Curious Play - Fushigi Yugi

Let's jump back in time, all the way back to 1995- where anime had a distinctly different style. A great example to represent those times is Curious Play, a bold action-adventure and romance anime that stands out as unconventional, even today. Curious Play has so many elements and sub genres associated to it like: reverse harem, seinen and shojo; which makes it really stimulating and gripping to watch. We see very mature content through the anime's progression, covering dark emotions, raunchy relationships, and violent bloodshed. All of this coupled with a fantasy world and eye catching powers makes for a truly unique anime experience. 

The series focuses on two girls: Miaka and Yui who stumble upon a book in the library called Universe of the Four Gods. They mysteriously get sucked into this book that connects to a parallel world set in a feudal era. In this world they are reincarnated as maidens of ancient gods who must fulfill their duty to the gods of Suzaku and Seiryuu respectively. Miaka must find and assemble the seven celestial warriors of Suzaku so that she can summon the god and be granted three wishes. This is how she meets Tamahome, one of the warriors who pledges his loyalty to her, and becomes a major romantic interest that drives a wedge between the two maidens. The journey is split into different phases in the anime: assembling the seven, figuring out allies and enemies, forging bonds and final battles. Seeing how the two worlds are connected and the different character dynamics across each one makes for great entertainment, especially in that old-school animation which has its own aesthetic vibe. Also giving a quick shout out to comedic elements that really ties the anime together, providing just enough levity to a stern plot.

The primary drawback to watching Curious Play is its lengthy and roundabout manner of story telling. The anime drags on too many arcs that should have been short and creates unnecessary buildup to small plot points. Too much build up makes the conclusion feel underwhelming which is unfortunate given the great set up that the anime creates. 



My Personal Ratings Are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 2/5
Music: 2/5
Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Recommendation:  One Naked Tamahome 

This anime is too old to be found on any new streaming platforms, most of it should be on YouTube to watch. 

Jigoku Shojo

         

Jigoku Shojo or Hell Girl is an extremely compelling horror anime that never fails to send a chill down the viewer's spine. This horror thriller seems very docile and slow paced at first, but always gets you in the end because of its vivid dark imagery and portrayal of twisted human minds. The story is broken into many seemingly unrelated arcs that are all individually and suspensefully brought to culmination in a repetitive yet intriguing manner. I'll explain this plot device more below.

The story follows an urban legend of a cursed website. According to rumors, if someone holds a real grudge against another person, they can visit this website at midnight and request the 'Hell Girl', Enma Ai to kill their enemies. Here's where it gets interesting- if Enma and her associates from hell believe the grudge is strong enough, they will appear in front of the website user and hand them a black doll with a red string around its neck. If the string is removed, the grudge will be realized and any person the doll's owner chooses will be tortured and instantly dragged down to hell. The consequence is that the doll owner will also give up their soul and be sent to hell when they naturally die. The choice of using this double edged sword is what makes most of the show juicy. Hell Girl will explore the dark depths of human psyche and show what it takes to push a person to their limit. Each story arc is short and will get you ambivalent about the respective doll owners who range from petty and selfish individuals to helpless and victimized ones. This eerie plot bolstered by its creepy art style and sound track makes for a great pick if you love horror as a genre. 

Hell Girl does have a main overarching plot, but spends a lot of time on individual stories of people's grudges. Now because each story is unique, story progression can get a little disjointed. Think of this as a horror novel with many creepy chapters and a big finale, but you can only appreciate the finale if you put up with all the precursory chapters, some of which can be dry or monotonous. I for one, recommend sticking till the end.  



My personal ratings are: 

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 2/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: When One Soul is Cursed, Two Graves Are Dug

Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation

          Also called 'A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet' or 'Sakurako-san No Ashimoto Ni Wa Shitai Ga Umatteiru', this anime is an unusual one. It's a slow paced murder mystery and crime drama that focuses on the story told by the bones of different victims. It's an interesting and unique premise for a crime anime and has pretty intelligent plot points, however the approach will be a hit or miss for most viewers. If you don't enjoy the very first episode, don't bother continuing or expect it to pick up later because the anime will follow the same methodology, pace and vibe throughout. 

The story follows an ostentologist (bone analyst) called Sakurako and a high school boy named Shoutaro who eventually becomes her assistant as he's intrigued by her intelligence. We will be shown different crimes being solved by Sakurako, applying logical deductions to the analysis of a victim's bones and also peek into her personal psychology. She's a basic Sherlock Homes styled character with the only difference that she's female and looks just at bones as a crime solving instrument. An interesting angle added is that of Shoutaro's impression of Sakurako, who can't decide if she's a good person or an evil mastermind. The first half of Beautiful Bones has no overarching main plot, it just builds on characters and focuses on solving individual incidents which are still enjoying to watch. The second half picks up on a main plot but leaves the heavy lifting to a potential season two.  

It's funny that this anime is about bones because that's what you'll be reduced to by the time you reach the climax of any episode. This anime, while intriguing, follows a methodology to crime solving that is too lackluster and fails to hold a viewer's attention for too long. You'll find yourself casually checking your phone and glancing away so many times that you'll miss many explanations, but you won't even care as long as you get to see the story progress. Like I said before, it's going to be a hit or a miss. 

         
My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Recommendation: One Broken Femur  

This anime is available on Netflix and amazon under the name 'A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet'.

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin is a revolutionary anime with multiple dimensions to story progression and beautiful visuals to go with it. This show is the anime equivalent of BDSM: you are beaten, broken down, built back up and eventually forced into euphoric submission. The creator Hajime Isayama is an outspoken sadist who loves to torture his fans with extremely bold plot twists and unexpected turns. He is not afraid of killing any characters off, or making astoundingly incomprehensible changes to the story. And as much as you might think that's a put off, it really isn't. In fact, I think he has come up with the most amazing story progression the anime world has seen till date. Fair caution, this anime is not for the weak willed as the dark elements and gore can get quite intense (Game of Thrones has nothing on this). 

Attack on Titan will suck you into its world -full of despair, mystery and action- and when you finally think you know what's happening, you need to think again. I can't hope to accurately capture the different aspects of this story in a brief summary, so I'll just describe the world the anime is set in. We follow the life of Eren Yeager, who lives in a civilization enclosed by tall walls. Beyond these walls lie titans, giant humanoid looking monsters that enjoy human flesh and are extremely difficult to kill. Eren is victim to a tragedy and as a result despises titans. He joins the military and trains to become a member of the Survey Corps, a body devoted to exploring the outside world and learning more about titans, to destroy them. The plot will explore several dimensions like the mentality of characters in this dystopian world, the limitations of technology, socio-economic politics, religion and hard core bloodshed. You will find yourself at the edge of your seat every episode, trying to understand what hope do these people have, what exactly are titans and what will happen next. This action-thriller will definitely keep bringing you back, craving for more answers as you explore its world.  

The anime has four seasons with the latest one set to release in December 2020. The latest season will be changing the anime's animation studio and there's a potential red flag on how the standard of visuals will be upheld. Furthermore, if I had to pick flaws in the anime itself, I think it does not cover as much as the manga does, which is not an uncommon issue in the anime world. I also think there is too much darkness and decadence being expressed in the show, which can make it too heavy on viewers.  

My personal ratings are:
Story: 5/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5 

Overall Recommendation: Ten casualties and just another day for the survey corps!

Attack on Titan is on Netflix, Hulu or Crunchyroll across different regions. 

My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu

Also called 'My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected' and Yahari Ore no Seinshun... you know what, this one has too many long names, we shall refer to this as 'Oregairu' (as most people do online). This show is a three season slice of life, teenage love story that's different from the usual anime rom-com. Oregairu is focused on realism and tries to portray an actual representation of how people think and feel in high school. This means you can't expect cliche and silly rom-com lovie dovey moments, but instead we get brilliant dialogue, stimulating sub plots and witness genuine human interactions. Coupled with its amazing animation style and complex character development, this one makes a great weekend binge!

Oregairu, likes to throw social ideologies and scenarios at its viewers with the intention of making them actually think about it, and I find that fascinating. The story starts with Hachiman Hikigaya, also called Hikki (yes, I giggled too) who is a realist that is very blunt and has no care for what others think of him. He is fine being a social outcast and thinks he is smarter than most. He is forced to join the schools social service club by his teacher where he meets Yukinoshta, an intelligent girl who is narcissistic and is socially awkward because of her limited interactions with friends. Added to the club is Yuhigahama who is a very social, likable and has many friends. The clash between these three personalities which buds into friendship and then something more is very entertaining. The anime will explore complexities of love triangles, high school friendships and social groups within schools. Honestly what makes Oregairu great for me is Hikki's monologues and commentaries about life that are just masterfully written and extremely amusing. You'll start for the cute anime girls (guys too), and stay for the Hikigaya wisdom.   

My biggest issue with this anime is that it gets too convoluted the further to go along watching it. They rely heavily on subtext and circumstantial understanding of feelings which can make even simple plot points seem confusing. Oregairu is also ridiculously faced paced in terms of dialogue, one look away from the screen and you'll be lost, so you need to pay attention. 

                          

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Yahalloo!

Catch My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu on Crunchyroll. Use a VPN if not in your region. 

Bungou Stray Dogs

                        

Bungou Stray Dogs is a top tier seinen anime (targeted to mature audience). It takes the dramatically overdone concept of people with superpowers fighting each other and gives it a refreshing new art style and uniquely interesting narrative. So what exactly makes it stand out in this crowded (and I mean ridiculously crowded) genre? It's the expertly choreographed fights, the stunning visuals, the imaginatively different power-ups, hilarious dialogue and an overabundance of style. It's like watching a bunch of pigeons wandering around the park, normal right? But then there's this particular one that's wearing bling and has dark shades on. This badass pigeon that makes the others look bad, it's Bungou Stray Dogs. Don't let this pigeon fly away, watch it as soon as you can... Okay, I promise that's the last of the pigeon analogy.

 Bungou Stray Dogs is set in the port town of Yokohama. It's established that there are certain people in the world that have super powers and as expected they are split between criminal gangs and law enforcement agencies. There's a brilliant dynamic shown of the criminal underbelly of Yokohama and the surface world much like a ying and yang that together creates the very workings and foundation of the city. The two parties of focus are the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency, both posses several powerful members and are ideologically very different. Their only similarity is their love for the city they run. Thrown into this mix is young Atsushi who is new to Yokohama and on the run from a mysterious tiger that is out to kill him. He bumps into Armed Detective Agency member Danzai who was trying to research different ways to commit suicide without experiencing much pain (it's um... his thing) and so begins their union. Atsushi discovers his own powers and joins the agency as a rookie, he gets attached fast as he was craving a sense of belonging being an orphan since his childhood. Atsushi's experiences as a new comer show us the intricate set up of this world and allows you to rush into those exciting scenarios with him, they've also incorporated comedy really well in this medium. Every character both good and bad have interesting backstories and are well developed. Before you know it, you'll be sucked into the happenings in Yokohama and that grip is truly binge worthy.

While Bungou Stray Dogs stays as an intelligent anime with many crafty and amusing schemes or strategies afoot, things can get a little too convoluted which is a put off. Also Atsushi's character is so whiny and self deprecating that it begins to get on your nerves. There is a cut scene that plays every time he pities himself that must have been shown at least fifty times by the time the series ends, the exact same scene. You could actually play a drinking game and take a swing every time he throws a pity party, if you want to get real drunk that is. 

                          

My Personal Ratings:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 5/5 
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Rashomon!
                       
Bungou Stray Dogs season one and two are available on Netflix. 

Great Pretender

A truly unique Netflix original with an abundance of style and excitement. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a heist anime! Great Pretender has a jazzy and classic vibe to it, very much like an anime Oceans Eleven. It has set itself apart from conventional anime in so many different ways: It's realistic with no complicated powers or other worlds, it is set in multiple different countries, it has an original English soundtrack (with one done by Freddie fricking Mercury) and its English dub is actually better than the Japanese subs! The cons and heists are smart, unpredictable, original and stirring. Great Pretender is a breath of fresh air personified, everything is novel right down to the animation style, you won't find any other anime similar to this. 

Because I don't want to give away the twists in any of the cons or capers, I'll stick to explaining the very basics of Great Pretender's story. Makoto Edamura is a con man living in Japan who makes a living off petty theft. He meets Laurent one day and in an attempt to rob him, realizes that he is a con man too. They eventually partner up and have a bet to see who can swindle more money from a target. Their journey takes them to different countries, makes them meet a variety of people and gets intensely exciting. I particularly love how this anime actually introduces new cultures and people of different ethnicity, you don't get to see this in most shows, let alone accurately done. Great Pretender has even nailed its plot twists, they are like Russian nesting dolls- there's always a new and unexpected one coming up.  

When you start watching the first episode of Great Pretender, expect crappy dialogue audio until the five minute mark. They are just trying to establish that the characters speak differently and have accents derived from their home countries. After the five minute mark, the dialogue audio will normalize and the real dubbing will begin. Don't stop watching early because of this.

   

My personal ratings are:

 Story: 5/5                                                                                                                                         Character Development: 5/5                                                                                                           Dialogue: 3/5                                                                                                                                       Music: 5/5 (Seriously an anime with a song by Freddie Mercury, like how)                             Enjoyment: 4/5 (Yes, this is a new metric I'll be adding from henceforth)  

Overall recommendation: One portion of steamed Edamame!

Since Great Pretender is a Netflix original, it should be on Netflix in all geographies. 

Psycho-Pass

                     

An absolute stellar recommendation to clear away lock-down fever, Psycho-Pass is hands down the best thriller and futuristic detective series I've ever seen. It might be the only one I've seen, but that does not take away from how good this anime really is! It demonstrates a refreshing and unique story that unlike most anime has no source material like a manga or a light novel. The rare gem that is Psycho-Pass is purely an anime original series with a big budget for animation and a surprisingly good English dub (for you anime beginners). The anime introduces thought provoking concepts about the future of society and the criminal justice system, this coupled with its well crafted dialogues and expertly made fighting scenes will keep you hooked for all three seasons (arguably three point five seasons). 

The plot is beautifully intricate but not in an overwhelming manner. Psycho-Pass is set in the future where AI makes most economic and social decisions for the Japanese government. They have cracked technology that allows people to be scanned for ability to commit crimes in the future, giving the police jurisdiction to enforce people even before the crime takes place. The members of a special police task force see the seedy underbelly of this 'Utopian' society through the course of their work and we follow their new inspector Akane Tsunemori who was supposed to be an ideal citizen but surprises even AI in how she begins to perceive their society. It gets more interesting when the anime describes how police personnel are at risk of becoming criminals themselves due to their prolonged exposure to violent crime. This exciting commentary on mental health, society and criminal thinking will leave you craving for more. 

I have to look for drawbacks in this show to find them. But a biggie is that Psycho-Pass can get a little too fast paced and leave a lot of important aspects to contextual understanding. I've found myself having to rewind quite a few scenes to fully grasp everything they just threw at me.       

                   

My personal ratings are:

Story: 5/5
Character development: 4/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Dominator Enforcement Required

Both English and Japanese dubs of Psycho-Pass are available in India on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Outside India, Amazon and Crunchy roll should also have it.