Anime: Kemonozume

Mild spoilers ahead.

Kemonozume is a curious sight in the deep sea of Japanese animation. It looks and moves very much unlike most creatures of its kind. What you see and hear is odd and messy and somewhat out of place, and you soon realize, there's no chance for love at first sight. From the looks of it, this promises to be an endurance exercise, a less than brilliant oddity of a series you'd rather avoid.

The first episode has barely begun and the series whacks you over the head with a bunch of undefined squiggly lines, wonky character designs and sloppy, drunken shaky-hand animation. There are photography-based backgrounds, there's computer generated imagery and some filmed stock footage for good measure. All possible methods for creating still and moving pictures are on display, sometimes at the same time. And those pictures, they are not pretty.

The story is not far behind, when it comes to weird first impressions. It's Romeo and Juliet alright, but seemingly rewritten by mentally deficient prison inmates on experimental drugs, barely able to cope with the severe side effects. In fact, it's easy to give up after the premiere episode, because really, what is this garbage anyway.

But for those making it past episode two, a grand adventure awaits. A tale of gangsters and monsters, samurai and old people on road movie trips. Bizarre sex scenes here and a bond villain beyond measure there. Kemonozume is a vexing mess, a bold experiment and a hard watch. It's also very much fun and hilarious on occasion and brutal and disgusting in between.

What remains is a wonderful piece of niche entertainment, unsuitable for Western television. A challenge for those who like to work through a dense forest of whacky artistry, pulp and monstrous pretensions to find delight in something unusual, that somehow works, although it really should not.

This series is particularly good. Not just because it has a good story with interesting characters, but because how far it goes while succeeding. I find most anime series play it safe and never amount to much, and then theirs those who take a more risky route and go for something bigger but fail since its a really difficult task. But Kemonozume succeeds while going for that big ending, mainly because it avoids getting too heavy and it doesn't get ridiculous and spouts things like "Bad guy: true power is derived from hatred. / Good guy: No it comes from love and the desire to protect my friends. (Big explosions, loud noises, all the teenage characters find a partner for a relationship)".

I was really fond of the animation. While it looks weird, its actually hard to draw all sorts of abnormal characters. The style of animation also helps the transformation of the monsters, particularly the ending when things get weird. The animation appeals more to adults in terms of proportions and appearances, while keeping a twist to make the fiction easier to believe. Oh, the backgrounds. Like the story, it starts off down to earth, then expands into something big. In the end, I loved the way everything looked.

I didn't find that the music stood out, but it always fit the scene and mood perfectly.

The story was interesting, there were always things developing in the back. This world had these monsters called flesh eaters (since they ate humans) and were disguised as humans. Flesh eaters are sort of human, but then they have these animal instincts which would make them go out of control. Although, some of them were organized and learned how to control themselves. This clan of elite martial artistes was established 1000 years ago to kill these monsters and to protect society. The son of the current clan leader and a female flesh eater fall in love with each other, shit happens, and the story progresses upwards. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll stop here.

The series also had many random scenes of comedy which occurred every now and then, most were among the funniest things I've watched in a while.

The characters were all awesome. They were all adults, those who you think should be mature were mature, and those who you think should be more average were average. No one went around acting like drama queens. There were no character types at all. They were all human, which is something that most anime series (or any tv media) leave me craving.

I gave this series a value of ten, mainly because I'm growing out of anime since I find it so immature and it appeals less and less to me. Then I decided to give this series a shot. This has everything that I want in it. A good mixture of realism and fantasy, all the while being intelligent and captivating. Also as I mentioned before, it succeeded at getting a big ending which is one of the hardest things to do. I've watched over a hundred animes which went for the big ending and failed or were mediocre at best

Kemonozume is very hard to peg down. It's a lot of different things at once, and very few things the entire time. There's not enough action to satisfy the action minded, the story is too wonky to satisfy those motivated by story, the characters are too shallow for those drawn to characters, and the writing is such that those looking for memorable moments and poignant metaphors will be left unfulfilled.

There is something special here, though. The animation and style is incredibly unique, and although it ends in a sub par manner, the story has elements good writing, especially in the beginning and before the end. It's worthwhile series to a point.

Overall, recommended with one contingency:
Watch an episode to get a feel for animation. If you love the animation, it's worth watching and you'll enjoy the show at least a little. If you don't like the animation, or if you're indifferent to it, feel free to steer clear. You wont miss much.

Animation:
I was attracted to this show by the animation. It's unique and it's interesting. It's one of the few series (along with Gankutsuou) that truly embraces it's animation process, and this series really wouldn't have worked if animated traditionally. Photos (or perhaps watercolors?) are often used as background, but with lines drawn own them to give the appearance of being drawn. The style could almost be confused with unfinished or unpolished, but the fact that it's so deliberate and well animated gives it a very different feel.

The show just looks raw. That's the best way to describe it. There are some scenes which would have bored me had it not been for the animation catching my attention. Few series can manage that.

Sound:
The jazz/blues theme of the series is fun, and it adds to the quirkiness of the animation. Nothing to complain about, nothing particularly of note, however. The voice actors are good, from what I can tell.

Story:
This show tries to be too many things.

The writing it is very intelligent in some episodes, while there are some very stupid, nonsensical ideas at the same time. Disbelief can only be extended within the context that you set within the series, and although I can accept that there are flesh eaters in this world, the fact there's a giant and a random kung-fu monkey just don't make sense. Some characters are explained and fleshed out satisfactorily, others like the villain simply exist the way they are without explanation.

The show is predictable in individual episodes, although I had no idea the overall arch of the show would occur as it did. I expected a serial show about how two lovers cope with conflicted circumstances, but the series tries to take on almost a Kino No Tabi or Mushishi method of episodic content that tries to tell a story and a teach a lesson, and it fails. These episodes are very predictable. There's a very sweet episode that involve an old man and woman and their travels. You know what's going to happen to the two of them. And when it finally happens, not only are the main characters baffled (I like my characters to know more about their world than I do), it's executed so horribly that it completely removed me from the story. So although some aspects had me guessing at what was going to happen next, others were poorly done and easy to see through. I was overjoyed to see a flashback episode, and it was a great episode with interesting background, but then there was an utterly predictable and ultimately empty episode about secondary character who falls in love. It did nothing to advance the story or develop characters.

Gore, sex, and violence are not mature subject matters. They can be, of course, but they can also be extremely juvenile. Philosophy is mature, psychology is mature, but nudity and blood are not. The series tries to inject some philosophy quite randomly near the end, but matters are never explored and they just feel tacked on and empty. This show, above all else, is driven love between two characters. This love is poorly developed (very remeo-and-juliet-esque), poorly explained, and poorly realized. They meet in unbelievable circumstances, and then love each other instantly and eternally. It's great that there are some rifts in that love, but overall it's undeveloped to the point of disinterest.

There're too much nudity and gore for it to sit well with a younger audience, but there's too much silly nonsense (ninja monkeys, giants, random groping and such) for mature audiences. It's a show for teenagers who think that just because something's graphic means it's adult, I guess.

Characters:
The female main character has a past that could be interesting, but it's not well developed. The main character is boring, and for some reason pees himself during fights. I don't think he ever really gets over that, and it's not really well explained. You care for the situation the characters are in more than you care about the characters.

The side characters are either one dimensional or unlikable. They maybe hint at the villain's motivations, but he's a poorly realized an uninteresting character. If you mixed daffy duck and perhaps Alucard on the most shallow level, you would have this villain. He's goofy, nonsensical, and full of blood lust.

Value:
The stylistic merit is certainly significant, and there are some really neat parts to this show, but I doubt I'd re-watch it. This show teachers you nothing, and really leaves you with nothing. The final scene could have been poignant and heartfelt, but it ends up just feeling rushed and forced.

Enjoyment:
This show has some great parts, honestly. I'd say 1/3 of the show was great, 1/3 of the show was okay, 1/3 of the show was bad. The bad part was mostly the ending, which was unsatisfying, goofy, and poorly written. It's worth watching a least few episodes for the stylistic merit, but around episode 9 or 10, things take a turn for the worse. I do not regret watching the series, but it squandered it's enormous potential and left me with very little feeling.

It's over, the animation was neat, time to move on to something else.

NOTE: This is my second review. Non-grammar comments are very much appreciated so that I can make my 3rd review even better. Thank you for reading :)

EDIT#1: This is my first edit. I made a more substantial overview, and bolded my segments to make my review more readable. I edited some small things here and there, from content to language to spelling errors/grammar. Cheers, and thank you for the comments.

Kemonozume's story from a distance seems familiar. The heir of a family of monster hunters falls inlove with the daughter of the monster family. they fall in love and try and live together regardless of their innate natures. it seems cliche, i know... it seems silly i know. but the execution is supremely phenomenal.

What we have come to expect from animation is thrown away. the director choses to be drastic and original and use animation in away we have never seen. this action made many people discard the show, but in truth that is the brilliance of it. because the animation adds an edginess that brutality to the story to causes it to transcend expectations. imagine if casablanca and schindler's list were filmed in color how would that change the movie? imagine if mary poppins and vertigo were filmed in black and white? these are the fundamentals that show how art affects story telling. this is why kemonozume is genius.

the music is solid, very good. its pure acid Jazz. not a note wasted. every note serves every emotion and every action of the characters.

if David Lynch and David Cronenberg came together to make an anime, Kemonozume is what we get. this is bar none one of the most original and overwhelmingly insane things i have ever seen. and i loved every minute of it. Then again if you like your anime bland and formulaic... this isnt for you. if you have a soft stomach, this isnt for you either. if you've been dying to seen the boundaries of art pushed, this is for you.

All in all, i loved this show. it made me want to love anime again. it renewed my fading love for anime. it reminded me why i love anime in the first place. i love anime because of how directors use art to tell their story, and in a time where everyone was to tell the same story the same way, and the masses dont care anymore and eat it all up, it was amazing to see a director knock all expectations on their asses. he created a phenomenal show in doing so.

open your mind, embrace kemonozume.

This anime is like the FLCL of the horror-romance genre. The entire anime has a surreal, wacky, and crazy feel, while at the same time there is massive amounts of gore, monsters, sex, and violence. To give you a feel for the crazy and surreal things that happen: at one point a head is running around with legs, a monkey is an expert martial artist, and one of the characters in the show is a private detective who is 2 stories tall. It is very hard to take this anime seriously at times, but then you are jarred back into the seriousness of the anime after a character's arms are bitten off. The entire anime is a surreal experience, and as I said, is very similar to FLCL in the random and wacky things that happen.

The animation style is extremely wierd: it is very similar to the animation style from Kill Bill. I don't particularly like the style: the backgrounds are extremely stiff and 2D, the characters' limbs seem twenty feet long at times in fights, and the monsters are just as funny to look at as they are frightening. In fact, though I can understand that the animation isn't *bad*, it ruined the anime for me. I think the story and characters of this anime were great; but honestly I found it difficult to truly enjoy and recognize that with the distracting nature of the animation.

The soundtrack isn't too good: the music contrasts well with the events during the anime (fast-paced jazz vs. monster eating a person) but on the whole the music feels out of place or isn't very good. The voice actors did a good job though, especially the actors for Ouba, Toshihiko, and Yuka, who played their characters perfectly.

The story is a Romeo and Juliet type story about a monster and a person from a group which hunts the monsters, the Kifuken, falling in love and running away. Toss in sinister motives from someone plotting to take over the Kifuken and you have a pretty interesting story. However, the story seemed a bit rushed in the final few episodes, and several important things happen (which I can't give away) that leave you wondering why they just occurred. Also, the use of a monkey as an important character in this anime is so unrealistic and stupid that it pretty much ruined every scene the monkey particpated in for me.

While in the beggining the story focused on the Romeo and Juliet aspect, towards the end the anime focused on the villian who was taking over the Kifuken, and the anime takes a turn for the ultra surreal. In the final few episodes, the anime is extremely gory and has an Alice in Wonderland type surreal creepy feel throughout.

The characters were a mish-mash of extremely weird personalities and craziness. The two main characters, Toshihiko and Yuka, were well developed, especially their relationship and the problems they faced as they fought to stay together and overcome Yuka's inner monster, all while the Kifuken struggled to find them. However, the ultimate villian was over-the-top insane, and seemed more like an Alice-In-Wonderland villian (wide smile, crazy outfits, changes colors at times, creepy dialogue) than your normal anime villian, even though the villian performed dozens of dispicable acts.

The characters' pasts and the history of the Kifuken is also explored, and turns out to be important to the story, not to mention is pretty interesting (especially the connections between characters).

I might rewatch this anime, I might not. I would reccomend this anime to anyone who wants an anime with more mature themes (extreme violence, graphic sex/nudity (often), and gore) and doesn't mind the weird and off-putting animation style. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but the animation decreased my enjoyment a little bit.

...since there is no review of Kemonozume till now i'll write this one, but please dont take it too seriously..

Summary:
Kemonozume is about a group of especially skilled swordsman, the Kifuken, trying to kill monsters called Shokujinki . Kemonozume is about the love-story one of this swordsmen has with one of the monsters, and their struggling to hold this relationship.

Animation:
Kemonozume isn't your average everything. Just by viewing the first Episode, you'll understand that in this anime you won't find any chibifying or big eyes, but one of the best character and face designs i have seen. Every character, especially the two protagonists, has its one, unique face. If you know Mind Game, drawed in the same style as Kemonozume, you will be immediatly familiar with this sometimes really detailled, sometimes just dement and schematic but never average drawing style. The creators often uses also elements from real pictures and makes a collage with it. Very particular, but you will like it eventually!

Sound:
Like said above, its not your average anime. No midi-like-synth-sounds in here, but almost always really funky jazz and swing music will accompany this anime (especially in action scenes), and sometimes you will also hear smooth piano ballads.
Always fitting, never too much. And I can't recall having heard one song more than once!
And the ending song is so cute, especially the lyrics.
I couldn't think of a better music, so it's a 10 for me (I'm really into that kind of music).

Story:
Momota Toshihiko, the future head of the Kifuken, a group of skilled swordsmen who have sworn to polish the world from all Shokujinki, one day encounters a beautiful lady (well..a really hot one!) and they immediatly fall in love. There should be no problem, but.. Yuka is also a Shokujinki! After various struggles with himself and the Kifuken, Toshihiko decides to abandon his clan and leave with his new lover Yuka ... and then the real problems begin. A distorted version of Romeo and Juliet begins; two people who are not meant to be together (at least that's what everybody thinks of them except themselves) try their hardest to do so..
and they surely have a hard time: starting from Toshihiko's older brother to an ex-Kifuken member who has become one of the world's richest men to Yuka's ex-boyfriend.. it seems the world has been brought against them.
But also one of the (main? ;-) ) problems between the two main characters is beautifully illustrated.. how the heck do i have sex with such a monster??!

Without giving too much spoilers, the story is a very mature one. The film certainly is not made for the average 14-year-old kid, not because of the sometimes rather mature (hehe) scenes or because of the violence, but because of the meaning of certain actions of the characters.

Characters:
you won't find "the good one" and "the bad one" (well, and least not totally), the "woman with glasses and blue hair" and "the fanservice one" (well, maybe this one yes ;-) ) in this anime, but all characters have a real human behavior and, although you may have not acted like them in a certain situation, every action they do is understandable and reasonable.
although the anime proceeds in a relatively short timespan and all characters are adult, you will find some (actually: much!) character development; not from the point like the one of a child ("i am growing and because of this and the environment i will know things better") but the one of an adult who is confronted with real problems and he will and has to learn to adapt to this problems.. or he will fail (and you will see also this: characters who are NOT able to mature in a certain way).
As written earlier, every action a character makes, seems human and, although some characters have some stereotypical behavior, it does not make them flat at all.

Value:
mmmh.. not much to say about this. after watching it, i felt.. actually not much.. i thought it would be a nice series, but not much more. it did not leave much aftertaste or something shocking, but maybe the creators wanted the viewers to enjoy the series itself (and it surely is a nice ride!) and not leave a specific message.

Enjoyment:
This anime is definitely original. If you are looking for something that is not your average anime then watch this. Don't expect too mind-twisting plots or shocking ends, but a sometimes fun, sometimes sad and always very convincing journey of a really lovely couple ;-)

Additional note: Please consider taking a look at my votes in order to understand my anime profile better and why i tried to argument certain things in this and not in that way. If your taste in my votes is similar to yours, the (subjective; i'm human too) opinion i have of the anime reviewed above will (hopefully!) be useful to you!