Story: This story starts like many of the same genre, with demons
escaping from an Underworld and possessing people and objects alike to kill
people and take over the human plane of existence. There is one main character,
a man not from the human plane, on a mission to destroy these demons. The
leader Enma is a red-headed man who is constantly draped in a black cape, a
black hat that is similar to a witch's hat, and uses a staff that produces
fire. Though he is considered the "main character", his other
companions play big parts too. There is Enma's witch hat, Shapoji, who can talk
and smell the evil auras demons give off. Kapaeru, the Japanese creature Kappa
in a human-like form, is the information gatherer for the group. Last is
Yukihime, another hunter like Enma, but uses the power of frost or ice. The
first two episodes show how Enma's crew handles a couple situations where
people are possessed and killings occur, but by the third episode, the show
takes a complete 360 degree turn, showing five individuals placed within a
house that kills them off individually, using each character's problematic past
as the way to kill them. Only within the last five to ten minutes of the last
episode does Enma show up and save the day...or does he?
I gave this OVA a 6 for story due to the lack of a cohesive story. The first
half follows the beginnings of a decent plot, but the third episode had me
scratching my head, wondering why these people were in a house being killed,
followed by an even more confusing fourth and last episode. The reasons why
these events were occurring were never explained, leaving the viewer to ponder
the connection to the rest of the story. The last gripe I had was the extensive
amounts of naked breasts being flashed throughout the four episodes. I do not
mind nudity being used if it benefits the story in some way, but the usage here
was for nothing more than looks.
A warning to those of a weak stomach, this anime is full of blood and gore
of all sorts. With a demon baby being born and crawling from the victim’s
private area, to a mother trying to stab her young daughter. It is very graphic
in content.
Animation: The animations used were a little above average. The
better animations were used for the blood, gore, and any other parts involved
with the killings, while the rest was just plain. Even the main characters were
done with minimal effort. If the production company had spent a little more
time and effort on this project, it could have been very well done. These are
the reasons I gave this a 5.
Sound: The sounds used were actually decent, in most cases, though as
before, the best sounds were used during the most graphic parts, such as a
knife cutting or a person being possessed by a demon. The rest of the anime's
sound was very basic and could have used more work. These reasons are why I
gave it a 5.
Characters: This was the worst part of the anime, for me, given these
episodes are about 40 minutes each. While Enma and crew are very humorous through
the majority of their time on screen, there is almost nothing known about these
characters. No background on why they are killing demons, no background on
where each character comes from, and no idea on their philosophy of the human
race, just to name a few. All that is really known are the characters kill
demons and Enma is a pervert. Their comedy was funny enough to warrant a 4 from
me, but that is cutting it close.
Overall: This anime had the potential to tell a great story with
excellent characters to develop. Being an adult anime, this OVA also had the
potential to take this story to a whole new level of intensity, but did not
capitalize on the opportunities. I would only recommend this anime to those
hardcore fans of demon anime that enjoy highly graphic storytelling, but
otherwise, ended up turning into no-man's land, which is where this anime
belongs.