other characters, through thick and thin, effectuate in the development and characterization for said characters. For instance, one of Yase’s notorious temperamental outrages is stabilized by Koto when, after a duel of fists, Yase is able to calm down and reflect upon the kindness around her, a kindness of which Koto offers to those who need it the most. Afterwards, although Yase does not show it immediately, she begins developing a faint, more sympathetic aura than before. Subtly, she matures from a sprout to a flower.
On another note, Kyousou Giga also enriches its narrative by paying homage to Japanese folklore and Buddhist tales. And it does so excellently. Extrapolating on folklore such as the “Moon Rabbit” or “Scrolls of Frolicking Animals," Kyousou Giga breathes life into its mystical characters—imbibing the cultural significances that are entailed by said folklores. It is as if Kyousou Giga is taking inanimate legends and rendering them into contemporary art form—as if to yield the perfect balance between faithful “adaptation” and its own creative license. Luckily, this means that even side characters—many of whom are caricatured and used as a comic relief—are given flair from the past: colorful spirits that roam around nonchalantly under Yase’s rule, anthropomorphic animals that speak human tongue, and so on. Even an ordinary motif such as the recurring paper-cut crowds from metropolis can make for a great enhancement to the vibrancy of the Mirror Capital.
The presentation is, by and large, a combination of unique visual designs and stellar direction. When likened to Koto’s wackiness, the Mirror Capital is portrayed to be full of mundane follies and mischief. Moreover, Kyousou Giga is able to, in tune with its aesthetics, construct a universe supernatural in concept, but down-to-earth in essence. There's nothing quite like the way that Kyousou Giga fills its canvas: covering it initially with unearthly shapes and vivid imagery, only to be animated by a brush that conjures lifelike wonders. The end result is an unbelievably vibrant piece of work that is both pleasing to the eye and immersed with depth. Of course, this is not without the help of backdrops that depict all four seasons of the year; from the bountiful nature of the spring to the scathing effects of the wintry snow. Similarly, the OST serves its purpose well. Powerful during action scenes and minimalistic when needed to be, the OST complements the elegant animation.
A prominent theme in Kyousou Giga is the importance of familial identity. Many characters evaluate their self-worth entirely upon the status quo of their family, and for the Council of Three, who have a dysfunctional family, that is very little. Beautiful as it may be to see Koto develop her own take on her identity, it’s perhaps more joyful to witness the subtle transformations that overcome the three. Through trials and tribulations, they find that family is more than a superficial tradition to live by. To be a family means to make mistakes. To make silly decisions, to argue about frivolous matters, and to spend time leisurely: this is what a family does. It, akin to all things in life, isn’t perfect, and Kyousou Giga tells us not to hinge or weigh ourselves based on mistakes of the past or decisions made in the future. It tells us to live freely in the present, as Koto does, and to see the silver lining in the clouds.
Much of this is expressed via the lighthearted mood of the series; the comedy and the playful tone. Koto's whimsical actions and her buffooneries, more than the purpose of entertainment, resound the central theme of living capriciously. Without Koto, the Council of Three would’ve spent eternity waiting; without change, the present stagnates. Koto’s greatest tools to inspire change are her hammer and smile. All this is to remind us to live life to the fullest, joyfully.
Kyousou Giga is an impressive anime. Rich in folkloristic imagery, wildly creative in direction, and breathtaking in visuals, Kyousou Giga is certainly one of the best anime in recent years. Even with action, drama, and fantasy, it is able to harmoniously blend these elements together without homogenizing its creative, distinct flavor. Be it fireworks, a painting, or a Hall of Mirrors, Kysousou Giga is a work that deftly conveys its messages by way of its memorable characters, narrative, and production. A journey into Kyousou Giga is an experience like no other.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Kyousogiga (TV)
Japanese: 京騒戯画
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
10
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Oct 10, 2013 to Dec 19, 2013
Premiered:
Fall 2013
Broadcast:
Thursdays at 01:30 (JST)
Licensors:
Discotek Media
Studios:
Toei Animation
Source:
Original
Duration:
25 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#11462
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1216
Members:
188,385
Favorites:
1,969
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 45 / 47
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Your Feelings Categories Jan 2, 2014
A journey into Kyousou Giga is an experience like no other. It is perhaps, out of all things, most analogous to wandering in a circus, stumbling upon the Hall of Mirrors, and coming back having witnessed a sensational light show. In other words, Kyousou Giga is a show that stands out for its use of exuberant visuals; it displays a charm that is unique and impressive.
However, looks can often be deceiving, and thankfully, this is not the case for Kyousou Giga. Admittedly, the beginning seems bizarre; lots of random, unrelated events occur spontaneously. Nonetheless, a darker narrative, which Kyousou Giga skillfully weaves with ... Dec 20, 2013
A dream is like an imagination. Sometimes they feel so real but other times they fade away like illusions where you’ll never be able to reach it again. But dreams sometimes can be larger than life and when we wake up, we may feel surprised. Kyousou Giga is one of those series that surprised me quite a bit despite feeling like living in a dream. It has a sense of uniqueness and style that will lure you in as if you’re in a dream world but everything feels so real.
Kyousou Giga is an animated series that is an expanded adaptation based on the ONA of ... Dec 20, 2013
Every once in a while, there is a show that reminds you why you love the medium in the first place. May it be through the narrative completely enthralling you, the story resonating with personal events or just because it strikes a chord and makes you emotionally invested in what is going to happen. Kyousougiga is that show, and to me it is something that you can only really find in this medium.
One of the first things to notice about Kyousougiga is that this is not the first Kyousougiga anime. The original was released in 2011 and was a 1 episode long ONA produced by ... Jul 14, 2014
Kyousougiga is like a book you randomly stumble upon that you end up reading until you finish it in one-go. Amidst the wide array of classics, bestsellers, and other popular books, Kyousougiga as a book would stand out quietly, waiting to be discovered. And for those who do eventually discover it, Kyousougiga rewards them with a refreshingly original and beautifully heartwarming story.
One peaceful night, a tomboyish girl named Koto accidentally crashes down into the “mirror capital” named Kyoto while chasing a magical black rabbit. In this weird city that models itself after the old medieval Kyoto, Koto discovers her three long-lost siblings that have ... Jun 4, 2015
Beautiful artwork, disappointing plot development.
Watch only if you don't mind unexplained motivations and emotional scenes that carry very little weight (due to unexplained or weak motivations). It could be just me and my preference for certain types of plots, but I thought this held a lot of potential and was disappointed as a result. Reserving the reveals for the end left it feeling like a confused, mish-mash attempt at an ending with loopholes to make it work. It simply wasn't believable, even given the myth-like feel that it has. There's beautiful artwork and an interesting plot line surrounding a very strange family (to say the least). The ... Apr 18, 2015
Trotting down a dimly lit stairway lost in worries, walking hurriedly along a corridor seemingly without end, you come across a painting - a feast of colours and of animals frolicking, the flickering of faint candlelight casting on it a breath of life. Such a contrast it is to the pale grey walls, such bewildering emotions it instils, so incongruous with the world it’s in; such is Kyousougiga. Set in the Mirror Capital of Kyoto, an amalgam city of old and new, a world where the boundary between man and god is blurred, is a story of a family coming into terms with each
...
Dec 23, 2014
Kyousougiga is a family show, not the Simpsons type or something like that. Although it mirrors a lot from Summer’s Uchouten Kazoku. Kyousougiga is definitely its own thing. A show that is universal in meaning.
I always thought that Kyousougiga is Uchouten Kazoku in Ikuhara style.. Its a little weird but heartwarming show. Kyousougiga is a all about a broken family. Children and parents want to go back to each other. While Kyousougiga is a show that has a fantastic worldbuilding I don’t really think Kyousougiga is interested in that. It is interested in this certain family we are talking about. Its characters also have this ... Jun 1, 2020
God. I really wanted to like this anime, I really did, but I just couldn't.
The interesting, colorful art, cute character designs, and comparisons to some of my favorite anime was what led me to watch this. Sadly, I can't say the greatest things about this anime. The first episode is just one huge info dump then the next episode stuff just starts happening and they present the story, which intrigued me at first, in the least enjoyable way possible. It was just hard to follow. Here's what watching this anime feels like. There's this book with an amazing, intriguing story, but someone spilled their water all ... Feb 14, 2015
I'll just say this first thing.
This is the second time I have watched the anime, and I am not one to do repeats of things. Let's get right to it then. You need to appreciate that not everything can ever be explained to you, or simply, just won't. There is nothing wrong with trying to find answers, but things either just can't be explained, or more in this anime case won't be explained. You also just sometimes need to let go and... Listen... However, to the credit of the anime, the things that are not explained in enough detail are the, let's say side parts of the ... Dec 21, 2013
"Unpredictable" is the best way to describe this anime, which is a strange quality to found nowadays in almost all media, and for that I'm appreciative. The way everything goes and how the characters respond to their surroundings, in their own looney way, makes it all a little more confusing at the beginning but not less enjoyable.
The anime is based on a 2011 & 2012 ONA of the same name, but it is not really necessary to watch them first to understand the story, since the anime itself replays some of the scenes on the ONA and makes them make sense afterwards. Still, I recommend ... Oct 20, 2014
The analysis on the theme of family and the gushing over animation has been done to death. Neither do I want to touch on the religious influences since even though its based on a whole load of Buddhist myth and spiritual symbols it isn't really a religious show. Anyway reviews based around discussion on themes, character, animation or analysis of plot cohesion are boring and miss out on a lot of other areas that are important in the formation of a work. Animation, the multi-medium, subsists well in a harmony of all spheres, which means no sphere can be neglected to form a cohesive work.
Let's ... Feb 26, 2020
Kyousou Giga. The most bizarre family complex anime of all time. Started as one of the most confusing anime ever, but then ended up as an anime that's so simple. Kyousou Giga is like when you forget something that you're not supposed to forget, so you feel like shit, but then you remember it when it's already too late. But since it's not that important, you feel relieved and shit at the same time for forgetting something so simple.
Story : 10/10 How many plot twists do you want in this show? Producer : yes How many confusions do you want to add into the ... Jan 14, 2015
At first glance, Kyousogiga looks like a version of Alice and Wonderland or Alice Through the Looking Glass, but it abandons that premise fairly early on. The part of the show that stood out for me was the characters. Kyousogiga is the story of an unusual family and the bonds that tie them together, hold them up and sometimes pull them down. The main focus is on young Koto and Myoue, both of whom are characters with a lot of depth. The secondary characters are also very well thought out and do a lot to create the show's world.
Which brings me to setting. Looking Glass ... Dec 24, 2013
This anime is really odd. There is definitely nothing out there that could maybe even be considered similar - and that's why I loved it. (Note: this review is only based off of this series, I have not watched any of the other ONAs)
Story - 9/10 This anime throws you into a world and takes no time to explain anything. This could go horribly, horribly wrong - or it could leave you intrigued and wanting more. For the first couple of episodes I had only speculations as to what was going on - yet, I still enjoyed it more than anything else I was ... Jan 23, 2015
If you have ever taken a mythology course or simply read some stories about ancient creationist myths, then you are familiar with accepting the way things happen with no real deep explanation as to why. We accept great happenings as being okay because usually they involve gods or very simply the notion of them is so charming or ridiculous that we let it slide for the enjoyment of the story.
Kyousougiga most resembles what seems like its' own creation myth. This is a story involving gods, and multiple planes of existence, jumping across dimensions ... Oct 26, 2016
It always sounds so pretentious to say that a work is only made more perfect by its imperfections. At best it seems like a meaningless, sophomoric word game; at worst it seems like you're trying to make whatever you're talking about immune from criticism. But I can't say why I love Kyousougiga so much without doing that, so there you go.
I'll at least be specific: when I say "imperfections" I'm talking about the obscurity of how the story is laid out; the slight visual inconsistency (the final scenes of episode 4, for example, are animated by a different person than episode 7's climax, and Koto's ... Oct 3, 2019
Dammit anime industry, why are you sabotaging yourself like that?
Kyousougiga could have been a show ranking alongside highly acclaimed titles such as Tatami Galaxy, or Furi Kuri. It had the themes, the budget, the set-up, and the liveliness to achieve greatness. … And messed it all up. First things first; the 2013 version is a remake of the older one from the previous year. No reason to watch that one, other than scratching your head with Toei doing 3 versions of the EXACT same thing so close to each other (since there is an even older single episode set in the same universe). Upon watching THIS version, be ... Apr 28, 2017
Kyousougiga review
A story about family, death and how precious life is. Story 9/10 This anime was a breath of fresh air, beautiful symbolism used and characters that are the story in Kyousougiga. The story portrays the creation of our world and universe from the bible . We have six characters that symbolize how the universe was created in 6 days by god.Its about creation of life and how much effort and time is needed to create a life. It also shows how precious and short life is. The anime focuses on family and portrays the human drama inside every family. It shows how kids are abandoned by their parents ... Feb 16, 2022
“Life, what is it but a dream?” - Lewis Caroll.
Kyousogiga is like that one random YouTube video that you get recommended out of the blue, yet you watch it out of spite and end up having the most wonderful time. It’s a story about family, love, home, loneliness, and life itself. And yes, these messages and themes are a dime a dozen in all of media, anime especially. But in every saturated medium, there will always be that one show that sticks out, one that genuinely is filled with passion, one that tries something different with itself, that is Kyousogiga. It might be a ... May 23, 2015
Kyousou Giga is an exploration into storytelling, mixing mythology, sci-fi, and a rich cast within a whimsical yet still believable world.
The plot is presented in a compact episodic form, exploring just a single aspect each time, in a matter not dissimilar from the Game of Thrones. It catches all the right notes, managing everything from happy and whimsical, to sad and melancholy, from lighthearted to serious and back again, all in a natural way. The setting is both believable, and utterly impossible; combining humans, gods, and beyond. The art is vibrant and cheerful, though not too detailed. This only adds to the tone of the ... |