When you first watch this show the first thing you'll notice is the length it's 4 minutes an episode which is already misleading as Deen had the gall to devote 1 minute to an OP and ED which cuts it down to 3 minutes. This format has worked for series' before, most notably Inferno Cop , but the glaring difference is that Inferno Cop never presented itself as anything more than comedy not meant to be taken seriously. Pupa takes itself all too seriously.
*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*
STORY - 4
The story focuses on Utsusu and Yume, a brother/sister pair who have had a rough, life this has left Utsusu with a guardian complex and Yume almost completely dependent on him. Nothing groundbreaking there, things get weird when Yume sees a butterfly and a weird witch-esque woman, transforms into a horrible monster and goes on a murderous rampage eating people, Utsusu arrives on the scene and despite better judgement finds his sister and miraculously accepts her as the monster, firmly believing that Yume is still in there somewhere...............she kills him.
Pupa opts to show and not tell, leaving the viewer to make connections and fill in plot points on their own. Something which has been done before but fortunately what Pupa does show us is absolutely useless at times. One episode is devoted to Yume feeding on Utsusu in a scene with incestuous overtones that are about as subtle as a brick to the face. We are told nothing important to the plot (other than onii-chan....seriously this is the only bit of dialogue in the episode) and are left feeling as if your times been wasted. For a something that lasts about the length of a song, that's quite a feat. Now don't get me wrong some episodes DO give us glimpses into what might be an interesting plot, but it's over just as you start getting hooked. If I could change one thing about this series it would be more time, at least 10 minutes per episode to give the audience something to sink it's teeth into......no pun intended.
ART - 2
The art isn't the worst I've seen but it certainly isn't the best, the colors look washed out and dull and the copious censoring(and there is a lot of it) leaves you looking at black or white screens more often than not. The animation is stiff, lifeless, and above all boring to look at, even for the gory or action scenes there are points where you're subjected to still shots with voices played while the camera pans over them. Corners cut? ABSOLUTELY!!!
SOUND - 3
Absolutely mediocre bordering on bad, the voice acting is generic. Most characters simply say things, no emotion or proper delivery behind them. The background music is just as bad, if an OST is ever released I wouldn't be surprised if the track listing went something like.:
2- Generic Sad Theme
3-Generic Tense Theme
4-Generic Action Theme
Its that bad. One saving grace is the Opening which reminds me of Another or Rozen Maiden; whenever I hear it I can't help but hum along. It's only 30 seconds but it's the best part of the show.
CHARACTER - 2
Laughable, there isn't any. Utsusu can be summed up with "Yume" and Yume can be summed up with Onii-chan." The supporting cast is equally dull but not for lack of trying, Maria (the witch lady) is at this point a generic ambiguous villain whose true motives will be revealed later (hopefully). Her sidekick Hotoki, in all 1 minute of his appearance has solidified himself as the 2nd most enjoyable character on the show (Yume and Utsusus mother being the most). Everyone else is faceless and unimportant.
ENJOYMENT - 3
I truly don't know why I continue watching, I really don't enjoy it. I feel like I'm being teased by this show.The hints of something interesting are quickly losing their mystique and I don't know how much longer I'll continue watching which is why I'm writing this review in hopes of shedding some light on what future viewers, if there are any, are in for.
OVERALL - 3
