Dark Gem of Fall

I wouldn’t want this head trophy.

As usual, I failed to fully digest the novel and the Manga like I said I would before taking on the Anime adaptation. Reading can be more tedious (especially when I have to do reading most of the time due to work) so I thought I just dive straight into the TV series to make things easier to fit into my schedule. Mouryou no Hako is one of those series I took interest in solely because of certain figures’ involvement. In this case, it’s CLAMP. Without their name in the staff credits, I wouldn’t have thought of browsing the contents of the original literature. Some of my friends know I’m into psychological genre, and they were always recommending Kyogoku Natsuhiko’s works which encompass most things mystery, thriller and horror. I got myself the novel and Volume 1 of the Manga soon after but kept putting them off, until feeds popped up with the news that CLAMP are doing the Anime’s character designs and MadHouse Studios is in charge of the animation production. I’ve waited far too long for another CLAMP & MadHouse collaboration. Talk about me being shallow. :s

Anyway, I’m really glad I immersed my interest in the TV series. 5 episodes post-pilot and it’s looking brilliant so far. Good motivation to get my butt in gear in reading the text literature whenever I have free time. I won’t give an in-depth justification as to why I think this series is great since many bloggers out there have already done an excellent job on it and moreover, they’ve voiced almost everything that I wanted to say about it. What you’ll get here are, like always, my short petty waffling of unrelated things and image spam.

The trait which attracted me the most is the premise. Instead of a gentle introduction which leads to a normal flow of scenarios, we get slapped with the major events during the first few minutes that are generally emphasized throughout the story i.e. female bodies dismembered, scattered and stuffed into different boxes. Enter the next scene involving Kanako and Yoriko, and it looked as though their circumstances have nothing to do with the aforementioned main plot. It’s fascinating how the string of events were presented in a way that they had little connection with one another, and they probably aimed to throw viewers into contemplation and confusion about the whole picture. It definitely keeps things interesting for me as it nudged me to put my thinking cap on for once instead of just sitting back and taking in whatever I’m seeing on the screen. Plus, it’s creepy and thrilling enough to prevent me from drifting off into sleep halfway through unlike some other series. >_>

Ah~ Tomatsu Haruka. Even if you’re not a seiyuu fan, I encourage you to keep your ears on her voice acting. Earlier on, I usually do not pay much attention to the younger generation of seiyuu except for Sawashiro Miyuki (coz she’s fantastic at acting), Hayami Saori (coz she’s fantastic at singing), and Kitamura Eri (coz she’s fantastic at acting, singing, is mentally unstable, and stalks Mizuki Nana, Chihara Minori etc. etc. etc.). Tomatsu first piqued my interest in Polyphonica in how she seemed to effortlessly vary the tone and pitch of her voice to make herself sound like almost two distinct individuals. I tend to take immediate interest in seiyuu who have a very broad vocal range and are able to exploit that in every situation their characters are pelted in. Tomatsu has proven time and time again that she is indeed a really skilled manipulator of her best asset, and she never ceases to surprise me with her voice spectrum and expressions. Speaking of which, do check out Kannagi if you haven’t done so. Now.

Mmm Yes, Yuri!

Mmm Yes, Yuri!!

Mmm YES, YURI!!!! I’m sold.

Rabid fangirl rambling here, but I’m very, very, very glad CLAMP were tasked to design the characters. Otherwise, Yoriko’s mommy would have ended up looking like this

Kind of relieved that Nekoi-sensei was given the chance to design the male characters instead of it being a Mokona-sensei-only job like for Code Geass. Variety is always good. Also, it’s amusing how Mouryou no Hako has come to be known as a CLAMP series, even though their only staff credit is the character designs, although one may argue that other elements of the art and animation could have been influenced by their style. After all, who knows what other business dealings Ohkawa-sensei and Maruyama Masao could have discussed about during their meeting early this year. I guess them being old acquaintances have something to do with it? :/

Despite the publicity Mouryou no Hako attracts, perhaps due to CLAMP alone, it’s not a series meant for all viewers. If mystery, thriller or horror are not your type of genres, then you might find the pace uneventful and slow sometimes as the revelations that occur throughout the plot depend on the gradual build-up of fragmented events here and there. If you’re willing to try something that is unique and different from the other fall series, then by all means, do pick it up. There’s a good chance you won’t be disappointed if you stick with it until the end…though I personally can’t guarantee that for now lol. Right, text literature, text literature.