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Mar 10, 2020
Very hard to rate anime. Maybe one of the hardest I've ever encountered. The cover photo piqued my interest and immediately made me picture something that had it's commitment for horror above all else. This certainly has a rather strong and uncommon macabre quality to it.
But what hurts it is ultimately repetition and doubling down on the horror for an emotional quasimodo type tragedy, that never could've achieved the desired end result with only 40 minutes to work with.
You'll be enthralled by the visual presentation as a horror fan, but you really won't get anything beyond it. A waste...
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 3, 2020
Probably the only pure action anime in existence that I REALLY liked.
Extremely sharp and stylized visuals that attack the senses, exceptional soundtrack and likely an experiment gone wrong after Suda 51 and Michael Bay wrestled into a test tube chamber, and whatever ended up coming out was this monstrosity...
It pushes the limits to what can be done using the eastern animation style with amazing grace. Without ever stooping down to the childish standards seen in almost every single other anime of this kind. Names won't be mentioned, believe me I am not interested in single handedly kicking off a huge weeb war.
I could... My
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opinions are "illegal level". I rather sip my tea in peace, thanks.
Story synopsises and character details are redundant... Yes. All those other reviews are silly to me, they're trying too hard to explain to you something that doesn't deserve to be experienced any other way BUT with your own eyes. Up close and personal.
It itself doesn't take the story/plot seriously. It's like.. 50 minutes of literal non-stop chaos. Never has this been more true than it is here. I swear in the name of charred pancakes.
Just watch it. It'll feel like 5 minutes have passed. You'll either love it or drop it almost immediately. In both cases there's no reason to worry at all.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 1, 2019
Sound Sound Sound Sound Sound.
50% why this OVA works so well was because of effective usage of sound. They did something rare. They gave room to build an atmosphere with it at the helm. Environmental ambience and the soundtrack brought these stories to life.
It wasn't anything groundbreaking storywise, but for what it is, it was great.
I didn't think i would ever say this.. You should watch this for Halloween. It's just about the perfect anime for that time of year.
And how timely of me, i got to write this review just in time for this year's Samhain..
Edit: Okay. So i noticed an unfair
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criticism towards The Curse of Kazuo Umezu. And i feel the need to elaborate. We.. have to rate this in accordance with it's time. This is not a recent work to which you can apply the same modern logic to.
It knows what it is. A simple scarefest. Let's leave it at that.. You were never going to get more, i wasn't expecting to get more personally. And left the viewing satisfied.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 29, 2019
When's the last time an anime you have watched scared you? In the most obvious sense? First ask yourself that question before reading the rest of this review.
Yonimo Osoroshii Nihon Mukashibanashi doesn't try to. Not conventionaly at least. It's tales are executed in a way that take on a form of 'external horror'. Or i guess 'horrific' to make the viewer understand how terrible things happen in the world and there's nothing we can do about them.
Each of these tales takes a horrific scenario and pushes it to the far extremes.
I want to note that finding this anime subbed online is quite challenging as it
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is a very unknown piece of media that's been poorly documented for foreign audiences. What i've done is uncover raw footage and watch that. Fortunately the stories were easy to get the jist of with my beginner Japanese comprehension, combined with their straightforward structure.
- Understanding what they are trying to say - (Moderate to mild spoiler warning)
1. First tale (easiest to watch) introduces us to a wanderer seeking shelter from the terribly warm weather. He shows very little respect and gets punished for his reckless behaviour at the village he thought would be the safe haven he so desperately sought. On first glance it might seem harsh what happens, but if you look at it from the villager's perspectives he wasn't much better.
Even with subs they don't tell you what really goes on at this village, you're meant to piece it together through visual cues, which you wouldn't be able to do if you don't pay enough attention to the scenes and events that take place.
2. Second tale is about "cancel culture". Minimal spoilers, popular slang of the youths. There you go.
3. Third and last tale was the most 'psychedelic' and difficult to understand. To be absolutely fair to it my patience was a little running low from personal life that i didn't give this one the time it deserved. If i had to make a guess though i'd say it wants to do a commentary on superficial interests and one's karma.
- Visuals -
Great for their time, they get the job done. And can get experimental and wild during major scenes. But i must warn you, don't drop this within the first few minutes, what you will be greeted by is not what the tales actually look like. The "watcher" at the video store is only fancy introductory fluff, an interlude meant to smoothly transition you from tale to tale.
Although there's dialogue that happens during them. It's sadly lost in translation for me. It can't be helped.
- Audio -
Unremarkable voice acting however the choice of music is breathtaking. I might sound blasphemic but this is probably one of my favorite anime scores i've heard in a while. Haven't come across anything this esoteric, tribal and sophisticated sounding since Psycho Diver.
If you are fond of unusual scores and instrumental music that fits the themes and ancient eras, your senses will be pleased.
I have to recommend this strange title. I may be biased for loving the soundtrack but i really do think this is something worth looking into if you have time to spare and are able to acquire a viewable copy through whatever means.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 6, 2019
Episodes seen: 01 out of 24.
(This will be a more personal "review" for venting. Ignore the 5, reviews force you to pick an overall score. It's unrated.)
After a good few years of thorough contemplation and opinion gathering, today i finally sat down and watched the first episode of the beloved Black Butler. As long time fans probably know , the supposed "homoerotic" themes don't start to pour in just yet so i thankfully don't have to discuss them seeing i only finished the first episode.
But.. to make it abundantly clear. This is the least of my concerns and i actually feel more shows should have
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it. Albeit tastefully.
Now, what did i think of it? All of my doubts were justified, that's what. Yes, there's nothing i'd love to do more than watch a vampire butler order around children for 2 seasons worth of episodes while being blasted with a never ending stream of forced comic relief. No thanks, but i don't think i need to watch an anime to experience this.
That immaturity and one-note characters drained all of my energy. It's not difficult to tell where it is headed.
I am not the biggest fan of comedy alright? I don't get much out of silly shows in general and try to stick to well told and serious stories. Everybody can tell from the way i express myself why i wouldn't be into this. Yet i really given it a shot because it bugged me and the lack of "gothic" style anime.
On a lesser positive note that i can give it. The sound and visuals were fine. It's competently animated and they use classical pieces to set the victorian mood. (With the exception for the OP/ED themes which are j-rock.) They're decent that i would suggest you check them out regardless of what your impressions about Black Butler may be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 5, 2019
WARNING: It starts off safe enough, then slowly progresses into epileptic seizure inducing flickering and flashing. If you're susceptible to flashing lights it may be best to skip Grim. I notice Takashi Ito's films have a tendency to do this.
This is a 8 minute long experimental short that uses live-action footage for self expressive purposes. The score that permeates throughout i would have to describe as Dark Ambient-esque. Quite drone oriented with mild Noise. It gives the name further meaning. I don't think i could ever know the right way to interpret this without asking the creator. But if i had to make a guess,
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it's to showcase the dreariness of routine and everyday life. The passing of time and how we make use of it.
I believe this was done on purpose, the vagueness.
Note: Works as a music video and can be listened to off-screen. Though... i doubt it's to the liking of the average listener..
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 24, 2019
Let's get to the point with this one. I'll list some of the notable pros and cons.
Pros:
- Diverse stories and settings (As much as Japan allows it)
- Horror stories are based on real life myths and legends from the land of the rising sun, yes! This is quite possibly it's strongest aspect as it adds educational value for anybody deeply invested in the paranormal.
- The simplistic and unique way it's "animated" adds to it, not detract. Animes are known to not be as scary as films so it feels to me they used this to their advantage.
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- Good narrator.
Cons:
- Unfortunately every story ends in a cliche , stereotypical horror way. Yes there's justification for it, but if they were going to imply the protagonist of the story say, died. There's better ways they could've done that.
- The characters, especially adults suffer from a high level stupidity syndrome. Most evident in the episode called "Hair" from what i remember.
- This is beginner horror. It's not supposed to be anything more than that, so this is more of a personal nitpick.
- Stock sound effects. Very common and noticeable for someone that's surrounded themself with horror for a long time.
All in all. Recommended for casual horror fans looking for a quick thrill, as for the rest. Temper your expectations, it's got some charm to it just don't go into this thinking you're going to get scared badly and that your search for a good horror anime series is over.
(I don't think i will be making revisions to this review in any case. Yami Shibai is a long running anime series and i don't have any plans to cover it all. This was a quick one-off that i felt compelled to make.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 21, 2019
I am not sure how to write a review for this or what score to pick. Hence, the respectful 6 for "fine". This is a mini anthology series consisting of 5 OVA's. Each tells a vastly different story and setting. With little to connect them aside from the somewhat experimental visuals. They're the easiest thing to attach yourself to and be entertained.
I suppose... it is a mixed bag with a little bit of something for almost everyone. If you're not necessarily into comedy, it's still at least worth looking into and a way to pay respects to the work that went into them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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