Audience reviews
16 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AeroGunz
“Requiem from the Darkness” is what happens when a horror story takes LSD
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the art style, more often than not, is like a fever dream and I love it for it. It gives a surreal and dissociated feel that is more than fitting for a show like this. A show about how twisted people can be.
Before we start I would like to explain something. I will be talking about “plot” and “story”. Many people use those terms interchangeably. I’m not one of those people, so to make sure everyone is on the same page…
I use the definitions for “plot” and “story” as Lisa Cron describes them:
“What happens in the story is the PLOT, the surface events.”
“STORY is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes internal…
Read at the sourcenozomiEX
This review comes fresh off of a second watch-through, mostly because I saw that I had already rated it here but didn't remember a thing about it. But now that I've seen it again, I remember my feelings from then and they hold true still, and just so this doesn't happen again, I'm leaving this as a note to self, and may as well share it here.
First off, I have to praise the artstyle. It's an inspired spooky style with lots of little touches to the environments, the buildings, the people or more appropriately, creatures, that give the show identity and atmosphere. It's probably the greatest strength of this anime. The animation itself, as well as overall production values, however... they're definitely on the cheap side, to put it kindly.
As for the narrative, the basic set-up for each e…
Read at the sourceNaz1994
Decided to rewatch this anime as i remember it being good but couldnt remember much about its contents. This is an anthology series so each episode contains a new story with new characters (except for last 2 or 3 episodes), all tied together with an overarching story about an author who bumps into a trio of beings? Who go around Japan to exorcise spirits that have committed sin.
So honestly, the characters weren't that memorable except maybe Mataichi and the animation style could be somewhat off putting as they mixed traditional anime style with 3d textures at some points. However the anime was strong where it mattered most and that was the story/ies. The episodic stories had some great plot twists and grotesque imagery that worked really well with some of the horrifying story details. S…
Read at the sourceKizna_Towryk
Requiem from the Darkness - 2003 - 7.5/10
The anthology series is an adaptation of Kyogoku Natsuhiko work. Genre is Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Fantasy with Historical and Psychological themes.
Show consists of a writer who journeys across the country to write an anthology of disturbing / ghost stories and his misadventures along the way. MC often meets the Ongyu, a trio with supernatural powers that hunt the wicked, on these travels.
Show depicts a lot of graphic gore and violence. Most characters are deformed in one way or another, the surroundings are dark and often quite literally twisted, setting the mood for all the disturbing things the viewer is about to witness. Supporting characters are sparsely developed through out the series to maintain mystery; aside from the MC, whom u…
Read at the source_DOLOS_
Mushishi, ACCA-13 now this I just feel like screaming "SUGOI"
These animes don't have a definite plotline so the character personality is a major deciding factor for people to watch or drop and this is where it exceeds your expectations. Wise, sly and bulkhead all three options are there for you
The MC is not as dumb as the poster make him appear so he too will not disappoint you
As for the plotlines it follows 1v1[1ep, 1plot, 1youkai] you won't feel like the stories being dragged at all. It's not Pokemon i.e. ghost and it's ability there's an intricate plot staged before ghost is introduced so you won't find that the plot has been half baked in order to focus on youkai.
Art style is next level. I mean this is 2003 anime last checked, the colours are symbiotic with the art style producin…
Read at the sourceBalaoCoon
Perhaps the most apt description for Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is "a tale showing corrupt people trying to use the supernatural to get away with their crimes, only for supernatural entities to deliver justice in place of the law." That is the plot in a nutshell, and at times it feels like that is all that the show is on a basic level, and episodes survived based off of how well they executed this premise, and in how bizarre and unique the visuals were pushed. Episodes varied a bit for me, some being really good and memorable, while others were dull and faded to give way to the more interesting ones, a few even feeling derivative of each other. While never painful, after watching enough I guessed the format by episode 4 and it never broke, each episode is about a crime o…
Read at the sourceOminousWrex
Horror stories exploring the darkness of the human heart are hardly uncommon, and yet, whenever I come across one, I find myself drawn towards them, fascinated. Perhaps it's a subconscious attempt to search for an answer, or perhaps I too find similar darkness residing in my own heart and seek company among such horrors. Regardless of the reason, I feel it's fair to say that many anime choose to either reside in the light with stories about finding some semblance of happiness no matter your situation, or they would choose to cheapen the horror with unrealistic tales of amoral and unsympathetic villains you could defeat like some Dragon Ball Z character. Rarely do writers take a more somber approach, and rarer do writers tell the audience to simply accept the horrors and suffering as part o…
Read at the sourcebmoore07
There is no method to the madness. Within Natsuhiko Kyogoku’s Requiem from the Darkness, there are exceptions to be sure but, generally speaking, this is a show where atrocities are committed by people with zero regard for or reasoning behind their actions. Lacking even a passing resemblance of foresight, they’re easily swayed by their self-serving impulses - a bruised ego here, a childish grievance there - into venturing as far as to kill one another.
“Kill”, of course, is a massive understatement. The humans depicted here don’t simply murder each other; they do so in a variety of grotesque ways. Victims’ faces are contorted with agony and heartrending screams are emitted as their eyes are punctured, their limbs severed, their bodies impaled, their flesh scorched, their skulls shattered,…
Read at the sourceWolfCladInBlack
Plot:
Taking place during the Bakumatsu era when the foundations of the Tokugawa government has began to sway, a young writer and folklorist named Momosuke wishes to write a book of 100 Ghost Stories. While researching these old myths and legends, the young man comes across a mysterious trio who call themselves the Ongyou. They are detectives who are investigating the legends to reveal their truth and bring those in wrong to justice. Each time Momosuke meets the Ongyou, he faces horrible truth and conflicts with his morals and he is witnessing things he is not supposed to witness…
I give a rating of 8/10 for the plot.
Characters and their Voice Castings:
The entire story involves a handful of characters that have the main roles to play. They are –
• Momosuke Yamaoka [Voice Casting: Toshi…
Read at the sourceshehrozeameen
I'll be honest, when I say, I don't have much to talk about when it comes to "Requirem from the Darkness"/Natsuhiko Kyogoku's "Hundred Stories"/ Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari. So I'll stick to the basics while describing my experience after I finished this anime series.
Being 13 episodes long, each episodes being less than 25 minutes long, the length of the episodes is certainly not a problem, and works to set the ambience of the anime. However, it is the themes of the anime which make it a difficult watch. It might not be an artistic presentation, but it definitely is a thematic fright, because it talks about the "darkness among men". Within its themes are: cannibalism, necrophilia, murder, and serial killing among the handful few obvious themes. Each of these themes is the integral part of…
Read at the sourcektulu007
Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari is an anime based on the writing of Kyogoku Natsuhiko. It was handled by TMS Entertainment, the same studio behind Detective Conan and Monster Rancher. So, how does a studio like that manage with a horror series? Let's take a look and see.
Story:
We open with a writer named Momosuke. Turns out, he's going on a trip to gather information to write an anthology of a hundred tales. While walking on a rainy night, he nearly falls off of a cliff only to be saved by a traveling monk named Mataichi. Mataichi gives Momosuke directions for a place he can stay and gives him an ominous warning to go straight there. In the dark, Momosuke stumbles into a derelict looking building where a second traveling monk has shown up. Inside, Momosuke sees that Mataichi is there as wel…
Read at the sourceangelsreview
I loved the stories, each show being almost stand alone as a storyline, very rarely going over 2 or more episodes and yet as you keep watching, it does lead up to something bigger. They take a lot of Japanese folklore and old stories and depict them in a rather interesting way. It does get a little hard to understand in the surreal look. You never know what is real and what is spiritual because of how some of the characters look (More on that in artwork). If you watch it in the dark, be scared. But yet the show almost asks you to watch it in the dark because it is so dark that it’s hard to see some of the detail.
The artwork is rather flat, getting its shading mostly with line drawing like it was done in pen and once in a while giving an almost three dimensional feeling almost CG-ish. It’…
Read at the sourceandredrezefilth
I just finished watching Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari and I must say that I'm very, very disappointed.
KHM started as a very interesting show. The short stories from the first 7 or 8 episodes were good enough for me to watch with close attention, an 8 score anime. But then it started to get pretty dull. And the ending (episodes 12 and 13) was just terrible. Typical shounen mambo jambo, full of meaningless catchphrases, heroes who show up in the right time and plot holes: several plot holes. Also, I did not feel I was watching a horror series, even with all the decapitations, rape and japanese ghost folclore dialogues.
Despite the general disappointment, I do not consider KHM a waste of time. It was OK, a 6 score anime. The art has some pretty neet stuff, especially on the backgrounds, and…
Read at the sourcerandomredneck
Hundred stories (or Requiem From The Darkness as its called stateside) is well...unique to say the least. Yamaoka Momosuke is collecting research for a book he wishes to write, the titular "Hundred stories." And then the shows gets weird. He meets the mysterious Ongyou, attractive Ogin, big guy Nagamimi, and pint sized leader of the trio, Mataichi. They are basically, detectives, finding and purging evil spirits and the like from the land. And Momosuke can't seem to quit running into them. It basically follows a typical monster of the week scenario until near the shows end, which i won't spoil here. The art style is rather surreal. Buildings, walls, and even people seem distorted and wavy. It almost made me turn it off, but i stayed and watched anyway. The story is pretty simple, real epis…
Read at the sourcemetzger
The main character, Momosuke, is a young writer whose ambition is to create an anthology of disturbing stories and mysterious country tales. On his trip researching the local legends he comes across the Ongyu - an odd trio of travelers in search for the wicked (each episode is about a different person in a different place) and handing out punishment for previous sins. The young author joins their travels and witnesses just how corrupt can people get. On his way he'll have to question his own morality, as the trio's ways of treating their "victims" is very cruel both mentally and physically.
Art is what dragged me into the anime. Just as the story dives into the darkness of human souls, the art gives the atmosphere. Hundred Stories does not have your typical style. Very few characters look…
Read at the sourceBluesnow
Hundred stories, More commonly known as "Requiem From the Darkness" is a horror anime like no other. 13 episodes of the most disturbing and gory stories you'll ever witness. The basic plot of the story is about a young man who is an author journeying to lands where there are mysterious rumors in order to write a book of 100 Japanese horror stories. Every time he encounters the supernatural though he runs into a group of the "Exorcists" traveling Japan to destroy the darkness in people's hearts.
Story: Each episode is a separate story in another village, but even though its "Episodic" the relationship between main characters is still developing. Most episodes start with a very disturbing scene, usually a brutal murder that hints at the "Darkness" behind the episode~ it really pulls you in…
Read at the source