littlebrit

[littlebrit]

WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL HAVE MINOR SPOILER. READ WITH CAUTION!!

So for my first review on this website I racked my brain whether or not to start with a show which is down right perfection or the animated equivalence to trash. Being the indecisive plonker I am, I decided to make a cup of tea and think of a way to make a compromise. This is where this show comes in. 

Yami Shibai is a show originally created in 2013, with season 4 currently airing. Each episode is around 5 minutes long and gives the audience a short but scary story based Japanese myths and legends. I thought this show would be a good way to show how over doing one idea can be a show’s demise. 

The first two seasons of this show are a splendid watch. The episodes are introduced by the ‘Storyteller’ character and also closed by him. The show’s story are usually told through the character's conversations and the chilling visuals. This is definitely one thing that lead me to watching this show. The way the character are drawn and animated are a fresh new addition into the usual big eyed cutsie anime I am all but used to seeing. Furthermore, this kind of animation really emphasises the shows horror roots and gets across the fireside horror story feeling. One thing I was pleasantly surprised to hear was the ending song done by Hatsune Miku. Being the Weeb teen I was during secondary school, I used to love Miku, so hearing her in an anime like this is gives me a lot of nostalgia.

Moving onto season 3, I was surprised to see the recurring ‘Storyteller’ was gone and replaced with young boy drawing on a sketching pad. I was a little saddened by this because I rather liked the voice actor who played the Storyteller but it didn’t take away from any of the stories or the eerie vibe the show has. Especially in the ending song, When all the heads are singing, the way the child is looking just over his book makes me feel rather uncomfortable. I believe its a rule that in a horror setting, children are terrifying . This brings me to something else in the show I rather liked, which is references to other Japanese horror films and games. A few of the stories in the show use a pale looking girl with long black hair and the hair is predominantly a weapon of sorts. This is an obvious reference to the 2002 film ‘the ring’. I think the twist at the end was very well put together and wrapped up this season very well, explaining about the child. One problem I did have was with the monsters. Although still somewhat scary, they were so much less believable and more cartoony than the previous seasons.

This brings me to the the season I like the least, season 4. I was so excited for this season, being the horror and anime fan I am. Turning on the first episode, the first things I noticed, where; A) The storyteller was back and B) the voice actor had changed. Now, I perfectly understand getting a new voice actor and replacing the old voice actor. However, make them competent. Instead of being excited to listen to the new tale in store for me, I felt like i was being mocked. The voice actor sounded like when my parents would put a sheet over their heads and pretend to be ghosts. It’s vastly different and just trying to hard to sound scared. The art style has also changed. It’s less scary and looks like what would be used in a children’s educational video. At this point in the episode, I was very confused as to why so many things had changed but felt that it was something I could get used to after watching a few more episodes. That was until i realised the narrator was still talking. The previous seasons, stories were lead by the characters in the scenarios and the visuals. That’s what made the stories so eerie. However, when the narrator explains every insignificant detail in the character’s day, it grates on you. I can tell he’s going to the fridge, you don’t need to fucking explain it to me! However, it was the ending to episode one which lead me to more confusion and disappointment. The character buried a cat beside the road so it couldn’t ran over by cars anymore and can rest peacefully. This gives me a reason to bond with this character and relate. He’s a nice guy helping a poor animal. The show then decides what he has done is not good enough. Because he didn't walk another mile up the road to bury a girl, he deserves to die! The shows ending then comes on, which is too happy. I mean, come on, It’s a horror show. After watching the conjuring you can’t immediately play Happy by Pharrell Williams. It completely takes away from the ending and the fear you’ve been building up to! I finished this episode literally saying ‘What the fuck was that?’ I don’t think I have ever felt as disappointed by a show in the first episode as I have been with this season. How can you misstep this far?

Overall, I feel like this show is an excellent one which definitely does not get enough attention. However, I feel season 4 has missed the mark by a hell of a lot and left me with a feeling of disappointment in pit in my stomach. Therefore, I am going to give this show a 6/10, watch the first three seasons, miss the fourth!