What I didn’t expect was the copious amounts of gore, sex, and nudity that were there. However, I did get used to it and the nudity was far from an erotic hentai and was more under the lines of unsettling due to its abstract art style.
**Pretty much spoiler-free. Be aware of the frequent uses of “T and A” and grotesque violence that’s usually there for every single episode and sometimes at the same time. Also, it doesn’t get lighter. In fact, it’s somewhat progressively worse, but you might get used to it and see the other things it has going. **
Characters, Concept, and Story-
The concept itself is far from original. Unwanted supernatural beings living and hiding in our society have been used (and will have been used), ranging from titans, hollows, ghouls, aliens, ghosts, demons, chiropterans, parasites, beastmen, walkers and other inhuman organisms. However what makes Kemonozume different from other monster exterminators is its focus. It manages to have a collection of motley tones and genres that when the action and gore are removed, Kemonozume holds water compared to those others that would come off empty. The elite hunters called the Kifuuken aren’t solely at a conquest for more power-ups and the monstrous Shokujinki aren’t superficially painted as the decisive villain. Also, the narrative is not a bleak melodrama as there are various insert comedic reliefs mainly for the monkey Saru and the beginning of some episodes. Yet it also has its placid moments and energetic romance.
With that being said, it’s quite difficult to separate the characters from the scripted plot. More akin to Baccano! it focuses on an eclectic cast of characters, done by granting them a moderate amount of screen time and contributions to the individually segmented, but somehow overall, cohesive plot. But the same, inseparable problems are still prevalent. Characters are blown up to extreme exaggerations often to offer a quirk or two: a pair of star-crossed lovers, a rival, a kick-ass monkey, a deranged megalomaniac, and a jealous partner. Problems within the narrative often make a large hop, skip, and a jump towards their objectives in the beginning such as when Yuka hopes to go to this certain place to [insert spoiler]. However, that may be a minor flaw because as it goes on, the crafty and nonlinear story starts connecting the dots by the viewer’s progression.
Art, Animation, and Sound-
By now, the art style is more towards Yuasa’s Ping Pong the animation rather than the more polish Kaiba and the Tatami Galaxy. Expect the jagged contours, asymmetrical figures, trippy color schemes and real images. However, despite its rough drawings, it’s far more dynamic than most cel animated shows. I would also mention the change in art style typically at the beginning of each episode, as the start of Ep 5 has one of the cleanest art styles. While I wouldn’t call the art at face value for just a bunch of scribbles, it’s quite fitting to it as a whole. But I can’t deny the clumsy movement of a person tied to a chair in one scene.
As I’ve said before, there are a lot of scenes of people making out, having sex, having innards spew out and having the grotesque figures of the Shokujinki. Overall, it does well to capture the horrific images and visceral actions. I could have also sworn that I’ve seen Yuka without clothes almost more often than not. It’s obviously something to take note.
In the sound department, it has a jazzy theme done by Katteni-Shiyagare and a calmer ending. But it really disappoints me that there really isn’t much music in the background and it’s usually jazz played during the action sequence. Meanwhile, voice acting is fun and exaggerated and the sound effects are fine.
Personal Enjoyment
6/10 Episode 1 & 2 (Fine)
7/10 First half(Good)
9/10 Latter part (Great)
It was an uncomfortable start when lacking prior knowledge of its content. Also, because of its jarring tone change I sometimes get whiplashed as I couldn’t pin what Kemonozume actually is, but soon see what it is trying to do. However, towards the end, it was a fun ride even if certain events were absurdly random and were just there to escalate the thrill.
Btw: Shortly after it finished, it just dawned on me what just happened towards the very last scene after the turbulent climax. I almost forgot a critical event and had a major epiphany.
Overall- low-mid 8/10 (Very Good)
As much I enjoyed Kemonozume, I can’t overlook the structural and technical issues with its possibly offensive content. It is definitely a diamond in the rough with several scratches here and there. However, the beauty of this gem would be its somewhat critical approach for its themes of our own reflection of our dark, primal instincts needed to satiate our idealized lust, greed, and strength. While very much extreme, it can also mainly be taken at face-value for its rollercoaster ride entertainment, chock full of a cornucopia of genres and style.
