Ookamikakushi

As a fellow fan of Ryukishi07’s works (Higurashi no Naku koro Ni, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni), I was quite excited for the release Ookami Kakushi. I thought that I was in for another psychological thriller and exciting mystery, but unfortunately, Ookami Kakushi didn’t turn out to be as such. I admit, I went into the show with the wrong kind of expectations, and my review is a reflection of that. However, I still think I have some good points to offer. Story The original premise of the show sounded interesting enough, but here is why the story was poorly executed: The first half of the series suffers from no development. Our main protagonist, Hiroshi, moves into a new town with his father and sister, attends school, and meets new people. However, something never feels quite right. A female classmate of his becomes extremely attached to him, a mysterious girl neglects him, and a few classmates begin to disappear without notice by others. At the end of each episode, we catch a small glimpse of a terrified person running away from a group of supernatural, masked beings who are after that person’s life. While you know something is up and you’re curious, what you’re mainly going to see is Hiroshi participating in ordinary slice-of-life activities and interacting with a small cast of characters. Aside from a few weird events befalling Hiroshi, nothing much changes, and this becomes dull fast. The second half finally explores the mystery behind the masked beings, but it still moves incredibly slowly for such a short series. What you have next is a string of predictable events, coincidences, and episodes dedicated to simply feeding you all of the information. By the time the climax hits, it is downright disappointing. There are no major plot-twists or anything exciting to keep the anime’s head above the water. The finale is a joke. Characters The characters feel one-dimensional. They hardly have any development. Only towards the end do the characters begin to show a different side to them, but their peak development is still not all that impressive. They just go back to the way they were before, falling very short of being dynamic. They are also not entertaining at any given point in the show beyond the introduction. Hiroshi is a shy and awkward kid who always feels nervous, but he has a sense of justice somewhere within him. His hobby is to stare at the other characters and do absolutely nothing. Hiroshi's sister, Mana, is bound to a wheelchair and we never get to find out why. Nemuru, his mysterious classmate who neglects him does only that for the first half of the series. Asagiri is another classmate who is just a walking encyclopedia, always trying to help clue Hiroshi in. And then we have Isuzu, his neighbor who instantly becomes attached to him. She just spends her time hopping around and clinging to his arm, quickly rubbing off as an annoying character. Lastly, the main villain is the typical, revengeful idiot type with a predictable outcome and is nothing special. You've seen these characters being used before again and again. The adults also have a role in the show, but they are even duller characters than the children. None of the characters stand out as being impressive, strong, or all that memorable, even by the last half of the show. At the very least, the character's backgrounds are somewhat explored, as there is a good reason for their initial behaviors. They could have had much more depth though. Sound I do have to give credit for the OP song “Toki no Mukou Maboroshi no Sora” by FictionJunction for being pretty good. However, there is not much to say about the rest of the sounds. They contribute to the mood, but they're more or less on the average side. Ookami’s OST isn’t something that I would be dying to have. Animation The animation is not weak, but it is not spectacular either. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the artwork is how beautiful the costumes look on the masked beings. The color and lighting effects are also used well for certain scenes and to show real depth in the character’s eyes. Overall though, the character designs are rather average, and there isn't much change in background scenery. Overall I learned too late that Ookami kakushi is not meant to be a deep, plot-twisting mystery series. It is more about character relations, drama, mood, suspense, and slow buildup. But even with that in mind, the small cast of characters are for the most part unchanging and dull. This anime is mediocre and easily forgettable.

Ookami Kakushi was written by Ryukishi07, best known for Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. That should pretty much tell you what to expect, since Ookami Kakushi is an obvious, shameless clone of its considerably superior ancestor. The premise goes as follows. Hiroshi Kuzumi, an unlikeable, spineless milquetoast, moves to a town known as Jouga with his occult fanatic father and annoying Tsundere sister, who is in a wheelchair for reasons that are never given passing explanation in the series. As they are moving in, Hiroshi meets the love interest, Isuzu Tsumuhana, who is supposed to be this series' Rena Ryuuguu despite having none of the likeability or humour that the Higurashi character possesses. For some bizarre reason, Isuzu is obsessed with Hiro, and the rest of Hiroshi's new class follows suit. However, one of them seems a little too attached, and begins to act strangely... then, we see a scene with him being killed by a girl with a scythe. The next morning, a girl who looks an awful lot like the girl with the scythe tells the class that he has "Transferred". Could it be that this town has a dark secret? If any of this is sounding familiar to you, then you've probably watched Higurashi, because this show is an absolute cut 'n' paste of it, only without any of the charm that made Higurashi great. It lacks the audience mindfuck that Higurashi gave us, completely misunderstands Higurashi's visual style, using all the creepy effects in all the wrong environments, and what seemed loveable there just feels stupid here. It doesn't help that almost every character here is completely unlikeable, being given little to no personality, backstory, or charisma, with only the villain having the latter trait making him somewhat likeable. And even that is hindered by the fact that his motivation is quite generic, and his plan makes no sense. On top of that, while Higurashi did a good job of tying up the loose ends (with only a couple of details left out, both of which were in the manga/VNs and relatively unimportant to the overall plot), Ookami Kakushi leaves several loose ends, for example, the aforementioned one with the wheelchair, and a character who is hinted to have some kind of disease that is never explained. The only thing that really redeem this show are the aforementioned antagonist, a relatively decent soundtrack, and the 12th episode, which is a random self-parody special taking place after all the plot is said and done. While it does come off as an enourmous BLAM Episode, it's still considerably more enjoyable than the remainder of this highly sub-par series. Final Words: A shameless ripoff of Higurashi, with none of what made Higurashi good. Animation/Graphics: 4/10 Story/Plot: 1/10 Music/Background: 7/10 Overall: 2/10 For Fans Of: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, Umineko No Naku Koro Ni

I figured i'd give this a short review. Mainly because, I was very skeptical of checking this anime out because it has god awful reviews. Goes to show, I really can't trust weeaboos to have real opinions. Anyone who outright hates this anime, is a diehard WTC/Umineko fan. They expected a psychological thriller with some brutal gore. That really isn't what this anime was about, and thus...let the hate flow. Story: It's average. I had it pinned pretty quickly. It does start out slow at first, but it picks up in the later half. I can't say I was ever BORED though, it kept me interested or else I would have just dropped it. If you take it for what it is, you'll probably like it. EDIT: By the way, this is definitely half Slice-of-life. Not your thing? Don't bother. You'll be bored. Not the animes fault, just a preference conflict. Music: I really enjoyed some of the soundtracks in this anime. A lot of anime loses emotion because of a lacking OST, but this anime doesn't suffer that problem. I could accept ANY insult towards this anime, except a shot at the OST. It was well done, that's a fact. Art: This is another one that struck me when I read reviews. People knocking the art. That surprised the hell out of me. I don't know what trashy streaming site people watched this anime on, but the 720p BD episodes I have look pretty fantastic. The art is smooth, the effects aren't lacking, and there's a decent amount of detail. For the time of release, the art is very solid. Characters: I don't have much to say on this one. Every character has a role, and they stick to it. Not a whole lot of "change" goes on, except for one character I suppose. For a short 11 (technically 12) episode anime, I don't expect much more. Characters don't need to go through immense change to be well done. Overall: A decent watch. I don't feel I wasted my time watching through the anime. If you take nothing else from this review, just go with this: F*** the haters, if you think you'd be interested in this anime, watch it and judge for yourself. Don't let a bunch of bias idiots dumping on this anime deter you, you may just enjoy it.

Until the end I couldn’t decide whether to like or hate this anime so that’s why I gave it the average score, 5. Oh and by the way I'm only taking into concideration the first 11 episodes. Simply because the last one was a real big joke... unnecessary fanservice... Story – 6 The story is what drew me in at first. It did have this air of mystery and some traditional elements in the feel of it, so it initially was very promising. But in a few episodes it became pretty weird and I was somewhat appalled by the evolution of it. Until the end it doesn’t manage to become deeper or more detailed, on the contrary it just starts creating more “mysteries” which, as I unfortunately predicted, it patched up rather messily in the end. It’s a pity though because it felt like it had some really good ideas to work with, but they where rather poorly executed. Characters – 4 I was annoyed by almost every single one of the characters with the exception of this guy Sakaki which, though, didn’t have the airing time he deserved. I think the characters are memorable afterwards because of how annoying they are. Sound – 6 Nice music, but its one of those times that I wish that such a good song, as the opening one by FictionJunction, isn’t wasted in such a forgettable anime… overall the sound was fine. I didn't throw my hat off for the voice acting though... Art – 7 The art is what catches everyone’s eye. And I believe it’s the main reason for watching this anime. I loved the use of different tones of red which was a significant color for the story. Enjoyment -- 5 I just had something to wait for each week. It was good for passing the time, but I wasn't getting too hyper to watch it, sometimes it felt more like a chore. It could have done much much better with the original idea it holded, which was quite interesting nevertheless, but failed to persuade. This is one of those anime that you shouldn’t start unless you don’t have anything better to do, or just want to watch something without any deep thinking. I watched it while it was airing, otherwise, watching it all together, I might have dropped it somewhere in the middle…

Although the production quality is fair the script writing and directing lets this anime down. This is a very forgettable series. Only watch if you have a couple of hours free and don't have anything todo. Story: 3 Although the plot as potential the overall directing let it down. It sends out so many mixed messages that at the end the protagonist has to spell out the moral of the story to save the view walking away with the wrong idea. It becomes just a little too preachy by the end of ep 11. Art, Sound: 7 each The art and voice acting are nicely done. Character: 3 The characters are very shallow, with not a lot of character development. Enjoyment: 3 The shallow characters and poorly directed story line overshadowed what would have been a quality anime. Overall:4 I don't hate it, but there are better things to be watching. It's a pretty forgettable anime.

Being freak out when you first arrive in town where everyone sooooooooo opening and friendly and welcome you. And i was totally freak out with just about everything in Ookami Kakushi, but was surprise that how the twist event turn out. Though i no fan of Higurashi or Umineko, but i sure fan will enjoy suspend plus moe cuteness on this anime. From the start of episode 1 everything was a warm and too friendly welcome for me on start, especially the character (design by Peach-Pit) has a really really big bright eye on its female character was totally freak me out at first. It really reminds me of Vampire Knights manga! The plays of the story start by blocking you, as a viewer, that everything was nice and friendly under the bright light until the shadow of suspend befall on that bright light. This formula has been reused again and again for a least 4, 5 episode until on episode 6, 7 kicks in the real plot. And fortunately, that formula works. And it keep let me guessing what the hell is happening, and why the hell everyone is just too friendly to Hiroshi (the main character). Though the formula is not a master formula, like 20th Century Boys, which has one of the greatest tale of suspend i ever love and hate, but a least this formula here is friendly and not so hateful. Recently the anime i see that the director try so hard just to give a better basic view on how this anime plays out, for example introducing the character. Some director want introducing them all at 1 episode. But Ookami did not suffer that weak point. This is a suspend anime which things has to be introduce 1 by 1. Character here, especially female character, has freaking large eye. Is not the design is bad is just really annoy me much that i couldn't stop thinking that i dropping this Ookami and many moe moe---Kyun! It may annoy me (or maybe you) at first, but thankfully with the the suspend goes, the chemical reaction on this 2 keep this anime to be enjoyable. The biggest weak point here was the BGM. There music on this anime use it in the wrong place and the wrong time. Give me a really weird impression on how the situation is play out. Clockwise, the quality of the graphic was nothing to compared to other, as they are being decent in the level of anime art. Though it have some decent 3D, the animation was fair enough being not so bad on it. Movement and fighting was fine on it. Though the enjoyment of anime was very annoying at first but later being a little bit interesting. It was a least a decent anime to enjoy, a type of anime you won't find it stupid, but it might be the anime you could have forget as times goes. And in the end, Ookami is the least friendly version of 20th Century Boys, but is the anime you either like or forgot.

A title created by the makers of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni and Rozen Maiden. A great blockbuster? Rather pseudo horror without tension. Unused potential and destroyed dream about worthy successor of Higurashi. Hiroshi Kuzumi along with his sister and father took up residence in a small village called Jouga. The boy quickly befriend with his age-mates Isuzu and Kaname. He’s also popular with the rest of the class. The carefree atmosphere end, when Hiroshi noticed that some people from his surrounding suddenly disappears. The searches lead him and his friends to an old legend about local wolves and yearly festival named Hassaku. Moreover when the night falls mysterious figures and a girl with scythe roams in the village. All these strange events seems to have some connection with Hiroshi. Anime is based on a visual novel game which the script is written by Ryukishi07 who is the creator of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. The characters are designed by group Peach-Pit who drew Rozen Maiden and Shugo Chara. That information itself can entrance and prepare for something original and interesting. Unfortunately. Although I can’t judge the game I haven’t play, the animation of Ookami Kakushi is very disappointing. All the expectations about this series were ruined and the hope about a worthy successor of Higurashi destroyed. Supposedly this title should be a horror but the creators messed up. We can ignore the fact that the characters looks very sweet, have cute big eyes and the colors are quite bright. For horrors we mostly expect tension. We wait and wait and wait for couple of episodes but it never appears. Since there’s no blood and no violence there should be some tension. There’s non. Even in the middle of the forest on night you can fall asleep watching this. In the beginning Ookami Kakushi was somehow interesting. Mysterious figures with masks and their leader, a girl with scythe who looks like a white wolf. Moreover a mystical red moon. The atmosphere could attract some people. The performance was less well than expected. What it needed was some anxious sounds, unexpected twists to use the series potential. That was nothing like that. We have a riddle to solve: people are disappearing without a trace. However we don’t have this feeling to find out the truth. The secret of Jouga village don’t draw attention. In truth many people will solve this secret after few minutes. The rest will yawn instead of analyze every scene. All the mysterious vibe disappears after few minutes and solving the affair don’t give any satisfaction. Ookami Kakushi is simply boring although posses some action. The characters don’t convince as well. They are bland, irritating or they don’t give them much attention. The main hero is not impressing. All the more as a protagonist of horror genre. He’s very fearful, avoiding troubles. In the role of a irritating character features Isuzu Tsumuhana who sticks to Hiroshi all the time. This type of character rather shows up in a harem anime than in a horror. Some interesting figures like the mysterious class president Nemuru Kushinada, or the doctor who wants to cure the villagers from a untypical illness didn’t get much attention or was introduced badly. Only two characters save this title. Shunichirou Sakaki who is interesting considering that he is the main antagonist with revenge and tragic past. This kind of thing were showed many times but with other characters which don’t have any motivation this is enough. The second person is Kaname Asagiri, Hiroshi’s classmate who is interested in occultism and novels. She has the role of a person that discovers the village secrets. She would definitely fit as a main hero. The graphics offers good standard. You can recognize characters design same as the one from Rozen Maiden or Shugo Chara.and although this isn’t a style that you would expect from a horror. Sometimes the characters faces looks very flat though. The backgrounds don’t impress this much but the Jouga village can enchain from some point. The music fit well and is interesting. You can’t call it groundbreaking but it manage to build up the atmosphere. We have some ominous and mysterious sound in the background. The best in it is the opening and ending, that shows how the anime should look like. Basically some people can be dragged by the story and secrets of Ookami Kakushi, which aren’t so bad. Frankly the realization is bad done. The general idea, although commonplace, could have attract people who like mysteries. The authors couldn’t fit neither the secret or the characters personality. I don’t know to who recommend this title, maybe to fans of the game? In the end one sentence, that sums up this title: the good idea isn’t enough, the more important thing is how it will be introduced.

Story: It was confusing at first, but then closer to the end it was very easy to understand. It was an amazing story. Art: The art is just beatiful. So detailed, and the shading is great. Sound: Very beautiful. Music, voice actors, and sound effects were all perfect. Characters: Most of them are very good. I only took off one point because of one character. The rest are great. I really loved this anime, and I think you should watch it.

To start, this anime lost points for me mainly because of character development, plot gaps, and the first three episodes. The first quarter of the anime is quite hard to watch, it isn't interesting and it seems kind of generic except for a couple things that don't get a whole lot of attention until later. At the fourth episode, things really start to pick up and start moving quite fast and WILL keep you intrigued. It has been a while since I have had the pleasure of viewing an anime that made me struggle to stop watching before it got too late at night. The character development is mediocre. The characters are enjoyable but only one is unique and stands out and she is a side character. The main character's sister, mana, is the only character that I believe was unique and stood out. Another side character, at least she is in the first half, she becomes more important in the second half, is Nemuru. Nemuru has the typical tsundere attitude making her not necessarily unique however she is not the love interest which makes her a little more interesting, which brings me to the next part of the review. The primary heroine in the anime is introduced in the beginning of the anime and immediately falls in love with our main character. It has been seen many times in anime, the main character moves to a new town and a girl he only just met is in love with him. This is explained better around episode eight. The main reason why the anime lost a few points in terms of plot development and characters is because while the mystery part of the story really kept me intrigued, the romance part lacks quite a bit. Now I didn't watch the anime with intentions of viewing a romance however it is obviously hinted at due to our heroine clinging to our main character. The main character denies her affections in the beginning as seen in every other similar anime and like every other similar situation, he eventually warms up to her, however, the issue is that there wasn't much of a smooth transition. The main character goes from being that reluctant friend to caring for her on an almost romantic level in an instant. And I mean the transition took place over the course of fifteen minutes and we don't see him think over his thoughts, it just happens and because of this, the writer fails to evoke emotion with his characters. Now this may have not been the goal however I saw it as a good opportunity to do so. Later in the story, the writer does a much better job of creating emotion with his characters. Those were the main reasons it lost points. The other reasons were because of slight discontinuity such as disappearing characters that the main character is concerned about and looks for answers but then his attention is diverted and you practically forget that character was part of the story. Kind of like Ino in the Naruto series. Now, let me go into why it is a good series and why I gave it an 8 instead of the average 6 or 7. In regards to other reviews, I have not seen any other works by this writer so I do not have anything to compare it to yet. I believe that what this anime brings to the table is suspense, and intensity. The writer doesn't hold back and creates an emotion of suspense and really keeps the watcher wanting to continue. The plot thickens with every episode and while it starts slow, it just gets better and better the farther you get. For twelve episodes, it is definitely worth the watch. Most of you who are looking for the action and suspense will enjoy it. If you are looking for a action/romance, this is not it. There isn't enough romance for this to be considered a romance genre. Yes there are romantic elements but it is mostly one-sided and without spoiling anything, the conversation that will give you the answers to the questions you will form throughout the anime will reveal that you were tricked into thinking those romance elements were actually romance. It is worth watching like I said, but watch with the intention of watching an action suspense and mystery genre and you will love it!

I actually started watching this anime hoping for an awesome horror show. Well, I was greatly disappointed. It can hardly be called horror, and it's pretty far from awesome. Story [3/10] The basic story, while kind of cliche, seemed interesting enough. Well, now that I finished watching the show, I can tell it was far from interesting. First of all, the whole story was pointless. The roots of the main problem could have been eliminated long before the story would even start. But I am not going to start explaining that, it would be a spoiler. Another problem was the plot twists. It did have some of those, but they were all extremely predictable. It was obvious who the real bad guy is, and even the dumbest person could have guessed who the Girl with the scythe really was. There were many potentially good branches to the main story, but none of them had enough time to develop in the 11 episodes (I don't count the 12th that's just sort of a parody episode) the show had. Art [7/10] The art was actually pretty nice. I really liked the eyes, and the animation looked pretty smooth. It was nothing special or outstanding but definitely was pretty. The biggest problem was probably not that big, but it's my greatest pet peeve in anime: the CGI. Oh that was horrible, and was used way to often. Some of the character designs were really good, for example, I loved Isuzu's design. She looks cute, but kind of different without having to wear over the top weird clothing or hairstyles. And the clothing of the Girl with the scythe was awesome too, very detailed and pretty. But there were characters with really boring designs, like Mana's and Kaname's. Sound [8/10] The music was the best thing about this anime. The OP theme was beautiful compared to most anime OPs, but I think Kajiura has composed far better pieces that this one. Te OST itself was amazing, I really like most of the tracks. They were always fitting for the scenes, and the soundtrack is something I'll listen to many times in the future. Simply amazing. The voice acting was average, more on the lower side though. Almost all characters had moments when their voice actors just didn't do something right. And the main character's voice was horribly annoying. Character [3/10] The only character fairly interesting was Isuzu, the main heroine. The rest were one-dimensional and painfully cliche. There were even some completely pointless characters. For example, I couldn't find any role to Mana, other than the wheelchair girl you should pity. And the annoying little sister, I guess, but even for a supporting character, she had a ridiculously small effect on the story. The characters are definitely another low point of the show. Enjoyment [1/10] The main reason anime is created is to entertain. That is what this show fails the hardest at. The parts that were meant to be funny couldn't even make me smile, even though I tend to laugh at the slightest silliness. The action parts weren't exciting at all, the dialogues and monologues were all flat, boring and unrealistic. And the mystery... well, the questions were easy to answer, there was nothing unexpected in the whole show. About the horror part, there was one single scene that could be considered horror. Seriously, labeling this show horror was kind of stupid. I hoped I could at least recommend this to people who are looking for showers of blood and spilling of guts, or at least a fairly creepy atmosphere, but nope, nothing like that in the show either. So why did I watch it? At first I thought "Maybe they fail at funny parts, but this is horror, right? The dark part could be good!" When it reached the dark part, I hoped for an amazing plot twist. But that didn't come either. So I just ended up watching it till the end becasue I only write reviews of anime I have completed, and I really wanted to share my opinion on this. Overall, everything about this anime was beyond horrible, except for Isuzu's loveable character, the amazing music and the decent art.

This is my first review so please bear with me. 4441 is what Okami kakushi is ranked on Myanimelist. For this reason I felt compel to write this review. I saw the first episode of Okami kakushi and needless to say it grab my interest, it was very good. Then I went on Myanimelist to read more about it and notice that it was ranked 4441. I was disappointed but I continued to watch it because like I said the first episode was very good. Every episode that I watched after that I was waiting for the story to fall apart or a character to go crazy. Which is actually a testament to how good this anime is because even thought I watched every episode with the wrong mindset I still enjoyed it. I’m going to be brutally honest Okami kakushi is not my favorite anime, not even close. However, it does not deserve to be ranked at 4441. In my opinion it’s a lot better than many of the anime in the top 1000. I can’t say how many times I ended watching an anime because it was ranked relatively high but turned out to be complete crap. I want to name and scrutinize a few but I respect other people’s opinion and I don’t want a bunch of hate messages from people because I was making fun of their favorite anime. Anyways back to the review. Im going to try to convince you that Okami kakushi is a good anime. One, Okami kakushi is not the prequel or sequel to Higurashi. So don’t be surprise or hate if it doesn’t follow the same story that Higurashi does. Two, Okami kakushi has legit suspense and mystery. I am going to try to keep this from having any spoilers. Hiroshi, the protagonist, moved to a new town and soon begins to realize that things are not always what they seem. The town has a weird folk tale, his classmates act strange around him, and people are disappearing. Not the most original but definite mystery and suspense. Three, most of the mystery surrounding the town is explained. In my personal experience there are many anime that don’t explain things. It was nice to see that Okami kakushi did so I was not left with a huge hole in the story. Fourth, the characters are a little cliché but it doesn’t mean that they were bad and personally I like the “villain”. We were given his background story and I was able to understand things from his point of view and his plan was not that convoluted or ridiculous. To sum up Okami kakushi is not that bad, it’s good. Also don’t watch episode 12, everything is explained after episode 11. Take my word for it; pretend episode 12 does not exist. Okami kakushi is underrated. If you’re bored and want to watch a mystery/horror then Okami kakushi wouldn’t be that bad. Don’t expect anything ground breaking. But it’s better than watching something stupid like Serial Experiments Lain. Oops I forgot I wasn't going to poke fun of at another anime, maybe no one will read this far.

Story-5; Art-6; Sound-7; Character-6; Enjoyment-5 First of all i must say that English isn´t my languague so I can write some errors. Story Ookami Kakushi is a anime that could have been great... but it isn´t. In the first half, it does develop quite slowly, what helps to create a interesting atmosphere. Since the beggining we know that something isn´t right, since everyone gets interested in our main character, which is only a boy who moved in the Town and is shy and really not interesting at all to begin it. There is also some sudden dissaperences who no one seems to notice. There are a lot of questions that are left in the air, waiting to be answered leaving us curious but... then the second half of this anime... let´s only say that is mediocre at best. The second half tries to give the answers to all the questions that exist during the first part and advances a lot faster but it can´t really be said that the answers are good enough, although they make sense, so it can be said that knowing about the truth and don´t knowing it is exactly the same thing... which is the same as saying it is boring. In the end when the climax arrives, the story also turns to have a insatisfatory resolution, which brings the enjoyment level even lower... seriously it is really depressing. Art and Sound These are two areas where this anime is fairly good. The art isn´t bad at all although it isn´t perfect and the soundtrack is quite good although there are some pretty silly "happy songs" in the first episodes. The Ending is in fact very good and the mysterious soundtracks are quite fitting. Characters Some of the characters are quite interesting but they aren´t given that much development during the first half od the series and when they are given a history they really aren´t that much interesting. Overall This anime could have been great but the lack of development of the characters and the way the story is presented in the second half are defenitively BAD. Even so the art and sound is generally good and without doubts the best elements in Ookami Kakushi.

Honestly, I don't know why this anime has such a bad score because it isn't a bad experience at all. This show has a good story, good characters, good animation and is a great experience for those who are looking for a short and fun psycological horror anime. In a first glance it's possible to see some similarities with Ryukishi07's other works like Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. But as the series progresses, it shows that it has it's own ideas and themes that will be developed further and is in no way a shameless clone of it's ancestor. The animation is mid most of the time, and it doesn't quite reflect the seiyuu's emotions very well in some cases, but is really well done when it needs to be. Personaly, I liked how the mystery unfolds and the pacing is good, although the explanation of what was happening has kinda of rushed and let me confused for the final moments.

To begin, I, luckily, didn't discover that this was a Ryukishi07 work until about halfway through. I do believe that many only dislike this anime because it came from Ryukishi07, as it is very different from other works. I personally liked it alright. Story: It took a long time to figure out what exactly was going on, and once it tells you, it rushes through everything. Simply put, this should have been a longer anime. There just didn't seem to be enough room to fit what was necessary to make it good. The story certainly gave good mystery, yet, at the same time, skated over some things and just threw others into your face so fast it was just stupid. Literally, everything comes out because two characters are trapped together for a few hours. That's the only reason. Art: I loved the art. I thought it was beautiful. It actually somewhat reminded me of Jigoku Shoujo; or Hell Girl. I don't have much to say other than it's the shiny, newer art style of modern times. And it was great. Sound: I was quite fond of the opening and ending of this series. They were really pretty and just had a great feel to them. Again, was slightly reminded of Jigoku Shoujo by the opening. Not entirely sure why, but, I had to look up the other opening after starting Ookamikakushi. Character: Pretty much all the characters only had one dimension. Probably due to the fact that they only lasted a few episodes, or if they lasted longer, they were minor characters. Even the main characters were pretty one-dimensional beings. They changed a bit, but overall, nothing changed. Only two characters changed a decent amount, and they weren't even main main characters! The antagonist was very badly written as well. Just...just really bad. Enjoyment: For all the flaws, it was pretty good. Rushed? Sure. Bad character development? Pretty normal for twelve episode shows. Whatever you do, don't go in expecting something like Higurashi or Umineko, because this is not like that. At all.

Before I get started, I'm going to state that I will be REVIEWING Ookami Kakushi, not COMPARING it to Higurashi or Umineko like the other "reviews" have been doing for this show. The only thing they have in common is the author, the setting, and the overall vibe of the series. Here I am, my favorite anime genres being horror, thriller, psychological, mystery and anything of the like, searching for a new anime to fit said genres. That being said, it is a hard task indeed. Why? Well, there are only a handful of well done horror/thriller series out there that are really worth watching, such as Higurashi, Another, Shiki, etc. Suddenly, out of the blue, I see Ookami Kakushi! A horror-genre series with a dark atmosphere, mysterious story and the author of a few other great thriller series. "This is a dream come true!" I say to myself as I start to look up the first episode to try it out. Because of bad reviews (In which a majority compared the series instead of reviewing it) I had lower expectations. But it's a new horror series, so why not? Now that the long introduction is out of the way, let's get started with what I thought about the series. Story: 8 The story is described on MyAnimeList's page for the series, so I shouldn't have to tell you what it's about. The description they give you is kind of vague, but that's because it's an easy show to spoil. About that, the story is also fairly predictable at some parts, and I basically figured out what was going on by episode 2. Not even lying. It's not hard. So sadly, that took away some of the excitement of finding out the mystery of the story. My thoughts on the story, other than the mystery aspect being weak, is that it's unique and still somewhat interesting as it goes on. It has a sort of creepy vibe to it, and I feel as though if I were living in that town... well, I wouldn't. The story is executed... to an O.K. extent. Again, the execution and what it decides to show you makes it too easy to figure out, too early into the show. Which is a downside. Though, basically everything is explained so you shouldn't have any questions in the end. If you do, then they'll probably be about trivial things that don't really matter much at all. Art: 9 The series was animated in 2010, I believe. Which is good, because most series getting closer to present day get better and better when it comes to animation. This series definitely shows it. The art is wonderful, and the dark tone of it creates a creepy atmosphere throughout. There were moments in the series where I looked in awe, because the animation looked beautiful as the music (Which I'll talk about soon) added an extreme emotional vibe to it, causing me to even choke up at one point. Animation and art is definitely one of this series' stronger aspects. Sound: 10 Oh my god how I love the soundtrack! It has a sort of traditional Japanese sound to it, which is good for the kind of story is holds, as the story has a lot to do with old family traditions and what not. Some of the music also manages to make a scene much more emotional, as I stated before, and there's one particular track that really stood out to me. (Which I'll be looking up soon.) The music and sound is outstanding, and the series' strongest aspect. Character: 6 And here's where the show has it's downfall. The main character, Kuzumi, is extremely dull. To add onto that, he's a wimp. He screams a lot, he's looks and sounds pathetic... it actually really bothered me. The other characters aren't really worth mentioning except for two that I particularly liked; Kuzumi's sister and the main antagonist. Kuzumi's sister is a small girl, who looks to be around 9-10 years old, in a wheelchair. She's adorable, although mean to her brother sometimes. Sometimes I find it odd that they make her CGI when she's rolling around in her wheelchair outside, though. The main antagonist... I just liked him. Nothing really special. He was... cool. Haha, I know that doesn't sound very professional but that's my honest opinion. Not saying my reviews are professional, either, because they're most definitely not. Oh, Kurumi was cute, too, mainly in episode 12, which I'll mention before I finish this review. Enjoyment: 9 To be honest, the first two episodes did not get me hooked. They mentioned wolves and I don't find interest in wolves whatsoever. But I pushed on, and after episode 3 it began to get interesting, showing signs of insanity being part of the plot. I love insanity in anime, I really do. From then on, I was hooked. I was satisfied with the end. It was nice, music execution was spot on and so was animation. They even had a 12th episode to boot! And what did they do with it? Something I appreciate. I didn't finish the last episode, because my internet had stopped working halfway through and I won't be getting back to it. The last episode is like a filler episode that takes place 2... months, I believe, after the 11th. It's good, though, for character development and it's a nice change. It's funny, and it shows a cute side to Kurumi, which I especially enjoyed. Overall (I use a calculator to find the mean of my scores) I give this series an 8. It was a good watch, and I may even consider purchasing it by Sentai Filmworks depending on the price. It'd be an interesting addition to my shelf. Try out this series if you're desperately looking for a good horror series! If you haven't yet and you're looking for more good horror/mystery, I suggest Another, Higurashi no naku Koro ni, Denpa Teki na Kanojo and Shiki. Happy Anime Watching!

Wow this series had some issues, so let's get down to business. The story goes as so: Kuzumi Hiroshi moves into the small town of Jogamachi which has the strange habit of killing off some of its inhabitants. Why might you ask? Because they're supernatural "wolves" who must be slain if they reach a certain level of insanity. Unfortunately for Hiroshi he is not aware of this and is dragged through the thick of this crazy town by his "lover." The mysteries slowly unfold as time goes on and people begin to disappear around him. At first Ookami Kakushi seemed like a very intriguing story with that air of suspense that makes you crave the next episode... sadly I was wrong. Yes there was suspense, but it wasn't built up right. There was also the timing between discoveries -three episode waiting periods did not please this viewer. The crappy romance element between Hiroshi and Isuzu was... well crap, but it did have some appropriate climaxes. Music, well more like sound, was very good and give that tingly feel. Unfortunately that was about all the series had to offer besides a somewhat nice and climactic ending. Overall: 6/10 If it hadn't of rushed into plot twists and was a little more lengthy this show would have been awesome! Oh well.

Hassaku~, hassaku~, Jouga no hassaku~ Okamikakushi is about Hiroshi Kuzumi voiced by Yuu Kobayashi who moves to the small remote village of Jouga, as he befriends people form his school rather quickly, he learns of a dark myth about the village as well as a festival that occurs tied to this dark my- hey wait a minute, this is Diet Higurashi!!! Yes so straight to brass tax, Ookamikakushi does feel like well diet Higurashi what with taking the base foundation of what Higurashi's setting and placement was a put on a more slice of life spin to it in comparison to Higurahsi's more moe elements but where at least Higurashi's mystery elements was intriguing with it's tone, pacing and characters, Okamikakushi however fails in it whilst at least being having some intrigue with it's mysteries but ultimately fails in it's execution of these elements. Okamikakushi's characters by the by are stock bland characters besides a few standouts that at least stirs the plot into an interesting direction. The main character Hiroshi is just the "special" but oddly enough he's one of the least involved in the plot and he's more of an reactionary character while the minor cast do more to the plot than anything, another words Hiroshi is a pretty bland character with little agency. Most of the cast have some stereotypical personalities, from Nemuru Kushinada voiced by Mariya Ise as the stoic, Isuzu Tsumuhana voiced by Emiri Kato as the genki yet clingy friend, Mana voiced by Saki Fujita as the annoying little sister and Kaname Asagiri voiced by Mai Fuchigami as the bookworm nice girl. The standouts are Kaname as she brings in more agency towards the mysteries of the anime to light and is probably the most sane character out of the core cast and Shunichirou Sakaki voiced by Kouji Kasa as he shaked up the plot to an eleven, being the catalyst that drives the anime in...well a direction. The plot is rather confusing once the plot amps up however at the start, well it has a rather slow almost molasses start due to the anime trying to us acquainted with the setting and everything but once the plot does amp up, the slow pacing really doesn't change (LA kinda blames the majority of the characters agency and the plot hiding things for longer than they needed to). The plot in the latter half does get rather messy and not in the good way either as with the many plot threads, red herring or otherwise arises, some lead itself to the major plotline, but the little details that are linked with the major mystery plotline is NEVER explained. Why does this happen, well it's because the plot is made up of ALL the different arcs from the visual novel but each arc is compressed and put together into one storyline, you can see why some loose plot threads and the like is never explained because of this let alone how confusing some of the terminology latter on gets that make sit even more confusing and guess hat LA had to research all this in order to understand it, that's the level of confusion LA got from the plot at the end of it, like yes understandable to an extent but without research the confusion was there nonetheless and oddly enough it ultimately was a rather simple mystery just with red herrings distracting trying to you. The tone of Okamikakushi goes from slice of life, to a bit of horror to straight up call to arms action to save the village to a comedy parody at the final episode???. The tone of this anime was all over the place and once again blame the compressed adaptation for that one. This was suppose to LA's Halloween anime for 2019 but man was LA let down at this as yeah...Okamikakushi is more of a slice of life mystery anime than a straight up horror mystery anime like Higurashi is. Like LA thought this was done by Ryukishi07 of Higurashi and Umineko fame but he isn't to blame about this as he wasn't consulted about the anime adaptation that much and was mostly working on Umineko at the time, so the blame for the compression would go to the director Norihiro Takamoto for this (though to defends this a little, this is kinda what happens when an adaptation doesn't get consulted by the creator and thus interpretation comes into effect from the director). Nonetheless if your expecting Higurashi from Okamikakushi then just watch Higurashi. The animation done by AIC was actually decent what with some decent character designs and some decent to weird costuming on the characters, mostly from Isuzu's khaki laced pants to the school uniform even (just LA?). But due to how the character designs and animation in general was trying to be realistic in a ways and being rather tame with it's gory moments with discretion shots, well again just crushes the horror elements of the anime even more with these animation directions. It just seemed the animation was rather restraint for what it was and could had done a bit more, felt like they played it safe but safe to the point it wouldn't be the worse thing about it. The voice cast was decent as well from Mai Fuchigami as Kaname, Mariya Ise as Nemuru and Kannon, Kouji Kasa as Sakaki and as much as they were either annoying or nearly wasted potential as a character, Saki Fujita as Mana and Yuu Kobayashi as Hiroshi were ok as well. Nothing much on the voice cast front other than that. Well as LA said above the final episode is one of those "nonsensical skit epilogues" and man because of that really the anime just should had ended at Episode 11 and to this once again shows us of Okamikakushi's tonal shift. Like it's a yah for getting this far and having some weird situation happen, but after the actual finale going balls to the wall "save the village" scenario to...comedy parody with "wacky situations" is well...yeah brings the tonal shift into much more of a focus. If your looking for horror and scares then look elsewhere as Okamikakushi doesn't give it justice and instead is a slow slice of life mystery anime taking what worked in Higurashi and gutted it of what was great about it. Sure as much as LA has been harsh with it Okamikakushi does have "some" strengths in some areas of the plot, one or two of it's characters and at least decent production value in it's animation and voice cast but that was not enough for LA's expectations for this anime not only as a "horror" anime but a mystery anime either. Okamikakushi was defanged off of fear, horror and mystery and is at the end of it, a domesticated dog by this adaptation.

I'm a huge fan of atmospheric horror, so when I found this involved a mysterious presence in a small town, I had to take a look. Shiki is my favorite anime, and there were some comparable moments, especially including familiar and safe neighbors who suddenly become uncanny. There was a lot I really disliked, but there are some genuinely good moments for fans of atmospheric horror and Japanese folk culture. Don't expect any real scares, but there is some psychological unease and shadowy folkloric figures with interesting connotations. The scenes involving folklore are easily the strongest, with beautiful music, great art and animation, and bold dialogue. Ookami Kakushi suffers from bland protagonist syndrome. Though he has several female friends, it is hardly a harem anime so there's not even justification for Hiro's dullness in design and character. He has no interest in preserving his life, and it's not through courage, but sheer obliviousness. He will be in mortal peril one day, then waltzing down the street the next, all in the same small town. I really hate the Clannad bug-face art style and I spent too much time thinking about how high on their faces their lips are, leaving with them massive chins. One of anime's great strengths is the use of the eye and especially the pupil to show emotion, and the gigantic pupils that take up the whole eye limited the character's emotional range. It especially seems a poor fit in a show that wants to build a tense world, but there are moments that would be more fitting in a slice of life comedy where these designs might be more appropriate. One of the weakest points is the show's painfully unnecessary antagonist. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is a story of rival groups, innate difference, and survival. The presence of a villain in a story rooted in prejudice ends up being a trite story mechanic to join the groups without true resolution. In spite of these drawbacks, I was hooked by the oddness of the town, especially Hiro's eerie class, and the continually developing mystery. Even though the end was a let down and there were serious plotholes, the buildup was pretty great. There is a great reliance on Shinto myth and ritual, though some of these elements may be confusing for a Western viewer. I would not recommend this to everyone but if you enjoy atmospheric horror, some cute (up for debate) girls playing around, and Shinto elements, I'd check it out.

I believe this is a sadly underrated anime. It certainly has its faults, but for me the positives outweigh the negatives by far. I've divided this review into the main points which were good and those that were not so good. The good: -The premise/idea of the story/ world building... (the Jin-Rou or human wolves is one of my favorite themes, the creativity seen in the order of the Ookami faith is good, the effect of the hassaku scent is interesting, the idea of mitsu and kamibito and how they have learned to exist in a human world is a fine concept, etc.) -The voice acting is good and features a variety of seiyuu that I LOVE, including Kobayashi Yuu (who I think does a god job playing pre-teen boys), Katou Emiri (who I enjoyed most for playing Kyubey in Madoka Magica), Okamoto Nobuhiko (who does some crazy characters like Rin from Blue Exorcist and Karma from Assassination Classroom), Gotou Yuuko (who played Madoka's mom and also Asahina from Haruhi Suzumiya), and Fujiwara Keijuu (who's been in too many anime for me to pick out a favorite.) -The OST is astounding. The opening song and ending song are both beautiful, catchy, and pretty easy to sing along with. The scores and instrumentals used throughout the anime are also some of my favorites. -A strong-willed main female lead (Kushinada Nemuru), capable of fighting and killing but actually "good" at heart with a strong sense of duty. The bad: -The animation would have been fine if this were a 2005ish anime, but it was in fact made in 2010, so naturally people expected better and more detailed art by this time. It's not hideous or anything-- I think it's got cute character designs-- but it's cheap. -A main male lead (Kuzumi) who is not convincing as a 16 year-old boy and grates on the nerves of many viewers. He's not very bright (can't understand the "mystery" unless it's clearly spelled out), he gets scared very easily, he rarely makes any effort at self-defense, and he's just kind of "delicate." I don't really mind characters like this because I like lead males with a sense of vulnerability to them, but this show went a little overboard with it. However, if you watch the anime thinking of Kuzumi as a 10-13 year-old boy raised in the city his whole life, his character is a LOT more believable and understandable. -Insufficient discussion/fleshing out of psychology, the act of killing, and how Kushinada could be construed as sociopathic.

I believe this anime has a lower score on this site for two main reasons. First, because this is a work of Ryukishi07, many expected it to mirror the style and impact of his most famous series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. That isn’t quite the case here. While Ookamikakushi does share certain similarities with Higurashi, which people that have watched it (like myself) will notice, it ultimately carves out its own identity, and I’d argue it does so successfully, but slightly to its own demise - since people wanted it to be a gory-heavy horror story - which it isn't. Second, people might have been put off by its slow pace in the beginning and dropped it before they gave it a chance to pick up. With that said, lets get into the review. Music 8/10 I’ll start with the music, rather than starting with the story, because it was my favorite aspect of the series. The soundtrack perfectly sets the eerie, suspenseful atmosphere you’d expect from a horror and mystery themed anime. The combination of background music and sound effects creates a strong sense of unease, pulling you into the mystery and tension of the story. For me, it was easily one of the show’s strongest points. (I really enjoyed the eerie soundtrack in the middle of each episode) Story: 6.5/10 Without much spoilers, the story was fine. The first half is slow, with only brief moments of action sprinkled at the ends of episodes, mostly focusing on buildup during each one. After episode 6, the show picks up drastically. The mysteries are revealed and the show plunges into action until the end (except the last episode, which felt more like an OVA or a Special, and episode 11 is actually where the story wraps up). It also tried to showcase the "morally gray" area of characters decisions, such as with "the fixer" and "the hunter" - which you will eventually find out. Both could be said to be morally wrong, yet, each have their own reasoning to their decisions. Animation: 5.5/10 The animation is average. It’s not terrible, but it’s not particularly noteworthy either. The biggest distraction is the CGI, which appears briefly but regularly, and sticks out like a sore thumb against the otherwise standard visuals. Outside of that, the art direction is fine, but nothing stands out as exceptional. Overall enjoyment: 7/10 Despite its flaws, I genuinely enjoyed Ookamikakushi. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a solid watch if you’re looking for something with a mysterious, horror-tinged vibe. It works well as a side anime - something to enjoy without heavy expectations. I’d recommend giving it a chance, and if the slow beginning tests your patience, stick with it. The second half is where it really shines.