Shinsekai Yori documents the lives of humans 1000 years into the future who have gained the ability of using psychokinesis (commonly referred to as cantus). The story follows the life of Saki Watanabe and friends who go to Zenjin academy to hone their cantus skills, and their investigations about the mystery 'tainted cats'.
Shinsekai Yori is seen as a fantasy thriller, trying to delicately weave in high suspense moments in an idyllic setting whilst using children to uncover the dark secrets of how the world has come about. The clever juxtaposing techniques are what bring about the tension. However, underneath this complex story, what we see is a slice of life. Not an ordinary slice of life, but the 'slice' which is never really looked at in anime too often. It's the negatives about our world which are expressed fully in the Shinsekai Yori, every flaw in our imperfect world are scrutinized in depth. There are so many parallels between our world and their world, from using 'unintelligent' creatures (in Shinsekai Yori these are named Queerats) as slaves, to the brainwashing of society or even forcing dictatorship and judgement on the weak, are well documented. Furthermore, it also looks at how those in control sanction such inhumane laws on those who could cause risk to society, going as far as brainwashing people to maintain control. The show can almost been seen as consisting of 3 arcs which involves time skips to show life at different ages, mainly focusing on the problems with the children and the other focuses on the war at the end. Atmospherically, the show oozes tense undertones in comparison to the cheery nature of the children and the lush scenery. The show also features romance, but not the human conventional falling in love, it's more instinctive love, which gave for truly unique displaying of relationships.
However, one of the biggest criticisms of the show was the radical changing of themes in terms of relationships. Quiet early into the show both yaoi and yuri themes were shown, which was a stark contrast to the possible relationship pairings previously established. Furthermore, the pacing was back and forth due flashbacks of the history in shinsekai yori, which made it slightly hard to follow, however this stops and the pacing becomes better, adding more tension.
The animation for the show wasn't entirely fluid or sharp compared to many anime's in 2012, however the art isn't bad either. There is some bloody moments, all of which isn't censored. The scenery itself is done well, not necessarily picturesque but good nonetheless.
The characters in shinsekai yori are fleshed out by showing their mental 'strength', this strength shown by the characters is how they manage to overcome problems which provide extremely stressful. When younger, the characters come across as a common cast of friends, such as the smart one (Shun) the quiet one (Mamarou) or the cocky one (Satoru). But as they grow you see the strength of these characters. The show does well in presenting difficult situations for the characters, and sympathy can only be given to see children so young deal with so much that they may not understand, such as political issues or certain laws. Also, the killing off of characters shows no one is safe at any point, and the characters are put under the stress of knowing this constantly.
However, it could be seen that Saki, the main character and narrator of the show gets off lightly with some issues. Although she struggles and is able to cope well, she is known to be weak in terms of fighting, which could lead to big problems at times. But, she generally good for most of the show.
Musically, Shinsekai Yori shines brightly. Although the shows opening isn't used much (if not at all) it's 2 choices of ending are definitely good for those who love more romantic J Pop. The OST is composed very well, with each terrifying moment made that bit more tense, and the more relaxing moments that bit more peaceful.
To conclude, this genre within a genre anime is definitely worth watching for someone looking for anime which is slightly unique. It's one not to miss, as an anime like Shinsekai Yori doesn't come across too often.
