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Feb 3, 2017
It's been so long since a studio has dared to release an anime like "Kuzu no Honkai". Ever since the creators of Aku no Hana got death threats for their show, studios have been reluctant to include depressive moods and apathy mixed with romance into their anime. Kozu no Honkai takes this exact step, but presents it in a more cheerful fashion that can apply to broader audiences.
If you are a fan of manga such as "Oyasumi Punpun" or "Umibe no Onnako" like me, this is the closest you can get to the same mood and atmosphere in new anime. If you are not, and
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just like love triangles, this is a great opportunity to take a dive into the world of unrequited love where people become so mentally tormented that they settle for anything to suppress their feelings.
The characters are mentally destroyed, the detail and art are amazing, story is good(4 episodes in so far) and the characters are great.
I want to emphasise the last point. I am a fan of every single character in this show. If you have ever been in love, you know that the characters are doing exactly what is supposed to be expected when you are head over heels for someone in a realistic way. The anime doesn't make the characters go yandere from love but instead, it makes them weak and vulnerable when they are around their beloved ones.
I hope that this shows popularity will at least spike a small change in the anime business and hopefully we can get more of this type of mature romance anime out in the coming year.
I will probably add a conclusion to this review once the series is finished, but right now all I can do is to enjoy the show :]
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 1, 2016
I randomly came across this manga when i was in the library with some friends. The cover caught my eye and i curiously lifted the book off the shelf. After inspecting both the front and back cover i had my hopes raised. I was hoping for a sad, slow-paced story about a lonesome girl and the ocean, and i got more than what i was expecting.
The art. Yes this was the main point that i loved about this manga. I simply love rugged, imperfect backgrounds with plenty of detail and shadows. You can probably tell by my profile, but this was more than i asked
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for. On several occasions, i had to stop reading in order to grasp the picture, grasp the detail and relive the effort that the artist had when drawing every single brick, powerline and railbed.
For me, the story was nothing special. However, i know what the author felt like when making this story. When i am bored, i occasionally daydream. I create beautiful scenarios that i feel that only i can enjoy fully. I dream of playing with a girls soft brown hair while sitting in a train coupe. The wooden benches are uncomfortable, but her presence makes me ignore that. The morning sunrays sift through the small white curtains and land on her face. We pass dense forests, open lakes and even large hills. Where are we going? To be frank it doesn't matter.
For us dreamers, this is complete bliss. Even though i cannot appreciate Emanons story good enough, i know that for the author, it was a fantastic daydream. So good, that he turned it into reality.
Emanon is a fine character. It's the girl of our authors dreams - different and mysterious.
Those are my thoughts on this great manga. I am glad that my eyes stopped on this blue book during that tired afternoon, it filled the rest of my week with happiness and enjoyment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 5, 2016
This anime consists out of 6 arcs of different lengths based on different books. As you would assume, some are better than others and there is a real masterpiece amongst them, . In this review, i am going to be focusing on the gems and explain what i found appealing about them.
No Longer Human (Episode 1-4) - This is the flawless gem out of these arcs. The story is amazing. We follow the life of an art student who ignored his fathers appeal of studying something useful and contributing to the society. He goes from one addiction to another in order to find a purpose
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to live. He despises the society and claims that he is not a part of it, eventually blaming his life on its incapability to adapt people. What he fails to understand is that he is a part of it considering the people that he has managed to get involved in his life during the story.
This story deals with the human psychology, and the narrator(Masato Sakai) probably has the best voice to deal with it. Desperation, false self-security and most importantly the indifference that our MC expresses are perfectly acted out.
The art is wonderful. This is a personal opinion but i just love shabby buildings and dark atmospheres combined with the damp, misty light every single lamp emits. The art combined with the sounds really makes this an atmospheric anime, and i love atmospheric works of art.
All this in 4 episodes, 4! Some anime have 12 or 24 episodes and still fail to set a proper story and atmophere.
No longer Human was a 10/10 for me. I will most likely rewatch it.
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In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Episodes 5-6) - To save some time, i did not enjoy this. I thought about skipping this anime in the middle of the first episode because it was so different from the previous one, a huge step down. The only reason i kept on watching was because i saw a GIF of sakura petals falling over a skull which was beautiful and i figured it was this arc.
This is your usual classic story built around what is supposed to be love. However it seems like it's not love, only lust from our MC. He does not think much, acts on impulse and all characters are overall very shallow.
This was a 5/10 for me considering that the art and music were great even though the story was horrific.
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Kokoro (Episodes 7-8) - This was another gem. This time it was the story and not the art that i found astonishing.
We follow a young man(MC) who is set up for life. The good education, the proper manners, everything you might want. Yet he lacks something. He cant find courage, determination and happiness. He goes to a man who seems to have these properties, a homeless guru who he takes home as his teacher to teach him his ways.
Our MC is renting and has the daughter of his landlord as well as the landlord living in the house, and our MC is very fond of the former one. When the sensei moves in, they catch an eye for eachother, making an unofficial love triangle. You feel compassion and pity for our young MC whose love is perhaps being crushed by his own mistake.
Without spoiling it the story progresses fairly expectedly, however when you watch the next episode, you see the situation from the eyes of the sensei. This one hits hard. You start to question everything you've seen so far, maybe our two characters shouldnt have met at all? For a 2-episode anime it sure is one hell of a journey that makes you understand that stereotypes dont go far.
9/10 for a great story and message. The art was not the best and did not set the atmosphere, but the story makes up for it.
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Run, Melos! (Episode 9-10) - Another great arc. This is the only arc which made me tear up. The art is on point with similar looks as "No Longer Human" and the story is very simple, yet so sad.
Our MC this time is a writer living with his friend. His friend is also involved in the artist lifestyle but as an actor. The story has alot of time-jumps since our MC is writing a japanese version of a greek tale. During his work he realises that this tale is also the story of his life, making it a hard one to finish.
The arc deals with insecurity, trust and platonic love. Once you get further in and the pieces start to fall into place you understand what the characters had to give up.
9/10 it is a simple but heart-wrenching story accompanied by a great atmosphere. I did not enjoy the ending though, i think they should have cut it earlier.
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The Spiders Thread (Episode 11) - A short arc about karma. Nothing too spectacular, i thought it had too much gore.
The story starts off much later than where it should have started and we do not really get to know the reasons for our MC's thoughts and deeds. The story is very gory and progresses exactly as expected. The art is fine which pulls it up a little but not too much.
6/10 watchable but not very interesting.
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Hell Screen (Episode 12) - As the pervious arc, this one is very predictable but instead of dealing with karma it deals with totalitarian regimes, which gives more to work with. Our MC is the best painter in the country and as expected the Lord wants him to paint more and more magnificent pictures of this wonderful land. However our MC has had enough.
Very simple and predictable yet descriptive and teaching. It gives an idea of what it is to live under a totalitarian regime. Behind all the happy facades in form of parties and celebrations there is something much darker lurking, ready to attack as soon as you take a wrong step.
7/10 for a predictable short story but nice art and message.
In total i give this anime 9/10 because i feel that especially the first arc outweigh most of the bad ones. The 4 first episodes are absolutely worth watching, you decide on the rest. They are evergreens because they are masterpieces, relevant yet today.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 28, 2015
Aku no Hana was the first anime i watched that really made me want to write a review. Why? Thats what im going to try to explain in these 5 categories below.
After the 5 main points there will be a SPOILER zone where i will share some thoughts.
1. Story
Aku no Hana takes place in a post-industrial japanese town. The main character is a bookworm and especially loves the book "Flowers of Evil". He has advanced vocalulary and is in love with a girl from his class - Saeki, to whom he refers to as his muse. One day after school, he impulsively grabs Saeki's
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gym clothes and runs off, thinking that no-one saw him. However, Nakamura - a quiet careless girl from his class sees him and starts to make plans on how to make the best out of this situation.
2. Art
This is the point where most people will have split opinions. Firstly i want to say that the landscape and backgrounds are AMAZING. Never before have i paused an anime so many times just to look at every frame. The shadows and all the detail are breathtaking. Huge kudos to whoever drew all this. However this also means that many frames are frozen, with only the characters moving - i like it since it doesnt give a 3D-feel about the whole thing.
The characters are very originally drawn. The anime is almost completely unsexualized and all character faces and proportions are in realistic standards.
3. Sound
I didn't really see any unique sound qualities, just the usual grasshopper chirping. Some scenes in particular have very powerful sound because of the given situation.
4. Character
This point is pretty hard to go into without spoiling so im going to keep it short and continue on further down. The three main characters Kasuga, Saeki and Nakamura have different personalities. Saeki and Nakamura are contrary to eachother. Saeki is a hardworking student while Nakamura doesnt care about school and is very unpleasant to everyone. Kasuga can be seen as a little of both, and a huge chunk of the story is about that he has to make his mind up about his personality.
5. Enjoyment
I loved this anime. It's definetely in my top 3. Of course this varies for each viewer but that is my opinion.
------------SPOILERS-------------
I can definetely relate to the characters feelings. Growing up in an post-industrial town, knowing very little about the world outside of it. Just looking at the half-run-down industrial landscape is enough to make one feel depressed.
The main character, Kasuga, doesn't know what he wants. He goes to school just as everyone else and has a few friends, but from reading western litterature he understands that there is something bigger outside of his town. He is in love with a girl from his class, the top student Saeki who seems as lively social girl with a great life.
After getting confronted by Nakamura about the gym clothes that Kasuga stole, she begins to influence him and lets his desires out. This is possible due to Kasuga's timid nature with Nakamura being the one in charge. This is where Kasuga starts getting torn between two choices. Either going with Saeko and living a proper life, or going with Nakamura where he doesnt really know what to expect.
After going on a date with Saeki, we see a turn in the story. It turns out that Saeki is also in love with Kasuga. Now the only thing that stands between them are the dirty secrets that Kasuga holds from Saeki - and Nakamura since she is a part of them. What Kasuga fails to understand is that love is a strange thing, and that Saeki is willing to accept him despite everything he has done.
With Saeki and Kasuga sharing their timid nature, none of them go chasing after eachother leaving Kasuga for Nakamuras infkuences. She makes him go crazy and let all of his feelings out and eventually cultivates the idea they both share - getting out of their town.
One day they decide to set off, with their sight on the hill-chain encircling their town. When they finally understand how poorly prepared they were. Saeki, who is chasing after Kasuga eventually finds them and the 3 of them have an argument with Kasuga in the middle. Here Kasuga gets his final chance to decide who he wants to go with, either with Nakamura or Saeki. Things start to become too much for Kasuga and he breaks down, unable to choose.
After a while the police comes and picks them up, i think that in the car Kasuga finally understands that what stands in front of him is not a choice anymore. He simply cannot poison Saeki with his foul nature.
The ending really puts a cherry on the top of this masterpiece. Kasuga finally understands the reality of his situation, and with confidence he chases after Nakumura after which he suggests that they find the other side of the hill together, but inside of their own town. This shows great character development from Kasuga's side and even though Nakamura doesnt take his words that well it doesnt matter, because he now feels what Saeki felt for him earlier - love.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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