(The Beast Claw)
by MadHouse
Toshihiko: I belong to the Kifuuken and it is our job to hunt down Flesh Eaters.
*Toshihiko and Yura meet*
Toshihiko: I wanna f*ck you.
Yura: Let's do this.
*Toshihiko and Yura do their thing*
Yura: I love you but I don't think we can live happily ever after.
Toshihiko: Why not?
Yura: Because.... I'm a Flesh Eater.
RATING: B (NICE! Really unique~)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts --> LIKE
Violence. Guts. Body Chops. Gore. Nudity. Sluts. Erotic.
Not for minors and those with innocent or pure minds.
Kemonozume's an adult-themed love story with lotsa action, comedy, drama, and... wtf scenes. It's one of the most unique monster series I've seen so far~
From what I see, what stands out the most in this series is the art. You think it's fugly? I beg to disagree.
I think most people took the its strange art style negatively because the majority's more familiar with "pretty art". Those with an open mind took their time to try to get used to it. Fortunately, many had eventually acknowledged that its peculiar art style actually portray one of the greatest qualities of this series: It's creative. Deviating from the rules of the art style of mainstream shows gave the artists freedom to play with how they want to present the characters and events in its story. As a result, we got a series that's filled with surreal and bizzare scenes that shift from kiddie drawings to realistic stills and to beautifully drawn images. The beauty in its art isn't with how nice it looks to the eyes, but on how imaginative they have been presented~
It's creepy but.... really beautiful in a morbid sense xD Haha!
Fine, it's scenes like this which are actually pretty, hehe.
Fine, it's scenes like this which are actually pretty, hehe.
And don't you know the messy art had actually been a tool in making the series less horrifying? There's a lot of body ripping, guts exposure, and blood baths in this series.... if they have been drawn in the usual way.... scenes would've looked scarier. It shows that horror isn't one of its main genres; it's more of action. The focus of the series isn't to scare its audience, but to thrill them upon watching the characters killing off monsters.
Speaking of action, it had a lot of fight scenes but most of them hadn't really been that... cool. The impressive ones weren't from the battles wherein the protagonists are hunting down monsters.... but instead they were those wherein the protagonists fight against their comrades in order to protect the monsters they're supposed to kill. I especially liked the part when a supporting character had beaten the robot (yes, there's mecha in this series!) very easily.... though those robots were supposed to be the ones who would surpass the human fighters, hehe.
Yay! Fight-o! Pink vs Blue~
Aside from action, romance is obviously a main genre of this show as well. We've got a couple falling in love at first sight but their love's against all odds so they had no choice but to elope. It's more than a monster killing and Romeo + Juliet story though... it also deals with family, friendship, pride, satisfaction, joy, greed, traditions, revenge, betrayals, politics, and so on. The plot's deeper than it appears though I've got to admit that it's somewhat taking advantage of its strangeness as an excuse to story conveniences (the monkey's so almighty and intelligent... and shall definitely show up when necessary... o_O). The final battle gives you a "That's it?" feeling too. Nevertheless, it's still impressive that it managed to deliver to us a simple, yet meaningful, story. It may be cheesy at times, but it was cute. I liked the ending.... can't help being happy for them after all they've gone through.
When it comes to Romeo and Juliet love stories... I prefer a Juliet that can fight... not just some damsel-in-distress. Thankfully Yura's a cool type, even though she's not exactly a fighter.
About the characters, well, Toshihiko is okay, but it greatly annoyed me that his talent had been absolutely useless during the actual fights because he suddenly gets stomach problems =_= For story convenience though, his body doesn't act up during important times (especially when he's protecting Yura). Yura, on the other hand, had been fun and cute. She's not my favorite, but I find her very likeable. My favorite characters are the following: 3) Hoozuki - he's a nice guy 2) Ooba - he's a despicable bastard but he's also freakin' amusing xD 1) Kazuma - I find tragic characters very interesting.... he's a poor boy that's only been misunderstanding things... and his one-sided love's pretty cute.
What I didn't like in this series is the... errr... you-know-what ^^; I'm fine with such scenes, but to have such scenes in almost every freakin' episode is kinda... too much. Oh well, at least some of those scenes had been really hilarious. Comedy is another main genre of this series, and it sure has a great sense of humor. It can make stupid things enjoyable. I could still remember the bitch fight... the two girls in love with Toshihiko had been exchanging insults.... they're so petty, shallow, and lame (perverted too)... instead of getting annoyed, I was very amused! Hahaha!
Overall, what I find this series very stylish thanks to its very creative art style and storytelling. The music, particularly the background tracks (because I didn't like the opening and ending themes much... not that they're bad. They're just not my type), made it even more stylish than it already is~ Even if I got disturbed (I'm really not the type to appreciate you-know-what scnees), watching it had been very enjoyable thanks to its charming characters and nice comedy~ I highly recommend it to those who want to see something different yet fun at the same time~
