Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Chapterh0use
From its first moments, this anime positions itself within a philosophy that recalls Sartre and his infamous formulation: hell is other people, with the film’s “Prologue: hell of others”. Midori’s suffering emerges from a group. The circus, that grotesque congregation of bodies and desires, is a living manifestation of hell, as they actively construct her suffering. The terror is in that there is no escape from a structure.
“My flowers have strayed”, says Midori, sounding like Ophelia in the gutter. Akin to her, Midori is a child suspended between innocence and dissolution. Like Ophelia, Midori is tied to floral imagery as a prophecy. She does not carry flowers, she is one: a fragile bloom already marked for decay.
The image of the mother; bleeding and collapsing into death, is one of th…
Read at the sourceEmmyMoomin
I don’t quite think I have the words for this one. Along with the fact that what hasn’t been said about it already?
So I’ll just say this. It’s a masterpiece, plain and simple. It’s grotesque and upsetting, sure, but so’s life, and art shouldn’t shy away from showing this sort of thing.
It’s not as fucked up as some puritan terminally online folks seem to think, but it’s definitely something I can understand some people having trouble sitting through it.
I do not like the reputation this film has, mostly by people who have not seen it, so if you see this review, take this advice with you: Do not believe the people that call it torture porn, and don’t believe the people that claim it deserved to be banned and to never see the light of day, watch it for yourself, and then judge. It really…
Read at the sourceMichaelMorbius
This is one of the most controversial animes ever created and has even been banned in several countries. I've decided to watch it due to its fame of being disgusting and horrible due to the amount rape, violence and body horror present within the anime. And man, was I disappointed. Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting much from a technical standpoint, I knew the movie kinda sucked in that sense but, at least, I was expecting to get horrified by looking at it and, instead, nothing. There were a couple of scenes which were a little hard to watch but even the parts who were considered most disturbing just didn't draw almost any reaction in me. Maybe it's me being desensitized as I've seen plenty of stuff or maybe it was because these weren't real people and it was just an animation, a rather…
Read at the sourceamealworm
Shoujo Tsubaki is wonderful! it is quite a surreal film with its visuals, but it may be quite disturbing for some as it contains lots of distressing topics. even if some don't like the film itself, they may still find themself appreciating the story behind it. which is equally, if not more interesting than the film itself.
I recommend this film to those who are artsy and interested in the strange and unsavory. And also, to those who can appreciate someone's hard, HARD work.
side note: this film does not glorify abuse or excuse it, like many have been saying. having bad things in a piece of art does NOT mean endorsement of it.
Read at the sourceWallflowerSerein
I am a fan of horror movies, ero-guro, weird and obscure genre's, and while this movie certainly hits the nail on the head.. it honestly feels like more of an outlet vent piece for Hamada. And I do relate. I do. His art is great, his passion, and he's worked even on Square Enix stuff. But this feels more of some outlet of trauma and for shock value, and I think it's personally overhyped for some great ero-guru "anime". It's not censored, and the detail in the animation is great work I won't deny that!
Re-watch value? Zero. I agree with the stance to ban it in Japan, it has no real story, and aside from placing traumatic events front and center there's no.. meat. No good core, unsure how to phrase what I'm trying to get across. One could say this is simply an animation of art for him, and t…
Read at the sourceitalktowomen
I saw this shit on a TikTok 2 days ago and decided to watch it and honestly after completing it I'm not surprised its banned in every country.
(Spoilers ahead because duh)
Where the hell to start first off its disturbing as hell like way more then it has to be. Weird threesome scenes or rats coming out of a women's vagina or Midori's body contorting in weird ways. There is some horror anime out there with fucked up scenes like the one this has but this makes it way more disturbing due to the whole story and the old animation.
It starts off with Midori who's living with her sick mom and she's selling flowers to help her mom and she meets this random dude who owns a circus or something and after rats eat her mom she joins up only to be raped and abused the whole time she's there. Yeah thi…
Read at the sourceAbrar02
I'm gonna expose my feelings about this anime. Not gonna overreact like other people are doing after watching this.
Honestly, this anime was not like what people are saying. You'll hear that this is sh*t, terrifying, worst, etc. I know, there were some disturbing scenes & maybe soft-hearted people won't gonna like this. But to me, it was just another normal sad story.
In this story, Midori is the main character. I guess she is about 11/12 years old. In the beginning, her mom died. Then she joined a circus for money. But the people of the circus were not that good. They abused her, r*ped her, etc. Then at one time, she fall in love with a much older man who was a magician & married him just because he was kind to her. This is how the story continues.
You'll definitely see some disturbin…
Read at the sources4rka
Shojo Tsubaki is easily the worst anime i've ever seen. Sure, the art is really beautiful, however anime is not supposed to be a powerpoint presentation, i can hardly say it was actually animated. But that's to be expected considering there was only one person working on it. Why was there only a single man working on this anime? Because no one else wanted to. If you want to start a new project and everyone you ask for help on it declines, maybe reconsider starting it at all. Now, the plot. There was hardly any plot. The storyline only seemed as an excuse to exhibit gore and obscurities. Those things are not inherently a bad thing in art, however there has to be a clear reason, a message or a statement, at least just a bit thought behind it in order for it to be tasteful. Shojo Tsubaki had…
Read at the sourcesam_nko
I don't get why people on TikTok made such a fuss about it. It's not that bad. Yes, it's gory & gross & cruel. But ultimately I liked the art style & I have a great deal of respect for the artist seeing as they did the frames' drawings by himself [ correct me if I'm wrong].
The plot itself was a bit confusing for me after the dwarf guy came into the picture. & the end was a bit confusing to me as well. I didn't like some scenes, but that's expected as this is a very... dark film.
But uhhh... yeah. It's not that terrible.
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
The first thing you probably noticed was the 2 rating I gave this OVA. So that means I think this is objectively a piece of dog shit right? Well...no I don't. I tend to dislike ratings in general because as critics our best attempts at being objective often fall short. If I watch a movie alongside my GF or a best friend and I'm having a really good time that night, my rating will likely be inflated. Likewise, if I watch a comedy in a bad mood and didn't laugh, my rating will probably be too low. Let's say I watch a movie at a younger age and it leaves a larger impression because I had never experienced similar themes or techniques before. I could watch the same movie at a later point in life and my rating wouldn't be quite as high.
Midori is an anime that completely defies trad…
Read at the sourcegabrielrroiz
Have you ever experienced a perfect movie? As an avid anime watcher I am always looking for these titles, the one where seemingly everything clicks. Works of such transcendental quality, with impeccable theming and symbolism, that join extremely effective storytelling with gigantic personal and emotional impacts. Shoujo Tsubaki is for me(and for everybody who does not have shit taste) one of those, a piece of fiction without an equal in any media. This review basically is my embarrassing attempt to spread my love for the work, while also trying to prove as flawed, many of the retarded claims made by most of its detractors. Also spoiler free review, there are thing in life that need to be experienced in full glory, without spoilers slightly altering(ruining it is just not possible here) the…
Read at the sourceKevinTylerVA
the only things I give a pass on in this vile abomination is the artwork and animation because it was done by one man but the story and content has no excuse it's hard to excuse Animal Abuse, Torture, Rape and Pedophilia
Harada made this project by himself because he couldn't get the support from a studio FOR GOOD REASON. Harada might be considered a genius for being able to create the project entirely by himself but if this is what comes from the man's mind than he is also a sick individual. The line between Genius and Insanity is a thin one and I guess I can see that here
Read at the sourcemetem_psychosis
How do you deal with social alienation? Born into circumstances where the rest of society deems you as abnormal, and forced to join a circus to "fit in" and make a living by performing odd and dangerous magic tricks and stunts. It's not an ideal life, but when someone's limbs are severed, or body mutilated, or the mind just isn't functioning right, it may be the only way to have a sense of identity.
The Circus in Midori is made of a motley band of misfits, and Midori herself is tricked into joining them. Midori is seemingly normal, and juxtaposing her against the circus crew feels wrong. She used to be a normal elementary kid, but now she is forced to mingle among those who would never be able to read or write themselves. Seeing her innocence tainted by desperate lonely hearts is frankly…
Read at the sourceturnthescorpion
This is a somewhat typical story of a girl who unintentionally ends up in a freak show against her will. But of course, what goes on behind closed doors is vastly different from what the audience probably imagines.
While thematically and sometimes visually disturbing, the plot falls short and, in my opinion, isn't very interesting or entertaining. I more watched it for the shock fact than anything. Even that mostly fell short, save for a couple scenes.
Overall, it may be worth a watch if you're into the freak show/macabre scene. But don't expect a profound or particularly interesting plot.
Read at the sourceArisa_Lucifiria
Such a crazy work there is it to be here. Disturbing, haunting, chaotic, terrifying - There's not much word that can fathom the disturbing level that this work could produced. Nothing much to say really, but this is just, too disturbing. I would not want to watch this for the 2nd nor the thrice, because that would driven yourself to the edge of a breakdown.
This work isn't just about gore and mutilation, as there is something else need to be told by the director. It's telling about the reality, used to happened life issues in the past. This anime, no , this piece of hellish nightmare are engrossing and deep, furthermore dwelling are in unimaginable twisting road. Lest alone, you would not feel a hint of happiness by watching this, unless you are a psychopath yourself. It's a 50 minutes r…
Read at the sourcektulu007
Welcome back, my friends, to horror anime month. This week I'll be looking at Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki. Yes, I know that it was supposed to be Blue Gender. My apologies, but I lost Internet service for several days and wasn't able to quite finish it. So it'll have to wait for next week. In the meantime, let's take a look at this film that was banned in Japan when it came out on account of its imagery. The film was crafted by a single man, Harada Hiroshi. Supposedly he found it impossible to gain sponsors for it and spent his life savings on the project. Is it a Magnum Opus or were there very good reasons that Harada couldn't find anyone to take up the project? Let's delve into this obscure piece and find out.
The story follows young Midori. She loses both of her parents and has no one to t…
Read at the sourceWILDskf
It's great metaphorically speaking, but a lot of viewers will likely find the content of this film very disturbing. There is lots of gore and sexual content. Just warning you ahead of time. I'm not sure if I'm glad I was able to see it (there are scenes that I am just outright abhorred with), but I can't say I've seen much like it and I found the execution of the story and the symbolism of the images selected very effective. It's an artistic / experimental film.
HOWEVER I would not recommend this to a lot of people. Definitely not for the weak of stomach or the weak of mind.
Read at the sourceSolemnmind
Story: 4/10
The world is not beautiful, therefore it is; a thought-provoking proverb popularized by Kino's Journey that nonetheless leaves its trail in lots of anime. Midori is in this sense the ultimate combo breaker in its determination to depict a cruel world whilst rejecting the vaguest of indications that beauty may lie around the corner. Its unpleasant worldview manifests itself perfectly in young Midori who is taken in by a group of deformed circus artists after the death of her beloved mother.
Her various experiences with these individuals are as far from beneficial as they are from being mutual and the movie is eager to explore its grotesque combination of childhood innocence and sexual perversion in the most surreal ways imaginable. The titular character is not only physically,…
Read at the sourceoctal9
being a huge fan of the dark genius of mangaka suehiro maruo, i decided to check out the anime version of his masterpiece of guro/psychosis shoujo tsubaki. the story takes place in the ramshackle underbelly of early showa period japan. it's the story of a young girl named midori who loses her family and is tricked into traveling with a truly gruesome freakshow circus a la tod browning's 1932 movie freaks (armless man, mummy, sword swallower, strongman, human worm, etc.) and her journey through misery to love and back to misery again. it's definitely not a story for people who don't revel in the dark side of human nature. this anime version captures maruo's original work somewhat well, with an aura of silent film era horror, japanese woodcut paintings of yokai and oni, and a certain dark be…
Read at the sourcedvlsweet666
The movie was really great. Some people might be a little disturbed by some scenes and how the story plot goes or might not feel comfortable with the artwork, but it is to know that the director, Hiroshi Harada, drew the entire movie by himself and he wanted to make it look like a sort of japanese paper play. At first I was being dissapointed about the animation, but later it gets better and really breath takes you for some scenes. The story is wonderful , the characters are wee thought. After seing some drawings from the graphic novel it was based on , I believe it stayed true to it's spirit. I recommend that people that are really sensitive or can't stand cruelty and violence think twice before watching this because it can really get intense , but people who don't mind that and who want…
Read at the source