This series. It’s the best horror anime that I have seen in a long while. It’s really been long since I watched something that made me feel so uncomfortable, in such a good way. I love how this show just completely breaks down teenaged anxieties and fears and how it just makes them spiral out of control.
What’s more: every episode has just gotten more and more intense so far. Episode one was a slow build-up, episode two saw things escalate, and with this… things have gotten completely crazy, but it’s also done in such a realistic and believable way, while at the same time what happened was just completely messed up.
You can just see the fears and guilt build up inside of Kasuga: he doesn’t want to be seen as a pervert, or strange, or evil. And with that he just keeps wiggling himself into more and more of a corner. And that lead to just a brilliant climax that I think a lot of teenagers or ex-teenagers can relate to.
What happened in the first half of the episode was probably a bit less relatable, but still I love the camera work there (and I can only imagine how difficult that scene must have been to do right without rotoscoping on a tigh budget!), plus how crazy Nakamura turned out to be now that she finally found someone she can use with similar interests as her. I really like how she just forces herself completely into her comfort zone.
Rating: 6.5/8 (Amazing)
“It’s really been long since I watched something that made me feel so uncomfortable, in such a good way”
This sums up how I felt about this episode too. This series makes me cringe all the time with the extreme awkwardness of Kasuga, and Nakamura’s antics creep the hell out of me.
Aku no Hana’s first episode was creepy, but it was also a drag because nothing happened. I read the first few chapters of Aku no Hana’s manga to prepare and I felt like the rotoscoping would be good if they did something with it, but episode 1 was waaaaaay too slow and didn’t have any impact until the end. Not to mention, that episode was so poorly made that even the voice recordings had static in them, which just made it weird, rather than creepy.
Then the second episode came along and things started happening. It was better, but still iffy. They fixed some of the technical problems, at least.
But then this episode came along and I thought, “This is it! This is where this becomes a good anime and utilizes its rotoscoping less cheaply and more effectively!” It was my favorite episode of the entire season so far. =3
he art looks a wee bit fixed but still dont know how they are gonna animate the hard to animate parts :\
I love how that unibrow guy, in every picture I have seen of him, is always making the exact same expression with his hand on his chin like that.
He’s easily my favorite character. 🙂
I don’t know.. I like the feeling I get that this is an anti-anime (as in, what the weirdos we see in anime might act like in real life), but the acting feels hokey and unconvincing to me.
It feels like I’m supposed to be accepting everything at face value just because it’s creepy, and that really doesn’t work for me in a “serious” piece. That said, the ending song still keeps me coming back for more.
I am lovin this show so far! The dialogue actually feels real for once and the camera work is amazing. Man, I thought Kasuga was about to get raped in the library. I let out a huge sigh of relief when he didn’t, although what happened was still pretty damn creepy. This is a weird ass show.
I totally agreed with you. I can’t wait for every Saturday for new episodes to be out!
Rotoscoping…I actually like it. When I go back to the other non-rotoscoping anime, I feel like they are not moving enough (not realistic) and it’s a little disappointing. I think the realistic feel of this anime makes it more creepy.
The theme of this anime is a breath of fresh air and out of the norm…I love it!!!
horror…. i just dont think that word fits…
a climax that most teenagers can relate too… wut?
Psychological horror and class pressure (the type when people give the blame to someone they don’t like).
Ah… Ok… So it’s very ugly, very creepy, very slow and very introverted ? It’s strictly limited to the negative emotions of high school classmates, without the slightest trace of humor, adventure or spiritual elevation ? It has the cultural level of posing as literary cultured because one ugly lonely character has discovered Baudelaire and reads it without any distance ?
I’m just asking to be sure, because I haven’t time to watch it, I’m watching the beautiful and fun animes.
And I’m watching both, because I like both.
Yeah, how dare they try their hand at a serious drama!
Rotoscoping still looks awful to me, but they get the creepy vibe right. I don’t know whether to call this show a horror though.
I don’t know, maybe the horror is the animation…
Or… spending a few minutes of your life watching negative teens without any comedy or adventure or intelligent literary device of any sort…
Yes, because any form of story telling without humor or adventure is invalid.
Okay, that settles it.
I love this show.
you should change the score scale cause with this one even the most amazing epsiodes wich you loved(even of other series ) get a maximum of 8/10 and that is absurd like no episode gets a 9 even
I like his score scale, once he finally delivers a 7.5/8 or an 8/8. you’ll know something special just went down.
As an example, the last episode of Shinsekai Yori got a 7/8.
This episode was so creepy. I feel so uncomfortable I don’t want to continue watching but it just sucks you in and I have to know what happens next.
I also like the ending more and more every week.
oh my god i can’t believe i actually really like this. At first it turned me off with its snail pace and static story, then it kept building up. the second episode was still boring but the more I watch of Nakamura the more i just want to know more about her.
I watched the 3rd episode and I have to agree it really made me uncomfortable – but i agree with what you said about this episode being relatable.
I remember the oppressive force of peer pressure and psychological mindgames that happened during teenage years – the fear was palpable – I felt so bad for Kasuga.
I am definitely going to keep watching this!
I find this show weirdly erotic. o_O
Only three shows from spring 2013 season are worth watching – Gargantia, Kyojin, and this.
I can understand the disgust and revulsion most have wrt the aesthetics, but it grows on you, and it’s actually a good decision because the look is entirely compatible with the story, adds a weird vibe to the atmosphere to an already strange series.
How dare you insult Crimes Edge, and Maou-Sama!
Each one have diferent´s likes, his own shows, for example I really don´t like this show, pretty bored. I was thinking it will be like shiki but in the end it dont have the triller feeling in the fisrt 3 episodes that i was waiting,like shiki. But love Maou Sama and Crime edge is somehow interesting. Also follow the sister arc of railgun S2 that can will be gorgeous (The source material is) Of course like Gargantia and Kyojin and follow Orelmo and devil only because the first to see Kurneko XD and the second I am a Atlus fan.
He never insult the other animes, only he dont like´t.
I wasn’t being that serious really, but I catch your drift. Indeed, but I think it’s safe to say this season is rather refreshing with a good amount of rather interesting shows. I like Aku no Hana even though a few things about the adaption really annoyed me,and I like a lot of the other shows. It’s just mean to say only a few shows are worth watching, because we have lots of quality seasons this time around.
Ha! I admit Photo Kana is a solid fourth. Good aesthetics, varied roster, decent premise despite the Yuji Everylead the Bland. Execution is good so far, but its a distant fourth.
Sorry I cannot say much for those other shows 🙁
Gosh, i’m so in love with this piece of work.
My only concern is how the fuck are they going to animate the juicy parts of this manga,
and more importantly if it will end properly, as it should have ended in manga, but did not for some crazy ass reason.
13 episodes makes me hope to see the actual proper ending this time, and if they pull it off like that, it’ll be top of the top anime ever…
This summarizes my deepest fears for the anime. When I first saw Saeki, and how human and innocent she looked, I suddenly became terrified to watch it all unfold.
also, for this of you who hadnt read the manga yet – dont do it now – this anime has a slight chance to be actually better. You can always read it after it ends.
I have to say, this has been really hard to get into, personally… The animation is awkward, and the story is slow and rubs me the wrong way. I keep skipping past the OP and ED because I find them annoying. The only thing I find a bit interesting is Nakamura, but even she might not be enough to keep me watching this anime.
I think I’m going to go watch Toradora :3