I've so far been underwhelmed by this new winter anime season but in Ayakashi, I seem to have found my regular staple of stylish animation, foot tapping music and sword swinging samurai.
Ayakashi is being aired in the new and acclaimed Noitamina block of anime programming (on Japanese TV) that has so far given us last year's slice of life masterpiece Honey & Clover and the pouting style of Paradise Kiss. Again, Noitamina delivers anime style a-plenty with Ayakashi and the character design is by none other than artistic maverick Yoshitaka Amano (who is famous for his work on Mamoru Oshii's Angels Egg and Vampire Hunter D amongst many other esteemed projects).
On first impressions, this won't be a series as easy to enjoy as say Honey & Clover. The characters are largely despicable and with the setting planted firmly in the authentic history of rural Japan, many specific references will go over our foreign heads. That said- as we have come to expect from Noitamina, this is a unique and sophisticated series with a fresh direction and some outstanding artistic merits. The story promises ghostly horror but as yet, all we have seen are few swift murder scenes. Recommended to those who enjoyed the darker moments of Samurai Champloo or those simply interested in Amano's latest foray into anime. And the ending theme is by Hajime Chitose, whose tender ED song from Blood+ was just about the only above average thing about that disappointing show.
Ayakashi is being aired in the new and acclaimed Noitamina block of anime programming (on Japanese TV) that has so far given us last year's slice of life masterpiece Honey & Clover and the pouting style of Paradise Kiss. Again, Noitamina delivers anime style a-plenty with Ayakashi and the character design is by none other than artistic maverick Yoshitaka Amano (who is famous for his work on Mamoru Oshii's Angels Egg and Vampire Hunter D amongst many other esteemed projects).
On first impressions, this won't be a series as easy to enjoy as say Honey & Clover. The characters are largely despicable and with the setting planted firmly in the authentic history of rural Japan, many specific references will go over our foreign heads. That said- as we have come to expect from Noitamina, this is a unique and sophisticated series with a fresh direction and some outstanding artistic merits. The story promises ghostly horror but as yet, all we have seen are few swift murder scenes. Recommended to those who enjoyed the darker moments of Samurai Champloo or those simply interested in Amano's latest foray into anime. And the ending theme is by Hajime Chitose, whose tender ED song from Blood+ was just about the only above average thing about that disappointing show.