Toshi Densetsu Monogatari Hikiko is a short computer animated CGI horror film (er, OVA) about a girl who gets bullied by her classmates. Seems pretty standard for Japanese horror, right? Well... Yes. Anyone who's seen a decent bit of horror (especially horror in a school setting) has seen the "ghost exacting revenge" trope, and the "pity the main antagonist and make it okay for the ghost to kill people" trope at least a million times. Hikiko does a decent job of pulling it off, given the general cliche of the story. In general, it does a good job of telling a memorable story while keeping in mind the short timespan in order to include enough spooky to go with an explanation. I should also add that it really doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares to get the viewer scared, but the scary parts have a certain ambiance to them that will still keep you up all night if you watched this after midnight. Let's break it down a little bit more.
Story - 8
As stated above, the same tropes actually work pretty well here, especially given the scarce appearances Hikiko has in the movie at all. It's hard to go too far into detail about the story without spoiling the plot of the movie entirely. It should be added that the writers did a great job of hooking in the viewer almost immediately by introducing the main characters (and their relationship) right away.
Art - 5
The art is... Nothing to write home about, to say the least. The style reminded me of PS2 horror games, where all the models generally looked the same. Even the age gap seen on the main character looks like a copy and paste of the same head on a bigger body. Fast paced scenes seem a little awkward, too. If you can get past the unique design, then the movie will probably be better enjoyed. Also the camera shakes when something relevant happens. Why? Who knows.
Sound - 6
The music, also nothing to write home about. The music seemed like generic horror background music, enough so that I really didn't take time to notice it. The voice acting for most of the characters is decent, but far from perfect. There were quite a few times the characters seemed like they were speaking in a complete monotone, despite a dramatic or tense scenario.
Character - 6
The characters seemed fairly generic as well, the bullied girl and the class bullies, the hero who can't choose the bullied girl or his friends, blah blah blah. Again, can't say much about this without spoiling.
Enjoyment - 7
All in all, the OVA was pretty solid and kept me interested throughout the entirety of the 40 minutes it ran for. I would definitely recommend the show if you're looking for something short and vaguely scary.
