Onmyouji

"Onmyouji" offers a mesmerizing blend of historical fantasy and profound character-driven storytelling, set against the backdrop of ancient Japan. The series follows the enigmatic onmyouji, Abe no Seimei, whose wounded past and reluctance to trust others are gradually unraveled through his unlikely friendship with the straightforward court noble, Minamoto no Hiromasa.

At its core, "Onmyouji" delves into the complexities of relationships, trust, and the healing power of friendship. Through the evolving dynamic between Abe no Seimei and Minamoto, the anime explores the depths of inner conflict and the transformative journey towards opening one's heart to others. Minamoto's gift of music serves as a poignant catalyst for ... Abe no Seimei's emotional growth, highlighting the profound impact of genuine connection and empathy.

While the series may initially appear to be a historical anime with fantasy elements, it transcends genre conventions to deliver a deeply resonant narrative with universal themes. From moments of heart-wrenching emotion to exhilarating encounters with demons, "Onmyouji" captivates viewers with its richly textured character arcs and nuanced storytelling.

The animation quality and art style of "Onmyouji" complement its atmospheric setting, immersing audiences in the mystique of ancient Japan and its mystical undercurrents. While the fight scenes with demons may be relatively mild, the true beauty of the series lies in its exploration of Abe no Seimei's character arc and the profound emotional journey it entails.

In conclusion, "Onmyouji" is a masterful anime that transcends its genre trappings to deliver a poignant and thought-provoking tale of friendship, trust, and redemption. With its deeply resonant themes, compelling characters, and immersive world-building, this series is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who embarks on its captivating journey.

Onmyouji is one of those anime that rely heavily on emotional payoffs at the end of the season. The beginning is a bit boring and the characters all feel one dimensional. Some, do get more depth. Others remain with that problem. It is for that reason that this story isn't winning any rewards. Despite that, I did enjoy it. While not entirely historical, the main character was a real person in history. That and some cool Japanese mythology gives the story a bump. Like I said though, it relies entirely on you, the viewer, understanding and appreciating the message it is trying to deliver. If ... that falls flat, then the anime falls flat. I cannot give it an higher score than a five overall. In fact, that may be too high. Nothing else about this anime is above average anyway. In fact, I would argue that the animation is really bad. Lots of still frames, weird character placements, and some mistakes. All of which were spotted on my FIRST and ONLY watch of this anime. This anime won't be remembered as it excels at nothing.

Despite all those things being true, my own personal enjoyment of this anime begs for me to reconsider. If I judged purely on my own enjoyment of it, a six would be warranted. That is because, even with the bland characters, the payoff did hit me at the end. I sort of just...understood. It made me think about the human experience and how negative emotions and thoughts can poison the good that we already have and make our lives more miserable. It may have been me over thinking it, but that is the way I saw it.

Story: The story has great potential because the Japanese culture and folklore are rich. There's so much they could have gone with and would have been way more interesting than what they decided to portray. A positive about this story is the origin of the creation of demons. I think there's a lot of folklore and lessons in this method of demon-making and if they made the characters a bit deeper they would have struck gold.

Characters: Characters were kind of one-dimensional. There was no reason it was so shallow. We have no idea about any of the character's backgrounds or upbringing and that was a ... huge black mark on the series.

Art: Art was flat-out cheap. From the character's mouths not moving while they spoke, to using copy-paste faces in certain scenes that didn't make sense (Seimei smiling during a sad portion of the story but then when he's speaking he's not smiling).

Overall: Cheap, boring, puts me to sleep which was sad because it had potential.