Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari

Hundred stories, More commonly known as "Requiem From the Darkness" is a horror anime like no other. 13 episodes of the most disturbing and gory stories you'll ever witness. The basic plot of the story is about a young man who is an author journeying to lands where there are mysterious rumors in order to write a book of 100 Japanese horror stories. Every time he encounters the supernatural though he runs into a group of the "Exorcists" traveling Japan to destroy the darkness in people's hearts. Story: Each episode is a separate story in another village, but even though its "Episodic" the relationship between main characters is still developing. Most episodes start with a very disturbing scene, usually a brutal murder that hints at the "Darkness" behind the episode~ it really pulls you in from episode one~ The first half is setting the stage and characters for the story and how the main character the author meets them. The second half of the episode is discovering the malignant evil in the perpetrator~ catching him commit his crime, and then the exorcists killing him in some manner. What really sets this apart from other anime is the length it went to in shock value; most episodes revolve around the murder, rape, and or plain torture of women and small children...And the story is played out in a way you never see it coming~ Be warned that this is Rated R for these reasons... if you have a weak constitution to gore or horror in general I wouldn't advise you watch this series. No matter how much you think "They're not going to show it... they're going to pane away..." they do show it... generally in the most gruesome manner and in slow motion. Art: The art is very... "Original" I guess~ It is not Standard animation which gives it a nice flair sometimes~ But on some occasions the animation is just so overdone in its unique style that it doesn't look nice on the eyes, or you don't even know whats happening. Sound: The opening and ending are nice, I don't know if they really match with the feeling of the anime, but they're ok; the ending is very calming... which may be something you need to hear after some of the crazy conclusions to episodes. The OST music didn't stick out very much, but it wasn't poorly done at least and it effectively portrayed the mood. Character: The main character balance is a little off; they were original I suppose, but the story almost flows without their presence since each episode is about the episodic characters than the main characters usually (Similar to Jigoku Shoujo). Enjoyment: 95% of the episodes were original and had me on the edge of my seat. They broke so many expectation barriers on Gore... and even more socially taboo things which I will leave as teasers for people who haven't seen the show. If you're more of a fluffy luv luv anime lover, or want some luls... this definitely is not the anime for you~ But if you're thirsting blood and hellish plot twists this anime is right up your alley. Rating: 8/10

The main character, Momosuke, is a young writer whose ambition is to create an anthology of disturbing stories and mysterious country tales. On his trip researching the local legends he comes across the Ongyu - an odd trio of travelers in search for the wicked (each episode is about a different person in a different place) and handing out punishment for previous sins. The young author joins their travels and witnesses just how corrupt can people get. On his way he'll have to question his own morality, as the trio's ways of treating their "victims" is very cruel both mentally and physically. Art is what dragged me into the anime. Just as the story dives into the darkness of human souls, the art gives the atmosphere. Hundred Stories does not have your typical style. Very few characters look like normal poeple - most are deformed in one way or another, the surroundings are dark and often quite literally twisted, setting the mood for all the disturbing things the viewer is about to witness. And beleive me - many scenes here are pretty graphic, so don't even touch this anime if you can't stand the sight of blood and voilence. To summarize, if you're looking for a happy, warm anime, stay away. On the other hand, if you enjoy taking a trip into twisted darkness, don't mind blood and gore and love sinister plot twists, this is an anime you've been looking for.

Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is an anime based on the writing of Kyogoku Natsuhiko. It was handled by TMS Entertainment, the same studio behind Detective Conan and Monster Rancher. So, how does a studio like that manage with a horror series? Let's take a look and see. Story: We open with a writer named Momosuke. Turns out, he's going on a trip to gather information to write an anthology of a hundred tales. While walking on a rainy night, he nearly falls off of a cliff only to be saved by a traveling monk named Mataichi. Mataichi gives Momosuke directions for a place he can stay and gives him an ominous warning to go straight there. In the dark, Momosuke stumbles into a derelict looking building where a second traveling monk has shown up. Inside, Momosuke sees that Mataichi is there as well. Mataichi laments Momosuke's inability to listen to people's advice and tells him he's going to see something terrifying. This begins Momosuke's association with Mataichi, Ogin and Nagamimi, three people who find people guilty of horrific crimes and conduct summary executions against them after frightening them into revealing the truth. Let's get into the negative aspects of the series right away. The first is that it relies a lot on coincidence. Once the series gets going there's active trickery to get Momosuke involved in the plot, but early on he just manages to stumble into Mataichi and his group by sheer plot convenience. There's also the issue of him not having much to do in most of the episodes. There are a few where he plays a prominent role in the setup, but in most of them he either makes an incompetent attempt to help the criminal or he observes what's happening from the side-lines and contributes absolutely nothing of value. The reason we follow him being to give us a more outsider's perspective. Like in Yami no Matsuei, the horror elements are largely just dark and disturbing content, but nothing that's actually apt to frighten anyone. The ending is mixed. There is some good setup leading up to it, but the payoff is pretty weak. There is also quite a bit about the series that's good. The premise is genuinely interesting and used to pretty good effect in most of the scenarios. The episodes are a bit formulaic, but there is more than enough variety in the setup and execution of them to keep it compelling. The dark content is handled decently, in spite of every scenario save one being completed in a single episode. I also like the way that the supernatural aspect is handled, but I can't go into too many details on that one without giving away spoilers. Characters: Most of the characters in this series are a bit under-developed and I'm not just talking about the one-shot characters who appear in a single episode, which is the bulk of the characters in the series, or the supporting characters who appear in brief scenes throughout the series. No, I'm talking about the main cast. You never learn much about Mataichi's group beyond some sparse backstory details and basic character traits. Most episodes focus on their target and steadily reveal details about their crime throughout, although even these characters aren't particularly well developed or complex since most of their traits are based on their crimes with a very basic explanation for why they do it. As such, getting invested in the scenarios can be difficult. Momosuke is the most complex character in the series, having a pretty substantial character arc and undergoing changes as a result of everything he goes through. Art: The art has an unusual style. Everything has a textured look to it, kind of like the art of Gankutsuou, but more subdued. They also draw most of the random people in the crowd with very undetailed, blank faces which just kind of blend together. The details on the backgrounds are pretty muted and basic as well. Although I'm not sure if it's laziness or that they thought the series aesthetic would work better if people and things in the background were kept with minimal details. The series does have some obtrusive fan-service, particularly with some of Ogin's scenes, but there isn't a huge amount. I will give them credit in that the imagery that's supposed to be disturbing is very effectively done and the designs for the major characters are nicely handled. Sound: The voice acting is really good. Seki Toshihiko, Wakamoto Norio, Nakao Ryuusei & Kobayashi Sanae voice our main cast and they all do a great job. Although it is a little strange to hear Cell and Freeza give performances together in a serious anime. The music itself is mostly really good at helping set the tone, but sometimes it's used to create a tonal clash which may or may not work depending on your perspective. Ho-Yay: There is no ho-yay in this. There's very little romantic content at all and what there is is het. Final Thoughts: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is an anime with some good, compelling ideas but with execution that isn't very good. The characters are largely under-developed and the story has some serious issues. However, it does still have a lot of interesting moments and its art and sound do largely work. If you're interested in the premise and you don't mind the anthology aesthetic then you'll probably like it okay since it is decent enough. Just be advised that some of the content is disturbing. My final rating is going to be a 6/10. Next week, horror anime month continues with a look at Corpse Party.

There is no method to the madness. Within Natsuhiko Kyogoku’s Requiem from the Darkness, there are exceptions to be sure but, generally speaking, this is a show where atrocities are committed by people with zero regard for or reasoning behind their actions. Lacking even a passing resemblance of foresight, they’re easily swayed by their self-serving impulses - a bruised ego here, a childish grievance there - into venturing as far as to kill one another. “Kill”, of course, is a massive understatement. The humans depicted here don’t simply murder each other; they do so in a variety of grotesque ways. Victims’ faces are contorted with agony and heartrending screams are emitted as their eyes are punctured, their limbs severed, their bodies impaled, their flesh scorched, their skulls shattered, and their bones devoured. There are countless shows with content that’s similar to Requiem but they deviate from the latter in terms of intent. With other shows, the carnage not only comes across as excessive but also wholly unnecessary; it’s violence for the sake of violence. With Requiem, however, a difference is established. The focus isn’t directed towards mindless bloodshed. Rather, the killings that occur here serve as testimonies to the cruelty within human nature; they depict the extents to just how abominable we act towards one another. To the Ongyou, exorcists of extraterrestrial origin, these displays of depravity have become depressingly repetitive. Viewing the murders from afar, the Ongyou can’t resist sympathizing with a species that stray from their better judgment time after time. Seeking to steer humanity in a more positive direction (and, at the very least, minimize the amount of destruction we cause), the Ongyou wander throughout the natural world, using their abilities where they see fit. Based on an award-winning collection of short stories, situated within Japan’s Edo period, Requiem from the Darkness is a show that expresses its brutally frank social commentary via various interactions the Ongyou have with other people throughout their journey. At the series’ start, though, they’re more or less on their own. Led by Mataichi (an undersized spiritualist defined by his threadbare cloak and cynical musings), the Ongyou have maintained success in their exploits but circumstances change when they encounter Momosuke. He is Requiem’s primary narrator. He is also a hopeless idealist whose naivety, clumsiness and cowardice have endangered the Ongyou’s objective on numerous occasions. However, Momosuke compensates for this through an expertise in folklore and superstitions. His knowledge is put to good use through the myriad of cases the Ongyou tackle; it’s fascinating to see just how crucial a role Japanese mythology plays in situations involving cannibalism, incestuous rape, matricide, and other grisly crimes. This intersection between the human world and the supernatural is an area Requiem pays close attention to. In particular, it’s concerned with how denizens of the latter perceive the former. When it comes to presenting our surroundings from the Ongyou’s viewpoint, this show spares no expense. The koto and kotsuzumi provide an era-appropriate musical identity to the proceedings (alongside an amalgam of xylophones, bagpipes, orchestral strings, and chantings) as Requiem showcases its visual mastery. Shadows impose on everything in their sight, often enveloping the characters within its foggy folds, perfectly complementing this show’s dour tone. Buildings insult conventions, twisting and turning, unlike ordinary architecture which mostly stands in place. These and more contribute to an aesthetic that celebrates creativity more than anything else. Whatever shortcomings appear along the way (from poorly integrated CGI to inconsistent character design) are almost entirely negated by a show that overwhelms with its endless forays into the visually experimental. Naturally, this artistic pursuit culminates with what’s easily the most haunting sequence in the entire series. / A little girl, known as “Tai”, calmly approaches an elderly man undergoing a mental breakdown. Clutching a ragdoll in her arms, Tai converses with this man, her voice cheerful, her eyes radiant with mischief. The exchange then screeches to a halt. Tai exhibits a toothy grin and releases a mocking snicker before she mutates. Luminous purple shadows glimmer on Tai’s countenance and in the pitch-black background behind her as her facial features dissolve into nothingness. What once appeared to be a little girl is now reduced to a corpse, a display of broken bones and frayed hair. However, Tai is unfazed. Ignoring the rivulets of blood that flow from the corners of her mouth (alongside the other changes), she leans closer to the elderly man and continues the conversation, maintaining her cheerful tone. Tai is not real. She’s a replica of an innocent soul. She’s an illusion, conjured by the Ongyou to assist in completing one of their cases. She’s a walking reminder for the elderly man of the life he robbed. On a surface level, Tai’s metamorphosis, observed from the man’s point-of-view, is both aesthetically pleasing and weirdly mesmerizing. On further examination, the sequence is an intimidation tactic the Ongyou employed to persuade the man into acknowledging his mistakes. Watching Tai transform and listening to her explain what the man did (“You cut me in half”) is enough to trigger his repressed memories and bring him a step closer to redemption. The experience also forces him to consider why he killed Tai (and his other victims) in the first place. Were his upbringing and social influences responsible for turning him into a murderer or was his behavior ingrained in him from the start? / Nature vs nurture. This debate serves as Requiem’s overarching theme. The killings, the Ongyou’s mission, the social commentary, and the aesthetic flourishes all ultimately relate to the topic at hand. Yes, this series is, at its core, an examination of humanity at its worst but it’s also interested in determining the impetus for our actions. Although Requiem eventually aligns itself with “nature”, the argument it establishes is one that even the opposition might consider. This show maintains that our natural traits are the biggest inspiration behind our behavior but it doesn’t believe that we are to be forever defined by them. The capacity for evil, to present a specific example, is something Requiem deems an inherent characteristic but this show claims that it’s hardly permanent. Again and again, the people that recognize their inherent evil and consciously seek to improve themselves are the ones who overcome their natural traits. Granted, there are plenty who don’t but that doesn’t prevent Requiem from believing even the worst of us are capable of change. Of course, the road to redemption isn’t easy, not when there are supernatural creatures hindering your progress. Natsuhiko Kyogoku is an award-winning novelist and an admirer of the late mangaka Shigeru Mizuki but he’s also a self-proclaimed “yokai researcher” that’s convinced yokai folklore is a form of sublimation. This idea of his is apparent in almost all of Kyogoku’s works, except for Requiem from the Darkness. With his other projects, he always ensured that the yokai were to never appear. The focus was to remain on the human characters. Yokai and the supernatural myths involving them were only permitted to exist as fables, paralleling a criminal’s motives and behavior. Requiem, on the other hand, is far more liberal in handling yokai. Although this wasn’t much of an issue at the series’ start, the situation becomes more and more difficult to ignore later on. When the Ongyou decided to embark on their string of investigations and exorcisms throughout our world, they quickly discovered other supernatural entities that arrived long before them. These are what’s referred to as “yokai”. At first, the ones that the Ongyou enco…

Horror stories exploring the darkness of the human heart are hardly uncommon, and yet, whenever I come across one, I find myself drawn towards them, fascinated. Perhaps it's a subconscious attempt to search for an answer, or perhaps I too find similar darkness residing in my own heart and seek company among such horrors. Regardless of the reason, I feel it's fair to say that many anime choose to either reside in the light with stories about finding some semblance of happiness no matter your situation, or they would choose to cheapen the horror with unrealistic tales of amoral and unsympathetic villains you could defeat like some Dragon Ball Z character. Rarely do writers take a more somber approach, and rarer do writers tell the audience to simply accept the horrors and suffering as part of life and its karmic cycle (as often preached in Buddhism teachings). "Requiem from the Darkness" is one such uncommon gem. Story: 8 Based on a series of short stories by Natsuhiko Kyogoku titled "The Wicked and the Damned: A Hundred Tales of Karma", Requiem from the Darkness tells a tale of a young writer named Momosuke who wishes to write a collected anthology of 100 ghost stories and his journey to collect said stories. Shortly after setting out, he meets an enigmatic trio calling themselves "The Ongyou," spirit detectives who investigate myths and legends to expose the truth and righting wrongs along the way. Needless to say, it's an episodic anime featuring an 'urban legend of the week' per episode (save the last two). I usually find myself more interested in episodic series like this because of their freedom to explore multiple sub-themes and stories in one sitting, leading to a greater sense of variety. Each episode sees the quartet investigating the local rumors involving some horror, and each episode ends up with them discovering new depths of human depravity. While the shock factor of the series is its most obvious factor, I feel like most who recommend this series based on that are missing the trees for the forest. Behind these shocking acts is pain, sometimes stemmed from circumstances beyond the person's control, but usually committed out of selfishness and temptations. Lust, envy, greed, wrath; all those good stuff that we are familiar with are seen here in this series, all very relatable traits visible in reality. Such a way to explore humanity might be too slow-paced for someone looking for a more concentrated story with some kind of visible end goal in mind, but for those who seek anime that, rather than simply offering simple stories of reaching a goal, instead offer a journey of somber reflection where you can ponder and perhaps lament about life and all its sadness together, such as the likes of "Mushishi", "Kino's Journey" and "Hell Girl", this might just be your cup of tea. If there is but one fatal flaw I should point out, it's that the final two episodes of the series treads towards a more disappointing formula of having to defeat the Big Bad. It's an inevitable part of episodic anime like "Hell Girl", it seems. These animation studios often need some kind of climatic build-up at the end rather than just have a string of stories with no end goal, period. Only the few exceptional titles out there are bold enough to really break this convention ("Mushishi" and "Kino's Journey"), but in all fairness, 11 great episodes out of 13 is good enough for me. Character: 7 Unfortunately, this is where the series falls short a little bit. The main characters aren't the main attractions of this horror show; the sideshow (the depraved and the diseased) featured each episode are the main appeal. The quartet band of detectives are functional enough as characters. There's nothing really inherently wrong with them, since they don't come off as obnoxious or even unrealistic individuals. The relationship between Momosuke and The Ongyou is even quite interesting because of the two different worlds they come from - one is an idealistic writer who still believes in the good of people, and the other three are jaded folks of the underworld who have exorcised one too many horrors in their lifetime. Their roles convey the depressing theme of how humanity is screwed up well enough, but as individuals, their personality just aren't all that original, being your typical naive kid and jaded exorcists. That being said, as I've previously mentioned, the tragic people involved in the horrendous acts of violence and pillaging are the real reason you should be watching this show for. I know myself and many others have often cited just how "messed up" these people are, but it's not really a hyperbole especially when the atrocities they committed are realistic acts we've encountered in real life, committed by real serial killers. That's what makes it more disturbing than "Imma blow this whole universe up because genocide! LULZ" Art: 8 I've seen people criticized the art as "low budget" and messy, but I personally like the artstyle as it resembles the rough penciling of E.C. comic horror stories, not to mention its heavy use of shadows. And to top it all off, the animators also mix the artstyle with dynamic 3-D movement to really grab your attention with distinct visuals, sometimes literally bringing its grotesque body horror to your face. And oh yes - there's plenty of body horror. Not as exaggerated as Cronenberg, but enough to resemble something like "Tales from the Crypt". Sound: 7 The sound is decent enough; nothing that really caught my attention. Its opening and ending songs though are simply lovely Jazz pieces by Keiko Lee, songs that befit the somber atmosphere of the show. Enjoyment: 8 What a ride. This is the kind of anime that I will remember fondly in a lifetime; not for some amazingly written plot or even memorable characters it engaged me with, but for the bittersweet taste it has indulged me with. Indeed, I would compare such episodic anime to be like a cuisine, like a series of dishes you would travel around the world for the simple pleasure of experiencing these different facets of life. Or perhaps it's more like sharing the company of strangers as we share tragic stories, if only to share in each other's misery and come to some form of acceptance towards such a harsh reality. These anime may not be masterpieces that revolutionize the way artists animate stories forever, but they are always welcomed by me, because I will always need such company, especially with how bitter real human interaction can be. We need horror stories in our world, to remind us of the truth that people can be ugly, and that's just the way it is. It's not "wrong," it's not "right." It just is.

I'll be honest, when I say, I don't have much to talk about when it comes to "Requirem from the Darkness"/Natsuhiko Kyogoku's "Hundred Stories"/ Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari. So I'll stick to the basics while describing my experience after I finished this anime series. Being 13 episodes long, each episodes being less than 25 minutes long, the length of the episodes is certainly not a problem, and works to set the ambience of the anime. However, it is the themes of the anime which make it a difficult watch. It might not be an artistic presentation, but it definitely is a thematic fright, because it talks about the "darkness among men". Within its themes are: cannibalism, necrophilia, murder, and serial killing among the handful few obvious themes. Each of these themes is the integral part of the episode, and are all small steps towards an overarcing story which is concluded in episode 12 and 13. One criticism which I have in terms of sound, is the theme song "the flame" which opens the anime. It isn't disconcerting, but it isn't serving a significant purpose towards building the anime either. Furthermore, in my opinion, it doesn't add to the opening of the anime visually (which is really good, and is undermined because of the theme song). I don't count art as requiring criticism because in my opinion, it is aged but it has aged well - and with respect to the anime, it adds an overall sombre tone to the story, which definitely works in its favour. All in all, here's my two cents on it: If you're really into understanding how dark can a human heart be, watch this anime. Its a decent work to say the very least.

I loved the stories, each show being almost stand alone as a storyline, very rarely going over 2 or more episodes and yet as you keep watching, it does lead up to something bigger. They take a lot of Japanese folklore and old stories and depict them in a rather interesting way. It does get a little hard to understand in the surreal look. You never know what is real and what is spiritual because of how some of the characters look (More on that in artwork). If you watch it in the dark, be scared. But yet the show almost asks you to watch it in the dark because it is so dark that it’s hard to see some of the detail. The artwork is rather flat, getting its shading mostly with line drawing like it was done in pen and once in a while giving an almost three dimensional feeling almost CG-ish. It’s hard to depict though, since the CG blends well with the rest of the artwork. It has a certain feel that makes it look vintage though it’s a newer show. The background characters make it hard to know what’s real and what’s not because they all look a bit off. They most of the time look like monsters themselves and sometimes it shows who will be affected because the people that actually look normal turn out to be either killed off or the main character of the show. I fell in love with the English actors, there voices working perfectly with the characters they portray. I especially love Mataichi’s heavy voice, almost a dark monotone though with an air of mystery. He is able to keep the monotone that doesn’t feel boring. Momosuke has a fine voice for the wimpy little boy he seems to be. The music is very hunting and dark, never overpowering but always there to give you a chill up your spine. There isn’t anything to laugh about in this, no comic relief to tone down the story.

I just finished watching Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari and I must say that I'm very, very disappointed. KHM started as a very interesting show. The short stories from the first 7 or 8 episodes were good enough for me to watch with close attention, an 8 score anime. But then it started to get pretty dull. And the ending (episodes 12 and 13) was just terrible. Typical shounen mambo jambo, full of meaningless catchphrases, heroes who show up in the right time and plot holes: several plot holes. Also, I did not feel I was watching a horror series, even with all the decapitations, rape and japanese ghost folclore dialogues. Despite the general disappointment, I do not consider KHM a waste of time. It was OK, a 6 score anime. The art has some pretty neet stuff, especially on the backgrounds, and the voicing was acceptable. I cannot remember the quality of the soundtrack, so I'll just assume it was powerless. The main characters are also a problem in KHM. Not one of them did I find loveble, not because they're all archetypes, but because the producers did not have the hability to turn those archetypes into delicious characters. Also, I found very predictable and tiring the inclusion of a naggin' female character with large boobs. So, in conclusion, if you want to watch a horror anime and you don't feel like watching Gantz or Shigurui, I guess you can watch this. But do not expect much more than a FINE (6) show.

Hundred stories (or Requiem From The Darkness as its called stateside) is well...unique to say the least. Yamaoka Momosuke is collecting research for a book he wishes to write, the titular "Hundred stories." And then the shows gets weird. He meets the mysterious Ongyou, attractive Ogin, big guy Nagamimi, and pint sized leader of the trio, Mataichi. They are basically, detectives, finding and purging evil spirits and the like from the land. And Momosuke can't seem to quit running into them. It basically follows a typical monster of the week scenario until near the shows end, which i won't spoil here. The art style is rather surreal. Buildings, walls, and even people seem distorted and wavy. It almost made me turn it off, but i stayed and watched anyway. The story is pretty simple, real episodic for a while. One of the things that hooked me (besides Ogin. Me-ow.) is Steve Kramer as Mataichi. His voice fits the character perfectly. I should warn you though, this show is NOT for the kiddies. It gets real violent and gory as the show goes on. Overall, if you have some time to kill, and want to see a rather surreal and strange anime, check out Hundred stories. You won't be disappointed.

Plot: Taking place during the Bakumatsu era when the foundations of the Tokugawa government has began to sway, a young writer and folklorist named Momosuke wishes to write a book of 100 Ghost Stories. While researching these old myths and legends, the young man comes across a mysterious trio who call themselves the Ongyou. They are detectives who are investigating the legends to reveal their truth and bring those in wrong to justice. Each time Momosuke meets the Ongyou, he faces horrible truth and conflicts with his morals and he is witnessing things he is not supposed to witness… I give a rating of 8/10 for the plot. Characters and their Voice Castings: The entire story involves a handful of characters that have the main roles to play. They are – • Momosuke Yamaoka [Voice Casting: Toshihiko Seki (Jap); Grant George (Eng)] • Ongyou: o Mataichi [Voice Casting: Ryusei Nakao (Jap) ; Steve Kramer (Eng)] o Ogin [Voice Casting : Sanaye Kobayashi (Jap) ; Karen Strassman (Eng)] o Nagamimi [Voice Casting: Norio Wakamoto (Jap); Michael McConnohie (Eng)] • Tsutaya [Voice Casting: Hiroshi Otake (Jap); Tom Wyner (Eng)] • Heihachi [Voice Casting: Natsuhiko Kyogoku (Jap); Neil Kaplan (Eng)] • Hermits: o Black Hermit [Voice Casting: Masako Nozawa (Jap); Mona Marshall (Eng)] o White Hermit [Voice Casting: Masako Nozawa (Jap);Dorothy Elias-Fahn (Eng)] • Tatsuta [Voice Casting: Keiko Toda (Jap); Philece Sampler (Eng)] • Kyogoku Tei [Voice Casting: Natsuhiko Kyogoku (Jap); Neil Kaplan (Eng)] The above provided list of characters is set according to the order of their appearance in the entire series. The characters are well-illustrated, undoubtedly. Now, a little highlight of the above mentioned characters is given as follows: • Momosuke Yamaoka: The protagonist of the entire series, whose profession is to write riddles for children. He gets fed up with his profession and decides to explore the country all over and write a hundred ghost stories which he later, decides to publish as a series of novels. But in his journey, he meets the various circumstances where he gets involved in various incidences involuntarily and faces the various forms of truth, which terrifies him about the real nature of the world he lives in. • Ongyou: A mysterious trio of spiritual beings who claim themselves to be detectives who are investigating the strange happenings going on all around in the country. They claim that their job is to find out the criminal and penalize him for his wrong doings, following which; their souls will be sent to the place where they may rest in peace for ever after. o Mataichi : He is perhaps the leader of the trio. He is called the ‘Trickster’ by his team-mates. He refers to Momosuke by calling him Mr. Author. He is a charm-caster by profession, who sells talismans to people. He is a mysterious short guy who resembles a mummy by looks and always carries a staff, like a priest. His behavior is depicted as that of a calm-minded, quiet and reserved gentleman, who doesn’t like to talk much. He likes to eat and is taunted by his fellow team-mate, Ogin every now and then for his mysterious and unpredictable nature. Every episode ends with Mataichi’s words of Wisdom echoing in the atmosphere, which are brought to a full-stop with this phrase: ‘To the other world, we commit thee’. He even warns Momosuke not to follow him and his group or else he would face a fate and beyond that, something terrible. o Ogin: A beautiful-looking girl who is also called the ‘Puppeteer’ who has the job of luring the criminal to the scene where he/she either breaks down mentally and confesses the entire truth or just kills himself/herself. Her true identity remains hidden till her past events are narrated by a woman in one of the episodes. She teases Momosuke by calling him a ‘pervert’. It is seen that with the passage of time, Momosuke develops a certain sort of feeling for Ogin, which is revealed in the end when Momosuke wants to travel to the ‘other world’ and spend the rest of his life with Ogin where he is made aware of the different fates the two of them share. In the end, she is teased by Mataichi who, being aware of her feelings for Momosuke, teases her. o Nagamimi: In the series, he is called a ‘Shapeshifter’ as it is seen that he possesses the ability to change himself into anything. He always keeps smiling, which makes him look weirder than he already is. He is pictured as a tall and stout man with a good muscular physique who always carries a long pipe with him in his mouth. He has the duty to act as the medium that brings the entire case in the light. • Tsutaya: He is a small chubby creature who is Momosuke’s publisher. At the start, he Is shown to be pissed by the change in the decision of Momosuke to stop writing the riddles for children, but later, he agrees to aid the protagonist in his work. • Heihachi: He is the co-worker of Momosuke. • Hermits: o Black Hermit o White Hermit These two hermit ladies work as the messengers of an entity names Kyogoku Tei, who is supposedly the boss of the Ongyou, whose identity remains under the shrouds till the end. On occasions, they are seen to change themselves into young girls to trick the Ongyou into doing what they want them to. They are accidentally destroyed by the main antagonist in the last episode. • Tatsuta: She is a young lady who has the record of killing her childhood friend Shiragaku out of jealousy of her love for her would be husband. She thus earns the name of a witch, ‘Hi-No-Enma’ who is rumored to kill anybody who loves Shiragaku. She plays an important role in the series as she acts as one of the main assistants of the antagonist, which is revealed in the end. • Kyogoku Tei: He is the main antagonist of the entire show. His identity and his intentions are revealed in the last arc of the entire story. Knowing his true intentions, even the Ongyou decide to act against him and do the rightful. For the character illustration along with the voice casting, I’ll give the Anime a rating of 9/10. Opening and Ending Theme: Opening Theme Song – ‘The Flame’ and the Ending Theme Song – ‘Moment of Love’, both were performed by Keiko Lee. I’ll give a rating of 8/10 jointly, for both the opening and the ending themes. You all should listen to the OSTs. Anime Details------------------------ Title: Requiem From The Darkness Alternative Title: Hundred Stories; Kyogoku Natsuhiko Kosetsu Hyaku Monogatari Director: Hideki Tonokatsu Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha Original Run: October 3rd, 2003 – December 26th, 2003 No. of Episodes: 13 Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery Source: Anime-Manga Portal and My Personal Analysis Overall Rating: 8.6/10

Requiem from the Darkness - 2003 - 7.5/10 The anthology series is an adaptation of Kyogoku Natsuhiko work. Genre is Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Fantasy with Historical and Psychological themes. Show consists of a writer who journeys across the country to write an anthology of disturbing / ghost stories and his misadventures along the way. MC often meets the Ongyu, a trio with supernatural powers that hunt the wicked, on these travels. Show depicts a lot of graphic gore and violence. Most characters are deformed in one way or another, the surroundings are dark and often quite literally twisted, setting the mood for all the disturbing things the viewer is about to witness. Supporting characters are sparsely developed through out the series to maintain mystery; aside from the MC, whom undergoes changes as a result from the events of the series. The art style is reminiscent of Puppet Princess, Cheeky Angel, Monster Rancher, and Detective Conan which is no coincidence since they're all TMS Studio projects. Suggested + Similiar genre/theme shows to this would be: ◇ Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror ◇ Mononoke ◇ Petshop of Horrors ◇ Hell Girl ◇ GeGe No Kitaro ◇ xxxHOLIC - Thank you @Infinite_Jester for the reccomendation on your horror thread. This was a gem, and I was SO surprised to not have seen it before due to my love of horror.

Perhaps the most apt description for Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is "a tale showing corrupt people trying to use the supernatural to get away with their crimes, only for supernatural entities to deliver justice in place of the law." That is the plot in a nutshell, and at times it feels like that is all that the show is on a basic level, and episodes survived based off of how well they executed this premise, and in how bizarre and unique the visuals were pushed. Episodes varied a bit for me, some being really good and memorable, while others were dull and faded to give way to the more interesting ones, a few even feeling derivative of each other. While never painful, after watching enough I guessed the format by episode 4 and it never broke, each episode is about a crime of a broken, deranged person, some of whom are more memorable, entertaining or sympathetic than others, but each has committed a heinous crime in some capacity and has blamed a yokai or specter for the atrocities preformed, and in most cases it is the person most staunchly against it being the work of the supernatural that is the perpetrator. The episode always takes time to flesh out and humanize these individuals in some capacity, and each has a unique enough design that they don't blend together. Of course no discussion of this show would be complete without bringing up the visuals. The Art-style is unique, and despite numerous locals, characters, and set designs all looking radically different the show never suffers, and each of these blend together to enhance the experience, elevating the mood and tone of each scene and the show as a whole, complimenting its tone and themes with the unnerving imagery as opposed to subverting or dismantling it. However Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is an anime that I find difficult to properly articulate as being either traditionally good or bad, its not that that the pros and cons overlap, its just that both are very present, and for everything that I loved, their was something else that I found to be a bit more difficult to get me through an episode, and now that I've gone over the good, its time for the bad, and the most distracting aspect was how the main protagonist often felt like he was out of the loop, and inconsistent in his place in the narrative; in one episode he is entirely in the loop about the Ongyou being denizens of the afterlife, yet later on he is completely baffled by such a concept and is a stark skeptic. More than anything it feels like information is withheld not for the sake of adding to the narrative or tone, but instead to confound Momosuke who comes across as dense, at best, for not putting 2and2 together on multiple occasions and needing to be guided through similar concepts constantly, while at others he is suddenly a super genius who can easily deduce what the Ongyou could not despite many decades worth of experience in investigating conspiracies and knowledge of the next world to aid them and usually with nothing but a lucky find and equally lucky guess. Meanwhile the Ongyou come across as inept in their desire to protect the young author from the dangers that they face, purposely keeping him out of the loop, and inadvertently sending him to greater danger of putting him in their way for no other reason than poor communication between the two parties. I'd say watch it if you are more for strong visuals and villains, and be prepared for a fair amount of cringe in the narrative whenever things start to feel too convoluted.

“Requiem from the Darkness” is what happens when a horror story takes LSD Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the art style, more often than not, is like a fever dream and I love it for it. It gives a surreal and dissociated feel that is more than fitting for a show like this. A show about how twisted people can be. Before we start I would like to explain something. I will be talking about “plot” and “story”. Many people use those terms interchangeably. I’m not one of those people, so to make sure everyone is on the same page… I use the definitions for “plot” and “story” as Lisa Cron describes them: “What happens in the story is the PLOT, the surface events.” “STORY is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes internally as a result”. The show is mostly episodic in nature and apart from the last 4 episodes the connection between them is almost non-existent. The only connection is the group consisting of Mataichi, Ogin and Nagamimi, and of course the person whose POV we follow - Momosuke Yamaoka aka sensei. Every episode is it’s own self contained story. It has its own plot, story and consequences for Yamaoka. If I had to name a theme that combines every episode it would probably be “People are scumbags”. Every story shows us another way a person can be twisted, cruel, opportunistic, cowardly and greedy. A lot of the time all of those at once and trust me, some are pretty inventive. Episode plots concentrate on ghost and monster stories from Japanese folklore. I couldn't verify all of them but most indeed have their origins in their mythology. They start out as supernatural events only to be revealed as just people being scumbags and using the superstition either as an excuse or a tool used by Mataichi and his group. They are written very simplistically and that is both their strength and weakness. The pro of this approach is that the episodes can concentrate on the main point with little to no distractions. The con is that a lot of episodes get resolved in an unsatisfying, almost deus ex machina way. I would prefer a more analytical approach where viewers are given clues to piece everything together. Don’t get me wrong, we do get that here but in 90% of cases the antagonists aren’t very subtle so You don’t get a proper katharsis when You solve the mystery before it is spelled out for Momosuke. There are also episodes where we don’t get anything useful so we are at a loss with Yamaoka. Maybe that was the point. This supernatural world is new to him, he lacks experience in it and thus doesn’t exactly know what to look for. His lack of skill is translated as lack of clues for the viewers… Maybe… or maybe I just give too much credit to the writers. Eughter way there are episodes, especially in the beginning that start off as a well introduced mystery and end as if someone just used a solution to a game. There is an interesting plot point however. A few early episodes rely mostly on sheer coincidence when it comes to Momosuke interacting with Mataichi’s group. Normally it would be annoying AF but in this case there is an explanation. Not a great one but I would call it solid and beat the tired trope of “Oh what a coincidence” over and over again. Yamaoka want’s to write 100 ghost stories so it makes sense he travels to places that have weird rumors going around, and it just so happens that those rumors are the effect of either the antagonists doing or just Mataichi using local folklore for his own goal. Either way it’s a solid way to bring all the cast members together. Each episode has its own story but there is an overarching story here. A story about a young writer being sucked to a world of darkness. Man made darkness mind You. Our protagonist Momosuke starts out as an almost innocent person with pretty idealistic views and beliefs and as the show goes on he becomes more and more (but still not so much as to matter in the long run) disillusioned about people. It only shows up a couple of times but there are moments when he is an active participant in the final fate of the episode antagonist. Despite that he doesn’t really change in a meaningful way, even him committing a murder isn’t used in any kind of meaningful way, only once to show him as a bit of a hypocrite. I guess it’s better than nothing but I would prefer him having an existential crisis over it. Oh well… The other cast members don’t change at all. They use Momosuke when it is convenient for them, they talk to him as an acquaintance but they make an active effort to keep him at a distance. This part is actually good. They don’t want to corrupt him. Make no mistake, they present themselves as fighting the darkness but at the end of the day they kill people most of the time. Having a coterie like that make an effort to save a naive young man is a solid idea. Shame that that effort comes down to only telling him not to get involved. Something Momosuke never does. I guess the one person that seems to care (and I use this term extremely loosely in this case) about him is Ogin, but we never really get anysort of confirmation if it's as a potential lover, a sibling or she sees him as a child. To be honest I lean more towards the last option. Because of its episodic nature I really can’t say much about the plot without getting into spoiler territory and I try to avoid that. At the end of the day it is a solid show, with a rather original idea, awesome artstyle and despite touching some serious subjects doesn't really preach to its viewers like some other shows that use gruesome and cruel scenes. Unless You are hoping for a happy ending to every plot and don’t mind rushed conclusions I believe this is a solid investment of Your time.

This review comes fresh off of a second watch-through, mostly because I saw that I had already rated it here but didn't remember a thing about it. But now that I've seen it again, I remember my feelings from then and they hold true still, and just so this doesn't happen again, I'm leaving this as a note to self, and may as well share it here. First off, I have to praise the artstyle. It's an inspired spooky style with lots of little touches to the environments, the buildings, the people or more appropriately, creatures, that give the show identity and atmosphere. It's probably the greatest strength of this anime. The animation itself, as well as overall production values, however... they're definitely on the cheap side, to put it kindly. As for the narrative, the basic set-up for each episode is that Momonosuke, the protagonist traveling in search of scary stories for a book he's writing, will come across some horrific seemingly supernatural situation, where he either serves as a passive witness to the events that unfold, or well-meaning participant trying to help people, with most of the situations as well as Momosuke's role ending up having been set in place by a trio of ghoulish tricksters he becomes increasingly involved with, who serve as karmic retribution for the ne'erdowell of the week. The execution, however, is flawed in several general ways. The way the stories are set up, rather than all the elements being introduced in the beginning and coming together as the curtain peels back, instead we get staggered, trickled out exposition that comes out of nowhere in scattered chunks. This exposition is often very blunt too, and makes the mysterious openings seem stupidly simple after all is said and done, and if the elements in these dumps were introduced from the start, the mysteries would be child's play to at least get in the ballpark of what's going on. It's understandable why they then decide to just omit these elements from the stories until they become relevant but that leaves us with unsatisfying ass-pulls or nonsense that feels cobbled together at the last minute. Some character will just come in at the eleventh hour to say "It's so sad that that captain of the guard whose been hunting the ghost, his wife died 10 years ago in the exact same way as the current murders... such a shame" and then it's like oh gee I wonder what's going on.... But then in another vein, there's a lot of stuff that's also convoluted but not vital to the story. Deep-cut historical and occult references (at least to a weeb like me, but I think even a standard Japanese audience might not know all the things that are referenced) that might build some ambiance, but don't serve much purpose except to make it seem like a deeper mystery going on. It's not so much that these things are being set up, but when the more critical components AREN'T getting this treatment, it's feels like a waste. It's like all the things in that should be simple and easy to grasp are needlessly complex and involved, while all the things that should be intricate turn out to be overtly basic. There's an over-arching plot going on beyond the episodic stories as well, but it's sadly underdeveloped. It focuses on Momonosuke's relationship with and the nature of the three fiendish characters, as well as Momonosuke changing from interacting with them, but developments come in sudden and overstated bursts while skipping over the crucial interstitial stuff. The whole thing (including the epic finale) is all just kind of done half-way. The pitfalls in both the episodic and background story writing are surely just a matter of not having enough time to build up all the things they need to and satisfactorily pay them off, having to fit an entire ghost story plus overarching plot into 20 minutes an episode and only 13 episodes to do it. It's just too little time. If it was perhaps done like Mononoke where instead of 1 story per episode it uses its time to strongly build up 3 stories over several episodes each, or if it got 24 episodes and got to do two parters and main story and episodic story specific episodes, or if it was 40 minute episodes, or just some other way to divvy up the time and give more time and effort to each individual component, it could've smoothed over most of the issues I'm sure. But coulda woulda shoulda, and all that. What's here is just a watchable but not quite at the next level experience.

Decided to rewatch this anime as i remember it being good but couldnt remember much about its contents. This is an anthology series so each episode contains a new story with new characters (except for last 2 or 3 episodes), all tied together with an overarching story about an author who bumps into a trio of beings? Who go around Japan to exorcise spirits that have committed sin. So honestly, the characters weren't that memorable except maybe Mataichi and the animation style could be somewhat off putting as they mixed traditional anime style with 3d textures at some points. However the anime was strong where it mattered most and that was the story/ies. The episodic stories had some great plot twists and grotesque imagery that worked really well with some of the horrifying story details. Some of my favourites include The Willow Woman and The Floating head as well as Salty Chouji. The ending of the anime was also great. The anime is quite short and I don't think minor criticisms should affect you watching it so if you are a horror fan with the taste for some great short horror stories, I would recommend this series. I also see myself rewatching it in the future

Mushishi, ACCA-13 now this I just feel like screaming "SUGOI" These animes don't have a definite plotline so the character personality is a major deciding factor for people to watch or drop and this is where it exceeds your expectations. Wise, sly and bulkhead all three options are there for you The MC is not as dumb as the poster make him appear so he too will not disappoint you As for the plotlines it follows 1v1[1ep, 1plot, 1youkai] you won't feel like the stories being dragged at all. It's not Pokemon i.e. ghost and it's ability there's an intricate plot staged before ghost is introduced so you won't find that the plot has been half baked in order to focus on youkai. Art style is next level. I mean this is 2003 anime last checked, the colours are symbiotic with the art style producing an eccentric and entrancing effect on the story