Since we're tasked to share some horror anime due to *Obon season*, why not share something classic? This time, I'm going to talk about an anime called ***AYAKASHI: Japanese Classic Horror***. It's a collection of three different classic horror stories from Japan.
As I mentioned above, the anime is composed of three various stories and each of them is so interesting. Let's talk about them one by one.
The first story (episode 1 - 4) is entitled Yotsuya Kaidan.
The story of Yotsuya Kaidan was written by Nanboku Tsuruya IV in the 18th century. This story was originally made for Kabuki, but there are other versions of it like films, anime and so on.
In the anime, the writer Nanboku served as the narrator of the story. It's about a woman named Oiwa who was initially desired by her husband Tamiya Iemon. After giving birth, Iemon somehow lost interest and ended up betraying her. Oiwa died (I won't tell you how, so you should really watch how the story went, but prepare your heart for it), and her vengeful spirit cursed her cheating husband.
This story made me really curious that I ended up searching more information regarding it. It's creepy since it's partly true. The original writer actually based it partly on two different murders which happened during those years. In the later part of this story (episode 4), there were some stories that the narrator (original writer) shared. I got goosebumps hearing it and the visuals they used were just hair-raising! I love it.. xD
The second story's title is ***"Tenshu Monogatari"***.
This story also had four episodes in the anime (episodes 5 - 8). It's basically a forbidden love story about a human and a god.
In this story, a falconer named Zushonosuke was tasked by his master to retrieve a white falcon named "Kojiro". While he was tracking it, he stumbled upon a beautiful woman bathing in the lake. She turned out to be a Wasuregami (forgotten god) who lives in an abandoned castle.
Well, I'm not a huge fan or romance, but I don't mind forbidden love like theirs. hahah The story was well-written and the art style was also beautiful. I liked the other "women" living in the castle, they were kind of fun to watch.
And lastly, the third story is called ***Bake Neko***.
The final story is divided into three acts (episodes 9 - 11). It's about a mysterious cat who has a feud against a certain family.
Kusuriuri (wandering medicine peddler) arrived at the house of the Sakai Clan on the day of their daughter's wedding. He was initially unwelcomed, but the house's maid allowed him inside where he discovered something interesting.
As the family was about to go out to meet the wedding escort, the bride suddenly and mysteriously died. Kusuriuri immediately attached some paper charms on the walls and told the family that her death was caused by a supernatural creature.
The third story is actually my favorite. One reason is the unique animation style. The characters were drawn in an ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) style and the transitions were made by sliding screens. It was uniquely brilliant!
The story was also really intriguing and I just love when Kusuriuri unveiled all the mystery behind the family and the supernatural being. It showed that humans can be darker and more evil than the supernatural beings. Also, Kusuriuri is so coooool! <3
All three stories had their own charm. However, the third one hit me differently. And what made me giddy with excitement is the fact that this series has a sequel called ***Mononoke*** which focuses on the third story's main character, Kusuriuri. I can't wait to start watching it and I'll be sharing about it on my next entry. It's really exciting since I'm a fan of Japanese yokai and this character is out to hunt them! ;)
I'm a fan of horror films... and being able to learn more about Japanese culture through series like this made it even better! So if genre is also up your alley, then I recommend you give this series a shot!
Thanks for checking this post out! See you around! (^^,)/
