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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 9 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1963#1552] |
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If you are not into deep-thinking titles, then Mouryou no Hako isn't for you. This is a mystery series which offers some deep focus into spiritual and philosophical elements, as well as delving into the darker side of the human psyche as several men (reporter, freelance detective, part-time priest, cop) try to uncover who is responsible for a string of schoolgirl murders. The series has complex depth into the psychological state of the show's various characters to show how influences within their town effect them such as a local cult and a mysterious medical research facility or past experiences as a few major characters in this series were involved with World War II with the series set several years after the conclusion to the war. Mouryou no Hako also tosses in different subjects and elements pertaining to its themes which while seeming irrelevant at first glance wind up connecting seamlessly to the true suspect and motivations surrounding the show's murders. Do be warned there are a couple episodes in the middle of the series that are entirely dialogue-driven as they are used to explore aspects of spirituality and myths within Shintoism which require one to have prior understanding of such concepts to get the most interest out of seeing said episodes. The visuals to the series are quite detailed featuring realistic-looking character designs and vast scenery shots with subdued color tones that do well at matching up with the show's dark and cerebral elements. If you don't mind delving into heavy thinking anime titles, you'll likely find yourself getting hooked on the mysteries and philosophizing found in Mouryou no Hako.
Last updated Saturday, April 07 2012. Created Saturday, April 07 2012. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:1963#628] | ||||||
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After reading several respectable critics enthusiastically praising this show at ANN, even describing it as near perfect, I went looking for my own download. For some reason I had gotten the impression that each episode would be a standalone one, perhaps forming an OVA series, which didn't turn out to be true and led to me feeling confused by this first episode. How did the bulk of the episode relate to the bizarre prologue, I wondered. What was the deal with the crazy delusions about the dolls, for instance? Am I supposed to be moved? I would need to uderstand more for that to happen. But once I realized that this story had just begun, I definitely felt intrigued and curious to see where it would go. Though a "horror" show, there were no monsters, rather a matter of some sort of demons playing with people's minds, I'm guessing. I would say Mourtou no Hako could be described as a show that is more interested in artistic quality than making money (if that is possible). Madhouse animation was excellent, and if my math and history are correct, this story is taking place in 1953. Episode two remained within the realm of reality and was much easier to understand. A detective becomes the main character as he searches for an explanaion of what exactly happened at the railroad station. The story is expanding rapidly, introducing a number of new characters, yet it does a skillful job of remaining interesting in all directions. we learn just enough to be satisfied and entertained, but for every answer we get another tantalizing question arises. Very few anime manage to be as complex yet intriguing as this one. I get a definite impression that the story behind this show was a brilliant novel--something of such intellectual quality that it would seldom be put on TV for fear that relatively few viewers would be able to comprehend it. I am having some trouble following it myself, as if a work of this complexity was nothing to the author whereas it takes every ounce of concentration I can scrape up for me to keep track of everything that is going on. One scene that particularly thrilled me was when we burst into a nightclub where an exotic piece of music is playing while a dancer performs. Somehow, I just intuitively feel that yeah, this is definitely the sort of music you'd be hearing in such a place back in those days. Thus, it sets the atmosphere of the era very well. The beginning of episode five left me thinking that perhaps the original plotline had been declared complete (even though it didn't seem that way to me), or put on hiatus, because what seemed a completely different one began. In fact, however, this new storyline eventually blended into the original one and made sense; basically, a new character was introduced. His status as a psychic was exotic and interesting. Episode seven takes terribly long to tell you anything that has to do with the main plotline. At least half the episode is a long winded description of the exact definition of a certain term in Japanese folklore. Fanatics of that subject might enjoy it, but others will be lucky to find it mildly interesting. Last updated Thursday, January 15 2009. Created Sunday, October 19 2008. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Madhouse Series Web Site | http://www.madhouse.co.jp/works/2008-2007/works_tv_mouryou.html |
| (Japanese Language) | |
