Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin

I was originally going to write a review after it had finished but seeing such low ratings i decided to write one now.

Every season there is an anime that is completely underrated and gets ignored by majority of the viewers. for me Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin is that show for this season.

STORY/Charachters: 8
The story has been pretty interesting so far, i cant really think of anything too negative about it. Every episode the crew has a new challenge/Adventure to deal with, The characters alone are all pretty interesting and unique. Every new episode a new character is introduced which is equally as interesting as the ... rest. So far its been a perfect balance of both seriousness and comedy. The mood is pretty light and does get intense sometimes.The story isn't really that intense or serious (atleast so far) since there are lot of things we still are not aware of which i hope we learn about in the upcoming episodes, such as the back stories of each character. Seeing Arata learn more and more about his ancestor and meet old Anothers that knew Seimei is pretty interesting.

ART/Sound: 10
Both the OP and ED are nice and somewhat catchy. The BGM though, is completely in sync with every scene. Each scene is perfectly represented by the music that suits it the most. The character designs are also done pretty nicely and each character is designed to loom unique in their own way.

Overall: 9
Honestly, the show isn't bad at all. I am actually a bit surprised as to why is has such a low rating. I would say its definitely worth the watch.

It's shocking and disappointing that this anime is getting overlooked by so many people. Personally I blame the massive amount of coverage things with more money behind them are getting. Because this is a joint Funimation-Crunchyroll venture, thus it SHOULD have enough going for it to get as many views as possible. If they'd promote it.

So what is it and is it worth watching? I say absolutely. This show is basically what would happen if Men In Black and CLAMP's xxxHolic had a baby.

What it pulls off best is the art and sound most of all. It's VERY pretty to look at a ... lot of the time, the environments especially.
Most of the show takes place at night (go figure), and the people who animate and illustrate the world we're peaking into clearly knew how to work with that. The city looks amazing and there are a lot of gorgeous shots of the night sky from the Imperial Gardens.
The music is similar to Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, with a lot of jazz and jazz-adjacent pieces. As a matter of fact the aesthetic on a whole is comparable to that, even if the themes and characters are vastly different.

Writing is important to of course, and if you liked the curiosity and occult themes in xxxHolic (which is well worth watching as well) then you're sure to enjoy this.
It's hard to explain how good the overall narrative of the season is without spoiling things, but suffice to say there are some good twists and a surprising number of emotionally evocative moments.
This show is quite tonally diverse, with the first episode being moderately light and focusing on Miyako Arata (the protagonist)'s curiosity at what he's just gotten himself into, the second and third episodes continuing this but adding some darker turns before turning things on their head a bit for a more lighthearted fourth episode, which still has some pretty serious stakes.
That's a line Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin tends to balance on quite well. It keeps things relatively light but the stakes can be quite high or emotionally intense.
This ties in quite well with how Arata's demeanor is as well. There are numerous occasions where his dealings with Anothers (occult creatures derived from real world myth, they're what make this show like Men In Black, because the Midnight Occult Civil Service is dealing with supernaturals instead of aliens, but their relationship is similar) threaten his life and/or the lives of people he cares about.
In spite of often being present when his or other lives are being threatened, Arata tends to always keep a relatively level head, and errs on the diplomatic side, generally trying to find out what the Anothers want and how to give it to them without upsetting the social balance.
Thus we have a relatively light approach coupled with serious consequence and stakes. And balancing those things in a way that isn't jarring or cringe is quite a feat.

Characters! There's a dude who looks like a chick, they mention it once in the first episode with a joke and then move on, it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal, because the show and the people in the show certainly don't, and as a character his androgynous appearance barely even registers when you couple it with his voice. This guy's the resident occult expert/nerd/scientist for the Nocturnal Relations Division.
Arata's only other non-boss co-worker at the Shinjuku Ward Office is a former host for what I assume is a karaoke bar, he has his own arc which is kinda a B story wile the A story of each episode goes on, I think it gets enough attention to be interesting without detracting from the really interesting and mostly episodic plots. And it is itself a good arc, and it makes you see both Arata's colleagues as more than just meat sacks with voices.
The effeminate one doesn't get an arc or much character development at all, but that feeds into what they are as a character, which is a professional with an avid interest in the lore which relates to their job. If this character was also given an arc and pRoBlEms the show wouldn't feel as tightly written as it is.
Arata also has a best friend who probably wants to be more than that, but the show doesn't dwell on this very much, but it does involve her somewhat in the plot on occasion. Though once again not in such a way as to feel overbearing.
Some of the other characters would be spoilers but there are a couple of Anothers who hang out with Arata/live in his house.

Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin is an excellent anime.
It's compelling (I recommend watching the first 4 episodes in one sitting to get the full range of tone that the show has), expands on itself at a decent pace to not be overwhelming, pretentious or otherwise daunting, and if you like occult things from both Japanese and other cultures, you'll enjoy seeing who pops up over the season.
The finale especially I will say was great. It showed just how much mythology the writer/s of the source material are aware of, because the Another in that episode was O B S C U R E but amazingly well executed.

Absolutely give at least a few episodes of this a watch. Also the dub isn't bad. They mispronounce a couple of words but the quality of the voice acting overall is pretty good. As I said I watched 7 episodes with it, now 8, and I'll probably keep going with that just because it's cool to see how they spin things. I think I also prefer the Anothers voices in English, though it's hard to pin down why.

No idea why this shows got such a low score so I'll just write my review early.

Story/Characters

7

There's really not much to talk about here, it's kinda like your typical Abe no seimei ancestor story, except this one isn't atrocious. Slow to pick up the pace so expect to give it the usual 6 episode rule to decide if you like it or not. Basic jist is they do yokai/anothers cases which incorporates a mix of comedy and seriousness.
Onto the characters; we have our MC our resident newbie who can understand anothers which ultimately ends up with him attracting anothers wither or not is good, bad ... or the rare odd balls. The rest of the team have their own issues i won't get into as it's most-likely a spoiler.
Note: There's a couple eps ( from what i get they're filler ) that may be uncomfortable to someone who doesn't enjoy seeing a guy being " bro " to another guy who is like " no homo ".

Art/Sound

7

Banger OP and good ED, the music tracks are good and keeps to the feel of being in the city. My only minus tbh is the echo they use for Sands of Ears, they just feel too overdone and kinda get annoying overtime.
Art is a hit or miss for me, i personally think its alright but some people might find it as being low par.

Enjoyment/Overall

For a shoujo audience it's quite enjoyable but shounen audience may not like it nearly as much. It's still quite early on so there's still plenty of room for change in the future. Overall it's a decently average yokai/AbeSeimei anime and while it's a bit slow to pick up the pace, it was quite rewarding to catch up.

This is one of those shows that I really enjoy despite everything suggesting otherwise. Like, the animation is bad. Really, really bad. Just unacceptably jerky and awkward and weird. But it deserves better animation, that's for sure. I like the characters mostly, especially Theo and Kohaku- the art style isn't even that bad, considering how just unbelievably shitty the animation is. I also like the gay subtext with Arata and Kohaku (though that just might be me, a known gay, wearing my shipping goggles and being desperate.) It's also neat how the mythical creatures encountered aren't all japanese or european- Huehuecoyotl is Mayan, which is ... really cool because you don't see many mayan myths even in western shows. I'm really looking forwards to seeing what cool stuff they do in later episodes!!!

Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin is an anime that could have used more, well, animation-- the only flaw for the otherwise a pretty creative lightning strike.

Supernatural-genre anime tend to follow pretty strict rules, one of which is usually to focus on Japan-specific deity only. In Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin's case, that rule happens to be shattered for a generally satisfying result. By utilizing a more urban and edgy setting, the Shinjuku Ward Nocturnal Community Relations Division team embarks on various misadventures (some are scary, some are romantic, and some are pretty psychological) by encountering what are basically worldwide-originated deities without at all feeling campy or strictly ... niche. In fact, the fresh take on the genre aside, the main draw is truly the dynamics within the team itself. The civil servants are comrades without being Shounen-level dramatic and their bonds feel grounded and natural. The seiyuu could have delivered better acting but ultimately it was more of a minor glitch. Overall impression, this is a Seinen offering with a touch of mildness.

Nonetheless, the biggest flaw of the series is ironically the animation itself. It could be put into question how much faith LIDENFILMS had invested in the making of this anime which, subsequently, put into question whether the good result off this anime was because of the studio's finesse or simply a lucky shot? Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin may not be the worthy successor of Natsume Yuujinchou, but it could stand side by side with the likes of Fukigen na Mononokean and Owari no Seraph: supernatural anime that are not obvious on the nose, but ultimately good-quality slow burners. Time will tell, everyone. Time will tell.

#felixlovesanime

I came into this season of anime thinking that this anime was going to be a trash anime added to the pile while shows like "fairy gone" was going to be the main attraction. BOY WAS I WRONG. the complete opposite in fact.

This show is fun. Have you ever seen xxxholic? remember how the main characters would go around and have fun situations with supernatural elements that govern the world? imagine that but the characters aren't annoying anime cliches.

sure, one can say that some of these characters are boring. But honestly the involvement of some of the supernatural entities REALLY bounces off of them.

The ... show involves a world inhabited by creatures called "anothers" who exist in secret a long side humans. These Anothers come in many different forms and a lot of them resemble a lot of folk lore creatures.


But, where does the fun come in? Well. the main draw of this anime is that Anothers shouldn't just straight up be killed if they cause trouble. The main characters of this story understand that these beings need to exist on earth while not involving themselves with humans.

that's what makes it so fun to watch. They don't kill them, the main character ends up coming up with strange solutions to deal with these Anothers that ends up making everyone happy in the end. Whether it be having a drink with them or having a pagota party, there's always a fun solution.

One thing i also like is Kohaku. The metrosexual Aztec god. My god he is so cool and i love every moment he is on screen. But enough about that, let me tell you about the music:
Very low-key fantasy like. The music pays attention to the setting and acknowledges that the show has a city life, but at the same time plays kajiura-like fantasy themes that are subtly mixed in. Very nice on the ears.

Overall, this show was a treat. The main problem I had with the show is that each episode starts off slow. Usually, in a good anime, they end the episode with a hook, and then the next episode completes the hook, goes into more info, then goes for another hook by the end.

Not this show, it kind of just ends after solving everything-then you gotta go into the next episode waiting for the more interesting key elements to happen.

I think that this anime is underaprraciated. I sort of understand why. No heavy drama, no quick action, no dire danger, meaning: no shonen elements. It is the only one that I know, that very vividly tried to create shojo out of shonen material (theme/subject, location, characters are good for police/shonen/action genre). And they suceeded. The story is whimsical, a bit emotion driven, a bit dreamy and romantic in a sense, although you will not find romance in here (phew, I hate romance). It also concerns the matter of interpersonal connection
I would say that this has something in common with youkai apartment. You will ... see a group of characters dealing with supernatural beings in realistic way - meaning - not blasting them into smithreens, (so far) not war zone story, but confirming that the youkai/demon/devil/whatever is behind a case. And what do you do with devil/angel and other beings? Put them in prison? Get them on trial? No, you do exactly what you would do in this situation: get back the loot/kidnapped person, convince or ditrsct the culprit nad go your own way. Story does have subtle undercurrent of danger, becouse we are dealing with beings on different level, without common ground as far as common sense goes. And ones that can do anything to you.
There is no war between human and supernatural world.

I started this anime off with a completely different expectation and was very well surprised. I don't really have much to say other than that the anime was worth my time and I'm very glad I had the time to watch it. It was also a little neat that the anime gives you the "Wholesome" and "We're all humans!" type of vibe but in Hitoribocchi no Kyuuketsuki, it got a little dark, especially around the end! I think there was alot of dark hints around the anime but it only got really apparent in Hitoribocchi no Kyuuketsuki. The main character is also very gentle but ... very naive. I'm just glad he didn't end up in any extremely serious conflicts. I also wish i could have seen more of huehuecoyotl. He was a fun character, despite how troublesome he was.

Reason for Watching: The synopsis gave a feeling of Natsume (I do adore this series) and also the Art style really charmed me to check this out.

TL;DR: It is worth the time to check out the story Concept and Art of this anime, but the pacing might be a little slow with little tension.

Well first off, I think the Occult theme takes up a rather small percentage of the Supernatural Genre in anime as well as other forms of media entertainment. Relatively, I also feel that the fan base for Occult theme animes is rather small too. There may be people who are like ... me who have watched a few rather satisfying anime of this theme and will end up comparing (critically) this anime to the others. For example, Natsume as I mentioned, or xxxHolic, or Shounen Onmyouji etc. I am a big fan of Shounen anime, so I supposed I am "Trained" to not critically compare stories between different animes. Hahahha~ Well, Shonuen anime usually uses the same troupes after all, but the element of fantasy usually distinguishes them really well despite similar events happening. I have learned that if I was going to compare every little thing of a new show to one of my "favourites", I might as well, re-watched that anime to get exactly what I want? (I do though, for some animes) hahhaha~ And also there will probably be copyrights issue if a show's context and troupes are close to another's~ hahaah~ There are many stories that are similar to each other, that's what makes a genre, but each story is its own, so a little advice here is: Don't base your expectations for one story because of another. You will end up closing a lot of doors~

I will be using the few Occult theme anime in my repertoire as reference for some details to help with the review.

I will start off with reviewing the Story in 2 parts: Concept and Execution
Concept
The reason for my rating for the Story score would be largely credited to the concept of the story. With modern world detective setting as a basis to bring out the charming supernatural beings originating from the past, along with how the supernatural are officially and scientifically recognized, the concept does bring about an interesting interaction between the Humans and Supernatural beings. I do think that this concept is flexible enough for it to spin an interesting tale even using the most basic of troupes (Making dangerous enemies out of Humans and/or Supernatural beings and then settling it with no casualties. etc~ hahah). I like how the MC has connection to a "mysterious/unknown" past, and how some of his new found supernatural acquaintances are actually connected to that past. That kind of storyline is what can be the main catalyst to a big event, the build-ups using both the unknown past and the modern day association and understanding will be fun to watch. There are several interesting settings that this concept has tied together that really does gives it a lot of potential, like the mentioned past-present connections, the Supernatural beings of different nationalities and time, the integration of Science/Engineering/Alchemy, and also the set-up that the MC is not in an environment where the supernaturals are a taboo subject. There's plenty of potential storylines I can just expect from this concoction of settings, that I am starting to get excited.
Well that's all for my praise of the Concept. But the execution of the story isn't as stellar.

Execution (Story-Telling)
The execution of the story isn't bad, it just doesn't excite me as much as the raw concept does. In all honesty, it is pretty decent for my standard. The story pacing is a little slow, in addition to being episodic (and gradually 2-episodes storyline). I am not exactly a patient person, so I can say that even though is a little on the slow side, it is definitely not draggy. Well by my standard, Jigoku Shoujo and Natsume Yujinchou are both slow paced stories (especially Jigoku, since it took roughly a season and half of episodic stories with 80 percent of them having no substantial connection to each other before the main story starts to unravel) that I have completed with satisfaction as they do reward me with their story plots in an overall sense. Even though is possible for episodic story-telling shows to also move at a fast rate, for this story, the source manga is also relatively new ( since 2015 iirc), which is possible that the animation team paced it slowly to not catch up to the manga (if they have plans for season 2). Well is just a conjecture~ . Anyhow, given how new the manga is, I think it would be a long way before the anime gets me as excited as I am about the concept (But I am willing to invest the time for this concept). BUT given how underrated (imo) this anime is, they may not even get another anime continuation~

To sum it up: For this Concept and Execution of the story, I am willing to re-watch this whole season as a recap by the time a Season 2 gets released. And I am definitely hoping for a Season 2.

I will review animation quality under Art.
For the Art and design aspect of this anime, I have to say, they got me completely trapped. Hahaha~ I do adore the art style of its characters a lot. The characters are drawn very distinctly, which is one thing I always like to observe in all animes that I watched. I admire how artists/animators can create very distinct characters that even in a black/white scenario (aka Manga), you can tell the characters apart, from a close-up on their face (cutting out most of the hairstyle). The characters are all so well drawn, even the supernaturals, that I won't even know an antagonist until he/she took some drastic actions, since I just naturally like them at first glance~ Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder right~ hahah~ The background designs as well as scenery shots are also very well done, in a way that for such quality and style, it could be put into those Slice of life anime that showcases a lot of beautiful and therapeutic scenes. Well for all my adoration for its art, is not a 10/10 because of the animation quality.
DO let me clarify though, the animation quality isn't all that bad, I have seen 50 times worse (not comparing to animes 10 years back, just merely 2-3 years back). The animation just lacks a little in certain movement dynamics, there are areas of movements that are pretty stiff and awkward, but not so bad that it will ruin the show experience. In fact, one of the first things that reassured me that I will like this show is the very first episode where the MC is introduced to the supernatural beings existence. That eye twitch when his colleagues started talking about the Supernatural beings really brings up my expectation for the animation quality. That kind of expression of doubt will mostly be animated by just a widened one eye, or the dead-fish eye. But they decided to go for the subtle facial movement of a one eye twitched. Maybe because that's exactly how my facial muscles will work if I were in the same situation that is why I am impressed by this~ hahaha~ Which also means that for the whole 12 episodes of this anime, the one time I am impressed with the animation is this scene. So in a way, the overall animation could have been even better, but there are no major dissatisfaction~ Just minor lapses here and there coupled with CGI effects that doesn't integrate well with the original art style.

Sound
I usually don't have much concerns with sound of an anime, so I generally rate them way above average as long as nothing below average caught my attention~ hahahha~ I won't say the rating is unreliable. Is just my way of acknowledging the VAs' performance. I mean, no complaints means a good job right? hahah~ But I did discount on this score a little due to the sound effect the anime used for the language of the supernatural beings that humans supposedly can't understand. That "screeching" sound or however it can be described, just doesn't fit into the whole show. Is so odd that I had thought it came from around me and not from the show. Fortunately, there isn't a lot of scenes that require that sound effect.

Character
So far, there really is nothing to dislike from all the character designs. They are interesting and distinct enough, distinct from each other AND from other animes. Maybe is because of the genre or the fact that I watched too much Shounen (hahaha~), but the characters are pretty refreshing. All I can say is, the story telling and pace hasn't reach a stage where I can understand more of the characters beyond the introduced persona. But is also possible that the story will place very little focus on the characters themselves. I won't know until more of the story gets released. But overall, I enjoyed every single character's appearances.

(Well this turned out longer than I had expected, thanks for reading though, hahah~)
All in all, is just 12 episodes, and I think is worth a shot to check it out.

This series is very run of the mill. There's no interesting twist to any of it. It's so typical, it's almost forgettable. The series is episodic, meaning there's a new case almost every episode. There's no overarching villain, nothing big. It's a casual series you can watch if you're bored, or perhaps you liked the anime like Tactics.

That said, the music was a jazzy setup, and I love jazz, so I was really into this soundtrack. The ost contributed to the rating I gave the series.

But what I really liked about the series was huehuecoyotl aka kohaku. Huehuecoyotl as a character was one of the ... highlights of the show. Despite how minimal his appearance was in the series at best, in my opinion he really shined when he was in the scene. His character easily overshadowed the main character.

Honestly if it wasn't for huehuecoyotl's character and the jazzy ost I would have rated the series at a 7/10, because other than those two reason, the series is pretty dang average and doesn't stand out in any way.

Note: May have spoilers!




I think it was worth a watch.

The characters are have their own personality. It showed the truth of how the world works but also let the main lead appear and tried to show us a nicer way to salvage it.

I liked how the main lead is special and how sympathetic he is. I liked how he tries his best and I liked how the series do not focus on the negative emotions or the struggles for too long but focuses more on the story instead.
...
I disliked one of the characters in the series, he's a bit too extreme. There is a brief background on why but I still don't like him.

I watched this in 2 times speed so it was okay. If I watched it in the original speed, it may be too slow....I don't know.... I think I'm already used to 2x speed, I can't go back....

I hope there is a second season, it's quite an interesting anime. I wished there are more episodes.

The rating was lower than I expected. I thought it should be around 7 or 7.5.

Quick take: Nothing breathtaking of note, but if you like occult, cryptids and the like, you'll find enjoyment in Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin.

The story line is fairly straight forward and follows a new recruit in to the Nocturnal Relations Division of the police. Together with his co-workers and friends, he solves problems related to Anothers, or cryptids, which the average human cannot see. The overall theme of "understanding" is a little overplayed in media today, but if you don't mind that aspect, then you'll find the story line is very good.

Art is really lackluster and is down right bad at times. Motions are mostly fluid, ... but at times the head or bodies of characters can seem slightly distorted when they move.

Sound is incredible in my opinion, with a jazzy BGM and good opening and closing songs. Acting (English) is well done and on par of most anime.

Characters are well developed and thought out. I do think there is a lack of use in the overall story though. In other words, Huehuecoyotl and Yuki are both funny and energetic characters that seem to be under utilized within the story line. In my opinion, it's just a missed opportunity.

Overall, if you enjoy the occult and cryptids, don't mind a bit of an overplayed theme and can look past the mediocre art, you'll find awesome BGM, great character interaction, good character development and an overall enjoyable piece of work.

8/10, would recommend.

This was a pretty good show. I don't think it's something that I would recommend to everyone, but fans of supernatural anime will probably like it. I thought that one of the best parts about this anime was that it features supernatural beings from around the world, not just Japan. At the same time, there's something for fans of Japanese legends as well. I also really liked the soundtrack, the jazz complemented the mood well in most situations and the opening and ending themes are fun to listen to. Also, Shunichi Toki is in it, and he did a good job in my opinion. Overall, ... I'd give it a solid 7 out of ten.