7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scary Tales for Adults, February 21, 2008
This review is from: Requiem from the Darkness (DVD)
To understand this anime you have to be an adult. And that's besides the obvious fact of violence issue that is not suited for kids below 18. During 13 episodes of this anime you'd see all kinds of murder plus rape, incest and some serious mental issues of anime characters. However this anime is not without sense. It brings up the eternal question of whether revenge murders and "mercy" murders can be considered crimes or not. The main character is the epitome of goodness as it often happens in Japanese animation. During the episodes he is balancing between accepting revenge murders and denying them.
The animation is interesting to say the least. It is quite dark and only the characters important to the plot are well defined. Many minor characters have weird features or blank faces. They most likely represent the gray mass of average people who can care less of what's happening and will only care about themselves. At first it sort of throws you off, but later you stop noticing it.
Some episodes are better than others, but at least half are blood-chilling. So if you are not easily scared and willing to delve into the darkness of human souls - you most likely will enjoy this anime. You have been warned :)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Requiem from darkness, August 20, 2008
This review is from: Requiem from the Darkness (DVD)
Requiem from the Darkness is a must have for any anime fan who enjoys the mystery genre and the supernatural. It takes you through the myths and ghost stories of Japan, while exploring the darkside of human nature. The overall theme of darkness and evil is contrasted by the main character, who adds much needed comic relief and entertaining moments of brevity. Though this type of horror/mystery is not for the faint of heart, the visual imagery is not graphic enough to exclude an older youth audience.
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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An anime to avoid, November 17, 2008
This review is from: Requiem from the Darkness (DVD)
Requiem from the darkness is a horror anime set at the end of the Edo period. that tells the story of Momosuke, a young author who is traveling Japan searching for 100 ghost stories in order to make into a book. Along the way he meets three mysterious outlaws and together they all encounter many twisted and depraved parts of human nature. It is the job of this trio to punish these criminals in a fitting way.
This series is thirteen episodes long; 11 of which are stand alone tales (the other 2 episodes are a 2 parter) which contain some pretty gruesome material, Some of which including murder, incest and rape along with some other nasty topics. This is definetely not for the light hearted,
although some of these episodes are fairly inriguing, it is the shock effect of this series that stands out the most. Several questions are also posed, mostly about the morality of the three outlaws and their method of punishing the criminals.
The animation is pretty unique, though I am not particular fond of it. Characters who do not play a major role in the episodes are often drawn in a surreal way. Many of which have no facial features or have mishaped and even wooden heads...yes, it's THAT wierd, but it's not just the characters. The scenery is quite odd as well, the sky is rendered an unnatural purple colour and the sea a bloody red. This all looks quite attractive in a strange way, not to mention some excellent use of lighting effects and impressive CGI, however the same cannot be said for the background art including the buildings etc. These look very boring and dark, with minimal detail on them. Though I can understand that this would add to the moody atmosphere of the series.
I found most of the characters quite un-intersting, especially the trio of outlaws and even though the protagonist Momosuke is quite good at creating some comic relief, he is still a rubbish since he is a bit of a wimp. Requiem from the darkness is a series that will not appeal to everyone. If you are looking for good characters and plenty of action, this is NOT for you. Though if you are into your blood and guts animes you may find some enjoyment here but you should definetely check out the gory anime Elfen Lied beforehand. At several points I found this anime quite boring and I probably wont watch it again, and for this reason I can't really recommend buying it. This is maybe worth a rent, but there are far better animes out there to choose from.
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