Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror Review

story 8/10

Oh boy... anything in the horror genre, let alone something that blatantly has "horror" in the title, is a must see for sothis. Luckily, with Ayakashi, it wasn’t a disappointment.

Ayakashi, in the same vein as Memories or Cockpit, is a collection of three unrelated stories that all fit into a certain genre; in this case, horror. Though the title boasts "traditional Japanese horror", only the first of the three tales is based on a real Japanese horror story. They are, however, told in a traditional narration style and draw thematic elements from Japanese horror stories. It’s hard to review something which has three very separate stories, so I’ll break down each section by story.

The first tale tells the story of Oiwa, a legend in Japan (and was a real person). Though virtuous and good-hearted, her husband Iemon is bored with her and ends up betraying her; but not until Oiwa is horrendously scarred due to malevolent interventions. The narration tells of her eventual death and cursing of anyone who treated her unkindly. Out of the three stories, this one was probably my least favorite; but, I still enjoyed it. It is four episodes long and the pacing is definitely a bit slow. Though the overall story ends up being dark and satisfying, it does take quite a long time (and quite a lot of patience) to see it through. People just starting out with Ayakashi might be bored and drop the series completely; in my opinion this would be a mistake. In general though, a nice dark tale of revenge, and I was glad to see historical elements (that are still based in legend in Japan) as well.

The second tale is about a young man and a forgotten god (well, goddess) who fall in love. I enjoyed this arc quite a bit, as it is a little (but not much) more upbeat, has a happier ending, and is gorgeous in the animation department. Though also four episodes in length, I thought the pacing was far more appropriate and kept my attention the whole way through. Like the first tale, this one ends up being quite dark and involves a great deal of death; but hey, what’s a good horror series without some good old fashioned death?

The third tale is definitely the clear winner of the "most messed up story this year" award. It tells of an evil spirit who is haunting a certain family, and only a medicine seller can help shield them from its wrath. In my opinion other sites spoil this arc in their basic descriptions of the series. So, just keep in mind that this arc is about an evil spirit, period. It was this arc that caused a friend to recommend me to watch the series. At first, I was very skeptical, as episode 9 (the first episode of this arc) is a little strange. Combine that with very odd animation and a very unusual way of telling the story, and you risk losing the viewer for a number of reasons. Luckily, episode 10 quickly turns from so-so to completely badass, and it’s all downhill from there. The story is shocking and dark, and has the most impact. I highly enjoyed this arc, and would recommend it for fans of Hundred Stories or Mermaid’s Forest (if you’ve seen this and agree, go on and make recommendations in the database!). A word of caution: if you are watching the fansubs, GG’s version, at the time of this review there is a major translation error in the third arc which in my opinion ruins the viewing of that arc (I was confused the whole time until the error was pointed out to me). For more information check out the FQC section in the forum.

animation 8.5/10

As with the story, each story has its own animation style. The first story’s animation, like the plot, is probably the least impressive. Though gorgeous, especially in the scenery shots with falling snow or sunsets, the rough-looking character designs gave it an older feel which clashed a little with the gorgeous backdrops. The second arc is absolutely stunning with brilliant pastels and pretty (both male and female) characters. The depiction of the forgotten gods’ transformations was very well done. 100% satisfied with its animation. The third story has very... bizarre animation. Imagine Gankutsou, but a lot more abstract. The entire series of episodes is filled with odd camera angles and different ways of "filming" it. It really is an experience to watch, especially once the demon comes into play. Unique and interesting, just a little hard to get into at first.

One additional thing I wanted to point out is that in the first arc, real video footage is mixed with animation. This, for the most part, was only in the historical scenes where the narrator was explaining how the legend of Oiwa is still around in today’s society.

sound 8/10

The music definitely lives up to the "classic" adjective in the series’ title. With the exception of the intro song (which is an odd mix of traditional sounds and rap), all of the music sounds very traditional and fits well with the stories. The outro, unlike the intro, also sounds very traditional. All of the seiyuu did a good job with their parts. Not much to complain about here.

characters 8.5/10

In all three stories, the characters are wonderfully developed (especially the first two stories). We are truly shown the dark side of humanity, and the corrupt characters show off this point nicely. The third arc is the most marginal for character development, mostly because only a few of the characters are introduced in detail (and we are left with a lot of unknown information). My favorite characters were probably the forgotten gods with their transformations from beautiful women to scary demons.

overall 7.8/10

Not quite an 8, Ayakashi overall delivers what it advertises: horror. If I was rating this score on story 3 alone, it would probably be higher. Nevertheless, each of these tales is dark and interesting, and will appeal to fans of horror. Folks who enjoy traditional music as well, or want to see a real life legend, will also enjoy Ayakashi. All I’d suggest is if you are bored with the first arc, fast forward to episode 5. Each story is completely separate so you won’t be missing out on anything special, and you might find the other two stories more up your alley. Why, then, did I rate this a 7.8 when all the above scores are over 8? Though it’s a good series, it definitely didn’t capture my attention enough (except story 3) to warrant a higher score. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s no Mermaid’s Forest or Hundred Stories. Still, a nice and recent horror series that I enjoyed watching; maybe you will too.