Story (6/10)
Keep in mind, I have never played the game, so I went into the anime not knowing much of what it was. So, there is this elementary school that was torn down ages ago because of a series of deaths that took place in said school. A new school gets built over top of it. The students attending this school stay there late to tell some spooky stories. It's all happy times, until they do this weird friendship ritual and then BAM! An earthquake occurs and everyone wakes in up in this freaky place, which turns out to be the old elementary school which was torn down. Now all the students are being attacked by enraged spirits of children who were murdered in the school. I'll leave it at that because all the rest would be spoilers.
Now, the story is not very original. There are aspects of it along the way that make it interesting, but overall it wasn't very spontaneous. What kept me intrigued was the way it was executed. How some things played out, who died and, of course, the beautiful variety of guts and guck oozing out of the victims. That aspect was what made it a lot more thrilling than it could have been. Other than that, if you are looking for something with an interesting, thought-provoking plot, this may not be for you. This anime is mainly for entertainment purposes.
Art (7/10)
Animation flowed well and there were some nice, horrific shots and angles. The eerie atmosphere was definitely achieved and that is a very important aspect in horror. The backgrounds were well drawn. Character designs were decent and you could tell who the generic anime guy was right away (if you watch it, you'll know who I mean). What had impressed me the most in this category were the gruesome scenes, which were very well detailed and believable. I almost felt sickened. Overall, it was pretty standard stuff.
Sound (7/10)
The opening song is very clam and pretty, yet has an eerie tone to it. The ending has that similar effect on me as well. Both songs are well chosen. Now, the music used in the anime itself was pretty well done, from what I can remember. From calming to eerie to utter silence, it all impacted the atmosphere well and matched each scene nicely. I don't have much of an opinion of the voice actors because I watched the subbed version and I can't speak Japanese, so I wouldn't know what's good or not, but from what I could tell it was pretty decent as well. Each voice matched the character as well as the expressions that character was making.
Character (5/10)
None really stood out to me and I didn't feel that much sympathy when a few were killed off. Of course, this is only a 4 episode OVA series, so there was very little character development. Especially because the main focus is not the characters, but rather the incidents taking place in the story. Not to say the characters weren't likable, just not very interesting. There wasn't much learned from them that made the viewer sympathize or relate to them. Sometimes I just felt like banging my head up against a wall when I watched some of the brainless characters in certain situations. I guess, in every horror, there is always one really dumb person who goes and screws everything up.
Enjoyment (6/10)
I enjoyed it. Maybe not thoroughly enough than I wished I could have, but this anime wouldn't give me a bad impression on the game. I don't have much to write here because literally, after I watched it, I felt nothing. It's really only amusing to watch for fun, but it isn't something to go back to. You don't really get anything out of it, yet you don't regret watching it. It's just fun. So, if you feel like watching demon children rip apart some junior high kids, watch this show and be merry! I was!
Overall (6/10)
I have seen many different horror anime and films altogether and I wouldn't say this one comes close to being one of the best in it's genre. Story-wise, it was quite basic and unoriginal, yet the execution was pretty well done enough for me to like it. The reason I gave it the rating I did was because I enjoyed it, yet I wouldn't say it's very amazing. It's far from flawless, but it doesn't need to be amazing to be fun to watch.
I'd still recommend this to fellow horror lovers and I am now even tempted to play the game to learn more about it. This anime was pretty satisfying till the end and that's all I need for a fun show like this.
