Customer Reviews

Requiem from the Darkness - Turmoil of the Flesh (Vol. 1) + Series Box

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was really surprised by how much I loved Geneon's "requiem from the Darkness." The short 13 episode anime series really is a breath of fresh air in a genre crwoded with Hulking mecha, predictable harem shows and over-the-top comedy. The series is visually a huge treat. The characters still are anime style but they have a slightly angular/ almost punk comic style to them. The backgrounds are very stylized and feature a amazing combination of art styles and CG work.

The story itself is a simple tale of young Momosuke attempting to collect local ghost stories for his book "100 stories." Along his way he encounters 3 strangers whose job it is to punish wrong-doers with a fate best befitting their crime. Rather than collect ghost stories Momosuke gets caught up in them and bears witness to some of the darker aspects of life in Edo-Era Japan.

The show is violent and features some scary sequences and mature themes but isnt gratuitous in its depictions. Overall the mood is suspenseful with bits of comedy and drama here and there. I recommend the regular verion of this series as oppossed to the boxset. The Boxset has cheap plastic holders (think CD flip book holders) for all 4 DVDs but not the cover art. The boxset is pointless unless you are okay with keeping JUST the DVDs from volumes 2-4 and throwing away the cases and cover art. AT half the price plus with a case to match vols 2-4, the regular version is the way to go.

If you are looking for some beautiful and offbeat anime with a plot this is an EXCELLENT place to start. Don't let this quiet release slip by

I've only watched the first volume which seems to be building up to something, rising to the climax, so I can't give a judgement about the entire series, but...

Everyone's right - this is not your typical anime. If you're looking for animation style, you might be disappointed - it's definitely stylish, with creative ways to use still images (it's not a slideshow... but there's less movement than you would expect). The opening is weird (as in odd), but...

If you're into Japanese Ghost Stories, this is definitely the anime for you. Japansese Ghost Stories have always been told differently than Western Ghost Stories (such as the classic live action KWAIDAN). You can see the roots of tale-spinning which would later evolve to the likes of modern classics like THE RING.

The whole premise is that a writer is seeking ghost tales in order to compile it in a book called "100 Stories", but finds himself encountering actual ghosts while finding a trio of supernatural agents seeking to eliminate these ghosts. Every episode is introduces a new Japanese ghost story.

It's definitely grisly and mysterious with alot of background on Japanese culture. So far the story seems kinda' slow (it's not action-packed) which is also typical of Japanese Ghost stories, but it seems building up to something which I can't wait to find out what. It's quirky though, and I would recommend a rental before buying.

Requiem from the Darkness is far from your average anime. This statement, vague but poignant, does well to describe the essence of the series. It isn't normal. It delves into the human psyche in deranged and supernatural ways and, in all honesty, probably shouldn't be viewed by anyone under the age of 16. If made into a movie, an R rating would be more than deserved. But here I am, 13 years old, and after watching the show I'm still alive and kicking. Basically, if you're squeamish, Requiem from the Darkness may bother you at times. Satoshi Kon's masterpiece tends to have some pretty graphic stuff in its openings-case in point, one introduction depicts a grotesque obese man rigorously chomping on what could very well be slabs of human flesh-another shows seven women being burned on stakes, blood running from their eyes. In all fairness, those are the two worst cases, and the main body of the episodes usually don't contain anything close to such violence. The point is you don't want to be giving this to your eight year old.

I've talked about the violence, so I feel obligated to tell of the sexual aspects of the show. Firstly, there's very little-to-no nudity. If memory serves, there are no topless scenes. That is not to say there are not sexually inappropriate episodes. One episode is devoted largely to a scandalous sexual relationship between a father and his (notably over 18) daughter. There are, well, "motions" and a couple flicks of a tongue shone. In the very last episode a shadow of a woman being raped is depicted.

So, understand first that if you're too young to make an Amazon account than you most definitely shouldn't be watching this show. Now, moving on.

While there is an ongoing plot, Requiem from the Darkness is largely episodic till the last few shows. Each episode is an independent, and singularly brilliant, entity in and of itself. The writing and storytelling is simply amazing, the plot lulling you into a trance and capable of rushing you forward at any moment. The tale usually unfolds as you follow the main character, an author looking for stories to write in his book "100 Ghost Stories." The author gets tied in the affairs of three supernatural exorcists, who find and (eventually) murder excessively sinful souls. The exorcists seem to always know what's going on, while the author has to put together the facts like a detective to realize often strange and obscure situations going on around him. The resulting rhythm and story is, simply, magnificent.

If anything is a drawback in the series, it's the animation. Many people criticize its looks, and I can't blame them. The art isn't particularly well done. It is stylistic, in a way I think is good for the show. Only the main characters have detailed faces, crowds and onlookers with strange, almost inhuman looking complexions. The environments are often warped-perhaps not fully in color, or bowing like someone had bent them inward. Some people might think of these effects as a bad thing. I'm personally indifferent.

I'd go on discussing Requiem from the Darkness, but-lo! life is harsh. If you're of age, get this show. You'll not regret it.

I wanted to throw in my 2 cents here - I really liked this series. The music is a good creepy mood setter, the character design is unique (I like the Mataichi Gang's caricaturized look and how non-main characters are nearly blankfaced or kind of resemble goblins or elves), and the stories are pretty cool.

In the tradition of many anime I've seen, the story does start a bit abruptly, forcing the audience to simply accept the characters as they are and ride along with the story, which begins with small isolated vignettes connected only by the characters observing, gradually building to a larger plot climax. Regardless, the self-contained stories are entertaining. It's similar to series like Vampire Princess Miyu, and is reminiscent of Tales from the Crypt in its blood-and-gore themed morality tale.

Not for the faint of heart, of course, but definitely entertaining if you're in the mood for some macabre tales to creep you out a bit.

I was recommended this by an employee at Suncoast Video at a mall, who claimed not to be into anime. That's a first, a helpful mall employee that wasn't pushing the latest Spiderman flick! It turns out to be as good as she said. Great music, interesting animation, and above all, great storylines that forces you to watch each episode a second, third, forth time!A wonderfully macabre treat that is truely twisted yet frightfully entertaining.I can only wait until December for the second DVD to appear.

The first thing you will notice with this one is the strange animation. It's hard to even describe really... But expect some disoriented backgrounds with some CGI thrown in. The plot however, is excellent. The main focus is about a author is going around collecting ghost stories. He constantly runs into a trio of outlawish justice seekers. They do what is called "committing" someone for their sins. These first 4 episodes deal with single episode told stories but all are great. This anime is highly reccomended for the horror fans out there.

Requiem is an incredible series...at least what I've seen before. It has a visual and story style that is so different than the majority of anime out there, making it real refreshing to watch. It plays like a great collection of ancient Japanese tales come to life in crude, comic book sketch style with a lot of realism. The English dub is great and right on which makes it so much more watchable to me.

Every so often an anime series really stands out against the backwash of all the tedious cliched junk produce in the industry.

I have to say I loved the first volume of Requiem from the Darkness. Japanese Horror is an profoundly different experience to the western horror genre, deeply rooted in paranoia, guilt, and traumatic personal experiences, and heavily interweaved with cultural traditions and folk-tales. Spirits and mites and otherworldly specters are acceptable (and required) elements in this Edo-period horror-series.

Where Requiem suceeds is subtly translating what seem like unusually familiar tales into a form of experimental minimal animation, going with a combination of abstract backgrounds, shifting lighting effects, and an eerie use of cg to create something which pushes the medium to unexpected directions, all completely in the service of the mood of the story. If you're a fan of experimental animation I'd definately recommend this series. The character designs are extremely iconic and varying (remeniscient of Ninja Scroll), often strangely standing out against their exquisite abstract backgrounds, and although the character animation isn't stunning, the way its heavily computer altered and coloured before reaching the screen more than makes up for it. The experience is very involving and unpredictable.

The music is understated but extremely effective in this series, going from the incongruously jazz/funk opening theme to the compellingly creepy combination of contemporary downbeat hiphop (similar to Amon Tobin's 'Chaos Theory' album) with the occasional traditional japanese influence.

The stories so far have been very enjoyable and the compulsory ending 'twists' required of a Horror movie/book/series are generally unpredictable and very satisfying. The series has what seems to be developing into a subtly evolving plot, told through the lens of each stand-alone episode story (something akin to Samurai Champloo or Cowboy Bebop, but more like Junji Ito). Many anime series get bogged down in their own continuity with pretentious, convoluted and too-long 'save-the-world' plots, but this series takes pride in rather than trying to avoid its episodic format, with all of the charm of telling scary stories around a campfire. The premise of the series, a young writer putting together his book of 100 ghost stories is a great simple premise for a series such as this.

Thoroughly recommended.

I've read some of the reviews for this title and I have to say after watching the anime itself I for one just loved it from the first episode on now I know that it will not appeal to everyone visually and in way of story it's very dark and sometimes twisted but original from anything else out there right now the thing that I like about it most that it doesn't become tired or formulaic it always leaves you wondering what happens next which is a rare thing to find in most animes today.

I had high hopes for Requiem of Darkness since it had a dark atmosphere to it. Also, the characters looked very unique and intriguing. Unfortunatley, the beginning is very rough, both in content and speed of the show.

The plot is about a writer who wants to create a book of horror stories. He is always interested in cursed places and people with bad omens hanging over their head. He meets up with a gang of three people with dark powers who murder the murderers, and immediately becomes their intrusive groopy.

Unfortunately, the show is not as slick as the plot sounds. The first episode immediately starts off with the story-telling. It is centered upon a man who murdered a talented child for he was jealous. Throughout the episode, you see the man going insane with guilt and hearing strange noises. The problem is nothing interesting is revealed about any of the main characters and some of the events feel rushed and confusing without the nice introductions of who's who.

The second episode I found more enjoyable since it was unique. It is about a man with a hotel protected by the willow woman. The willow womanis infatuated with the owner and killed all of his wives and children. It even has a little plot twist, nothing extrodinary but still welcoming.

And once again, the third and fourth episodes deal with insane murders. This is when the show became boring for me. I do find crazy murders interesting to read and watch about, but I like to have more variety if this is what the who show is going to be about. Also, the show's trick of using violence and paranoia to be scary lost its buzz by the end of the DVD.

I give it an extra star since one episode is decent and the character design is great. Unfortunately, the show left me unsatisfied since the main people of the show weren't the main focus of these first few episodes. Maybe the next few volumes will be more creative and give more details on the main plot, but I personally don't care to spend anymore of my money on such a risk.

One last note: this show has very intense adult content. Don't make the assumption that the rating is over exxagerated for it definitely is not. Actually, I personally thought the rating was too low for this show.