Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu. 44: Cloudy Beach

After only a few months, Shiboyugi returns with its 44 Cloudy Beach arc, this time arranged as a movie. Unfortunately, with the medium change does not come a quality increase; if anything, we see the opposite. With the clouds in the title comes rain, and with the rain comes a very muted, uninteresting color palette. The 44 is also a cruel joke by Studio Deen, since it describes the maximum number of frames drawn for a minute of the movie. But enough about the title; there are plenty of issues that need to be addressed. The short gap between the release of the series and this movie was a bad omen in terms of the production pipeline: it is horribly clear that there was not enough time to make this, which is most evident from the OST. The vast majority of the music is reused from the series, and about half of the new tracks are either generic or straight up don’t fit their accompanying scenes. The Opening music from the series is reused where a modern anime film may have an OP sequence, and the series’s ED is reused for the credits. Between that, the movie calling itself episode 12, and the quick release date, I would wager that this was originally just supposed to be part of the first season, but got separated and turned into a film at some point in production. Inherently, as a movie, one might be initially fooled into thinking this movie had a larger budget than the first season. By utilizing an ultra-wide aspect ratio, it attempts to invoke a cinematic feeling, but this illusion quickly falls apart. While the framing is wider, the resolution is stuck at 1080x720, meaning a huge chunk of the screen is just black bars (I will note that this is one complaint that may someday be solved by a BD release). Just like the original series, Deen throws in shots in a shorter aspect ratio, which ultimately means that, when ignoring the space contained permanently by black bars, occasionally only the upper third of the screen is filled with art, and in particularly egregious cases, only a quarter is used. Additionally, static images are often held for upwards of twenty seconds. This is nothing new to Shiboyugi; the first season did this too, but here it is taken to the extreme, making it feel less like a directorial choice and more like a crazy budget save. Once the film finally abandons exposition and moves into its climax, the action proves just as disappointing as in the previous season. The minimalist art style never lent itself well to fight scenes, and here it is compounded by excessive motion blur that often obscures what little animation is actually present. Some shots become nearly unwatchable as the blur smears already simplistic drawings into something unrecognizable. Outside of Studio Trigger's intentionally low-effort productions, this may genuinely be the worst-looking animation I've seen in a professionally released anime. I complained about the bland character designs in my review of the previous season, and this complaint is exacerbated here. Fitting of the beach setting, everyone is in swimsuits, unfortunately resulting in a set of outfits far too similar to each other for me to remember any particular character except for Yuki and Anri, who are returning from the series. Any scene outdoors is incredibly desaturated, a conscious choice to show how dreary the rain is, but it makes most scenes look very dull, consisting of only muddy colors. Hair colors were helpful in the first season to tell characters apart, especially in moments in the minimalistic art style, but here, everyone looks about the same due to more uniformity in hair color and the color desaturation. The voice actresses, both in the English and Japanese dubs, were too devoid of life to bring out any attachment to the characters. Of course, this was a purposeful decision since the characters in the movie are all veterans and have been affected mentally by the games up until this point, but it makes for a poor listening experience. The story unfortunately repeats many of the first season's problems. The character design choices above result in more than just a visual complaint; the already difficult-to-follow plot is made indecipherable when I can’t tell the characters that are conversing with each other. Scene transitions make this even harder. Two separate pairs of characters will sometimes discuss the same information in consecutive scenes, making it easy to lose track of who is with whom. Intentionally repetitive dialogue returns to create an unsettling atmosphere, but instead just drags out parts of the film. The mechanics of this death game also had me scratching my head. Unlike the straightforward arcs in the previous season, nearly no explanation is put forward for a large chunk of the movie as to what the goal of the game is, and once the mechanics are finally unveiled, it becomes clear that the game resembles Mafia or Werewolf, with a hidden killer forming its central gimmick. This could have been one of the stronger games in the series due to the character interactions this premise opens up. Instead, it's a game that’s stacked in one person’s favor by actions from the game design team that break the pre-established guidelines of these death games, making the whole competition feel more arbitrary and nonsensical than had already been implied by Yuki last season. By the time everything is explained and plays out, I was less impressed by the mystery than frustrated by how unnecessarily opaque the storytelling had been. I do have to make a few concessions. The colors are so bland and dull nearly the whole film, but that serves to highlight the moments where they aren’t. There’s an example of this in the middle of the film: Airi sings a beautiful melody accompanied by visual direction that creates a wonderful, galaxy-like look. The final ten minutes also have far more colors, which, when compared to the death game, helps drive home the theme presented that living a life of one's own choosing is far better than going along with what someone lays out for you: life is only worth living when you are forging your own path. Another plus is that the film is in an ultra-wide aspect ratio. Even if the animation is far below average, this helps create a sense of quality in the visuals, especially once the bars are cropped out. The second half reintroduced the close-up of character faces present in the first season, and these are even more strikingly gorgeous due to taking up more of the screen that I’m watching this on. But honestly, this was all too little to make this film an enjoyable or entertaining watch. Ultimately, 44 Cloudy Beach feels very lackluster as a theatrical follow-up to the first Shiboygi season. There were plenty of places a film could have improved on issues from the TV series, but instead, the charm and genuinely good directorial ideas are ripped out due to budget and production time constraints. If you loved the first season, please, go ahead and watch the movie; just don't expect the jump to theaters to bring the leap in quality that most anime films do. For everyone else, particularly those on the fence about or straight up didn’t enjoy the series, you can go ahead and sit this one out.

I was originally planning to write a review for this cinematic follow-up tomorrow or the day after, but after taking a look at the current score and ratings, I've decided to present a more positive take on the movie (and series as a whole) while it's still fresh off the presses. Just keep in mind going into this review that while I'm not one of those people who laudes Shiboyugi as an artistic masterpiece or anything of the sort, I do still derive quite a bit of enjoyment from the series. So, Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table. The show that exploded onto the Winter 2026 anime scene with a widely praised and beloved premiere, making waves even amidst the stacked competition of the season, what with big-name shows like Fate, Fire Force, and Jujutsu Kaisen all airing new seasons. But all of that goodwill quickly went way, with many being turned off and rubbed the wrong way by the show's nonlinear and untraditional approach to storytelling, in addition to a variety of other quirks. And you know what? I get it. I get it, okay? The show is not for everyone, and in my opinion the pilot episode also sets unfair expectations for the rest of the series, as it ends up being nothing like what most people expected. But you want to know something else? Just because a show doesn't turn out the way you expected it to be, that doesn't automatically make it bad. Despite it all, I still enjoyed Shiboyugi. If a little overbearing at times with its themes and philosophies, Shiboyugi was still a boatload of fun, providing a beautifully stylized and surprisingly thought-provoking take on the death game genre. I didn't have high hopes for it getting a sequel though, what with the negative reception and all, so you can only imagine my excitement upon hearing that not only was it getting a sequel, but a whole movie at that! It did make me feel a bit worried when I first saw the announcement though, since anime movies usually have an abhorrently long wait time before making their way over to Western theaters. However, thanks to the film's global streaming premiere it seems that won't be the case anymore, so I can thankfully recommend this film without there being the looming caveat of it only being available in certain Japanese theaters. Anyway, with all that being said, let's go ahead and get right into the review! Visuals: It's always interesting to see just how much the quality can vary between the different shows a studio produces, with Shiboyugi being a prime example of just that. While Studio Deen typically produces shows of a middling quality with a few rare gems here and there, Shiboyugi luckily falls into the latter quality, with its artsyle and animation being one of its strongest points. While I unfortunately don't think the movie improves on the show's visuals, I can say with certainty that it looks just as good, with more than a few particularly beautiful animated sequences thrown into the mix. The gorgeous watercolor-esque backgrounds will steal your breath away, with each gaze of the characters' brilliantly detailed eyes seeming to peer directly into your soul. Despite being quite differently animated than most other series, I can firmly say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Shiboyugi is a beautiful anime. And as far as any issues go visualswise, I really only have one complaint to make, which is that at times it did end up feeling like style was taking precedence over substance. I noticed around the halfway point in the movie that rather than explaining certain things right away, some of those same animated sequences I mentioned earlier would be substituted in instead, leading to some confusion narratively. Thankfully all of that is cleared up quite adeptly later on, much to my relief, so it does end up just being more of a mild annoyance than anything. Story: The story of the Shiboyugi movie is both a source of much joy and some disappointment for me. While I am indeed overjoyed that the movie covered one long game rather than several short ones, I am also disappointed that the game itself did not take more advantage of the length which it was given to work with. Don't get me wrong, the movie is not boring in the slightest, and if anything even goes by a bit quickly, but I just wish the game ended up being more complicated. Thankfully, the movie's pacing more than makes up for this shortcoming, with it being shockingly well-paced and never lingering on any one scene too long. This might not seem like a point of praise to some, but remember to keep in mind what the Shiboyugi movie actually is. Rather than being noncanon or some sort of separate entity from the main show, it is rather an essentially extended finale episode clocking in at around an hour and a half. So not only does it have the responsibility of wrapping everything up that has been shown in the series so far with a neat little bow, but it also has to tell its own story as well, concluding the two things together in a coherent and narratively sensible way. And I'd daresay it does just that. The desert island scenario fits the movie format perfectly, with the game and events surrounding it providing an excellent conduit for Yuki to sort out her feelings and overcome her trauma from the disastrous Candle Woods game seen in the show's final arc, while also managing to tell an equally interesting story of its own that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The movie also ends up answering a certain huge cliffhanger from the end of the series (which I will not be mentioning here for the sake of spoilers), as well as tying up some other loose ends that were left over, really making it feel like the proper conclusion to Shiboyugi's story. Characters: Yeah... Not too much to say here, unfortunately. Shiboyugi is a death game anime, so a lot of the characters tend to just kinda come and go, and this movie is no exception. Yuki as usual steals the show, with a lot of the other characters sort of just being there most of the time. Unlike the show the movie isn't exactly the strongest in the character department, with no memorable characters like Mishiro showing up, save for an at least somewhat memorable antagonist towards the end. It also bothered me that a lot of the time the film hinted at a character being deeper than they were initially presented, only to move right along and never address the subject again. This didn't really hinder my enjoyment of the movie so it is kind of a moot point, but still worth mentioning anyway. I will say however that despite tne aforementioned lack of depth none of the characters were dislikable or (more importantly) annoying, and that regardles you will still be rooting for everyone to make it through the game (relatively) alive and well. Sound: Ending off on a strong note, we can finally get into the sound of Shiboyugi. Usually I don't have a lot to say in my reviews about the sound of a series, but today is the exception! Shiboyugi has an amazing soundtrack and uses its background pieces excellently to make every scene and moment that much more impactful. It's never too abrasive or in-your-face about it, but rather manages to subtly enhance the quality of the series as a whole by managing to always use the right piece at the right time to make every scene hit that much harder. You can also tell the same level of care was applied in the case of this movie's soundtrack, with all of the small touches that every bit of background music has making the film that much more enjoyable to watch. I guess I shouldn't really be talking about Shiboyugi's theme song here since this is a review for the movie, but it is also played there as well, so I'll just go ahead and take the opportunity to also add that Shiboyugi has an amazing opening. Melodic, atmospheric, and short but sweet, Ersterbend by Lin is truly the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that is Shiboyugi. TL;DR & Summary: While this movie won't be changing any opinions anytime soon, it is a must w…

This series needs to always be in long format. A truly thrilling experience, definitely a good continuation to the series. It masters the daylight terror theme perfectly. Every scene is always filled with a sense of unease and dread which is perfect for this survival horror. This movie (episode 12) is beautiful, visual story telling at it finest. There's so much meaning in each character's expressions, with emotion shown through simple art styles. Although it's not my favorite episode, I truly appreciate this work. Fair warning, It is a pretty heavy watch. Outside of the murder and death, there are instances of self-harm so make sure you're in the right head space before watching.

Shiboyugi: Cloudy Beach follows up the emotional turmoil and dread of season 1 with, unsurprisingly, more emotional turmoil and dread, but of a slightly different variety. As Yuuki continues on the path towards 99 games, the weight of the lives lost in front of her turns into monotonous noise, eventually sending her spiraling into a spate of dissociative episodes and confused paranoia, and Ueno’s directorial talent is utilized to its full effect in these moments to convey the hazy, oppressive, and disorienting feelings that cloud Yuuki’s mind. Admittedly, the first half of this 90-minute film is a bit lopsided in terms of pacing, with the emphasis on such a heady and internal conflict certainly not doing it any favors, but not so much that it completely derails the experience overall. The same slight downgrade can be found in its visual presentation. There’s rarely anything outright bad about how it looks, save for a few moments of shoddy character blocking, but aside from those scenes of disassociation, the first hour isn’t exacting bursting at the seams with impressive art direction or eye-catching cinematography like season 1 was, though I would also say the climax more than makes up for this, as does the outburst of raw emotional upheaval due to certainly similarities between Yuuki and another contestant. Admittedly, this is a film that demands a lot from its viewers, and while I can easily see people being put off by the way it goes about this, it’s also a method I respect tremendously. With the post-game conversation digging even deeper into the deep-seeded traumas of several of the story’s characters, this series continues to scratch at my heart with talons of societal misery and dread like very few other anime have ever managed.

This is a very interesting film. It's a very slow-burn psychological horror about a group of girls placed on an island as part of a voluntary survival game where they don't know the rules. But all the girls are veterans of similar games. Where this film really succeeds is in long, drawn-out moments of tension. You could cut the tension with a knife between some of the characters sometimes. And the in the relationships between the various girls, there is so much communicated in those held moments of silence before the viewer is given a relief from the tension. It's quite a masterful display of suspense. If you like Hitchcock films, and enjoy anime with yuri vibes, you will probably really like this. A lot of the moments of this film seemed to have some clear inspirations from classics like Lord of the Flies, Apocalypse Now, and the Shining. There isn't a ton of dialogue, instead, the suspense does a lot heavy lifting, and which makes the moments of dialogue more impactful. All in all, I recommend this film. It's a very quiet film, but it sucked me in, and I was surprised how much I couldn't turn away. The characters, the suspense, the melancholy, and the world just pulled me in and I could not look away. It's a very unique film, and I recommend it. It's definitely worth a watch, especially if you appreciate more artsy suspense films.

When I heard the movie was already coming out this July, I was excited to watch it. Some things were really cool to see: + A nice intro with (not)esterband (beautifully timed and presented). + A fun story about a possible maniac killer on the island. + A beautiful scene featuring the reused song (STAR CIRCLING SONG). + Slow-paced and beautifully cropped aspect ratio scenes, much like in the series. + Almost poetic repetition of words and sentences, similar to the show. I also liked the double-voice scenes where Yuki speaks two sentences at the same time to create a more disconnected feeling (allowing you to truly feel Yuki's emotions). + A nice plot twist. Of course, there are some areas where the movie could improve: - Better character build-up - The period when Yuki was forgetful and seemed like she was losing it a bit felt somewhat out of place (though it is understandable). - Somehow the timing sometimes felt cropped, as if they knew the beginning and end but not how to fill in the middle. Overall, I liked the movie just as much as the series. I would highly recommend watching it if you have seen the show, because "You won't be disappointed"

The style should serve the story, not the other way around. A director’s visual or thematic preferences should enhance what is already there—the tone, characters, pacing, and emotional core—rather than forcing the story to bend around a particular aesthetic. When the material starts being altered primarily to accommodate a director’s signature style, it stops feeling like an adaptation of the story and starts feeling like the story is being used as a vehicle for that style. I hope they change the director if Season 2 is ever announced. Frankly, I’d rather they not announce a second season at all if they can’t replace the director.

A poorly-paced, boring slog that surpasses its prequel in nothing, in fact, over all it was worse. ***No Spoilers*** I quite liked the art style of this anime, but now watching through a 90 minute special, I no longer feel that way. When characters are further away from the so-called quote unquote "camera" their facial features disappear, and they take on a very clean, sleek looking style. A bonus is that it is much easier to draw, and that leads to smoother animation at times. There were several scenes like this in the TV series. However, its utilization here is detrimental. Whereas utilizing this style every once in a while can be fine, I would reckon nearly 80% of this movie had the characters lacking a face. This becomes an issue since the majority of scenes are stationary. "What's wrong with that? Didn't you say you liked the art style?" The straw man asks. And to that I say "I did indeed, however the reason I dislike its usage here is because it seems to be used as a short cut. During many scenes, the characters faces lack any expressions whatsoever, reducing them merely to their bodies. And it also makes the scenes far more boring. The setting was majority dark grays and greens with nary a reprieve. If the faces were animated, it would have been at least something else to look at. It also allows no insight into what they are feeling since their expressions cannot be read." There is, however, an even bigger issue with not animating a face: attachment. For me, one of the biggest reasons the first episode of Shiboyugi was so impactful was my attachment to the starting cast. While they didn't have much dialogue, their faces and expressions built some form of attachment. This gave the scenes where characters died impact. This special, like most of the first season save for the start and end, lacks such impact and attachment. In one of the opening scenes, as would be expected, the characters tell each other their names. This is normally a good opportunity to lay the foundation for attachment, but is missed entirely. When the characters are introducing each other, around half-way through the scene, it switches to a view of the cabins on the boardwalk. On top of this being a missed opportunity for attachment, it also makes it harder to learn the characters names, characters who we are only with for 90 minutes at most. While it could be a narrative tool that the director used to show Yuki's apathy towards the other contestants, I don't think it was. Instead, I think it's more likely that it was a short cut in order to produce this special more quickly and cheaply. There's a difference between slow-paced and poorly-paced stories. Some stories are better off with slow paces that require large amounts of build up to reach their pay off, like Hunter x Hunter. There are also stories that use a faster pace, like Takopii no Genzai. Both examples are excellent pieces of media with wildly different pacing. Shiboyugi is slow-paced, but it's also boring. I normally have a good attention span, and can pay attention to terrible shows that bore me. At several points, I tuned out the movie because nothing was going on. And since nothing was going on, I wasn't even punished for tuning it out. That is to say it does a poor job of pacing its material. TLDR; Characters aren't expressive. Pacing is bad. Scenes lack impact. 4/10

Completed - 6.80 This review contains MINOR SPOILERS for SHIBOYUGI. ‎‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ On the Death Games Genre ‎ Before addressing my personal thoughts on Shiboyugi and the Cloudy Beach 44 film specifically, I’d like to firstly lay out my relationship with the death games genre and the reason why I’m constantly at a crossroads with it. ‎ Over the years, I’ve found myself increasingly more fatigued and dissatisfied with each new death games entry, and it has since become one of my least favored storytelling landscapes—and I’m not solely talking about the anime medium. In theory, it’s a genre that displays some of the most interesting narrative ambition in the psychological space, yet time and again I find myself enthusiastic to explore a fresh perspective into this setting, only to be confronted with the same thematic notions recycled repeatedly—it’s a space that seems increasingly less imaginative with each fresh attempt to recognize even a fraction of its unique potential. ‎ Much of the genre loses its tension and psychological weight to flattened character archetypes, draining the lived experience of its emotional stakes in favor of hyperbolic expression in order to retain a chaotically entertaining viewing—not an inherently flawed choice, and one with its own merit in the right context, but an approach that sits oddly with how I’d rather see the genre and its ability to pursue character-driven storytelling. ‎ My taste has shifted more recently toward psychological media, and I’ve come to believe death games as a genre holds unusual potential for exploring existentialism and morality, systemic control in relation to voyeurism, as well as the immediate elements of human nature: strategic thinking, interpersonal conflicts, and mental deterioration—an entire register of the human condition waiting to be unpacked. ‎ Despite that ambition, no entry has completely captivated me. Shiboyugi comes closest, leaning in the direction I find most compelling, though even it carries flaws too significant to wave away. ‎ ‎ ‎‎ What This Review Covers ‎ The 1st season held my attention through both halves, which I mention because much of the surrounding discourse centers on the tonal shift in the 2nd half, where the games serve more as a supporting structure accompanying Yuuki’s psychological journey as opposed to functioning as compelling set pieces on their own. ‎ Additionally, I’m not writing this to focus on Shiboyugi’s direction, visual craft, or sound design, which remain one of the series’ attractions for many, myself included—I’ve already commended those qualities in my short-form review of the original series. What I’d want this piece to do instead is reflect on the trajectory of Shiboyugi’s narrative arc up to this point and describe why I believe it’s still exploring precisely what this genre has long promised but rarely delivered. Even as its games-first appeal has tinned considerably, the character-driven writing within it captures something this medium was always positioned to reach for. ‎ This marks the first time I’ve reviewed a sequel in full-length format, and I don’t plan to do so again, but Cloudy Beach 44 felt like a piece worth addressing directly, given how compelling I’ve found the series’ overall transformation. ‎ ‎ ‎ From Ghost House to Cloudy Beach ‎ The original season opened up on Game 28, an anime premiere that remains one of my favorites, fully realizing Ghost House and leaving a lasting impression through both its stunning and characteristic visual identity, as well as its atmospheric tension in relation to the genre’s conventions. But what Ghost House 28 accomplishes, Shiboyugi gradually distances itself from with each subsequent game it plays. The concern is whether the shift in perspective justifies the diminished focus on the games themselves—and I’d argue it does, at least when it comes to the series… Each successive game drifts further from the mainstream, ambition-forward death games template that first captivated many into its world, instead focusing on the fully psychological framework that Cloudy Beach 44 ultimately resolves. ‎ I tend to believe this transitional tone is exactly why so many viewers remain hesitant about the series. While the games retain some thematic intent, their weight shifts to the background, serving more as a medium for the psychological arcs than as ends in themselves. The difficulty is that the focus moves so incrementally from episode to episode that it becomes suffocating to locate where the thematic center lives, rendering the eventual conclusion appearing disconnected from its starting point. It can feel disjointed on an episode-by-episode basis, yet the overall shape still reads as deliberate—which is a result of the reordering itself. ‎ As some might be aware, the anime reorders the games differently to the Light Novel (which I haven’t read in full, though I have some familiarity with from my own research into the games’ presentation). That directorial choice serves the narrative directly, sequencing events to build a continuous sense of Yuuki’s disassociation and loss of control as she approaches Cloudy Beach 44. Nearly everything Shiboyugi shows us is filtered through Yuuki’s point of view, from the premiere through to the film’s thematic conclusion—and this is where the series is most profoundly expressed. ‎ Part of the reason some of the closing games in the original series read as faded, incomplete fragments comes down to Yuuki’s mental instability and the cumulative psychological toll of repeated survival—tied directly to the show’s ‘Rule of 30’, the threshold beyond which veteran players face a steep psychological hurdle and declining survival odds. Golden Bathhouse 30 captures this most vividly, through fractured timeframes and missing stretches of game development indicating Yuuki’s early-to-advanced phases of disassociation. ‎ And, despite being chronologically early, Candlewood 9 is purposefully positioned as the conclusion of the series, revealing Yuuki’s original motivations and her earliest efforts to numb herself toward her goal. ‎ Those same ambitions surface again, on a far lesser scale, in Scrapped Building 10. Yuuki is observed in her calmest state following the traumatic aftermath of Candlewoords 9, the starting point she’s numbing herself away from—a game whose simplicity and dullness leave nothing to armor herself against yet—it’s Yuuki before the cost of any of this has registered, which is precisely why the distance between her and the woman we meet by Golden Bathhouse 30 is so difficult to face. ‎ ‎ ‎ Cloudy Beach 44’s Expression of Yuuki ‎ Which brings us to Cloudy Beach 44, the turning point. This is what the entire series has been leading up to; the game that forces open everything Yuuki has spent so long suppressing—her empathy, her desire to trust and be known by others. Throughout these games, Yuuki maintains a cold, professional persona, almost like a suit of armor, denying the urge to form meaningful connections as a means to protect herself from the devastating grief of impending loss. ‎ The gap between this and Golden Bathhouse 30 is substantial, particularly visibly in how far her mental state has deteriorated. Her condition has grown severe, her disassociation sharper and more frequent, now edging into outright delusion, forcing herself through the insecurities she’s collected and being confronted by the consequences of her own actions through a distorted lens. Throughout the film these instabilities worsen, and alongside her disassociation, an impostor syndrome begins to surface, fed by the guilt and shame she’s never allowed herself to confront directly. There’s also the suffocating numerical weight to it—Cloudy Beach 44 arrives around the midpoint of her 99 survival target, crystallizing the realization that all she’s been through is only a fraction of what she’ll face next. It’s the exploration of the human condition that I’ve been expecting the death-games …

A full length Shiboyugi episode is nothing new since it launched with one, but a theatrical release is something else. In all purposes, it's the 12th episode, Netflix classified it as so. Really though, a new full length Shiboyugi feature brings two thoughts to mind. First is the excitement for new Shiboyugi content! Four months was a wait for the Yuki's latest adventure; in the same cinematic animation style the first 11 episodes was known. More fanservice with the arcs, we've seen a death game in a spa and in bunny girl suits. For Yuki's 44th game, it's on the beach with their swimsuits. The second thought is more wary. What I enjoy about Shiboyugi is that the dark and oppressive story is tolerable in a weekly dose. 90 minutes of it in one sitting can be brutal. It has been four months since the last episode; it would have been helpful for some recaps before sitting on this one. This should be a must watch for a Shiboyugi fan, especially since it moves the overall story forward. Casual viewers like me need a recap before starting this one; otherwise, would be lost without it.

The first season was amazing and this movie only adds to it. Shiboyuugi delivers perfectly on giving you a very melancholic feeling, that tinge of sadness and worry as well as the tension, suspense and dread that comes with the death game genre. Shiboyuugi and by extension, this movie, is an anime that puts a focus on the characters and their relationships themselves; Their raw emotions and thoughts are given cleanly to us to think about, to deepen our understanding about each participant and how that loops back into a further understanding of Yuki, our protagonist. (Which I cannot emphasise enough, that it is about the characters, their experiences, their feelings and their thoughts) Shiboyuugi really excels at leaving you sitting there after an episode or scene thinking about what just happened. The poems, songs, and stories woven throughout the narrative aren't just there for aesthetic; they add another layer of understanding to the characters, their emotions, and the situations they have found themselves in. Despite what people might make Shiboyuugi out to be because of its themes and references, it's ultimately a fairly simple anime. At its core, it's a dystopian death game story centred around its characters, with a particular focus on Yuki herself. The concepts given are not hard to understand, you just have to let it play it and reflect on it after. Additionally, the soundtrack, animation, and art style all complement each other beautifully, emphasising the important moments and adding to the overall atmosphere. I won't go too much deeper into it, but they all work together incredibly well and only elevate the anime as a whole. The only negative I could give is that it is not a complete and there is still a lot more left to Yuki's story and character, but I fully expect that if more seasons or movies are to release then that will be sorted. Simply, if you enjoyed the first season, the movie is absolutely worth watching as it stays true the quality, atmosphere and narrative.

As expected. I need to say it again. It's not the worst; in fact, it's good, but I know for a fact that people have different tastes. As I said in my review of the original series, the shows really panned out in atmosphere. The same goes for this movie; they didn't give a damn about the audience's attention span. I'll go straight to the story, as most of the review that I wrote for the original series is still the same. The story picked up... Well, I had no idea when it was happening. I know the story wasn't after the first arc, because in this movie we watch Yuki as she descends into madness. We watched as she narrated herself in 3rd person. She went down into madness in such a way that she felt like a real ghost. It was alright. I didn't get hype whatsoever, though. I expected the same with the series, and I get what I want; that's it. The pacing... Is all over the place. At least that's what I feel. No joke, they still did the same "style" in this movie. IT WAS SLOW AS F*CK. I appreciate the atmosphere, but it makes the movie become a sleep fest. I'm serious. I also heard from the LN reader that they skipped some plot to squish the arc into a movie. I'll tell you what, they didn't "squish" it. They prolonged some scenes for the "atmosphere". That's why they skipped some scenes. Again, I won't touch on other aspects since it was mostly the same. OST/SFX, VA, and animation are all okay and have the same quality as the main series. Those two reviews are the main things I need to address for this review. Conclusion Not bad, but also not great. Just good. Gratitude Hey, I didn't know Muse Asia released a movie the week it premiered. That was news to me. Unexpected one, for sure. Thanks, guys. (Still hate what you did to Agents of Four Seasons, though.) Overall 6.6/10 It's an okay for me. I wouldn't recommend this series to people unless they can endure the slow pace.