Toshi Densetsu Monogatari Hikiko

angelsreviews Jul 18, 2013

6

This is one rather spooky show, just the expressions on the characters faces make it rather scary. When they actually picked CG to make this, I think they picked a pretty good medium for a horror based OVA. The show starts out with a boy reliving his days as a 3rd year in a town. A young girl moves in to his next door apartment and he watches as she is tortured by his classmates and mother. Creepy things just keep happening because of the bulling that happens. It’s not a very underused story, but the twist at the end was rather good. The animation looks like it would fit right at home with a horror based video game. It’s kind of in the middle between good CG and bad CG but doesn’t make it hard to watch. Most of the backgrounds look like they were created with photo rendering mixed with a little of the CG but then the characters… well, they at least are rather smooth. When they move, it’s rather stiffly, good for demons but bad for any normal characters. The voices are ok, though sometimes come off as a little stale or strict. I believe this is more because of the culture gap between the Japanese subs and what I’m used to hearing. This may change for if we get more information on who actually created this show and that but I think one of the most interesting things about this is that there is very little details about the show too (That I can find) adding to the mystery of it.

ItsDanny May 7, 2022

7

Toshi Densetsu Monogatari Hikiko brings nothing new to the table story-wise by using an overused urban legend as it's main plot but yet, manages to achieve a certain "uniqueness" and captivates us from beginning to end with an added plot-twist as a bonus although some may find it detrimental because of the way it was executed. The movie gives us subtle hints about the afformentioned plot-twist, and when I write "Subtle", I really mean it. It was a total "wtf" moment for me on the first time I watched it but by re-watching it, I could link together certain things in the environment that pointed towards the ending that we got.  Despite what many may think, i found the animation to be the strongest point in this animated motion-picture. It may appear to be low budget (which i'm certain it was) but it gives us an eerie vibe and it almost rests in the uncanny valley and was the first movie in a long time to give me real goosebumps and making me watch my surroundings looking for any out of place thing... or someone. Totally recommend for people who want to try new things and love a good scare.