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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- So, what did you all think of this short movie ? I didn't know what to expect but i was slightly shocked by the whole concept of it. So Sorincha had one the day before and handed the demon mask to her brother, but what happens to her? does she get to go back home? Anyway, aside from the story slightly disturbing me i thought it was good. The animation wasn't bad considering you could tell it was done with the computer, and i'm not really a fan of things done with computers. It was a good watch. |
| When i first watched it i was like... wtf thats it? But i watched it a 2nd and 3rd time and it started to look better and better to me but ... well read my review :D thats how i feel aboot it |
  "What happens when we die?" I know that the ones who love us will miss us. |
| I watch this on Cartoonnetwork a couple of years ago. But I did like it; I can't exactly comment on every aspect, since it was a long time ago. |
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| Even though I found it to be a little confusing, I still liked it. Gets an 8/10 from me =) |
| You know for an anime with a premise (and reveal), animation, and action like that... ...this was really freakin' boring. |
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
| I just rewatched it today and I realized something. It's not all that scary. Eerie, yes, but not scary. The animation was really unique (the demons looked fantastic), but there are two mind-numbingly long pan shots that go on for at least two-three minutes each. The rushed finish also doesn't help. Still, it's a great premise with an effective atmosphere, but there's just not much substance. I used to rank it an 8, but I give it a 7/10 now. |
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| Even though it wasn't just awe striking, I can't help but just love this sort of...technoshamanism theme. They take Shinto, and they fuse it with a futuristic dystopian picture of Japan. And it's actually quite pretty. But it's never terribly scary. But it keep you watching because it's pretty and it moves well enough. |
 Old avatar and sig retired for now. |
| i loved the whole cute girl voice with demononic echo. |
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| I was expecting it to be scarier :s I think above someone said it was eerie and that's about it. I'm not really a big fan of computer generated animation, it doesn't have the same fluidity you get from your everyday drawn anime. The concept, however, was great. I would have loved to see this as a full length film because it felt like it ended too soon and left us too many unanswered questions that could have added to the story. 1.What happens to Sorincha? 2.Do the towns people know what fuels their city? Do they care? 3.What about the families that lose their children, is there are lore about it except through the rumors of children? 4.How do the demons lure the children there in the first place? I understand the main character wanted to find his sister, but what's in it for the rest of them? 5.Where does everyone else go during Kakurenbo? How does everyone else know when their holding a game? This should DEFINITELY have been a full feature film. |
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| short but fun. expected more from it, but its all good in the end. |
| The atmosphere is what made it a winner. The creepy setting lasted all the way through. Though I thought it was pretty obvious that Sorincha was the last enemy. Well, her mask anyway. |
| Very creepy. I really enjoyed this! Watching the whole city being lit up and the masks made me shudder. |
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| Liked it, but I feel like they shouldn't have actually shown the Oni. They weren't scary looking, and they were animated strangely, so it would have been better to keep them hidden. Plus the story would have an additional layer to make it more interesting - are the children really hearing demons, are they just scared, or is the whole thing being orchestrated by the person who is "it"? Instead we just get some ugly, slow moving demons running around the city with no explanation for what they are. |
| Firstly, Loved this movie to death. I can watch it over and over and not get bored. I'm easily entertained, so I'm not much of a critic, but I loved the visuals and the way the story pulls you in without divulging too much background into anything, really. For instance, they don't waste time on character backgrounds. They don't waste time on how it started or how things work the way they do. There is only whats happening there and then, and the reason it's happening. The character designs were spectacular, there's a little bit of every kind of kid. Short kids, Sissy kid, Kid who climbs on rocks, Etcetera. The monsters were spooky. As in, Spookier than Scooby Doo by a long shot, but not nearly Freddy Kruegar scary. Actually, In retrospect, I would probably let kids over the age of 7-9 watch this. There is no blood, no graphic parts. The only bad parts are towards the end, which I think as a kid, would have scared the daylights out of me. Perfect selection for a Halloween flick. The Halloween stuff kids have now a days are way too child friendly. If you've ever watched "Scary Godmother", You know exactly what I'm talking about. This would be a wonderful highlight to any Hallows Eve line up. Hinata020 said: 1. I have a theory about this, actually. Something interesting you might notice, is the twin's masks have red eyes. The twins being my favorite characters, one might overlook it as cool mask design, but then in the end, You'll notice the main char has red eyes as well. This makes me think. The twins were very silent, and they seemed to know EXACTLY what they were doing. Perhaps they did this before...? Previous winners, tempting fate? And if these were previous winners, perhaps the same thing happened to Sorincha. She was released, but for winning, some demonic parts were left as her prize for winning. That's what I think happened.I was expecting it to be scarier :s I think above someone said it was eerie and that's about it. I'm not really a big fan of computer generated animation, it doesn't have the same fluidity you get from your everyday drawn anime. The concept, however, was great. I would have loved to see this as a full length film because it felt like it ended too soon and left us too many unanswered questions that could have added to the story. 1.What happens to Sorincha? 2.Do the towns people know what fuels their city? Do they care? 3.What about the families that lose their children, is there are lore about it except through the rumors of children? 4.How do the demons lure the children there in the first place? I understand the main character wanted to find his sister, but what's in it for the rest of them? 5.Where does everyone else go during Kakurenbo? How does everyone else know when their holding a game? This should DEFINITELY have been a full feature film. 2. I believe they mentioned the town was abandoned, and no one goes near it anymore. This is why everything is in disrepair, and no one notices what is going on, or questions what the demons do. 3. This is really overthinking things. But I assume the police search, but can't find them, and the families end up wondering what happened for the rest of their lives. I expect that if the police searched this town, there would be some sort of demonic Gimick that would keep them wandering around, but be unable to find the tower. 4. That's just it. Remember the beginning when Sorincha spoke to the child gang, the thug and his cronies? This is how it works. The one who is 'it' is sent out as a lure. They go to play grounds, schools, wherever kids are hanging out, and plant seeds about the mysterious Kakurenbo game. The kids get curious, and wander in none the wiser to prove it isn't true. Kind of like the old haunted house thing. Kids go in, expecting the rumors to be bull, only to find out the rumors are true. The 5th demon is a mask, that controls the child, and uses them to lure others in. 5. See answer 2, and I expect Sorincha told them a time, but they didn't have that part of the conversation in the movie. The reason some questions are left unanswered is so that there is speculation about them. They did that on purpose so we would have something to think about. It's meant to raise the movie's charm, and IMHO, it does that beautifully. |
SlaitFeb 20, 2010 8:46 AM
| damn the movie was so scary! it's was awesome!!! even the soundtrack goes with it perfectly. My theory on the 5th Demon and how the Kakurenbo incident started: 5th Demon I think the 5th demon is a body taker (Oni) or a processed mask. Somebody (probably a child) might have found it long ago when people used to live in that ruins and it took over that person. Or the Oni might have processed someone and forced him/her to play Otokoyo. Then the processed person encouraged other children to play the game of Otokoyo. They played it in that place and one after another the children started to disappear who played it. Later people deserted that place and it became ruins.The demons disguises as statues until the game starts. The Oni disguises as an extra player and joins up with other players. Inmu & Yanku (the twins) once played Otokoyo but they escaped. Or may be the ones that wins the Oni mask are called the Kings and Queens and they recruits new players. Kakurenbo Incident and Ending clamp As Hikora became the new 5th Demon at the end, Sorincha was released as well other who believes in demons. The ones that didn't believes in demon was used as fuel for one of the machines that light the city, like Noshiga. BTW if u read the character descriptions, some confusions might clear up. new ideas would pop-up after re-watch... LOL edit: 10/3/10, re-watched Facts abt the "5th Demon" it's a host type demon, a mask which processes who wears it (the last person left in the game is the one to wear it) it recruits new players for otkoyo it plays the game alongside other kids ........ Some demons resembling the kids is just coincidence for that reason but the twins having red eyes is a mystery cause u know that only the processed ones have red eyes |
ShojoSamuraiOct 3, 2010 3:37 AM
 Are you the bloody applause monkey? Keep your sh*t comments to yourself or go troll on 4chan. |
| That was a lot creepier then I thought it was going to be :p |
| TIME TO LIVE FOREVER BABY! http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=19549 Please join if you love Asian Cinema :) |
| This was boring as hell, I actually expected SOMETHING... |
| I really wanted to like this. The only good thing was it was scary to me. But thats not exactly an accomplishment. I hate horror and scary stuff. |
| Hasteless-paced anime with very interesting concept. I'd even call it an art-house. |
| It wasn't scary but I liked the ending. |
| Read from a recommendation that this would give me the chills. Didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was enjoyable. I loved the concept. |
| [insert awesome signature here] |
| Wasn't scary at all, but it was decent, I guess. Didn't see the outcome of being caught to be so grim. |
| Who would have like this to be ported to a videogame? I would love to play it!! :3 |
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| Very interesting. Packed a lot of suspense into a short film. Of course, it's to be expected from the guys that made 5 cm/ps and voices of a distant star, both amazing productions. Overall 8/10, gives me mad nostalgia and is a very well developed piece for its length. |
| Lemme smang it girl. |
| It was rather good altough the artstyle was pretty shitty |
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| I initially thought this had some promise, but was sad to see it quickly degenerate into a cliche slasher routine with chase sequences that chased away any sense of mystery as to the demons and their nature - having them attack the kids right off the bat, instead of drawing out the suspense, was a huge mistake. I know this was only 25 minutes long, but more build-up would have served it well. Tension is the absence of action, and once your tension has been demolished by a rampaging monster, it is very hard to reclaim it for your audience. All in all, a decent watch, just a shame about those directorial mistakes that prevented this from truly reaching the heights of atmospheric horror. |
SymphoniusJun 7, 2012 10:47 AM
| "Truth can always be found deep in the dungeon." ~ Balmung of the Azure Sky |
| Liked the premise, the setting, and the ending with using the kids to light up the city and passing on the demon role to the winner. There was so much that could've been done with this, but most of it just felt bland. |
| (◕ᴥ◕し) Hello! Did you know? Barnacles have the largest penis to body size ratio of the animal kingdom. |
| Back in 2005 when it was played on adult swim.... I shit my pants seeing the trailer and didn't have the balls to actually watch it... Masks still creep me out today. Now that I've been reminded of this short film... Of course I Just had to watch it, and... well 8/10 easy, really leaves an impression towards the end... I'll assume that whoever is caught last is made to be the 5th demon/8th contestant of the next game to lure the next 7 children into the town. I'd say the demon, who may be fully conscious of their actions, hunts them down and continues the cycle, but if the children find out who the imposter is, they are freed, while the previous contestant is used as a source of power for the town. Based on the fact Sorincha told the children specifically 7 children were to hide in the town. The twins both had the eyes, so I'd assume they were caught together at the end of a previous hunt, and won their freedom in the next. |
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| Unique, pretty fascinating and really damn short. Not sure what else I can say about this. 6/10. |
I almost never read discussions after I made my post, if you want to reply PM me or post on my profile page. |
| First dead was pretty stupid, that kid was standing there like an idiot. 7/10, because it was interesting. |
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| Really love the dark and eerie setting and vibe the show gives off. The ending was interesting and dark as well. 7/10 |
| This had tons of potential to be amazing, great atmosphere and soundtrack, fitting setting, and good use of CGI, but the story and characters just don't cut it. I liked it for what it's worth, but it could have been a lot better imo. What a wasted concept. ): |
| Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
| =/ So when the 5th demon retires, they become one of the lights? I enjoyed its dark and eerie theme, but the feeling was lacking. I think they spent too much time on the bully and not enough on the main characters + backstory. Yaimao MVP. |
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| Hmm it was pretty okay, story is rather weak though |
| A very trippy, surreal, and sometimes scary short movie that was a pretty fun and solid watch |
| “I love heroes, but I don't want to be one. Do you even know what a hero is!? For example, you have some meat. Pirates will feast on the meat, but the hero will distribute it among the people! I want to eat the meat!” - Monkey D. Luffy |
| I didn't expect anything good from such a short movie so it turning out to be bad wasn't much of a surprise to me. What really pissed me off was because I absolutely loved the concept of the movie. The plot had so much potential despite the vagueness of it. If I hadn't known, I would have thought that this came out around 2010-2012 because the art was great and the animation was decent except for the children (they felt weird) but who would have known that this was released in 2004? The atmosphere was especially great for such a short episode. But of course, I can't possibly expect fleshed out characters and a well-executed plot from a 24 minute movie right? So yeah, this was a wasted potential but it was still a fun watch though. You can really feel the thrill even though animation isn't really a medium suited for the horror genre. |
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| Neat ending with how the 'losers' light up the city via a plug inserted in to their necks and how the game carries on with the 'winner' taking the others place. Wasn't sure what I was watching until the end which made it eerily clear. Not bad. Would've made a good full length movie. |
| Somebody should tell them there's better power sources than children. |
 artist | doofus | joiner (but not finisher) of challenges |
| That was good and very creative but had glitches there and there. So Hikora became the fifth demon but what about his sister Sorincha, is she dead or what? I get the other player lit up the city or something like that, like Yaimao. It was good but short, so it's a 7/10. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
| A bit hard to follow at times (perhaps because there wasn't enough time to establish the characters), but I really appreciate the animation style, and it had a good ending. 7/10 |
| "No, son, you may not have your body pillow at the dinner table!" |
| I loved the premise and setting but it was too short to consider the story progression engaging or even feel invested in the characters. A real shame since the same concept would have been so much better executed in a full length movie. The general aesthetic, demons design and OST were nice tho. 4/10 |
| I watched this because one of my friends love it. Honestly, I love the atmosphere but the story fell flat, bland and predictable. If I watch this when I was younger, I may think this movie in better way because I was more lenient and easier to please back then. It's not too bad but definitely not good either. Just ok or so-so to me. Not scary or not even eerie to me. Perhaps because I've been expose to more eerie, scary and disturbing anime/game so I feel desensitizes by this. TLdr: Pretty meh. |
 I need more of this stuff! |
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| I didn't realize this was on Adult Swim. I never saw it back then. Anyway, I wasn't a huge fan of this film. It has a cool setting. It's also a really repetitive sequence of scenes of rough CG models running through grey hallways. At least the spooky atmosphere works. |