Ayakashi: Bakeneko
Dec. 5th, 2007 02:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreIn the Edo period, the granddaughter of a samurai family is planning to wed into an important family, to great celebration. Tragedy befalls the house, however, when the bride is struck dead on her wedding day. Meanwhile, a travelling medicine seller has approached the house, sensing trouble, and is initially blamed for the murder. The medicine seller has no time for such nonsense, however. He is an exorcist of mononoke, and he tells the family that they have been cursed by a Bakeneko, a Monster Cat(or Goblin Cat, as my DVD case calls it.) He can free the house and banish the Bakeneko, but first he must know three things: "Katachi" (shape), "Makoto" (truth), and "Kotowari" (reasoning). Once he knows these three things, he can unsheathe his sword, assume his power, and get down to some serious monster killing. As he begins his investigations, the family members start dying off at the hands of the bakeneko, and the family' dark secrets begin to emerge.
While Yotsuya Kaidan and Tenshu Monogatari were adaptations of popular myths, Bakeneko creates a new setting and a new hero. The story seemlessly blends the noir detective murder mystery with some good old supernatural hauntings and monster slayings, not to mention a subtly badass hero. The art is absolutely amazing, liker a moving stylized painting. I actually spent the first 5 or so minutes going "They're moving and talking...THEY'RE ACTUALLY MOVING AND TALKING!" Observe:
Incidentally, I am firmly convinced that the medicine seller should have kept Kayo, the cute servant girl who rather blatantly had a crush on him(of course, even if he had kept her, said crush would have gone on unrequited for all eternity, but I just liked her.) The spinoff series based on this arc, Mononoke, needs to be licensed NOW, as I can only survive streaming and DLs for long in cases of extreme emergency(besides, why go through the hassle of willingly watching something on my itty computer screen with my slow computer when I plan to buy it and watch it on my TV screen, anyway?)
Also, I am told that there is a manga adaptation of Bakeneko. Someone with mighty googlefu(or at least isn't about to head off for work for some overtime and can't do it for herself for a few hours yet as she probably won't have the internet computer) should find it for me.
Overall Ayakashi thoughts? THIS ANIME IS AWESOME AND EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT UNLESS YOU JUST WANT YOUR ANIME TO BE MINDLESS MECHA AND CRACK AND EMO!(in which case, you'd really hate this, but anyway...)
(I'm sure everyone is surprised to hear I think this anime is awesome...)
While Yotsuya Kaidan and Tenshu Monogatari were adaptations of popular myths, Bakeneko creates a new setting and a new hero. The story seemlessly blends the noir detective murder mystery with some good old supernatural hauntings and monster slayings, not to mention a subtly badass hero. The art is absolutely amazing, liker a moving stylized painting. I actually spent the first 5 or so minutes going "They're moving and talking...THEY'RE ACTUALLY MOVING AND TALKING!" Observe:
Incidentally, I am firmly convinced that the medicine seller should have kept Kayo, the cute servant girl who rather blatantly had a crush on him(of course, even if he had kept her, said crush would have gone on unrequited for all eternity, but I just liked her.) The spinoff series based on this arc, Mononoke, needs to be licensed NOW, as I can only survive streaming and DLs for long in cases of extreme emergency(besides, why go through the hassle of willingly watching something on my itty computer screen with my slow computer when I plan to buy it and watch it on my TV screen, anyway?)
Also, I am told that there is a manga adaptation of Bakeneko. Someone with mighty googlefu(or at least isn't about to head off for work for some overtime and can't do it for herself for a few hours yet as she probably won't have the internet computer) should find it for me.
Overall Ayakashi thoughts? THIS ANIME IS AWESOME AND EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT UNLESS YOU JUST WANT YOUR ANIME TO BE MINDLESS MECHA AND CRACK AND EMO!(in which case, you'd really hate this, but anyway...)
(I'm sure everyone is surprised to hear I think this anime is awesome...)