Story: 6/10
The story of Tortured Souls starts off very similar to the game’s, but the longer it goes on, the more it deviates. It's not horrendously different from the game’s story, but for those that have played the game, don’t expect it to follow exactly.
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve played the games or not, but the story felt pretty rushed to me. Everything seemed to be happening a bit too fast. I feel like some of the story’s background could have been explained better and more thoroughly for those who don’t know the original story. I feel that if I hadn’t played the games, I may not have enjoyed the story aspect all the much.
Art: 7/10
The art is a little iffy for me. I found the beginning scene in Kisaragi to be of somewhat low quality. There are moments in this scene where the characters’ faces look very awkward and disproportionate, and everything looks plain and lacking any real detail. It feels very “bare minimum.”
The huge saving grace for this category is that most of the anime takes place in Heavenly Host, where the art really picks up. The gore is well drawn and does its job of being squick-worthy. Being a fan of the horror genre, it didn’t really shake me, but it’s certainly not for everyone and could easily disturb those not used to violent, disturbing imagery. The backgrounds in Heavenly Host are great—they’re very detailed and dark and help set the mood fantastically.
Sound: 8/10
The opening/ending themes are nice, and the background music is fitting. The voice actors are the same ones from the games, and are absolutely wonderful—very convincing and suited to the characters. The sound effects during the more graphic moments are wonderfully grotesque and cringe-worthy.
Character: 6/10
The characters simply aren’t given enough time to develop. It’s so hard to develop a likeable, interesting group of characters in four episodes, and Tortured Souls just couldn’t do it. While most of the characters have distinct, interesting personalities and backstories in the games, this anime isn’t long enough to properly showcase them. Because of this, many of the characters come off as cliché, flat, and hard to sympathize with. Yuka in particular was my least favorite character, though she has been in every single game/anime she’s been in. The anime never out-right says it, but she’s fourteen years old, and far too childish and immature for her age.
To me, the only characters I was particularly interested in were Morishige and Kizami. They’re just delightful. They don’t get nearly enough screen time though.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Even though the story is lacking and the characters aren’t fully developed, I still really enjoyed this anime. I do think it important to mention that my enjoyment most likely comes from having played the games and already being interested in the series.
One thing that took away a bit of my enjoyment for this anime was the completely uncalled for panty shots. They’re just…so entirely unnecessary and situationally inappropriate. I know the game had some of these too, but they’re just as uncalled for there.
Overall: 6/10
Whether you’ve played the games or not can be a huge determining factor of your individual enjoyment of this anime. I’m really torn between recommending playing the games before or after you watch this. While I think I enjoyed it more because I played the games first, others in the same situation may enjoy it less because it doesn’t follow the game’s storyline all that well. Someone who hasn’t played the games/isn’t already familiar with the story might enjoy this more because they don’t have any pre-conceived ideas about the series, but they might enjoy it less because as a stand-alone anime, it’s not all that great.
No matter what, if you’re looking for a deep, intricate story with complicated characters, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re looking for a hack-and-slash gore-fest where no one is safe, welcome to the Party.
