Ayakashi

As a child, Yuu Kusaka made a vow upon a shooting star that he would stand on the side of justice and defend the weak. However, the death of one of his friends robs him of the desire to live up to that vow, and he turns a blind eye to the misery of others, using the mysterious power he possesses as a means of making money instead of helping those in need. His days of living only for himself continue, until he's forced to fight for his life against another classmate with powers similar to his. He's saved by a mysterious girl named Eimu Yoake, who also has strange powers.

Eimu reveals that his powers stem from a creature known as an Ayakashi, a parasitic being that grants the user special abilities at the price of slowly draining the life of the host. She helps him fully awaken his own. Now aware of the ayakashi he possesses, Yuu must live up to his childhood vow, putting his ayakashi to use and fend off those who would use their own for evil, all while unraveling the mystery behind the death of his friend.

Yoake, Eimu Main

Mizuki, Nana Japanese

Kusaka, Yuu Main

Kishio, Daisuke Japanese

Kare Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Asakura, Pam Werne Supporting

Shimizu, Ai Japanese

Yoake, Akino Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Makihara, Izumi Supporting

Nogawa, Sakura Japanese

Natsuhara, Orie Supporting

Nogawa, Sakura Japanese

Yakushiji, Hime Supporting

Matsuki, Miyu Japanese

Yamazaki, Asuka Producer

Aoki, Kiyomitsu Producer

Yoshinuma, Oshi Producer

Takada, Jun Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

May 4, 2008

froseph

Recommended

Ayakashi was a very entertaining show in the end. It took a bit to get started but I found it a brillaint watch, for a show thats about magic powers, like Night Wizard or Prism Ark, but makes it bloody, throws human ethics onto the production floor.

The base story aids this in its presentation. Although the premise is simple, Yuu holds within him a powerful Ayakashi and finds himself the target of villains wanting that power (played superbly by Tomakazu Sugita) while his friends suffer (the first of which was his childhood friend and crush Izumi. As nw Girl Eimu shows ... up to protect, Yuu the story develops nicely along a stadily paced path, with implication's of romance, violence, the price of death, among other themes. Whats intersting about these powers, is that using them, the Ayakashi eats at your own life force, andthe more you use it, the more you get injured, and permanent effects like blindness tart to take place, which offers a more subdued battle show that makes it all the more entertaining. The link between Eimu and Izumi is also nicely developed, taking the series in a nice direction that one doesnt expect making watching the developments very rewarding.

However their are a few niggling problems in story terms that stop this show from being up there with the classic anime. Such developments over the episodes are not linked together effectively and something that doesnt appear to clearly happen, has actually happened (Pam's changing sides seemed to happen overnight) and characters seem to have a tendency to change their minds without much prompting (The Yoake sisters seemingly having the worst problem with this. However most character's are entertaining, if a bit clichéd. Yuu is your typical hero, but he is a bit flakey in his opinion's, Hime is the sweet best friend, Eimu is the stark serious one, all archetypes used before, but played to a mostly decent level that you feel somewhat emotional when character's die. And the show doesnt hold back on innocent sacrifices, which is what sets it apart from other super-power based shows and into the murky realms of Death Note and the like.

And if there is one thing that helps this dark atmospher its the nice Animation. Aesthetically, the art takes a bit of getting used to but really fits well with the piece. The colur palette for character's are varied from piks, purples, light blues to deep greens, but the vibrancy is degraded, and when placed on top of grey morbid backgrounds, really sets up a dark fantasy setting effectively well, without skimping on the attractiveness of its female cast (except maybe Hime, whose desgin seems dull and unattractive). The sound only serves to keep the dark morbid atmosphere and up the tension on a frequent basis and is well used to attempt to make the fight scenes more tense than they actually are. And thats one of the shows other weak points. Despite many conflicts, the battles seem dull and unispired, even if the art smoothly flows through each sequence, its just nothing really happens in 80% of the fights. Still it feels like a minor flaw compared to the show's interesting character developed plot. Wiht the beautiful animation and the appropriate soundtrack this anime is aesthetically pleasing, including one of my personal favourite Ending songs (that i'm listening to as I write this over and over) as it helps really enhance the despair and emotional impact the series can have on its audience and its main cast.

If you want something deep in dramatic tension, with a decent amount of blood and violence (that thankfully doesnt overdo it) with a dark foreboding atmosphere, you can go no wrong with Ayakashi. Its one of the darker tales of its genre, and as animation goes as a whole, its decently executed. Its never going to reach any lofty heights due to being weighed down from uninspired fight scenes and parts of the drama that are glossed over too quickly, but ignoring these little flaws, its a worthwhile 12 episode series that deserves more attention than it has garnered since its release.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 10, 2008

NoSurrender

Mixed Feelings

Ayakashi, was...not bad. I was bored for a while and had already finished death note but a little advice for people who finish a GREAT MATERPIECE OF ANIME, do not wathc this atferwards, you will feel like crap and think "I could of done better". Ayakashi was okay but it just gets annoying after the first 5 episodes but atleast we get a nudity scene in ep. 4 or 5. :D

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 25, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Not Recommended

Elfen Lied meets Tokkou. That pretty much describes this series, just a chain of shocking scenes, unreasonable behaviors and convenient events. It’s about monsters empowering humans, while destroying them in the process and it’s done in the usual way where a bunch of kids will be able to level buildings with energy beams, without a penalty by the police or their parents.

It has a lot of splatter, along with some psedo-serious aspects, all presented in a lukewarm way with dumb facial expressions and simple special effects. The battles feel “turn based” and without choreography, the monsters are static, and the splatter scenes lack details to ... even register as gruesome. The dialogues were also stupid and shallow, ranging from one-liners of seduction and threats, to endless monologues full of shallow motives.

The anime is based on an eroge, thus the feeling of “all the females in the story act like dumb, squeaky voiced bimbos who want to screw the hapless leading male” is strong. Males on the other hand just talk like barbarians and simply want to hurt or kill the protagonist. It’s all done in a very dumb way since the anime tries to come off as edgy rather than mature. There is a scene where a villain cuts to pieces dozens of people. The protagonist looks and says “Hey, another Ayakashi user is near.” Get it? He didn’t say “Oh my God, he killed my friends!” Then a psycho little girl appears out of thin air and he says “Nah, it can’t be her. She is just a girl.” Very reasonable answer, right? Then the scene changes and he is mysteriously bound with chords in a warehouse. The girl is dressed like a bride and wants to have sex with him. Then another girl (which of course also digs him) is mysteriously freed and summons her Ayakashi to defeat the evil girl. And then the protagonist gets all powerful (a thing he could do anytime he wanted, but didn’t) and saves the little girl because “She is just being used.” Yes, she is just being and the hundreds of people she has turned into mincemeat are no longer an issue. The girl simply fades into thin air again and the protagonist returns home while caring the other girl on his back, and feeling her legs all over his body… Did you like any of that shit? It all happened in just 15 minutes. Imagine how it goes from there. Villain women trying to seduce the protagonist instead of simply capturing him and stealing his powers. Characters standing still in plain sight when fighting with Ayakashi that move like the wind and cut people like butter. The edge!

Just like Elfen Lied and Tokkou, this series tries to pass off as serious by implementing as much splatter and insanity possible. It even tries to play it mysterious by having secret organizations, the amnesia routine and lost old friends in the background. Which of course is like having a naked woman talking about the injustice in the world. Are you going to listen to her or look at her hooters? An insult to one’s intelligence! Just play the damn eroge and skip this entirely.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Ayakashi Episode 12 Discussion direbliss - Apr 2, 2008	32 replies	by ReaperCreeper »» Jun 16, 11:45 PM
	Poll: Ayakashi Episode 11 Discussion cyruz - Apr 2, 2008	4 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 13, 2023 4:22 PM
	Poll: Ayakashi Episode 10 Discussion what_ever - Apr 2, 2008	7 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 13, 2023 3:48 PM
	Poll: Ayakashi Episode 9 Discussion cyruz - Apr 2, 2008	8 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 13, 2023 3:07 PM
	Poll: Ayakashi Episode 8 Discussion Sobzob - Apr 2, 2008	5 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 13, 2023 2:32 PM