Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Lady_Satan
I like the story, at first it looks like it's all about killing monsters, but it goes deeper, more about a war of power with a psychopatic villain that at first just seemed like a plain secondary character. But what I loved the most is the art, a lot of anime series look all the same if we talk about them artistically, but this is different. I always liked this kind of art, it can look like it's unfinished, but the noisy drawings look more violent and visceral, it lets your brain imagine the parts that aren't represented graphically, based on the context of the scenes and the dialogues, and in my opinion is the best way to communicate some feelings like pain or struggle, better than a perfectly drawn face. This artistic style fits perfectly with the psychologic aspects of the story. I know…
Read at the sourceskade_
I loved the direction and the rough line work; it added to the gruesome and bizarre world perfectly. The animation can shift from jarring—as if a toddler drew it—to movie-level quality. That, combined with the slightly distorted character designs and abstract imagery, creates a very special atmosphere.
It’s gritty, over-sexualized, and features samurai fighting monsters that shape-shift from humans, complete with grotesque transformations. Of course, I can’t forget the tragedy of the monster-human relationships. While well-done, I do have my critiques: some character motives and decisions fall flat. The pacing can be off, and how they invested their time could have been rethought considering this is only a 13-episode series. I believe this would have worked much better with 24 episodes.…
Read at the sourceDompa112
Kinda slow started. Around halfway it got very interesting. Being 13 episodes though it kinda ended to quick at that ponit.
Gore was medium. Not to heavy compared to other shows in the genre. Not much psychological compared to Madhouse other 2000 shows. Seemed to rely more on its sex theme than Psychological or gore.
Art style was pretty wild. Not a huge fan of it. Music was fairly mediocre. Boring OP/ED. The action and story towards the end was good though. I enjoyed it but seeing how late it got going felt to short and underdeveloped. Especially in terms of its characters.
All in all worth a watch if you are a fan of early Madhouse anime. Not a classic or one of their greatest but worth a watch.
Read at the sourceJastereich
Kemonozume serves as a grand experiment in both animation and narrative. The storyline initially establishes a firm foundation, evolving into a suspenseful romance with a rapid influx of plot twists soon after the introduction. Yet, it is akin to a perplexing mind-bender, albeit in reverse, once it undergoes a narrative whirlwind. Allow me to elaborate. A compelling mind-bending show usually starts with a relatively comprehensible premise, gradually intensifying the mystery and dropping subtle clues, possibly enhancing the viewer's confusion, until everything clicks into place at the climax. However, this show resembles a fusion of FLCL, Saikano, and Higurashi: commencing as incredibly bizarre yet comprehensible, it progressively introduces increasingly absurd concepts to an initially soli…
Read at the sourcebergars
I'm always intimidated by anything Yuasa directs.
It's weird. Everybody complains about this being Romeo and Juliet with a new coat of cannibal demon paint. That's absolutely why it's so great to begin with. The concepts of impossible love are those which explore the limits of human emotion. What would you do? Happiness is beyond a threshold that requires a sacrifice. No going back, and it's all for another person who's doing the same. Accelerating, passionate, brutal, bloody, filled with comedy, mess-ups, mistakes, and most of all, the horror of leaving life behind for somebody you're just getting to know.
First thing I gotta acknowledge, holy sh*t the characters here are incredible. Human beings who do everything towards their desires, and the world putting them in their places, just…
Read at the sourceCaptainKenshiro
Although rare, Masaaki Yuasa has some misses among his works, and Kemonozume is one of them. It was the only important show of his left for me to watch and I was surprised with how bad it was, considering he made it between Mind Game and Kaiba.
The premise isn’t very captivating, it’s Romeo and Juliet with human swordsmen and monsters, that’s it, and I couldn’t even buy the way it’s presented, I don’t believe in love at first sight, attraction? Sure, but love? Nah, which is why I never bought it in fiction either. It’s even harder to accept it in here because the two main characters just find the other in the beach and the next day they are already fucking, and that’s what the relationship between them is mostly about, having sex. Other than that, other forms of interaction between them…
Read at the sourceDeadEndREQUIEM
It's not too bad it or either that good, the romance is garbage the only romance is the sex scenes he actually cheated on her age that had no reprecursions.Art direction is unique but at the end of the day it doesn't look even slightly visually appealing the plot is all over the place and for most of it they had no goals and couldn't see where it was going.
The female lead is mid and it feels like the anime is just about the couple trying to have sex successfully.
The characters are not likeable the only one that was likeable was Rie&Bon the rest mid also the main antagonist was shit
Read at the sourceCapivaraKun
What if you were a samurai trained from childhood to exterminate human-eating monsters, and you happened to fall in love with one of these "freaks", would you honor your origins or betray them in hopes of living an impossible love?
It is with this assumption that the story begins, but different from what may seem like, kemonozume is not a retelling of "Romeo and Juliet", on the contrary, the plot approaches much more than a simple "impossible romance", since the The couple's development and the novel itself are not the main narrative focus, but act as a precursor that ends up triggering the main events of the work.
But before we talk about kemonozume, we must understand a little better the mind of Masaaki Yuasa (director and writer of the work), who in interviews says he really likes to…
Read at the sourcereizamundi
Cliché story playfully narrated with funky music, experimental art & design, and editing married with excellent humor.
Story & Characters:
• Not a particularly unique story, but told in a lively and experimental manner which was very enjoyable.
• The humor in this series is superb, from the absurd supporting characters to the ridiculously weird plots. I got plenty of good laughs out of this anime, which is quite rare.
• Many aspects of the story and characters reminded me a lot of Claymore and are rather generic.
Art & Sound:
• Subjectively, I did not like the sketchy stylistic art. However, the compositions, camera angels, colors, and editing were excellent. Though visually unappealing for me, the stylized art definitely attenuates the avant-garde and playful storytelling. This anime wo…
Read at the sourceSudoSen
I never had written a review but after seeing this anime, I wanted to right one, Its going to be a short one...
So basically this anime is a weird one, not because of the art but the extremely fast pacing and unexpected character development and their actions, maybe as Yuka implied, the characters were only showing their good sides
The art maybe be a turn off for some people but for those who enjoy different art styles, will be not disappointed plus Sound is awesome plus awesome ED
I was a little bit disappointed in the characters development but because of the fast pacing, I needed to accept the fact
You satisfied with the ending and believe me, comedy moments were great
In short, stick to the end, you will enjoy it, many surprises awaits you and its going to be one hell of a weird r…
Read at the sourcekrayde
Kemonozume is a unique piece of animation and one that you won't forget.
The story's broad outlines are familiar themes; forbidden love between members of warring factions ala Romeo and Julet, characters fighting their own nature and powermad antagonists sacrificing their humanity for power. While these are all things viewers have seen before, Kemonozume manages to keep viewers invested in the main characters by ways of well portrayed tension and conflict, internal and external along their journey and confrontation.
Where Kemonozume really stands out is with it's art. Masaaki Yuasa's (Devilman: Crybaby, Ping Pong the Animation, Tatami Galaxy) style shows strongly and the series benefits from it. The art is intentionally simple and rough, at times focusing on depicting movement and dynam…
Read at the sourceIcarusxIcarus
Taken from my instagram:
Kemonozume is an anime written and directed by one of my favourite directors, Masaaki Yuasa. Needless to say, my expectations were high. Fortunately Kemonozume was able to live up to those expectations and even exceed them in some ways. The most striking thing about this anime is it’s visuals, everything is drawn to have a very rough look and real life photos are even used for things such as food. Kemonozume is one of the most stylised anime I have ever seen, but for those of you who are familiar with Yuasa’s work this will come as no surprise. One of my favourite things about this anime is that the visuals not only complement the horrific story being told but even elevate it in many ways. Kemonozume is great at combing elements from many different genres such as…
Read at the sourceGundroog
Spoilers ahead
For the sake of being more concise I want to separate the story into 3 big chunks, Kemonozume plot doesn't really pay off because of how bad the ending is but despite that the first few hours have a lot going on and I'd rather not go into long paragraphs describing a lot of what simply happens in the show to provide a more in-depth take on them.
1. Romance
For the most of the show you'll be following Toshihiko and Yuka. To begin with there's a very "forbidden love" vibe to their relationship since Toshihiko hunts monsters and Yuka is one but they both have something in it that makes them overcome it. For Toshihiko it's about feeling love for the first time, he sees her, falls in love and then can't think of anything else until he runs back to beach and meets her again throu…
Read at the sourceXcox
To be honest I've been searching some anime non-school-hero-like behaviour. Still this anime comes out with a "special" art technique, actually I disliked art a lot, but this thing allowed to hide R+ to a simple R which I appreciated a lot.
Plot is flat, but is there a way to show it other way? Main character (Toshihiko) meets mind-blowing blonde (Yuka) and falls in love instantly. Anime is about difficulties young couple face when literally all people surround you do not support such relations and how they(couple) deal with such life troubles.
Love, lies, troubleshooting and strong will, that's all you should know before watching it.
Read at the sourcecomiclove
The anime television debut of Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game's director), Kemonozume both adheres to and diverges from the tropes of the 'Monster Hunter' genre of media. While the story might not be quite as intriguing as Mind Game's, this 1-cour show makes its mark with distinctive art, a quality soundtrack + voice acting, and engaging characters.
[Story - 7]
Kemonozume follows the story of Toshihiko, an expert swordsman in the Kifuuken (a monster-hunting guild), and his 'unconventional' romance with Yuka, a Shokujinki (Flesh Eater). It seems rather Romeo & Juliet-esque at first honestly, but it quickly diverts from that in the first 4-5 episodes. From there, it's a high-stakes tale of trying to defeat both depraved monsters and insidious humans while trying to maintain the precarious balanc…
Read at the sourceSharazJek
While watching this show I couldn't help but be reminded of the cartoons (Such as Aeon Flux, The Maxx, and The Head to name a few examples) I used to consume on MTV; bizarre, surreal, with dollops of absurdity, philosophy, and often psycho-sexual imagery. Or pretty much exactly what an edgy teenager in their formative years wanted at the time!
However, I've changed over time, and merely being experimental isn't always enough. It's artsy and stylish without being pretentious, and it's easy to sympathize with our lead female, who has a sweet romance with the male lead but struggles to constrain her inner monster, usually brought about whenever she drinks or gets intimate with him. It's basically a twisted love story where both partners must abandon and risk everything in order to be togethe…
Read at the sourcewallymunster
I would like to start off saying that I love Yuasa's work and unfortunately I have come to this series last in his work (except some shorts).
I would describe the story as what if Romeo and Juliet (where Juliet is a monster) would be like once they got over in their head and they were suddenly in the world of Psycho Pass. It is an interesting story with lots of twists and turns which are well thought out and amazingly executed.
It's unfortunate that I feel that some of the actions from characters are so over done and some of the comedy I think is out of place and subtracts from the scene, for example the entirety of episode 6 is like a gag manga comedy and I feel it is somewhat out of place.
Animation style was solid (if you are used to Yuasa) with some guest artists bringing different…
Read at the sourcehinekure
If there is one director in the anime world who never fails to surprise, refresh and delight me, it is Yuasa Masaaki. Having created popular masterpieces like Ping Pong the Animation and The Tatami Galaxy, it is clear that he does not disappoint. His works are stylistically striking and always seem to bear an overwhelmingly positive and uplifting atmosphere. Kemonozume is no exception.
Story: 8/10
The story follows a species of monsters that prey upon humans, the Shokujinki, and the organisation that is dedicated to eradicating them - the Kifuuken. The story gains direction when Toshiko, a member of the Kifuuken, and Yuka, a "Flesh Eater", fall in love at first sight. META_BODY's review covers the philosophical aspect of this story far better than I could, but believe me when I say that i…
Read at the sourceCespar
Kemonozume is obviously not your typical anime. I knew what I was expecting from the director Masaaki Yuasa, known from his critically acclaimed works such as Kaiba, The Tatami Galaxy, Mind Game, and the most recent work of 2014 Ping Pong the Animation. The surrealistic art style, jarring enough to see the choppy yet dynamic movement, and the unconventional means of using a diverse set of characters to get the message across its audience would be also in Kemonozume. I was half right.
What I didn’t expect was the copious amounts of gore, sex, and nudity that were there. However, I did get used to it and the nudity was far from an erotic hentai and was more under the lines of unsettling due to its abstract art style.
**Pretty much spoiler-free. Be aware of the frequent uses of “T and A”…
Read at the sourcevigorousjammer
The story of Kemonozume was very enjoyable. While it does have a lot of standard ideas within it, I feel like it separates itself from them by presenting them in a new, unique manner that comes off a wholly original. Most of the episodes feel like a self-contained tale, while still adding to the overall plotline, and I love that style of doing things. The way the story is presented, in terms of the camera angles and the pacing of everything is also masterfully done.
Most of the characters have some unique qualities to them, but don't do too much to sand out from the crowd, giving us interesting, likable, and realistic characters... but also entirely forgettable ones. However, one character really stands out to me as memorable, and that would be Kyuutarou Ooba. This old man with his iconic…
Read at the source
