Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Luubie
When we watch horror anime, it is expected to follow an engaging story that does not abuse harmful techniques that only serve to scare the public. Furthermore, shows need to arouse interest, as suspense, action and production need to work together to offer the best show possible, be it film, manga, series or anime. Yami Shibai is an example of how to make disturbing stories, without depending on other forms of discomfort or tension.
To begin with, I must say that the show is independent of a very elaborate narrative quality, especially when it comes to a compilation of Japanese horror stories, where urban legends, cases and superstitions are always frequent in Japanese villages and regions. Yami Shibai took advantage of this, bringing a very unique style that is common in Japanese culture…
Read at the sourceironsakura32
Story:
Basically 13 short little stories based on Japanese urban legends or myths. All of them were interesting and in my opinion, done well. Every story is at the very least, creepy (some were downright scary), and it had me hooked from the first episode.
Animation:
At first this was a sticking point to me. The animation was extremely basic, but after a few episodes it grew on me and actually it fits very well with the asthetic of the show. The animation is based off of the Japanese paper theatre story tellers. It is done well for what it is trying to do.
Sound:
The sound is done very well and adds to the general vibe of creepyness and is unnerving at times. The Story Teller's voice animation is done excellently and is very creepy.
Characters:
Can't really say anything about this b…
Read at the sourcecharlottadell
Yamishibai is very hit or miss. When it's good the art and sound fit perfectly with the story making it both unnerving and thought provoking. However, when it's bad it's like watching an animated version of a story written by a middle schooler who thinks they're deep. Fortunately all the episodes are independent and just five minutes long so you're at a minimum risk of wasting your time!
Like I've pointed out the stories vary in quality but it's really the combination with lacklustre direction that makes them bad. Sometimes it's better to tell rather than show, especially when it comes to animating horror. A description of a gooey monster sounds scarier than a drawing of an awkward blob ya know?
Which brings me to art! Overall I love the art style of Yamishibai. It goes really well with…
Read at the sourcektulu007
Yami Shibai is a series of horror shorts by ILCA. I've looked at another one of their anthologies two years ago when I reviewed Kowabon. So, is this one any better?
Story:
Like Kowabon, every episode is a short, quick fire horror scenario. They basically follow a formula of setting up some kind of unsettling scenario, building on them and then reaching a conclusion.
The biggest issue is that, if you know your horror tropes, you can pretty reliably predict most of the episode endings. To be fair to the series, it does appear to be directed at very young teenagers, maybe even children on the verge of becoming teenagers. So, a lot of the target audience won't be as familiar with the tropes.
I will also credit the series for being fairly effective at setting up its scenarios. The episode…
Read at the sourceSgtSalamander
I'm not mad, just disappointed. The stories that they had to play with here had so much potential and were genuinely interesting. I stuck around only because I hadn't heard of them before and wanted to hear how they turned out. How they treated these stories felt kind of lazy in comparison to what they could have pulled off.
The art is stagnant, devoid of energy and gives off more of a storybook vibe, which they're probably going for on purpose. Regardless, the style they chose keeps their ghosts and monsters from jumping out at you, and not once was I anything more than mildly creeped out. Even at that, it was at the story itself and not how they presented it to me.
The sound is audible, and delivers nothing more than is absolutely necessary.
The characters are decidedly two-dimensi…
Read at the sourceYuri-Crusader
Ghost story's have been told for generations, since the dawn of man. It's one of the earliest forms of entertainment humankind engulfed themselves with. Before television electricity even before literature, people gathered around the fire to hear chilling tales. Humans like to be frightened and immersive themselves in a world full of ghost goblins and demons.So let's gather around and I will tell more of about some horrifying Ghost story's.. Welcome to my review of Yami Shibai!
Rather then one big story this is a collation of shorter ghost tales. And with only four minutes of time they are surprisingly well done, and being told in a creepy menacing way!!They are unique ominous and extremely well presented .Before I start watching this i thought the short time could be a problem but that…
Read at the sourceXaerith
"Step right up and have a look..." are the words of the alluring storyteller fitted with a haunting Noh-like mask: "It's time for Yamishibai"
Collecting short ghost stories based on Japanese urban legends, Yamishibai is criminally short, yet beautifully animated. The animation gives a very bunraku feel, almost as though the characters are all puppets behind a screen. It was no surprise, then, to find out the animation is specifically designed to mimic kamishibai; visual storytelling from the post-war period in Japan. Fans of series like Another and Jigoku Shoujo or any supernatural anime designed to spook and terrify will most likely enjoy this series. Although they vary in quality, they never quite leave you and are always memorable in one way or another. Prepare for one heck of a ride.
Read at the sourceCriscosandwich
Step right up and have a look...
It's time for Yamishibai
---
Story: 8
Yamishibai is a series of folk tales, urban legends and ghost stories, meaning it doesn't really have an over-arching plot. Each episode is 4 minutes long, making this a really short series that you can probably finish in about 2 or 3 hours. However it doesn't really detract from the value of the show. Because each episode is so short, it sets up the premise and gets to the point pretty fast. The thing this anime does best is it's atmosphere. Because it gets to the point fast, the atmosphere is intense and fast-paced, and each climax usually ends with a twist. I enjoyed alot of the stories told in this anime, yet some are better than others.
Art: 9
The art of this show is probably the most unique type of art styl…
Read at the sourcebro3112
Yami Shibai was an anime like I haven't seen before. I only anime that I could possibly slightly comapre it to is Pet Shop of Horrors due to the way that it is set out with new characters and storylines each episode. It was a quick watch of horror which I could fit in to watch anywhere and get a little creeped out everytime.
--STORY--
The story was ok. Considering each episode goes for a duration of 5 minutes with a new story each episode there was not much room for development of a story. But that was not the point of this anime. It was just a quick little horror story to give people a scare.
--ART--
I really liked the art style of this anime. It was completly different to most art styles in the way that it resembled a paper cut out and stop motion animation. Even with this simple art d…
Read at the sourcekokyo
-This is my first review so please bear with me-
Ah yes, Yami Shibai, I heard a bit about it before watching but finally decided to try it out because I thought "Hey, I could finish this in less than an hour, might as well give it a go." I have to say, this anime really surprised me, it exceeded my expectations and managed to hold my attention, I mean, it could get repetitive at times but the episodes are only, what, four minutes long? So I sat through it all and somehow ended up writing this review.
STORY - 8
It's a very simple concept, ghost stories, that's it, that's what the anime revolves around. I thought this sounded interesting and ended up giving it a try. It's basically your average "telling spooky stories around the campfire" scenario, except instead of that we have a mysterio…
Read at the sourceParaturtle
Story:
Detailed, intriguing, and consistently spooky. Each episode has a proper horror creep that steadies from a standard uncomfortable base up towards a satisfying, yet open-ended climax. As horrors should be, there isn't a lot of detail, and it's all within an understood realm of disturbing. What works in Yami Shibai is the idea that no object, action, or location is safe from horror. And, when those things are scary, there's almost an inconvenience to them at first, rather than a straight up terror factor.
For instance, the Hair episode has the MC photocopy something and lines come out on the copy. That's not scary at first, that's annoying. It's only after she investigates a rather mundane thing that it becomes scary. Time and time again, these things take place. It's incredibly inte…
Read at the sourceyuupon
A series of short stories of unfortunate people who experienced paranormal happenings in their life. As I watch the series, instead of feeling the fear that the anime attempts to show to the viewer, what I felt is the disappointment of having these stories that could've been developed into an excellent horror anime was put in a 4-minute episode.
Every episode has a new story, new characters and a unique way of scaring people that could've been used to develop a new anime. I find it nice that certain episodes make me cover my face with a pillow due to the fear. At the end of every episode, I find myself disappointed since the stories presented can already become ideas for an awesome anime series. Knowing it is a series, the time they used in making these series, they should've spend it in…
Read at the sourcehana_b
As I watched the first episode, I really don't expect much from the anime but it's only 4 minutes per episode and I think I should just finish it and give it a try.
I'm not really used with the anime's art style but still it's pretty okay.
All I can say is the SOUND EFFECTS were really GOOD. It got me jumping on my chair but the story always leave me hanging. I don't know the reason as to why the scary things happened. It always leave me wondering.
Also, as you go further with the anime. The story gets creepier. It's a plus points.
Read at the sourceAlephDaud
Please note: This will be a review of only the first season of Yami Shibai.
Horror is something that seems hard to truly do in anime. That’s not to say that there aren’t any good horror anime out there however I find that there are few horror anime that seem to be legitimately scary. When I say this, I mean anime that can successfully keep the viewer on edge when watching them through sound and atmosphere, instead of just dumping lots of gore and yanderes into the show and having the characters give psychotic smiles every now and then (looking at you Elfen Lied and Future Dairy). Yami Shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories is one of the few anime I’ve seen that gets the Horror atmosphere right and while not perfect is a unique group of shorts that give some good creepy tales.
Yami Shibai is a se…
Read at the sourceShamethat
When it comes to rating anime, I often wonder whether they should be rated differently depending on their differing goals and whether or not they fulfil those goals. For example, would it make sense to rate Madoka highly because it achieves its aim for shock value and exploring the "depth" behind the magical girl genre, regardless of the quality of its story or characters?
Yami Shibai is the perfect example of an anime which raises this conundrum for me. It isn't particularly representative of, or even relevant to, the standard structure and characteristics of anime; it is, however, a show that sets out with the purpose of being scary and one that manages to fulfill its purpose through and through.
Story? Sure, this one has lots of stories! They're fairly enjoyable and are set out compet…
Read at the sourceDeadlySilvers
Yami Shibai...
This series is a collection of short horror stories which aren't meant to make you jump in your seat but rather scare you with creepy, weird and unique short stories which don't involve jump scares although the second season is filled with them.
Every episode is unique but many are uninteresting, cliche and boring. The episodes aren't great but the ideas produced are the most compelling component of this series.
The art is uninspiring but the pure stiffness of the animation adds to the overall creepiness. The animation is like a picture drama with minor movements, cardboard cut-outs essentially.The characters are rather weak but you can't expect much character depth or development in 4 minutes; each episode also has different characters.
I enjoyed the series to a degr…
Read at the sourcewengdeng
Theatre of Darkness will be the shortest hour of your life.
Allow me address the elephant in the room – the episode runtime. The problem here is I do not lean strongly either way because I cannot completely tear down nor defend it. I will say it is a big factor as to why I did not rate this a perfect 10, though. Visually, it is compelling. There are times when the quality falters, but because of the stylistic choices which fit in with the cutout 'theatre' image, I cannot complain. The sound and atmospheric design is very well done. And most importantly, the horror is executed amazingly. But this is where the 4-minute limit becomes a hit-or-miss situation.
There are quite a number of times where the fast pace actually helps. There is literally no time for draggy or slow exposition or set-…
Read at the sourceNeverKnowsBest26
Sometimes the simplest of ideas work surprisingly well. Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories (or Theater of Darkness) is essentially the animated equivalence of telling spooky stories by the campfire. Of course, unlike campfire ghost stories, it has the advantage of telling its story through visuals and atmosphere setting sound design. This is as rudimentary as storytelling gets, short and quick to the point. Yet these tales of horror are plenty effective; distilling the tense atmosphere and shocks which make those short ghost stories so much fun.
Yamishibai wholly commits to creating a creepy atmosphere from beginning to end. The short opening for every episode has a man in a creepy mask telling a bunch of pale, lifeless looking kids with bloodshot eyes at a playground to gather round and…
Read at the sourceReishun
Do you like horror?
Me personally I am not a great fan of the horror genre, is rare that I'll go watch an horror movie or show. Why you ask? Simply because I don't really enjoy it....I mean I do like it but I don't like it......to more clear I like it but it scares the shit out of me every 0.10 seconds(yeah I'm a scarycat but deal with it!). So for my surprise that some afternoon out of boredom I click on a new title on Crunchyroll called "Yami Shibai" and today out of boredom I am writing a review about it. So with all the shit introduction and nonsense being already said,today on Javier123's reviews (yeah I know its shit and I gotta find another name)I'll be reviewing Yami Shibai:Japanese Ghost Stories.
(Ok this my first review don't be too critical and please tell me what you thought…
Read at the sourceAlpharon
Esta review también está en español.
Step right up and have a look… It's time for Theater of Darkness…
With this ominous presentation, a mysterious man wearing a golden mask invites us to enjoy Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories (Theater of darkness, and from now on, YS), an anthology of Japanese rumors and urban legends, full of spirits, ghost, curses, and all those creepy things we like so much. No gore or extreme violence here, only pure, clean terror.
Unlike creations like Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror or Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari, which both had a more medieval setting (or at least, before the Meiji era), YS take place in modern Japan. Personally, I think this is a plus, because, although it's true that there are some Japanese folk elements, it's not hard to understand what's…
Read at the source