Boogiepop Phantom

Wait, what? Why would you? Oh my God! What is that? Who are you? Huh? What's up with the light? For fuck's sake! Stop!!!

These are word by word my reactions during the Boogiepop Phantom marathon I put myself through. It was horrible and just unbelievably boring. I also hated that fucking yellowish light the whole anime was created in. The story is about...well..I don't know really. It's so idiotic. One moment you see a guy eating spiders off peoples souls, the other second you see some girl. But then you see someone else. And everything is actually in the past and now is the present and WTF? It's just bad. Stay away from this horrible piece of shit. The soundtrack is almost not even there, the plot is clearly waaaay too complicated and retarded and the characters are just a mess. A giant mess of shit. It's just an abomination, a tumor that grows in your brain and eats the living shit out of you.



Art 5/10
Sound 7/10
Storyline 6/10
Characters 7/10
Overall 6/10

Mononoke

I was first acquainted with Kusuriuri when I saw him in Bakeneko arc (eps. 9-11) in Ayakashi ~ Japanese Classic Horror. When I learned that it will get it own series as a sequel, I made sure that I get hold of it.

You cannot talk about Mononoke if you do not talk about the art. Just like its predecessor, the animators, Toei Animation do not afraid to experiment with the art. It has its own distinct style of animation. It was part of the reason that got me hooked right away. It is very different, in a very good bold and imaginative kinda way. Seriously, it was tantalizing and gorgeously unique! They compensate the two dimensional, almost paper-cut appearance with vibrant and captivating colorful backgrounds, textures and designs. In a sense, it makes you feel like you are part of a very beautiful painting. They definitely used the art to its full potential to present and distinguished the stories. It also used a lot of camera movements to add suspense and with a well control pace it has successfully exact the desired tension.

Mononoke is composed of 5 different stories which are only related to Kusuriuri, the medicine seller, our mysterious protagonist. Each story takes 2-3 episodes which features a different supernatural, more often than not, evil spirit or most commonly known as mononoke. It was up to Kusuriuri (who is a total bishie by the way) to vanquish or exorcise the mononoke. In order to do so, he needs to uncover the Katachi (shape/form), Makoto (truth), and Kotowari (reason) of the spirit. However it isn't always about the dead. Each story delved deep to the heart of everything and it is not surprising when everything that occurred is related to the living.

Kusuriuri is the only constant character in the series. His attraction is definitely lies in his demeanour, which is very unique whichever way you look at it, not to mention mysterious. Very mysterious. Some of his deadpan sarcastic comments will certainly makes you laugh at the oddest of time. He is a character that you could not help but like. In my case, fell in love with. He is one of the unforgettable characters out there.

The other characters vary with each stories but still get a decent development due to the nature of the story despite being 2-3 episodes in length. These characters are not the typical type characters (as in do not expect good looking characters). They were designed with the story in mind and the ingenuity of it in my opinion, worked wonders.

The appropriate sound effects (or lack of it) enhance the whole eerie atmosphere. The silence in most scenes does most of the work to creep you out. The voice actors did a job well done too, especially with those screeches and screams of horror. As for the OP and ED, I don't find it interesting but I guess it fits right in with the weird tune of the whole show.

This is one of the anime that I won't get tired of watching again and again. I give it a 10 for enjoyment.

The enticing, attention-grabbing, well written stories and the excellent directing and editing makes Mononoke a masterpiece. A must watch to all anime lovers/appreciators. If that is not good enough reason for you to pick up this series, maybe a threat to shove a foot up your ass can convince you otherwise?

Graphics 10/10
Sound 9.5/10
Storyline 10/10
Characters 10/10
Overall 10/10

Ghost Hound

Whoa, it has been a long time since I update this region. No, I didn't mean my region. Sheesh!

I just wanna share this with you peeps about Ghost Hound.

If you love Jigoku Shoujo, you gonna love this one too. Personally I think it was better, in term of its art however to be fair they do have rather different story lines.

It is about three different kids who have suffered from different traumatic events; Makoto, Tarou and Masayuki. Because of that, they are now have the ability to traverse the “unseen world”. You might want to forgive the slow-paced few minutes of the first episode. Once the plots start to unravel though, it would not stop till the climax. The anime tells the story of trauma,mental disorders, possession, out-of-body experiences, the afterlife, etc. The people deal with all these circumstances differently based on what they believed in which allows us to see a few different point of views, either scientifically or spiritually. There will be question marks hanging above your head on several occasions, especially with the terminology shit but don't fret. It will becomes perfectly clear once explained. Just make sure you pay close attention to the details.

The characters are nicely designed, well rounded and will fascinate you with their vivid personalities. Everyone will find a bit of himself in some of them. Personally, I am a fan of Makoto but found myself more like Masayuki.

Oh here comes the best part.

Prepare to be creeped out because you definitely will. The appearance of the ghosts are so random, they'll fucking give you goosebumps. I watched the anime with the lights on. Even when I'm done with the episodes, I'm too scared to turned off the light. It just gave me the feeling like the ghosts were just waiting to pounce. That's how fucking downright creepy they are. The great sound effects do not help one bit either. It will certainly turns you into a paranoid for a 'lil while especially if the tune got stuck in your head, like it did with me.

So yeah, like I said, this anime is made of awesomesauce. Nothing is overdone and everything flows perfectly.

This anime is for people who loves and are very appreciative of horror, mystery and psychological series because if you are not you might think of it as a waste of time. It's your lost, dumbass.

Also as a reminder, this anime is definitely not for the weak-hearted.



Graphics 9/10
Sound 8/10
Storyline 9/10
Characters 9/10
Overall 9.5/10