Horror, Ghost Stories, and Mischievous Spirits – Tales of The Strange and Anomalous in Anime

This post was partly influenced by comments I have seen on forums, and twitter in the past criticising horror anime for its inability to scare the viewers, alongside problems with writing and characters. Horror in Japanese culture can be both terrifying, but also seem somewhat benign – it deals with a variety of different themes, but the most important, and arguably the most used is that of spirits and the effect they have on the human world. Having said that, I also believe that the term ‘horror’ when it comes to describing Japanese ghost stories is somewhat misleading, and feeds a series of assumptions about the stories content and whether or not it might be scary.

The Illogicalzen Top Twelve Anime of 2012

It appears to be that time of the year where many bloggers begin to list their favourite anime and make lists that may differ wildly from each other while containing a few common links. I didn’t do this last year, partly because I wasn’t really as involved with anime blogging as I am now, but this year shall be different! I have to admit that I don’t really believe in lists, finding them too restrictive and forcing you into picking your favourite, but for lack of a better format, and because I am taking part in Kidd’s Ani-Bloggers Choice Awards I shall have to come up with a list and an order for my favourite anime for the year. But, even thought they will be in order, these anime are essentially equal for me since I enjoyed them for different reasons and at different times, and in all cases there were points where they didn’t quite work as well. But, before I get into the list proper there are a few honourable mentions, all series that I enjoyed but weren’t quite good enough to make onto my Top Twelve List for a variety of reasons.

Twelve Days of Anime #08 – Moonlight on the Water

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia was full of great moments, but the one that stuck with me was during episode four when Yuuko took Keiichi on a tour of the school. Until this point all we had seen were a few dusty corridors and dark rooms, but during this tour the school stopped being a place of murky myths and horror stories but one of magic and wonder. The fantasy realm that Yuuko opened up to Keiichi was perfectly encapsulated during their brief moment in the pool. With the moon reflected on the water both Yuuko and Keiichi were finally seeing the school in a similar way, but at the same time it also demonstrated the frail nature of their relationship and how easily it could be destroyed.

Accel World – Two Worlds, One Problem

Accel World was a mixed bag, bringing together some brilliant fight sequences, along with exposition heavy episodes that often ended in tedium, and topped off with problematic characters that never quite managed to stay entertaining throughout. Although this is not strictly true, there were numerous characters that were great to watch, providing some interesting insight into a world that at first appears overly simplistic, but soon turns into something that may be too complicated for its own good. However, one of the central, if not the biggest flaw with Accel World is the lack of proper antagonists. As a series it lacked that all-important element, an antagonist that is both entertaining, while also being as evil and nasty as possible. This coupled with the protagonist often dissolving into angst and tears could make various episodes and sections painful to watch.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – Parting Ways

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia has been a series about friendship and the acceptance of your own darkness. It was a series about how an innocent meeting between two different people can change the way they look at the world forever. Between them they were the light and the dark in the series, with Yuuko being used in places as a metaphor for peoples inability to truly accept their own dark sides, as if it would destroy them. Her fear of the emotions and feelings that she felt during her final moments set of a chain of events that filled Seikyou Academy with ghost stories and supernatural phenomenon. She was so afraid of her own darkness and the negative emotions that were associated with it, that Yuuko pushed it away, creating shadow Yuuko.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 11 – Acceptance

One of the main themes present throughout this series has been acceptance, or the lack of it. Central to Yuuko’s amnesia has been her inability to accept the darkness in her past and move on with her life. She is someone who took this inability to accept the darkness to the extreme, thus pushing her fear, hatred and pain away, thus creating Shadow Yuuko. It is in effect the central reason for her current predicament, along with being the idea, the very centre of the stories involving Yuuko and the academy. If she had been capable of accepting her negative side many of the stories and horrible things that surround her name may have never existed. And yet, while this is easy to say, it is significantly harder to put into action, and it is precisely because of this that Yuuko exists in the first place.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 10 – to accept your own darkness

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia is a tale of two people, one who lives a life filled with joy and happiness, while the other has lived a life full of pain, anger and resentment. In this series we have had both of their stories, but the twist here is that they are the same person, each living a different, but also, the same life. Yuuko is a character that is both easy to understand, while also being incredibly complex and difficult. We cannot simply say that one Yuuko is the true Yuuko, and while we may have seen more of the Yuuko, and less of Dark Yuuko, they are both equally important to the story and its narrative.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 09 and the Burden of Painful Memories

asogare Otome x Amnesia has always been a series about the repression of painful memories, the amnesia that Yuuko suffers from is created by her attempt to escape from the pain in her past. As a character Yuuko is an enigma, seemingly always happy and enjoying life, or her version of it, but at the same time, her name appears in numerous dark and painful stories that circulate and in parts define Seikyou Academy. As mentioned on numerous occasions, her meeting with Niiya and their subsequent friendship, along with the introduction of other people to the Paranormal Investigation Club have been immensely important to Yuuko as a character. But, this has come at a cost to both Yuuko and Niiya as we have learned throughout the series.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 08 – running away from reality

As a series Tasogare Otome x Amnesia has demonstrated the importance of friendship, and how the ability to talk to, and interact with, particular people can become integral to maintaining a grip on reality. This series has also shown us how Yuuko is a significantly more complicated character than she first appeared, a character with different faces and certain aspects that are kept hidden, from others, as well as herself. Yuuko is a character that died for some unknown reason and has been alone ever since, slowly becoming sadder, drawing into herself with each passing day.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia 07 – Hatred, Fear, Anxiety and Jealousy

Over the course of the series the mysteries surrounding Yuuko have grown ever darker and more elaborate, painting a picture of something terrible and disturbing, while at the same time telling us very little about Yuuko herself. She remains an enigma, a ghost who presents us with a brilliant smile, someone who is almost always happy and continuously pulls pranks on Niiya and Okonogi. However, as Kirie points out, Yuuko’s ever happy, ever smiling presence is abnormal, not because she is a ghost, but because she does not get angry, as if she is incapable of doing so. That is not to say that Yuuko is perfect, far from it, she is as imperfect as anyone else, but instead of showing her emotions, there appears to be a barrier for her.