Kurenai: Review and Retrospective

Lolicon at its finest…

Kurenai is the best show of the Spring season hands down.

Beware spoilers.

It possessed everything that a good anime should have: likeable characters, an engaging plot, good voice-acting, excellent dialogue and subtle messages that leave the viewer questioning his/her society and the traditional views of the world around us. It managed to strike a balance between the “slice-of-life” style it had going in the earlier episodes and the serious aspects in the latter, creating a show that feels both well-rounded and conclusive.

Plot

Though the plot in Kurenai isn’t very extensive (if you really think about it, its only the kidnapping and return of a single character, albeit with the exploration of a royal family’s secrets), it plays out in such a way that its simplicity is an asset. Adding to much complication to the plot would have shifted the focus away from the characters, which are the series true strength. This same simplicity also allowed for some frankly lulz moments in the series (everybody sing!) and space within which the writers could create their own depiction of the world the characters were in. In fact, it left things wide open for a sequel, concluding the important aspects of the show and leaving others for the viewer to think about.

Characters

Shinkurou, the steadfast pedo bodyguard…

Shinkurou and Murasaki, sitting in a tree…

Seriously though, I am in no way a lolicon, but it was obvious after a certain point that he loved her. Their experiences led him to find a relationship with someone whom he felt he had to defend beyond the mission, and what better reason to fight if not for love? The loss of his parents forced Shinkurou to feel he must become stronger so he could fight for something; his admiration of Benika is tantamount to this.  The writers did an excellent job of showing how the responsibility thrust upon Shinkurou caused him to open up and become a more caring person; without her he may have simply continued blindly aiming to gain strength for no reason but to have it. In the end, his thoughts can be summed up as “Protect her”.

Murasaki, the loli who’s laugh lights up my life…

I’m not a lolicon, I swear!

Murasaki is one of the best characters I’ve seen in any anime series; so many messages and thoughts are summed up in how she began, grew and ended up in the series. Its a “bildungsroman” of sorts, a series which tracks the psychological progression of a character through certain events. The interactions between her and Shinkurou, the little things, such as her saying “Thank you” (eventually) and learning to appreciate that which she had was where I got my main enjoyment from the show. Though she was oddly mature (in speech more than mind) for a seven year old, her narrowed view in not having experienced anything but the Inner Sanctuary, the abuse and death of her mother and the knowledge that she must perpetuate the tradition of the Kuhouins demonstrated how wrong the saying “Ignorance is bliss” really is. The independence of thought she had gained by the end of the shows and her defiance of the Kuhouin will were the best parts of the series, and I believed demonstrated strongly that choice and free will are one of the greatest freedoms granted to us.

Benika: assasin, mother figure and kickass martial-artist…

Best Combo Ever!

Benika’s role in the anime is slowly shown to the viewer via her interactions with the rest of the cast. To Shinkurou, she is an aspiration; to Yayoi, an important leader; to Renjou, an ignorant outsider; to Souju, a precious confidant. However, in my eyes, she is a figure of benevolence and understanding. She seems to be the character who most fully realizes everyone’s point of view (even while being stabbed by Ryuuji, she attempts to warn him of the mistake the Kuhouins are making). She’s almost always calm and collected (who else can talk on a phone so casually while pointing a gun at someone’s head?) and her intuition has taken her far enough in life that she always trusts it to lead her to the right decision, which it usually does. Her violent past serves as a counter-balance to her exterior and her sometimes enigmatic demeanour serves as to entertain and confuse the viewer. However, through her existence in the show, we are further connected to the reasons for the various characters actions.

Yayoi: I thought she was a lesbian until the last five minutes of the series…

Seriously.

Nothing much to say about Yayoi, except that she seems to dislike men due to a previously bad relationship and as such constantly whines about Shinkurou’s handling of the mission. She herself does get some character development though, as shown by Benika’s “That’s your type?” and the following brief but funny interplay. She served as comic relief during the series as a figure of pity and from her isolation from the main group of main characters.

The Kuhouins…

Is it weird if this reminds me of the endless staircase in Mario 64?

Nevermind…

Renjou, Ryuuji, Soujou and Bitch-wife (I’m sorry, but I hate her so much I won’t use her name). Renjou was demonstrative of someone who is caught up within the customs of a disturbing tradition and ends up sacrificing his love for it. He is a tormented character, portrayed in such a way that I empathize with him for being torn between what he feels is right and what is right in the eyes of the Kuhouins. His recounting of the way Murasaki was held by her mother was heartfelt and beautiful and even further redeems his past actions.

Ryuuji’s a fuckin’ incest-lolicon-siscon-pedo-perv. I HATE him and even though I know he is what the lifestyle of the Kuhouins leads to if one does not find love or another view of the world, I still cannot believe he defends their fucked up way of living to such an extent. Plus he stabbed Benika. Bastard…I don’t know if he’s dead, but I really hope he is.

Soujou is the most sympathetic character who ironically had the least screen-time. Her dying wish of Murasaki not staying in the Inner Sanctuary and dying like her was painful to hear about and her relationship with Renjou raised another question: is it right to criticize true love, even if it is between siblings? Even in death, her feelings for her daughter were the trigger that began the chain of events leading to hope of bucking the abnormal tradition in the Kurenai household.

Bitch-wife is gold-digging bitch. ‘Nuff said.

Tamaki and Yamie. They seem so ronery for some reason ;_;

Shotastic ^_^

Lolicon and Shotacon in a single show!?

What confuses me about these two is that the writers decided to devote almost an entire episode to developing Tamaki while mocking Yamie’s past. Its all well and good to give a character an unfair amount of screen-time, but I would have liked to learn of Yamie’s “tragic” past that everyone was so exasperated at hearing about. Anyway,these two served as both comedic relief and the characters who have momentary epiphanies which help Shinkurou to get out of his emo funk. Though not integral to the plot, their presence improved the show’s “slice-of-life” aspect, which is what helps make it so great.

Yuuno and Ginko. They did nothing… NOTHING!

Notice the positioning, two halves of the whole; one is the dere, the other the tsun.

I feel sorry for them, they never had a chance once Murasaki entered the picture. The loli conquered all.

Ginko is a chracter I had no empathy with, so what if she was Shinkurou’s childhood friend, she should’ve been less of a, well, bitch, frankly. I liked Yuuno more with her forward approach to things, but she could’ve been a bit more earnest and less clingy. As such, I propose the merging of the two to create…

The ultimate tsundere ^_^

Seriously though, in the overall scheme of things they didn’t really serve a purpose in the show, which is disappointing� as I would’ve liked to see their characters explored more.

Style

I am Shinkurou. This is my harem.

This is my harem on drugs.

The dialogue, voice-acting, design, animation and music of this series are all amazing.

The dialogue was, rarely, recorded before the animation of the series and as such the voice-actors were completely unhampered by staying within the movements. This is most evident in the consistently awesome scenes I call “interplays”, a constant relay of back-and-forth talking that’s quick and has such a flow that you always pay attention to what’s being said. The more emotional and comedies scenes demonstrate this and they are consistently excellent in what they try to do. This technique combined with the mostly great, clever writing always had me glued to the screen (unless I was ROFLing).

P.S (Best line ever “Your terrible!”)

The character designs are all extremely unique and beautiful and the animation of facial expressions really conveys the emotion in the characters. In fact, the animation in general is unique to the extent of being odd at times, but it always looks good and is consistently impressive.

The most appealing technical factor of the show for me, however, is the music. Ken Muramatsu is a freakin’ genius; every time a track played I knew what the tone of the scene was going to be. The prominent piano was perfectly used, be it the slow, minor legato piece indicating sorrow or drama, or the quick jumpy staccato piece often used with comedy. Even the calm, simple preview shamisen piece is still embedded in my mind. I will definitely be getting the OST and I hope that Ken can produce even more music like this for future series.

Overall Impressions and Score

LOVE AND PEACE!

Kurenai has been an extremely enjoyable series to watch (if you couldn’t already tell by this 1600+ word review) and I would heavily recommend it to anyone into deeper forms of anime, for the characters and snappy dialogue, or simply the technical aspects which are consistently great.

Score: 9/10