Mouryou no Hako
After reading several respectable critics enthusiastically praising this show at ANN, even describing it as near perfect, I went looking for my own download. For some reason I had gotten the impression that each episode would be a standalone one, perhaps forming an OVA series, which didn't turn out to be true and led to me feeling confused by this first episode. How did the bulk of the episode relate to the bizarre prologue, I wondered. What was the deal with the crazy delusions about the dolls, for instance? Am I supposed to be moved? I would need to uderstand more for that to happen. But once I realized that this story had just begun, I definitely felt intrigued and curious to see where it would go. Though a "horror" show, there were no monsters, rather a matter of some sort of demons playing with people's minds, I'm guessing. I would say Mourtou no Hako could be described as a show that is more interested in artistic quality than making money (if that is possible). Madhouse animation was excellent, and if my math and history are correct, this story is taking place in 1953.
Episode two remained within the realm of reality and was much easier to understand. A detective becomes the main character as he searches for an explanaion of what exactly happened at the railroad station. The story is expanding rapidly, introducing a number of new characters, yet it does a skillful job of remaining interesting in all directions. we learn just enough to be satisfied and entertained, but for every answer we get another tantalizing question arises. Very few anime manage to be as complex yet intriguing as this one.
I get a definite impression that the story behind this show was a brilliant novel--something of such intellectual quality that it would seldom be put on TV for fear that relatively few viewers would be able to comprehend it. I am having some trouble following it myself, as if a work of this complexity was nothing to the author whereas it takes every ounce of concentration I can scrape up for me to keep track of everything that is going on. One scene that particularly thrilled me was when we burst into a nightclub where an exotic piece of music is playing while a dancer performs. Somehow, I just intuitively feel that yeah, this is definitely the sort of music you'd be hearing in such a place back in those days. Thus, it sets the atmosphere of the era very well.
Last updated Monday, November 10 2008. Created Sunday, October 19 2008.
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