Kohachi Inugami, a detective who specializes in the occult, arrives at a remote village in the Japanese countryside, tasked by a hostess at a local inn to investigate a string of incidents involving rotting and mutilated livestock corpses that have been appearing for seemingly no reason. While surveying, Inugami notices a peculiar young boy working in the fields. Evaded by his peers and called "Dorotabou" for his stench, the young farmhand is surprised that anybody would take an interest in him.
Inugami, piqued with curiosity, enlists Dorotabou in helping him with the investigation, despite scorned looks from the villagers. Unbeknownst to Dorotabou, this investigation will reveal a strange new world to him—one of the beast-like entities known as Kemono existing in tandem with humans—along with breathing new purpose into his previously empty life.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Ethan_07
Kemono Jihen is, without a doubt, the dark horse of Winter 2021. Dark, not only in its fame and premises that are being overshadowed, but also in its plot and story that twists the audience around its bloody, red hand-gloves. Among tons of promising sequels and exciting, intriguing anime that are pumped into this season, I step into watching this show with no clue whatsoever it is about, and it left me impressed with the gory yet thrilling adventure of the protagonists against the relentless demons, warm my heart with a genuine portrayal of friendship that exceeds 'protect to protect' values, and really blew my expectationaway.
In a society where demons of different races and classes exist unbeknownst to the human, it's up to a detective office cooperating with the higher-up in police officials to keep the boundary between two kinds clear, and visible. The main character, a child with high regenerative skill and enormous brute strength is recruited into the detective team from outskirt.
But, there's a catch: he doesn't know love, and is emotionless.
As the plot progresses, ensemble characters with different talents, and most importantly, captivatingly dark background stories intertwine together. It's almost like a celebration of a cluster of broken demons, yet with human emotions, that are brought together for a chance to live—regardless of the numbing pain that are yet to be unfolded, or lingering truth that are to be discovered.
Strangely, it is because of their childish like interaction and casual exchange of worries and concerns that forge the trio's (sometimes, quartet) relationship. It's not 'tomo-tachi' (friends) given the perilous and critical nature of their work, but it's 'nakama' (comrades) between them that added much depth to their bond. When one of them is in pinch, they do not shout or fill themselves with flashbacks to fuel their power and become temporarily invincible.
They cry.
Like a little child; because, in many senses, they are. They cannot shoulder the whole responsibility and burden that the world dropped on them by themselves. And this is where the depiction of comrades, where they would rely on each other, comes in through the perspective of the emotionless main character, Kabane. It is precisely because he sees thing subjectively—evil as evil, good as good—that he can evoke the best in his comrades, that they know how frustrating it is to be powerless and how powerful feelings, emotions are. And, as he learns more about the meaning of empathy, with love in its many shapes and forms with his comrades, I believe the story will reach much greater heights than what were depicted.
As for the animation, the fighting sequences are fluid and colorful; for the soundtracks, the music matches the ambience the show was going for perfectly. It seeps in creepy, thrilling piano notes in the moments of suspense and danger, while giving off a blood-pumping, hopeful, evil-hero-like vibe when the protagonists are face-to-faced with the merciless demons. The opening is great, with its editing matching the tempo of the songs while the J-rock ending ended each episode in a positive note.
Overall, Kemono Jihen is a show that wraps its hidden dark elements, and stories inside layers of pure, and genuine bond of reliance that the protagonists share, exhibiting their fragile, yet unyielding determination and emotions. It can get really, really dark sometimes, yet at the same time, you couldn't help but to crave for more of their heartfelt moments.
So, if you're into exploring some supernatural stories of demons through the eyes of young protagonists, I'd definitely recommend Kemono Jihen. Beware though, as it could shock and traumatize your senses, then warm and melt your heart when you least expected it.
PixelB
I have definitely seen a good amount of modern Shounens feature more "edgy," "mature," and "deep" themes. Oh well, honestly, probably for the better. The whole "every good guy lives" and "MC protecting his friends" tropes are really getting old. Kemono Jihen is a good example of a modern shounen integrating "mature" themes while also trying to relay as little good storytelling as possible by using edgy shock value while not developing characters in any meaningful way. It tries to integrate brutality into a morally good cast of characters, and while this can work, the execution of these themes are terrible to say the least. I'm onlygoing to focus on Shiki, because it just highlights this absolutely horrendous edgy shock value story telling at its finest.
Spoilers ahead, but trust me, nothing much of value has to be said about the story.
At the point of the story where you reach Shiki's backstory, you already know that the main cast of characters have performed a few missions, few of which include killing anthropomorphic and intelligent beings, all of which were warranted. That being said, no humans have been harmed or killed by our main characters. You get where I'm going with this?
Shiki's uncle performed many atrocities on his mother. Forcefully jailing her, inseminating her for many years to forcefully breed offspring, and Shiki, morally scarred and scared of reality, runs away at the prospect of her mother's plight. So far so good.
Many years later, Shiki comes back to discover the truth. Guilty because he abandoned his mother and fueled with rage, he storms upon his Uncle and decides to kill him. Using shounen storytelling tropes, of course he is able to escape. Shiki has a mental breakdown after being confronted with all of his mother's offspring, and loses motivation to kill his uncle. After having Kabane kill all of his mother's offspring, Shiki decides to spare his Uncle. Using arguments such as "He'll have a fate worse than death if he lives," "Killing him won't bring back my mother," he decides to spare his Uncle.
What's wrong with this picture? First of all, I'd really like to point out the timeline of these events. They're extremely close! Shiki goes through more mental development than an adult would do in their entire life in the span of a few days. He gets over his guilt and trauma, gets over his rage, and becomes and enlightened one over the span of a day or so. It's extremely surprising to me that he would not, in a fit of rage, just immediately kill his Uncle, but I guess we have the "shounen" genre to thank for that. Sure, could you "reasonably" say that Shiki could have matured so much? Yeah, as much as Ellie could have rationally spared Abby. Again, even Ellie in TLOU2 has around 60 hours of character development while our boy Shiki has 20 minutes, so Ellie's actions make a bit more sense than Shiki's. It's so frustrating seeing how Shiki spares his Uncle without much of a solid reason; his mentality changes way too quickly. He just commanded all of his siblings to die, and yet he's going to let the perpetrator of all of his pain get away? In fact, you could say that his siblings had no sin, and yet, they took the brunt of his rage, while his actual source of grief and rage is let of scot free. Oh yeah, he's a better person after killing many innocents because he let his main source of rage go. But wait, his siblings were half monster. Wait a second, he himself is half monster. All of his allies are also half monster. What gives? Well, if you don't look human, you're just a monster still! Fire at will. Perfect reasoning. Human looking monster = good, monster looking monster =kill. But wait! They're less intelligent than humans, so they're just animals. Yeah, how about we just kill all mentally disabled while we're at it?
For people thinking that revenge is immature and that Shiki's reasoning was solid, I'd really like to see how they'd react if they had their loved ones tortured and raped for years before their eyes. There's not a shred of "well, his Uncle had some good in him," in which you could perhaps argue for someone like Abby in TLOU2. Again, this is a good example of how the show loves to frame people as "100% good, or 100% bad," and nothing in between. Or how about the argument that "him living is worse than death because I can deny any sort of future achievements he might have." Well, killing him would be the absolute fool-proof plan on eliminating any sort of achievements his uncle might have in the future. And you can see, right after the incident, his Uncle isn't disheartened and is ready to perform atrocities over again. I just hope that Shiki understands that he's letting his Uncle commit more acts of torture and allowing more victims to pile up for his own fragile ego.
Let's go over how Shiki is unable to make his Uncle provide testimony about where his mother's location is. Instead of any confrontation, Inugami gets convenient plot device in the form of information on his mother. I like how the Uncle gets spared so thoroughly, and how Shiki and his friends are at a loss. Yeah, I can't imagine just tearing his Uncle limb by limb or doing any sort of torture would unable to extract his mother's location. I like how it doesn't even cross his mind even though he should have had the resolve, reason, and drive to do so.
I have so many problems with this story, but I'll focus on the masking of any moral indictment that this show tries to do with it's framing of the story.
Kemono Jihen is a story that features killing and murder. Our main characters experience it for good reason. They kill monsters that harm other humans and society as a whole. So what exactly is the morality of our main characters for killing monsters that killed humans, but sparing humans that kill other innocent people?
Monster bad, human good? That's basically the story Kemono Jihen wants to present. God forbid these kids go killing humans even if they're monsters inside, but they can go kill monsters for sins that are doing crimes less severe than humans they spare. It also aggravates me in the process of making the story so black and white in determining what is good or bad, it eliminates any sort of mental gymnastics by the viewer. You're merely being fed "human good, this monster bad, revenge bad." Everything can be labelled as good or bad without any distinction.
Killing and murder are featured in the story, but the brutality and nastiness of anything macabre is merely glossed over. It's the same idea where many people are dying, but you don't get a good sense of how brutal everything is merely because you barely see the killing happen. They just die, and you move on. Just the fact that the brutal act of imprisoning and having his mother being raped continuously to produce over 100 offspring is limited to a few seconds is a tactic that this show employs in order to undermine the "evil acts' that Shiki's uncle makes, and this sort of masking of violent undertones is always present in this story. Even Kabane's bullying and frensy backstory are flimsy. These trauma inducing events are extremely short and are barely a blip in the radar for what they are. You'd think that these events would be essential to the story, but they're glossed because it's a shounen, and everyone is happy and can move on, apparently. You're given a narrative that shoves the idea that our main characters are of quite a high moral standing without much thought put into it because again, it's a shounen. MC good. OK? Even other chilling acts of someone like Kon immediately decapitating Kanabe are just "kids being kids," "Kanabe didn't die, so Kon's all good." In the end, Kon just becomes good friends and gets invited over to eat. "Well, as long as there are no repercussions, I'll forgive you." Cringe. There's so much atrocities that happen in the show, but it's just not focused upon and people just get over it. Whether it be on the receiving side or the side giving it out, cruel acts are not questioned or emphasized in the least bit. Instead, it maintains a "lighthearted" tone. Thanks a lot.
I'll give a shoutout to the other flaws. So in Shiki's backstory, her mother just complies with his Uncle? She is a monster, a strong one at that, and she just willingly, day by day, gets inseminated and raped by random monsters because Shiki's uncle tells her to? She doesn't get any warning signs when she's being locked in a room and unable to see her son? Oh, what about her barely intelligent offspring. Surely they would be loyal to her, and not the Uncle. Inugami, basically aware of this situation, allows Shiki's uncle to do whatever he wants for over a year. Inugami's kind of scummy in that regard. This plot is as secure as swiss cheese, and should not be taken seriously, as once you start combing through the details, you start to realize that this story is only there to serve as character development for Shiki. It not only does not characterize Shiki very well, but it also is just an extremely poorly built backstory and plot that clearly points fingers and the situation is allowed to stay the status quo until Shiki needs character development.
As for other characters, we have our classic vanilla OP MC that doesn't have a shred of personality. He's the type character in which "he's unfeeling," but also has a "good sense of morality" built into him due to the teachings of his master. Akira is just a flamboyant trap character for comic relief. Shiki, he's ok, but again, the backstory makes him terrible as well.
Let's not even talk about how power progression happens. Everything about how powerful people are is a whim that the author decides. Hey, character too weak? Slap a random power up arc so that they're powerful. In the case of our MC? What do you expect? He's OP as hell in the very beginning and gets even more OP. It's not even like Jujutsu Kaisen, where at least our MC has limitations.
Overall, a story that tries to incorporate edgy themes without much thought put into it and tries to maintain the "shounen" more lighthearted tone, and as a result, you get a insincere narrative in which the bad guys and good guys are clearly defined in which their actions don't quite match their supposed morality.
Dark_Axgel
Before the review, I should mention that the MC is a dumb dude. He is like an empty vessel without any emotions, feelings, etc (until he is thought). Kemono Jihen mainly stresses on the topic which revolves around kids who have some special abilities which is different from normal humans, which makes those kids Kemono (meaning monster). The MC starts off living in a small village where he thinks that he is the only one like a monster until he meets a dude. Then the dude takes MC to his place in Tokyo and with other kids, the MC starts going on missions related to Kemonostuffs.
Things I liked ->
1) The MC is cold which makes him to thinks less and and fight more.
2) The teamwork of the MC and other kids.
3) A slight romance in this action anime.
4) Every episode has a humorous laughing effect.
Finally, this anime is best suited for binging.
KANLen09
This show can best be summed up and described this way (with the help of a former friend of whom this description fits to a T): The world not as simple as it seems. Together with humans, there exists another type of being: they are called Kemono: supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons, whom used to co-exist peacefully. However, one day, a war broke out. Some thought that humans were behind it, since they instinctively discriminate against races different than themselves, and others think that Kemono were at fault. Sometime after, the story brings us to a remote village. For some time now, dead animals have beenfound there. Kohachi Inugami, the owner of a detective agency that specializes in the occult, meets a neglected boy named Kusaka "Dorotabou" Kabane in a remote village, who is avoided by all villagers and works instead of going to school. And it turns out that Kabane is a half-ghoul, whose true nature is suppressed by a lifestone. Kabane is always discriminated and labelled as the mud Yokai, will he help the detective uncover the truth behind the animal killings?
Kemono Jihen is one of those works that you rarely see about very often, much less the obscurity of the manga since it was released in Jump Square (instead of the more popular Weekly Shonen Jump), despite having all the common bells and whistles you would think of in the typical Shounen genre. At first glance, it'll definitely remind you of the similarities due to the dark fantasy and supernatural genres that are closely reminiscent of Bungou Stray Dogs, from the setting of the "detective" theme to the main character whose personality is like Dororo, unbeknownst to his main power and only being accompanied by the small numbers whom have encountered for the mystery and supernatural realisms. In fact, from the moment when the story plot starts moving from the get-go, there is this alluring sense that all is not what it seems, and the next thing you know, you've sunk your teeth deep into this rabbit hole that keeps the constant grip on your toes as to where circumstances would go. Think of it like Kyokou Suiri (a.k.a In/Spectre): a great 1-to-1 adaptation, but without the heavy exposition and easy storytelling and progression that will keeps you glued to the episodes for a few hours on end. Although the presentation demographic is different from Bungou Stray Dogs, don't let that fool you into thinking that teenagers don't have it just as hard as adults, nope. In fact, it's quite mature with its dark themes and intrepid to the ghoulish, macabre and grisly nature.
Mostly a character-driven story, where I can give praise to Kemono Jihen, lies with the characters that can sometimes be quite morbid in their ways, but I feel that they should be given more recognition:
- Our MC is Kabane "Dorotabo" Kusaka, a 13-year-old human-ghoul hybrid. An abandoned kid with little to no education of the world, what he is able in is limited of the little common sense that he has. The lifestone (or Life Calculus) in his possession is a gateway to understanding both his control of the thirst for ghoulish thirst, as well as finding out the connections of his parents, and the rest is history. Being someone who looks innocent and straightforward, he has a self-sacrifical spirit of always being ready to put his life on the line for others when danger strikes, since he is an immortal, provided his head stays intact. He's the experiential definition of "Act first, think later".
- The detective in question is Kohachi Inugami. As you've guessed, he's also a Kemono, and a strong tanuki at that, often referred to as "the Kemonoist". Running his own occult consultancy office to take care of specialized Kemono-centric issues is a cinch when the outside world practically does not know that Kemono co-exist, and he's the meditator between both humans and Kemono beastkin alike, other than managing the care and concern of fellow teenage Kemono under him, and seeks to long for a world where both humans and Kemono can co-exist.
- The first of three Kemono under Inugami's belt: Shiki Tademaru, a 14-year-old Arachne-human hybrid who had been passed into Inugami's custody by his uncle Akio. Acting like a tsundere for the most part, Shiki can be often as brash and rude, and at worst, seem off-putting than most, but it is for this reason alone that as time progresses, he grows to be rational and level-headed in making sure to taking good care of them at the same time, an influence from his family of a single mom and 8-year-old daughter Aya (who thinks maturely but acts immaturely) who are also Arachne Kemono.
- The second of three Kemono under Inugami's belt: Akira Iwakiyama-yuki-sa-to-Shirona-no-go-Juuroku-shi (that's a mouthful), or best translated as "The 56th child of Shirona of the Snow Village in Mount Iwaki", because he is a descendant of a Yuki-onna. Despite Akira's lifestyle of embracing feminity by acting like a girl and doing all the stuff that girls like or tend to do, Akira is a he, not a she. So in retrospect, not a tomboy, but a tomgirl. He mostly takes care of affairs within the Inugami occult office, due to his hate for disgusting things and if encountered, cowers and faints at fear's door. Having a twin Yuki-okono brother (Yui) whose fate was to become the chief of a Yuki-onna village for nothing more than a tool of sexual reproduction for pride and ego reasons, that's as dark and gutsy as it can get.
- The last of three Kemono under Inugami's belt: Mihai, an immortal vampire, but a shut-in NEET whose mentorship under Inugami has seen a fair share of him being a "Jack of all trades, Master of all" from utilizing technology for hacking purposes and communication from an online perspective. He's quite the over-bearing character with a narcisstic mindset, yet he doesn't go without the reluctance of help every once in a while.
- And what's a good team of "protagonists" without a good team of antagonists? And Inari Yoko is just that: the beautiful and alluring kitsune Kemono, serving for both humans and Kemono as the superintendent of a police force, while under the farce that this is all but solidifying her position in the human society to one day bethrone the inevitable conflict between humans and Kemono due to her ruthless ways of self-satisfaction and vile manipulation. Under her belt are two kitsune Kemonos: 19-year-old Nobimaru and loyal follower Kon. Despite Nobimaru's shape-shifting abilities to attune to the same age as the Kemono under Inugami, his intelligence is backed by his personality of being a witty crafter of lies, and much like Inari, can manipulative circumstances to his advantage. Kon on the other hand, she follows wherever Inari may go, despite the fact that like Kabane, she's used as a tool to advance the former's tactics, and all that's required of Kon towards Inari is recognition that she is a "good girl". May Kabane rescue Kon from Inari's hands one day, and let the sail ship between them.
I find it quite fascinating for such a decades-old studio like Ajia-Do, I'm presuming that the studio is trying to find what works for them, despite the low, yet consistent output of at least 1 show per year (just to maintain business as usual). Just look at the shows made by the studio in recent years: Isekai Maou was a decent job done, while both Isekai Bookworm and Kakushigoto firmly solidified the studio as being capable to perform in Slice-of-Life works, though this is the first time that the studio has returned to doing an action-heavy show since 2016's Shuumatsu no Izetta (that is averagely tacked-on mediocrity). Personally, I'd like the studio to focus more on their bread-and-butter genre expertise, though I can't fault that the presentation in Kemono Jihen is finger lickin' good and consistent throughout. Truly "Are you (un)afraid of the Dark?" levels of surrealism. Likewise with the music, it pretty much fits the whole dark theme to a T here as well. Once again, the massively popular Seiyuu Daisuke Ono hits the nail with the OP and Sayaka Sasaki with the ED, you couldn't have asked for a better OST than this. But honestly, though the production team isn't what you can call them strong, all I've ever needed from a show like this is just one word: consistency, for the art of balancing skill and expertise, and that's all it matters.
A hidden gem amongst the ever increasing popularity of contemporary Shounen series, yet easily overshadowed by the same circumstances as well. Everyone should check this out, and if you decide to pick this up, watch this on a binge, it'll do you good to keep you hooked from start to finish.
TheRiseofAnime
It has been a long time since I have seen an anime that I could binge watch like I did with Kemono Jihen. The first episode has an excellent hook and each episode thereafter continues to string the viewer along for a thrilling ride. It was clear that there was a lot of effort put into this anime and I congratulate the staff on a job well done. Daisuke Ono may not have played a major role in the show but he shown through by delivering a killer opening. The artists were not short of skill either. Between the action and the array of differentcolors, the art was clean and purposeful. One can only hope for a season two to continue the story. Overall this anime is brilliant, a diamond in the rough, and I would recommend it to anyone.
babyukine
I was honestly amazed by how much I enjoyed this anime. It's been a while since I finished it, but Kemono Jihen is definitely up there in terms of my enjoyment. The anime op and ed are S-tier, the art is beautiful, and the characters/relationships are wholesome. With some unexpected mature themes in the story, this anime also has a plot worth delving into. It has a slice of life vibe, but overall shounen. This anime may be for you if you love anime with wholesome content, children, and shounen aspects. Let me know how it is if you do watch it!
Dompa112
Felt like something id enjoy reading about it but ultimately fell very flat and really didnt raise any feelings at all during the 12 episodes. This includes negative feelings also though so its not that it was bad. Just very mediocre. I think ultimately my biggest dissapointment is the plot. Or rather lack of. Stleast from these 12 episodes it never established a bigger plot taking place in the world of Kemono Jihen. Its just a smal Kemono agency taking different odd jobs.. Each case is dealt with pretty much at the end of each episode. It doesnt have any great character development. No greatmusic. The fights are nothing special. Op and Ed boring. Just very meh. Cant see myself continue going on these 12 episodes if they make a second season.
A very meh 6/10 standard shounen. With so many better out there in a competetive genre i have a hard time recommending this.
fjotla
Furry, so obvious dislike. It's already much that I gave it 6/10 Story fine 6/10 Character development very typical 6/10 Art good 7/10 Sound good 7/10Enjoyment 4/10 because furry, who would enjoy furry anime apart from furries.
I need to fill in the space, I just want to show my contempt for furries. Anime on itself is nothing special or bad, but the furry drags it down. There really is not much else to write for my review; it is purely based on furry. Furry == bad. When furries are included, it means the anime is bad on the premise. You may disagree, but I am 100% right and you are factually wrong.
taptothebeat
Love this show. Very underrated. Could see myself rewatching this. - This show balances being a darker shounen with more lighthearted scenes, which honestly is what I always dreamed shounen could be growing up. - Similar vibes as Demon Slayer. The main downside is that this show doesn't have as good an animation/soundtrack, unfortunately, which causes issues with feeling invested in the emotional scenes sometimes. But I actually prefer the overarching plotline and character arcs in this one. - The characters. Are. Amazing. What's particularly cool is that since Kabane is a blank slate, as he spends time with each of the characters he gains some of theirtendencies and ideologies. And this can be seen over the course of the season. The characters have seen much love and care from the author, as each is given their own set of motives that they actually act upon.
- Avoids some anime tropes. E.g. in most anime, if you have two characters that are strangers walking down a hallway together, they'll usually have some cringey dialogue-- but here, the characters as you would expect in RL, don't say a word to each other! Magical.
- The show ends on a cliffhanger, so expecting a season 2.
Steblob
When I found out about this anime, it is often compared to Tokyo Ghoul and Demon Slayer. So, 2 days after the release of the first episode, I decided to finally watch it. And wth, the first episode already caught my attention. When it comes to watching anime, I always try to know its concept. For example, Tokyo Ghoul has ghouls in the human world, Demon Slayers has demons or Attack on Titan has Titans. Then it is up to their respective authors to play with the plot. Kemono Jihen did not fail to catch my attention. It's concept of Kemonos got me wanting to watchmore of it. Based on the first season (hoping there's a season 2), the author played with the plot well.
The characters are actually lovable. Kabane who was treated badly for all his life knowing the world full of love with Inugami, Inugami who runs the kemono agency, Shiki who has anger issues but still lovable and Akira as a lovable clumsy person. The characters are all so dynamic and their stories are capable with so many possibilities.
The last episode actually got me sad since we only get 12 episodes for this. I'm crossing my fingers for Season 2 :D
PiereDelecto
I was impressed by the first episode. There was a thrill and impact to the way the detective tested the kid Kabane to determine his disposition, Kabane's circumstances were intriguing. Even in Anime it's not everyday a guy just shoots a kid in the head at point blank range, especially when the dude has been set up as one of the "good guys". Least of all, where the kid just smiles, utterly chill about it - trying to make the dude feel better about the whole thing just in case he has trauma/guilt or something later since I'll just be dead anyways. You actually couldn'tbe 100% at that time, whether the guy with the gun was going to be the main character or whether this kid was going to undead himself somehow. The whole episode gave off that weird creepy intrigue you want a supernatural journey through some shadow world to have. There was a clear differentiation by way of contrast between the two main characters and the humans who had hired the one guy that shot the kid. Hot DAMN, I thought. That was cool, pleasantly surprised at the quality of the show - wonder where they're going with this, I thought...
Well, that's the issue. Where they go is a silly place known as The Kemonist's Office. Supposedly mediating issues that arise between humans and murderous furry of the week as some kind of appendage to local law enforcement, which is under the complete and total control of a somewhat evil foxy lady Kemono anyways so raison d'etre unclear. Most of the story is centered on this one trap kid and yung spidey, the kids already enrolled in Kemonist daycare when Kabane shows up. They both get arcs, those arcs basically take up the whole season - except for Kon, her thing is she's dumb, and she gets left in a park and waits there for the rest of the series as the Kemonist's battle against Mr. Freeze - the trap kid's brother.
There is just something not quite right about the framing - why are they all kids? Why is one a trap? Why is the racoon girl such an idiot? Why is the evil head of the police department so scary but so completely, conveniently impotent when it comes to the Kemonist guy? Why is there a video-game addicted vampire living in the closet? You know what the problem is - I don't care why. I just, don't.
Honorable mention - yung spidey has some character development of mild interest during his arc, and in interacting with the omnipotent MMO guild master vampire living in the clost. Also in the show's favor, there's some cool fight mechanics sprinkled here and there, and Kon's replacement does pretty well for himself as a wunderkinds who is playing double agent one way or another and you can't tell 100% which way... but honestly the villains are lame, nearly across the board. There's literally no tension, it's about as suspenseful as an episode of care bears. I found the backstories for the Kemono races flat as hell, sometimes almost an afterthought - like the vampire MMO guy, "vampire's are an advanced race, even among Kemono". Tsk.
What began as a surprisingly mature first step into an intriguing lore, ended up being exactly the kind of show I was afraid it was going to be when I saw all those kids striking dynamic poses on the poster. It's not outright bad to be fair, but I didn't get what they did here personally. If I had been expecting a slice of life, kooky kids doing grown up things so cute type of show - maybe it would earn higher marks in that category. Overall not my jam, wouldn't recommend.
Yuri_Cobaia
Kemono Jihen is a generic version of Kimetsu no Yaiba. Everything good and bad about KoY is here, but way worse. The protagonist, is your abandoned child monster cliche. No one likes him because he is a mosnter, he never had friends, he does not know who are his parents, and why they're not there with him anymore. Instead of having developed some powerfoul/cheefoul/annoying personality like Naruto, he is just BLEND. He does not have any emotions, or opnions about nothing because he just exists like a wall. And yes, is cool at first few moments, but then become BORING and very unpleasant character,with some weird as outcomes like having no remorse to kill, but also having feelings for strange antagonist characters. Or how OP he is because he does not die, and don't care about pain, but in the end of the day, that does not come so badass as it should.
His mentor, is a wanna be cowboy bepop with the UGLIEST HAIRCUT i ever seen, with some unkown power that is "feared" by their villains, but we don't have any glance of why exacly.
His "friends" have a annoying personality and their get a arc for each one of them where you learn about their past. And their past are actually interesting, like how they were abused, or their father figures were so trash. But the development and the conclusion of the arcs are so meh, that you end up not even disliking them or liking then more.
The soundtrack on this anime, is literally yelling at you " We putting Lisa here, because worked in Kimetsu no Yaiba, so will work here".
The desigin on this anime is like " Big eyes, weird long haircuts and tails, worst clothing and we good to go". The fights are normal, and sometimes the director cuts them off, there is some skulll and blood-ish moments, but man, is just not impressive at all. It's all about "fire, ice and webs" in the end of the day.
I only recommend this anime if you're a enthusiasmatic of a narrative about monster hunters, with childs i guess in the most generic way possible.
My overall feeling about this anime, is just like his protagonist. Blend. I don't have any memories about it, and probably will forget about it, as soon the new season starts.
I am not watching a second season of this show and also not interested in the manga version.
slp
Kemono Jihen will absolutely go somewhere fantastic. It is unfortunate that in the first 12 episodes, we don't see where that is. We see do see hints, of course. Violence, fear, gore, and darkly painted arcs contrast with with bright, simple character designs and dispositions. We follow our misfits as they try to make sense of their place in the world, kept in check and nurtured by the tired but dutiful Inugami-sensei. Their character traits are defined relatively quickly as a plus, though many are 1-dimensional on the surface. It is clear that it is a starting point, and there is a lofty ceiling forfuture development.
Unfortunately, hardly any of that ceiling has been used for the main character so far. This can cause some moments that would otherwise be tense or interesting to be predictable and disengaging. On the brighter side, the voice acting is convincing and well-matched, adding some of the depth that the story has yet to present. Despite the story and characters being the weaker points of the series so far, it is easy to become invested and excited for the potential they have.
The art and animation are excellent, seamless, and feel unique to the show. The fighting is explosive and to the point while retaining depth and flourish, as simple but distinct designs and color choices play well with fast-paced action and relaxed scenes alike - the moments where everyone is just hanging out are still visually engaging. It is a joy to watch the characters simply exist on screen. Their expressions are very convincing, and are used to subvert interactions flawlessly. Violence carries weight in animation, the gore and horror of the show is presented in full without hiding everything behind a spatter of blood or formless wound like many shounens choose to.
I recommend watching Kemono Jihen if you are interested in watching a violent, offbeat shounen series with fantastic animation and a lot of room to grow. It is not neatly wrapped up in the first season, but will likely hit full stride in the next.
A negative note:
There is sexualization of a younger character. There isn't anything egregious here; it's done as a gag. Still, the show would not have suffered by avoiding it entirely.
KNCD
To begin with, I want to apologize for my English, which may have errors. But what I wanted to say is the following. I really liked the anime Kemono Jihen, so much that I rewatched it again, but it was more for the sake of the story that I give it a 9, while the characters at the beginning I give a 6. Well, I saw a lot of people commenting on the characters as they are silly or that they are useless, and I read the manga and their development improves a lot later on. Even the protagonist, Kabane, improves his emotions. Akira getsmuch better later on and I have to admit that he made me angry at first. Shiki also has a good development, and as for Kon, whoever said that she is just a character who does everything for Inari is because they doesn't know what really happened to her. Well, if there is a next season, things will improve. This beginning was really weak in terms of development and history, being more like an introduction. And from the next part onwards there won't be any more detective work to do, things will get more tense. Well, just to finish, the OP and ED of the anime are very beautiful and this comment was more for people who left the anime without really knowing what they are missing. Give the manga a chance, it will be much better after this part really.
marzopatata
The meaning of the word "underrated" in general aspects is: "Not rated or valued highly enough." Kemono jihen unfortunately fullfills the meaning of this. And hey what can you do about it?, there are a lot of unrecognized anime everywhere, other franchises, that may not be bad, but they are definitely not what people say they are (mha) have amazingly high scores, I have seen a lot of them. The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that Kemono Jihen has EVERYTHING to be a successful and well received shounen, yet is quite unknowed having only 87,912 reviews and a score of 7.44 being rankedin the 1803th place. I dont know if it has anything to do with winter season that brought renowned anime names (SNK, Re: zero, dr stone, horimiya,etc) but its just sad to see such a good anime being overshadowed that badly.
Anyways sorry for the long introduction to the review, im finally gonna start
Story: 6/10
I personally was immersed in the story since the first two chapters; the world that develops is surprisingly well done, bringing a ot of concepts that i would like to believe will be more developed later on the story.
Lets start off saying that its not an "original" story , but it works well. As an example, JJK managed to highlight so much, not for its original story, but because its entertaining and has a good functionality, its story works perfectly to present villians, develop characters, and bringing good fights. And thats pretty much what Kemono Jihen does, obviously not at that extreme but you get the point. Although clearly its not the strong point of the show, but it accomplishes its duty. Its a good start for the series, nothing innovating or refreshing, but still pretty good
Characters: 8/10
Probably the best thing of the show. Let me start off saying that theyre wholesome, the friendship that they have, their personalities, everything about them is pure awesomeness.
The first season pretty much covers Shiki and Akiras arc and thats when we get to know what are their goals, how their pasts afects how theyre now, why they do what they do to achieve what they want, how everything that hapenned to them is linked on the things they say, act or feel. We really get to understand what theyre going throught and genuinly feel bad for them.
As for kanabe i liked him a lot as a protagonist, he doesnt know much about "real" life due to the life he had, he knows the general aspects and meaning of things but cannot fully understand them. Watching him grow and learning what love is, what friendship is, that he wants to do things, is just amazinggg.
They all have complexity and a great development, and theyre really easy to empathize with
Sound: 8/10
I have nothing bad to say about this, everything was really good, but nothing impressive (although i really liked the op and ed)
Art: 9/10
the fightssss *cheff kiss*, and alsoo I really liked the setting and the tone of it, it was really good, for moments you feel like laughing, and for moments youre actually scared. I really liked the use of gore it was not a little, but it also wasnt excessibly to the point of not surprising you. I liked everything that had to do with the art (The only reason of it being not a 10 is because ive seen better)
Enjoyment: 9/10
(just because i found some parts a little boring
Overall: 8/10
I really really enjoyed it a lot (to the point of writing review), if youre looking something entertaining, funny, sad, quite epic and just good, you should definitely give it a try. Also, dont have high hopes or any shit like that just because of the review, i personally enjoyed it, and if it's not your case, well what a shame
Head_Snapss
Oh, hoh hooo. I loved it. It's no a masterpiece by any means but I will say it definitely took my expectations and threw them out of the window into a field of wildly strong experience. The starting point is extremely weak. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, because it's bad. Like it looks cool and all, flash and everything, but the story it tells is poor. I did like the jealousy plot point and the mystery of the area was great. Not strong but it's at least enough to follow through. This is my only big issue with the series. Oh but the episodes are so goodafterward, each one presenting its own individual story and pushing towards the MC: Kebane, closer and closer to his goal. He starts off as my least favorite but he becomes my favorite with his blunt yet endearing attitude.
All and all, this series popped off and didn't go down without a single fight, expending every resource it had to stay out of AOT colossal shadow and soared into a Pheonix. I'd 100% recommend this show to you if you are a big fan of HxH. Here's hoping to a season 2.
PVT_Kandahar
Many anime fall flat in terms of story, characters, and depth this anime is no different. Kemono Jihen is just something to watch when bored. It doesn't lack in originality but that does not make it great. Everything is pretty average in terms of animation, ost, and characters. The tone changes throughout episodes which creates a disconnect. One episode can be about traumatizing events and the next can be about an eight-year-old in a crop top. The main Characters have complete story arcs but they fell flat in terms of depth (maybe due to the 12 episode time frame). In conclusion, Kemono Jihen is anaverage anime with an average plot and characters.
Imi-555
This anime comes out from nowhere in my twitter's timeline and i guess it's worth a try. The characters design kind of look like My Hero Academia but more dark i guess? I was told that the anime was not as dark as the manga. it's also giving Tokyo Ghoul vibes but for children. The MC, Kabane was very cute though he's pretty emotionless at the start. He's really blunt but straight and honest to express his emotions. The "angry mode" was also very badass. There's not much adults characters in this show. they are a few, which were very scummy and trash. The redbitch also very mysterious and hard to tell her agenda. I prefer the ending song than the opening. Ajia-Do studio made this anime with a great details and the animations was amazing. Also the other main characters were decent. We got a chill Aizawa-sensei (Inugami-San), a tsundere but not as much as asshole Bakugo (Shiki), useless trap Venti (Akira) which I can't stand him at all. I hate every aspects of that girly boy. If this series popular enough to get a second season, I hope he does get a character's development and not as much as annoying as he used to be. I might as well to check out the manga after this.
Harmonywind5
Kemono Jihen is a show that left me confused until the very last episode. I couldn't tell where the plot was going and the story mostly consisted of short arcs where the main characters deal with different kemono (aka supernatural beings) issues and solve them. Fine for a plot, but the main goal of the mc was to find his parents and that seemed to be put on the backburner so other characters could get introduced and developed. It wasn't until the last episode where I realized that this was a prologue to a much bigger story. Story:6 If the last episode hadn't clarified anything I wouldhave given this an even lower score. A six seems fair for leaving me feeling like the events occurring in the story were somewhat aimless. Granted, the stories themselves are pretty dark, which I think was more for the benefit of the overall narrative than not. I definitely wouldn't recommend this show if you can't stomach dark issues. Overall, definite room for improvement.
Characters: 8
I liked them. I honestly did. They're cute and distinct and that's more than I can say for most shows. My only real issues are the skimpy outfit that a certain (incredibly young) character starts wearing later on and the feeling that the treatment of women overall in the show was weird. I don't know, it's not something I noticed until it was pointed out to me, but I think once you notice it's hard to ignore. I think characters like Kon have definite room for growth but we didn't get that in this season.
Art:9
Pleasantly dynamic and honestly much better than I expected. The animation for the facial expressions I thought was quite good in some parts and the fight scenes were all well done. Not Jujutsu Kaisen levels of well done, but certainly better than many other series I've seen.
Sound: 10
Honestly what hooked me on the show was the ost. The use of strings in particular was spectacular, even for the slice of life music! I honestly hope the composer does more anime music in the future. I think I'd watch anything with his name attached. Seriously, I don't think there was anything else I enjoyed more than the soundtrack.
Overall: 8
Screw it, I'm gonna give this the same score as Jujutsu Kaisen, mostly thanks to its soundtrack and what I thought was pretty good art and character moments. They're both prologues to long running shounen series, and honestly now that I sort of understand the overarching plot of Kemono Jihen, I think they are even more similar than I initially thought. I see the potential for both of them, I really do. But they're not masterpieces. Yet.
