Ryokunohara Labyrinth: Sparkling Phantom

“Ryokunohara Meikyuu” is a paranormal, otherworldly tale of possession (both literal and figurative), friendship and romance that feels like a fever dream.

The story centers on Hiroki and Kanata, two high school students who have been very close to each other since they were kids. One night, Hiroki gets hit by a truck and apparently dies, but his ghost watches as his body miraculously seems to be okay and acts more or less normally. Meanwhile, Fhalei, a mysterious redheaded female spirit, approaches Hiroki’s ghost several times, saying she loves him and wants to be together with him, et cetera. But of course, Hiroki only has ... eyes for Kanata… and if Hiroki’s not in his own body, then who is?

The way the story in “Ryokunohara Meikyuu” unfolds is somewhat unusual. It starts out in a relatively standard fashion, and then dives off the deep end into a surreal dreamlike sequence about halfway through, and then weaves back and forth between plot progression and surreal sequences until the end. The dreamlike parts seem to be figurative, like you’re supposed to interpret them to derive some sort of meaning from them, but that meaning is lost on me since this is only a 1-episode, 40-minute OVA with no time to really develop characters or plot. Thus, I’m not sure what purpose these parts are supposed to serve, unless this OVA’s intended audience is specifically those who have already read the manga and may have more context to understand such scenes.

The short runtime also means that key elements that would facilitate understanding of the story, such as Fhalei’s background and motivations, as well as the “power” Kanata is hinted at having, are left almost completely unexplained. It’s also unclear why some of the events in the climax occur; they happen and you’re just expected to accept them.

The characters also fall victim to the limited runtime. Besides Hiroki, Kanata and Fhalei, there are a handful of other named characters who are supposed to be the boys’ friends (they all go off on a trip together), but these characters only get a handful of lines apiece (maybe even less than that), and we learn nothing about them over the course of the show.

The animation and art are both decent for the time this was made; the characters look nice, everything is colorful, and the surreal scenes feature a number of interesting fantasy elements. The voice acting is okay. Hiroki sounds like just about every other character Toshihiko Seki has voiced, so Seki’s performance is just average. Kappei Yamaguchi shows surprising range with his performance as Kanata. Kumiko Nishihara is good as Fhalei, and nobody else really gets enough lines to stand out.

Music plays an important role in setting the tone for this OVA. Both the opening and ending themes are happy and upbeat, and there’s a variety of background music. The instrumental song that plays during the strange sequence about halfway through has a lot of unusual elements mixed into it, and it’s memorable for that.

Regarding objectionable content, there is male and female stylized (not detailed) nudity, and a few scenes where characters’ lives look like they’re in danger. But that’s about it — this OVA is pretty tame.

Overall, “Ryokunohara Meikyuu” is certainly watchable, although it’s a bit on the unusual side with its trippy elements, and it feels too incomplete and vague to leave a lasting impression. Recommended if you’re in the mood to see something different.