Not so Secret Santa: NightWalker

Since a lot of people are involved in Reverse Thieves special Secret Santa Project, I didn't want to feel left out due to not knowing about the fun sooner. So I went on twitter and asked 7 special blog friends to choose a title for me to watch. Not so Secret Santa was born! Here's my first title suggested by predederva. We both share a love for older movies and ova's, so I can see why he thought NightWalker might be the perfect choice for me! Oh boy...

NightWalker follows the story of Shido Tatsuhiko. A vampire that has lived for a very long time and now works for hire. Generally commissioned by Yayoi Matsunaga whom is part of the N.O.S., an anti-nightbreed crime unit. He enjoys playing with women and is generally tempting towards them because of his charm. Yayoi is one among many. He ended up saving a girl, Riho Yamazaki, when her parents ended up killed by nightbreeds. Nightbreeds are basically demons that take over weak people and do bad things. I find them pretty boring honestly. Too typical really. The story is mainly episodic, monster of the week type of show at first. Around episode 8 is kind of veers off and gets "serious". Why they do this I'm not sure. The plot or lack of might have been lost on me at some point. All I can really say it that Shido and co. chase demons and kill them. But wait there's more! Shido's past! How could we forget about that since he's a vampire and all. Shido is haunted and stalked by an older vampire than he named Cain. Cain made Shido into a vampire and he is forever haunted by the dirty deeds they did together in the past. Yes, I do want that to sound as dirty as it does. There's plenty of sexual tension between the two of them but you do have to search for it.

The OP makes me feel like I'm about to start watching some kinda of old hentai with a serious plot. I'm not sure where that feeling comes from but it might be the knowledge of this show being about a vampire that makes me feel that way. It's very mellow and has the main character, Shido, walking along an alley way towards the screen. The music in general is awkward slow jazzy type music through out the series. It'll jump over to a disco sound when any excitement starts to happen. Generally a battle will try to be more like rock music but it ends up just being weird. The ED is pleasant enough but very forgettable. One image slowly gets smaller on the screen as the credits roll then switches to another. Pretty boring honestly. I generally skipped it.

Oddly the English dubbing isn't all that bad but it's far from great. It has that almost annoying feeling at times but it is totally watchable if you want to view the show without reading. What is more surprising is that the Japanese isn't much better. The voices don't match the characters at all and it just feels awkward. At least the animation wasn't hard on the eyes.

The characters were interesting enough but ended up just being there. I mean what was with the little goblin green fairy Guni? She just kind of was around to make mean comments to whatever chick was around at the time and generally snarky comments that weren't called for to Shido. Shido on the other hand was the best character of the show and well I would hope so since the show was about him in a way. I loved how he was always wearing old timey clothing. Being a vampire I suppose it gets you stuck in the past in some ways or another. His way just happened to be fashion! Yayoi might be the second best character but not by much. Actually no Cain was even though we learned basically nothing about him but his lust for Shido. Anyway... Yayoi seems to have been made for staring in a hentai. She was always wearing slutty office lady clothing and had that bossy, sassy, slutty attitude to go with it. I think she was just put there to be non-awkward fan-service because honestly, when you really think about it, Riho, the high schooler girl annoying ass orphan brat... Not a good love interest for an ageless vampire... Although most anime fans would probably disagree with me on that.

I'm no fan of vampires as most might know by now. If not, you know now. I've always been rather confused at how being drained of blood feels good enough to make ladies moan with pleasure. I mean that just doesn't sound appealing in the slightest. I do see the romantic part of it I suppose, but not enough to see the infliction of puncture marks made by teeth to be sensual. Maybe I'm just lacking in that fetish department or something.

I feel like it should have been a 90's ova instead of a series. It feels like there was too much nothingness in the series. A short 45 minute episode or possibly 2 would have been perfect to get the job done properly. Even though it wasn't done properly for the most part. It tried hard I'll give it that much. But when there is only one good character in the entire show... That needs work. Horror and vampires always leave a bad taste in my mouth.

* Story 4/10
* Animation 5/10
* Sound 5/10
* Characters 4/10
* Overall 5/10

Sorry pred... Not my cup of tea. But at least I don't regret watching it! ^__^

Ayakashi – Japanese Classic Horror: Part 3

Bakeneko: Episodes 9-11

This story follows a creepy medicine seller who is more than meets the eye. He comes across a family that suddenly has the loss of a beloved daughter and then starts being attacked by an evil spirit. This arc serves as a mystery for 2 episodes then suddenly the reason is reviled and all shit breaks loose.

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Final thoughts:

Out of all three arcs, by far the third was the best. But the most enjoyable for me was the first. I enjoyed the story more and while I'm all for weird art that's where the third arc lots points for me.

None of the arcs were visually eyesores. Each had their own unique style to them and definitely added to the story they were telling.  I can see how some people would be offended by the very abstract style of the last arc though. The characters were very well thought out and played there parts to the best they could. Some had more depth to them but overall all the characters were enjoyable no matter how evil or good they were. Music was always hidden in the background but always there when needed to make an impact. If anything in Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror my favourite musical part would have to been the OP

There was different visuals for each arcs OP but the same song was used all the way through the series. Same for the ED as well.

People who love short stories all wrapped into one will love this. You also must be a fan of the horror genre. These arcs are just some great old fashioned story telling that are sure to please.

I'll give this a final end score of 8/10

Ayakashi – Japanese Classic Horror: Part 2

Tenshu Monogatari: Episodes 5-8

A simple story about a man falling in love with a forgotten goddess..... well maybe not so simple...

These goddess's all live together with their head forgotten goddess Uba and terrorize the land by eating humans. Tomi-Hime one days meets this young man named Zusho that she falls in love with and him with her. This is your pretty standard forbidden love plot... well the only difference with this one is the added horror elements. I really don't have much to say about this one as I generally don't like Romance all that much and found this to be very boring unless there was killing on the screen.

Ayakashi – Japanese Classic Horror: Part 1

Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan: Episodes 1-4

This story is cruel and creepy at the same time. Just what I expected with a horror title. Things like falling out hair, rising ghosts, and illusions of the mind are enough to make you squirm in your seat. This story is based upon real people named Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon and has been made and remade over the years many, many times. Despite the stories age and numerous re-tellings it still manages to grab you in as it is a classic tale of revenge.

We follow the story of Oiwa whom has been given an herbal mixture that is suppose to cure her from being ill after child birth. While it made her fell a little better the side effects were terrible disfiguring of the face and gave her more pain as well. Her husband Iemon soon gets an offer to marry another young more beautiful lady and he is willing to take up this offer despite his first wife's condition and a newborn baby.

Easily from here it is clear that the story is diving into its tale of revenge. As the wife learns the dangers of the medicine she was given after the fact, now knowing she was tricked by the family her husband will be marring into she vows revenge on all those who have done her wrong.

Now tales of revenge have always been fun to watch for me, but some just need a little more to it than this one had. Don't get me wrong it was worth watching and the horror factor is what made this more interesting than just a normal revenge story but it could have used a little more. Oiwa's way of haunting all the people who had done her wrong could have been more intense... I assume it was scary way back then but now with having seen these elements in every other revenge/horror story out there it just wasn't enough scare me. The history lesson at the very end of the story was very informative and actually made me want to go and learn more about the history of this story. It was told in a very good way that leaves the viewer wondering and asking questions that there may or may not be answers to.

Halloween Marathon 4 Days October 28-31

Anime Planet User TheOmnipotentLemur was kindly enough to host a spOoOoOOky anime watching marathon for Halloween. What better way to make your Halloween extra fun than to watch some scary shocking anime! Here's the spooky line up! Halloween Watch List On my menu I have the following:

1. Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror
2. Ghost Hunt
3. Boogiepop Phantom
4. Jigoku Shoujo (all 3 seasons)

I've seen everything else on that list in the link so these will do for 4 days. I might watch some of the movies again as I wouldn't mind writing up some reviews for them. We'll see.