Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 8th Season

ironsakura Apr 5, 2021

4

Story: I was pretty disappointed (again) with the stories in this season of Yamishibai. There was one that made my skin crawl, like most of season one's stories, and two that were mildly creepy. The rest were not scary or creepy and in several cases, were confusing or didn't make sense. It is just a little disappointing, because after the first 3 seasons this series has unfortunantly just gone downhill. Animation: I actually don't mind the minimulist animation of this series. The problem with this season was that most of the episodes were too bright and clear. It doesn't seem to fit well with the aethetic of the season. I liked season one's animation which was dark and grainy, lending to the horror of the story. Sound: The sound was fine, I don't have anyhting to say about it really. Characters: Yamishibai gets an 8 here just because of the Storyteller. Even if the stories aren't very scary, his voice is super creepy. Overall: Unfortunantly, a rather disappointing season. I still like the series overall though and if there is a season 9 I will watch it. I just wish I could got back to the originally level of scariness and creepiness. 

Twinkietaem Jun 18, 2021

3

Oh where, oh where do I begin with Yami Shibai season 8. I've been following this anime since I found it during season 6 and I've binged through it quite a few times and I'm just so disappointed.The first 3 seasons are astounding, truly something that made me shiver and look over my shoulder and now.... Season 8 is the weak, heat tinted wind that blows through the garden on an extremely hot day and merely taunts you with the expectation of coolness whilst slowly cooking you faster.I didn't expect too much from this season — since season 4, Yami Shibai has been slowly declining in quality on its horror, as to be expected from something that only allows four and a half minutes to actively terrify you. I expect a few bad episodes here and there, you can't provide ten out of ten levels of horror with every stab in the dark that you take, but season eight leaves the viewer horrified upon realising the episodes have ended with barely any context to what the episodes were about at all.Yami Shibai had a good run of not revealing anything to the viewer whilst still scaring us via the art of hiding, making us realize things are much scarier in the dark — now, I merely turn the light on and can't figure out what was making that weird shadow, scratching my head in confusion as I stare around my room, lost, annoyed and confused. I lost count of how many episodes I spent praying to any deity there was an explanation in the comments of what had actually happened.It's time to start letting Yami Shibai go; the eighth season is purely about quantity not quality, and the only way this show can now be saved is if the horror greats themselves wrote the episodes. It's painful to see what Yami Shibai has become, after it's long reign of terror, but now the horror lies in its screenwriting, unable to tell a story coherently enough for viewers to know what's occurring. Let the series rest, revive it in a few years perhaps when there's better ideas floating around, but for now, the show needs to rest on the back burner before further seasons tank even worse than what season eight did.