Narutaru: Mukuro Naru Hoshi Tama Taru Ko

As weird as it may seem, Shadow Star Narutaru was the anime I decided to debut my investigation of the psychological horror genre of anime. The genre itself has never really piqued my interest, because I find no excitement in scaring myself shitless. But I finally figured I gotta give it a try before I can really comment on it, and so after much deliberation I picked Shadow Star Narutaru... and its left me in a rather confused state. I'm perplexed because... I can point out about a 1000 flaws with this show, very blatant obvious flaws... but I still really enjoyed it, enough so ... that I vowed to read the manga just to get a better understanding of it.

So where do I begin with this... I guess the plot is as good a place as any. As many of you will have guessed by reading any other review of the show, Shadow Star starts off very calm and almost cheerfully; seems like another take on Digimon really. But some messed up shit is awaiting you just around the corner, so don't get to lulled in, because it will freak you out. Now the plot has one major flaw... its just too damn diverse. Thats a strange complaint, but the show is fit into 13 episodes, and it trys to fit at least 26 episodes worth of material into it. It introduces about 6 subplots, one about a child army trying to destroy mankind, one about another kid and his friend who looks like a girl, who are possibly good? Another about girls getting beat up at school, something about her mom working for the government etc etc. Theres so much STUFF going on, and all of it just seems so interesting, but none of it goes anywhere. The child army is kinda built up for the first couple episodes, and then completely forgotten in the last half. The entire thing, just reeks of lost potential, great ideas cut back by a limited budget. But the ideas were good enough... that it almost worked. A bit more polish, and couple more episodes, and this coulda been a lot better story.

Now as for characters, again I'm a bit vexed. Each character seems pretty interesting, and you could easily make a story about each and every one of the MAIN main characters psyche... but instead it once again spreads itself too thin. Its like the show has attention deficit disorder... it has to keep switching from one plot to another... from one character to the next. The main character, Shiina, is set up to be a real good person, a elementary school girl robin hood if you will. She helps those in need, and isn't afraid to be made a fool of if its for her friends. But the show starts to look at... Maybe this is a bad personality. Maybe shes hurting her friends more than shes helping... And as it starts to get good... Ohhh-kay, now there's a character named Akira... who has a meek personality. Does she want to change the world by force, or does she want to adapt and become like everyone else? Who knows, because now its a plot about that damn child uprising. There's even some crazy goddess dragon rider girl (who can turn into a dolphin apparently), who gets mentioned like twice... and then never appears again. Like I said... each character is intriguing, and would actually be really great if they were given more time.

So what I'm really just trying to get across here is... the show needs to stick to one story, or get more funding to develop its many stories. But that doesn't really stop the show from being a good watch... it just frustrates you to know that it could've been so much more enjoyable. I personally would've LOVED to seem more info on the dragonets... what they are, how they grow, how they affect the people they are attached too. Its actually looked at a really small amount considering its one of the bigger plot points of the show.

But... with all that being said... maybe I'm being too over criticle. This is supposed to be a psychological horror right? How does it fare when compared to other anime of a similar genre? Well I can't really say... like I started with, Shadow Star Narutaru was my jumping on anime. I can say though... that it has slightly piqued my interest in the genre... maybe enough to actually give something more famous like Elfen Lied or Higurashi a chance... But again I do think it could have been better. Very little of Shiina's psyche was looked into. You got glimpses here and there that behind that smile she may be extremely depressed, but it seems to prefer to look at Akira and Hiroko, which is more a look at bullying I think. I'm not quite sure how I can put a finger on what bothers me with their actions... so let me sum it up like this. In the very last episode (I'll try my best not to spoil anything here) Akira does something that you saw coming waaayyy back, but it isn't explained why she decides then is the time to do it, and it is brushed over extremely quickly. It all ended up leaving me satisfied to an extent... but with a feeling that there must be something more to it.

Hah... well I guess thats more of a rant than a review isn't it? Ahh well, I couldn't really think of any other way to adequately express what shadow star narutaru is like. Its up and down, it really screws you over, but it leaves you wanting more. It doesn't deserve a great score, and if your a really nit picky person, you probably won't like it, but I will heartily recommend it to anyone.

Not as much of a descent into despair as I expected, and while the last 2 episodes were reasonably horrifying, they were also abrupt and too dependent on a relatively new character; in retrospect, _Grave of the Fireflies_ and _Higurashi_ may've spoiled me for SSN. I understand that the mangaka also did _Bokurano_; that might've been tamer in sex & violence, but it was much better in general.

Note: the following comes from a video review, links on my profile page.

Narutaru is about a sort of cycle of life, but it comes in fragments; at times shows it, other instances explicitly states it and questions affairs. It seems uneven on average, and often it is difficult to reconcile specific incidents to the story overall; some apparently more relevant than others, although in the end it seems they may have been connected - they still seem not coalesced ultimately. This is likely due to only half the manga being adapted.

Second episode had a few seconds of an existential sort of connection, but it did ... not pursue this further beyond the character's personal insecurities. The third episode had an Evangelion-like hint as the second one had (which is apt considering Mohiro Kitoh went on to design for 2.0), but yet again it did not expand more than this, for some reason (also at the end there was a parallel test of will). Similarly, like with Angels in that anime, the creatures here are called dragon's children, but other than this there was little else, besides the interactions between them and the characters themselves, whereas Angels were expounded upon at length in nearly every episode. The army was also introduced at one point, as it was with NGE, but the conflicts did not seem as epic or as precarious as they were with Angels, perhaps because of the abstract nature of these dragon's children, in comparison; it was not as obvious as in NGE, and also the SDF simply disappears in Narutaru without much of an explanation (this also happens with at least one motherly figure and some of the earlier characters later on) and barely any resolutions were forthcoming about any of several of the story's knots.

It presents undiluted despair (not unlike Bokurano, by the same mangaka) and yet it doesn't seem to have meaning beyond that which is shown at any one time, unlike Bokurano which does build an all-encompassing universe where angst has a clear reason and the future is uncertain, despite being animated. It talks about moral issues, but in the end it does not seem to quite fit them in perfectly with the narrative like Parasyte did. In terms of where it fits with other narratives about oni, though, in just one arc it seems to show how people can be either internally destructive, guilt-ridden, self-blaming; or angry, and externally focused (also the factor of influence), and that the idea of an oni 'projection' - as most other anime about such mythological creatures imply, as in Shuten-dōji, oni are anger manifest, essentially, beasts that are objectively identified as such, but in reality are the equivalent of invulnerable humans rampaging. How and if they're distinct from the 'dragon's children', though, the anime does not say; they could be a range of psychological states, e.g. the protagonist and her nearly unending optimism, which the animation generally shrouds itself in as its veneer, and the manga likely goes into much further detail about this, but the anime does not really connect any dots even at the end. While, on the other hand, Paranoia Agent three years later is not explicitly transparent about its questions' answers and expects viewers to think, Narutaru seemingly has gaps not intentionally for the same reason (except perhaps at two points where hair is used symbolically).

What it does well is in setting up the stage in the first episode, except most of the others then did not seem to ascend and fulfil a certain promise, apart from the tenth, which stands on its own and adopts the first episode's disjointed sort of logical artistry to an interesting catharsis. As such, unless all the episodes were more cohesively connected into an over-arching world, it would have done better if each was independent like the tenth, so as to not necessarily have to resolve plot holes left over due to the inevitable short time. In a way, the whole of the anime is like how the 'knife' dragon user acted to a potentially blossoming flower plucked out too early. Unlike Digimon, although more childish, spawning hundreds of episodes; even Tamers, which Chiaki wrote for at the beginning and end, just like for this series, had ample time to establish itself a certain mythology based around the Zodiac, whereas Narutaru got a foundation, but then barely solidified its narrative's upper structure, metaphorically. It concentrated mainly on vengeance, and mostly ignored the dragons' origins, which could have likely imbued it with interest.

The ending is more abstract than the episodes themselves try to be, besides perhaps the aforementioned couple, and the opening deceptively playful, but there could have been more star-gazing, and while the weather played a minor part in the story it had potential for more, if these dragons truly were as potent. Food was also another quality that might have been absent from Bokurano in comparison, and it provided a reprieve from the despair, but ultimately, as a kind of 'glue', the narrative is still difficult to hold together.

In short, the adaptation of the rest of the manga would have made much difference, otherwise the anime could have tackled stand-alone, perhaps unique situations, as with the above average tenth episode, and this would have improved upon the cohesiveness aspect. Kino's Journey did this, but also managed to connect slightly various episodes. Narutaru had its interesting moments, but they were few and far between.

Meh

Story 4: The story was okay, nothing special. I do like them having their own “pets”, but that falls short too.

Art 5: wasn’t great, but it was okay for it’s time, pretty basic.

Sound 2: Sound was okay at some parts, but man.. I cannot forget the sounds of that scene were Takano was driving.. the car was constantly changing gears. The background noise on some of scene where they were in the classroom and/or outside, the birds chirping was just laughable.

Character 3: I did not like any of the characters, there was hardly any character development. Character were very bland.

Enjoyment 4: I ... thought it was getting good at the end of the anime and then it left like nothing happened? I didn’t really enjoy it, but it wasn’t dragging.

Overall 3.6: I am surprise they left it like that at the end, I am not sure if there was suppose to be a 2nd season, but I didn’t think it was a good ending. Like what happen to the others, where do the dragon’s child go from here?

Thanks for reading 😊

Wow that was really bad. First half is honestly a little entertaining and Hoshimaru is a good character imo. The rest of the characters are pretty bad it is hard to tell characters apart because they all look similar and you only get to know their names 3/4'ths of the way through the anime. The main character is particularly bad. This anime had some potential but it did not try. So many plot points they had but after the halfway mark the anime completely changes and is so dreadful. All of the plot points are forgotten. There are also no more super specific military references ... after the halfway point. I believe someone else took over production it really isn't the same anime.
Please don't watch this.

The writers introduce characters that you expect to be main characters, only for them to completely dissapear for the rest of the show. Somewhere around episode 10, the show completely changes pace, and the dragon's children don't even really show up any more, and neither do any of the old antagonists. The last 4-5 episodes feel like a spin off of the original episodes, as there is very little plot or character overlap. The main antagonist is introduced with 3 episodes left as well, which is immeasurably odd, and there isn't even attempt made to tie up the massive loose ends involving the old characters ... either, they just expect you to completely forget all of the plot and character development for the first 9 episodes. This show will defy all expectations of any amount of cohesion that you expect in storytelling, and in all honesty, I have no idea what this show is even supposed to be about.

Overall: 5/10

This anime has been sitting on my "to watch list" for 3 or 4 years before I finally watched it. I'm not sure if it was worth the wait.

Basically, it goes like this:
Episode 1: Family-friendly.
Episodes 2-10: Some slightly disturbing stuff.
Episodes 11-13: Shock content and heavily disturbing stuff.

The main issue with this anime is that it does not really give an impression of a solid work and feels really disjointed. It also isn't technically finished, because it ends at some point several chapters away from the end of manga. So... the anime pretty much drops several story arcs without finishing them in any way, and ... ends inconclusively on a strange note. At times it also looked like it tried to direct the events really hard towards the most disturbing conclusion possible, which frequently felt artificial. Well, it did a decent job maintaining creepy atmosphere here and there.

Detailed breakdown below:

Story: 3/10.
As I said, the story look rather disjointed and does not really give impression of a single work. Many subjects are touched, but then they're forgotten. Some events end without any conclusion, and at times it looks like the main goal of anime is to make the story jump through many hoops just so it ends up at some horrible scene. Especially closer to end it devolves into series of attempts to shock, and those attempts are really poorly stitched together. Another thing is... when the anime attempts to shock the viewer, it at last moment shies away and censors quite a lot of content that was supposed to be horrific. This doesn't really make much sense.

Art: 4/10.
It is a REALLY low-budget tv show. Not sure what I could compare it with.... think You're under Arrest TV series, but with significantly lower budget. Graphics are low detailed, and there are a lot of instances with static/panned scenes. So, nothing special about graphics.

Sound: 6/10 Actually there's some decent music here. Some of the disturbing themes that play through the intermission are interesting and moody.

Characters: 4/10.
They... aren't exactly believable, to say the least. The main heroine is a happy go lucky everyday girl, which seems to be incredibly dense regarding state of others at some moments. There are several characters whose personalities seems to be crafted in order to make them to be easily abused by others. There are situations where someone does something outrageous/bad and nobody really gives a damn. There are people acting in strange fashion in some situations, etc. Basically... bad character portrayal through and through, and I specifically disliked Akira. Also.. what's up with all the people not fighting back when in trouble? Sigh.

Enjoyment 4/10.
Episodes 1..10 were more or less alright, although not exactly stellar. Some scenes not related to main plot weren't too bad. However, when the anime started getting darker, it became ... really, really, odd. Basically, looked like quality dropped in the name of shock content, or something along the lines.

Overall: 5/10
I think I'd give it 5/10 due to its weirdness and unusual choice of subject. However.... I can't recommend to watch it. If you're looking for a "dark/grim experience", this anime ain't it. It may make you feel uncomfortable (or REALLY uncomfortable), but, for example, Requiem from Darkness is much darker than this.

So, the best idea would be to skip it. I heard that manga is slightly better (and it is actually finished), and might be worth checking out - but alas its english version is only available in mirrored form.

So... it is a really strange anime, and the best idea would be probably to skip it, unless you want to watch it for historical value.

Narutaru is one of those anime that you hear is controversial due to the themes it deals with, so naturally curiosity drags you in and you watch it. I was expecting to be creeped out and generally be shocked but this anime did little to deliver. The story seemed to be dropped at the end and the way it tried so hard to be found shocking made me laugh, it's an anime i wasted my time on. If anyone wishes to watch this anime to be shocked at controversial themes then drop that hope as this show does not deliver it in any way what ... so ever. The only quality that was somewhat decent was the art style and audio, that's it, nothing more. No one should waste their time on this.

Shadow Star Narutaru, as I'm sure you've read in practically every other review on this anime, is deceiving to say in the least. If you were to just watch the OP, you would totally let your 5 year old watch it. But DON'T.

This anime becomes very disturbing very quickly, but is also very disorganized. It's as if the creators said, "ok how can we shock the audience next?!" and completely forgot about any existing plotline. Therefore, there are a loooot of "Uncle Chuck"s in this anime. Which, is really disappointing, because there are so many elements that I would have liked to have seen fleshed ... out more over the course of the show. Instead, many themes were picked up and dropped almost instantly.

The art really suffers here; Shina sometimes has mile-long legs and a lot of times the art just looks awkward. The designs are simple but effective--the "Angel" dragonette absolutely creeps me out. Sounds are also simple, but effective for setting the mood.

I find I have a general formula for liking something: If I like the characters, no matter how bad the plotline or anything else, I like the game/tv show/movie/ book etc. I really did like the characters in this anime--each character had redeeming qualities that made me want to find out more about them (unfortunately this wasn't done, but that's besides the point).

I did enjoy this anime overall, since it had many moments that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and did make me want to keep watching (finished in the span of an afternoon). The reason it loses points however is because of it's hole-y, disorganized plotline. I would love to see a re-release of this without all the cuts....

I am a huge fan of Madoka Magica, and I search for any and all deconstructions of stereotypical genres. Shadow Star Narutaru has been on my list as a dark deconstruction of the pet monster (Pokemon, Digimon, etc.) phenomenon. I recently saw Bokurano, which is by the same mangaka, and while it did feel a bit rushed, I really enjoyed it. Thus, Shadow Star Narutaru was next on my list.

Story: The idea for this show is great. The first half of the episodes had obvious antagonists and a good-and-evil back and forth. Then, we get introduced to some new characters whose stories take up an ... entire episode. This happens again. And again. Only for the finale to center on a secondary character who was only shown once or twice. The main villains and the overall "plot" was never resolved. I am planning on reading the manga because I'm committed to knowing what happens, but they could have tried to give some closure to the anime.

Art: Nothing special or unique about the art. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't notable. Some characters look almost identical to those in Bokurano. There were times the awkward silences and character stills lasted for so long, I wondered if my computer was buffering.

Sound: I watched the English dub and found myself constantly reaching for the remote to turn the volume up and down. The theme song is super loud, but the characters spoke so softly. I had to rewind multiple times to catch what they were saying.

Character: This is probably the best part of this anime for me, and it's the reason I kept watching. Most of these characters are either unlikeable or they become unlikeable at the end. I appreciated this. One character is suicidal. (This isn't a spoiler because she is holding a gun to her head in the promo picture.) We are never told why she wants to end her life except for the obvious violence in the show. This endears her to me, as I wonder if she struggles with PTSD, depression, or both. Some characters are good people who crack under the pressures of life. Others are absolutely evil, willing to kill for the tiniest of reasons. This is true of humanity. If pushed to edge, nearly anyone would break. And this show definitely pushes people to the edge! It's not gory, but it's not for children. Ironic since the main characters are children. The bright spot in all this damaged humanity is the protagonist, Shiina. She never loses hope. Even when the horrible things she has seen haunt her, she remains a loyal friend and daughter.

Enjoyment: I appreciated the different take on the pet monster genre. It reminded me a lot of Bokurano. Except Bokurano actually ended. When the plot switched to one shots about people other than the MC, I tended to check out. If the show had continued to follow Shiina in her fight against the villains from the beginning, I would have enjoyed it a lot better.

Overall recommendation: If you're looking for a decent deconstruction anime, this is a valid choice. Just be warned the plot goes all over the place, so if you're looking for a good story in with that deconstruction, you won't find it here. Well-written characters, yes. Good characters, no. If you want a good story with realistic characters that's still dark and takes apart a genre, try Madoka Magica or Bokurano. Or just watch this and be ready to read the manga afterwards.

◆ If there is one show I really have "mixed feelings" about, that'd be Narutaru

Any connoisseur of genre deconstructions, or happy-go-lucky shows that unexpectedly turn grim/disturbing, will likely at some point stumble across Shadow Star Narutaru and ponder whether it's worth giving it a go despite its low score and mostly negative reviews. I'll try to brief you on what you should and shouldn't expect as you make your decision.

Shadow Star Narutaru has an interesting premise, but unluckily in the already limited time of 13 episodes it's been given, it tries to go in different, disjointed directions, and never seems to reach any destinations.
It raises ... more questions than it gives answers. The lore behind dragonets, the nature of relation between them and their owners, remain practically a complete mystery. Most of the owners themselves, who reappear throughout the whole show, are explored only on the surface or not at all. Although multiple subplots are introduced, only the mini-arc at the end can be deemed somewhat "completed", leading us to the conclusion that the real story and better characterisation supposedly only kick off in the manga, making this anime to be a sort of (convoluted) build-up.

◆ But there are also things that Narutaru does right:

+Tone
The overall uneasy atmosphere in the majority of the show, supported by some good soundtrack choices. For those that yearn this kind of setups it should be a pleasant experience.

+The last mini-arc.
Pretty dark, gripping, goes beyond the so far estabilished boundaries in earlier episodes and gives us an idea of the direction in which the manga might be heading. Also contains an answer to why many considered Narutaru to be so disturbing.

+Mystery
While the word "mystery" might be a bit of a stretch, it has to do with what's been mentioned earlier: the anime doesn't reveal much lore, certain characters that appear are only presented quite vaguely, but you do wish you knew more. For those that read manga where incomplete adaptations leave off, the lack of information can play the role of an incentive and not be considered a flaw.

◆ Not horrible, not a hidden gem

Although the execution leaves a lot to be desired, the overall experience can be summed up with "I wish it was done better" rather than "I wish it wasn't so bad". In my case, the ending only reignited my interest in the story (even if certain early episodes attempted to kill it off), to the point I'm willing to give the manga a chance.

This author just can't get people to actually adapt his fuckin manga can he

To anyone interested in this author's work, all I can say is i recommend you watch the openings and go straight to the manga afterwards. Both this and Bokurano don't fully adapt the original manga and just do their own thing for most of it, which is a huge bummer, because it makes the stories seem like edgy pointless shit for shock value, which is far from what the author usually wants to convey. But anyways, one positive I had with this adaptation is that I really like how cheerful it's opening ... is, and how it subtly hints at character motivations and what happens in the plot while portraying the dark shit that happens in a jokey, childish manner. The theme song itself is also a catchy bop that i found myself humming instantly. This is why i mentioned before to just watch the opening then go to the manga - Bokurano has a similarly fitting opening but the problem comes, of course, with the story not getting fully, or even properly, adapted.

I haven't been the most captivated by the manga, unlike Bokurano, Narutaru's story I found mostly boring. It doesn't really feel like a "subversion" of the mon genre because there's barely any monster fighting, in the manga at least. The anime changes a lot of that, but to me that's to it's detriment. Even if I was bored with the manga, I still was at least curious enough and interested by the characters to want to go through with finishing it. This anime only made me want to skim through episodes as fast as I could, and I only begrudgingly brought myself to properly watch through it. Instead of a brutal character driven story, now it feels like an edgy slice of life with occasional gore that sometimes goes into action, and the pacing is all over the place, while the story feels aimless. Most of the setups are abandoned because their resolutions were of course, not brought over to the anime. It just abandons any competence the original story had to instead go for edgyness and as much shock value as it can, and the result is a piss poor attempt at horror that ends up confusing, boring, and honestly even disappointing. A wasted 6 hours when you have the much better source material readily available online.