Let me just start this review by saying Kowabon is by no means horrible. Despite me giving it such a low score, it's more out of disappointment and failure to deliver rather than watch value. Each 'episode' is about 2-5 minutes long, give or take, so if you're really into horror it's not a huge waste of time.
At first I was really digging the rotoscoping technique used for the animation, and it's quality stayed consistent. Quickly I realised that it was just a cheap solution for lazy storywriting.
Kowabon had a lot of potential, but it falls short with it's mediocre writing. The episodes are barely memorable, almost blending into each other with the amount of repetiveness they show. The actors and actresses used for the rotoscoping did their job great and delivered their lines nicely, but even with a nice script, it becomes a bit of a predictable borefest.
I did like the lack of music to deliver the eerie atmosphere, but it's hard to tell if that was deliberate or because of a lack of budget. The ending credits song is almost stupidly jarring, but due to my lack of understanding of the Japanese language and culture, it could be deliberate as well to juxtapose the creepiness. Or maybe it was just Japan trying to lighten the mood after giving you creeps? Who knows? I sure as hell don't.
If anything, at least the characters were okay. They aren't memorable, but I personally didn't find myself annoyed by their personalities or actions. Okay, maybe some actions, but that's because it's in the horror genre, and everyone knows that every character is allowed to have at least one stupid action in a horror movie/show. It's like, horror tradition man.Or maybe their personalities are really obnoxious but I've just developed an immunity to annoying characters thanks to anime and western crime shows? Once again, who knows?
Overall, I'm so neutral to this. I really don't hate it. You can see they tried, but is that worth counting? The effort just fell because of laziness. Damn it Kowabon, give me something besides long haired girls with messed faces. I don't want to be counting down the until the jumpscares, or counting down the length of the episode... I want to be quivering in the atmosphere and checking my bed for some crazy messed up creatures. I know you have it in you! Just... Put some more effort (and maybe a tiny bit more budget) next time you attempt something like this. You fell short, but damn, there was something to Kowaban that just makes me wanna hug the series and whisper, "Shh, it's okay, I won't let the nasty critics hurt you."
You tried and failed Kowaban, but please give it a better shot if you ever get a chance. Mummy still believes in you.