In 12th-century Japan, swordsman Kurou escapes ghastly pursuers into a deep forest with his servant Benkei. Seeking shelter, the two find themselves within the secluded abode of the mysterious and beautiful Kuromitsu. While they are warmly accepted, the men are warned to never enter Kuromitsu's room.
However, driven by innate curiosity and perhaps a condemned love, Kurou peeks through the ajar door, only to find Kuromitsu feasting on the blood of fallen men. He soon learns Kuromitsu is an immortal vampire, and dedicates himself to her—even becoming a vampire himself in order to spend eternity with her. But the cryptic organization known as the Red Army has enlisted the help of Benkei, who betrays Kurou and severs his head.
Awaking centuries into the future in an apocalyptic modern-day Japan, Kurou sets off to reunite with his lover and exact revenge on the Red Army.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Archaeon
It's often strange how some anime can divide opinions on how good it actually is, and the reasons for these divided opinions are often logical and plausible. In the case of Kurozuka however, there is a definite misinterpretation of the story as a whole. Kurozuka began life as a novel written by Yumemakura Baku, which was later illustrated by Noguchi Takashi in manga form. The manga was serialized in Super Jump magazine from 2003 to 2006, before being turned into an anime by Madhouse in 2008. The story in Kurozuka is where many of the divided opinions stem from. Many people consider the story to be confusing,especially at the very end, however this can confusion can somewhat berectified by watching the first five minutes of the first episode again.
At heart Kurozuka may seem to be a story about vampires, love, betrayal, and revenge, however I found it to be more than just the sum of it's parts. Kurozuka is very much a "what if" tale, and the ending is actually very appropriate when considered in this light. There is a lot of action in the story, and the viewer will sometimes wonder what the hell is going on (as I did), but if you stick with it then you may find the story strangely captivating.
The art and animation are top notch in this show. Madhouse pulled out a lot of the stops when designing the characters and animating the show, especially during the numerous action sequences. CG is incorporated very well overall, with only a few minor faults that are barely noticeable. The characters are designed very well on the whole, and I especially liked the incorporation of traditional Kabuki players into the series as it gives the show a far more surreal feel. Each episode begins with a small kabuki play which recounts the events of the previous episode, and I found that the designs, animation and sound for these scenes were excellent.
The sound is another excellent area, especially the music and sound effects. The BGMs never overpower the sound effects during the action sequences, and the use of non-traditional animation techniques for these sequences made them exceptional.
The VAs are, again, excellent. Paku Romi is excellent as Kuromitsu, whilst Miyano Mamoru's monotonous tones are strangely suitable for the amnesiac Kurou. The other VAs are just as good as the two leads. Fujiwara Keiji, who plays Karuta, manages to imbue his voice with a certain "roguish" quality that suitably matches Karuta's design and personality.
The characters are actually one of the bad things about this show, however I say this with a certain amount of trepidation. On the whole the characters are well done, however there is very little development given to them - they're just there for the most part. However, this would only really be a problem if you were watching this as a straightforward story rather than a "what if" tale. That said though, even a "what if" tale would need it's characters developed to a much greater degree than Kurozuka manages to do.
That doesn't mean I hate the characters though. I thought the characters were. on the whole, fairly decent. My problem is that I would have liked to have known more about them as characters - their motivations and such.
Kurozuka is a great action anime, however it can be very confusing at times. There is a definite story there, but many people will find it confusing for the most part, especially as the story doesn't really hint at what's really going on until the end (suffice to say I found it a very "Dallas" moment).
This is a good show to watch if you're after some good action and aren't overly concerned with the story. It may not be everyone's cup of tea though, especially with the scientific angle it takes on the vampirism issue. This is a story about love, loss, betrayal and revenge, and these aspects of the show are very much at the fore. However there are some elements of the show which can leave you wondering why a particular event happened in the first place, and this is only compounded by the continued lack of an explanation.
SilentMuse
The animation seems to overpower an exaggerated plot. Viewers who crave cyberpunk animations consisting of time lapses and vicious fight scenes will have a pleasant taste out of this series. Yet there is much of the plot that may leave the audience hungry. Once you take a bite out of my review, you'll understand what I mean. ~[ S T O R Y ]~ [6] Kurozuka focuses on the concept of immortality along with the quest for the meaning of mortality. Initially, I had assumed a vampiric aspect came into play [Kuromitsu sucking blood for example]. As the series progressed, the aspect grew more scientific. Here wehave the main character, Kurou, wanting to spend all eternity with Kuromitsu. I once thought it was a romantic struggle between the two protagonists, yet the plot grew more confusing later on. What with the beheading of Kurou to Benkei's murderous motives [due to his desire of having Kuromitsu to himself] to the Resistance against the Red Emperor's Army, just so many subplots made Kurozuka more like a staccato piece than a horror orchestra viewers probably wanted to witness. Even the end itself leaves so much to the imagination that viewers like myself wonder whether the creator intentionally wanted to mess with our minds and trigger heated discussions, or something else we have failed to notice. Other than that, the story could've been portrayed better...
~[A R T]~ [10]
Post-cyberpunk meets the essence of ancient 12th century art. The serenity of the 12th century atmosphere collaborating with the post-cyberpunk appeal of the anime was rewarded my thumbs up. It brought the animation out more, gluing me to my seat as I endured visual ecstasy. Even the swift fight scenes were brilliant, as expected from the gifted Kurou as well as those involved in battle alongside. Any fan of Death Note can understand that the art between the two animes are strikingly similar. Furthermore, the art was not overexaggerated at all. They were on the dot with their specific time periods, making the anime successfully attractive.
~[S O U N D]~ [9]
From the miraculous terror of the opening song to the soft tranquility of the ending, Kurozuka had played its music well. The flute and drums matched the ancient liveliness of Japanese culture. The instrumentals had presented the mood well as well as portraying the feel of scenes such as romantic moments, battles, times of agony, despair, hatred, et cetera. I knew what kind of scenes I was expecting from the sound. Nicely done.
~[C H A R A C T E R]~ [7]
I gave the development of characters a 7 due to the fact that I had expected more from their transformations. Moreover, I expecting a better explanation of the immortality concept. The manga explains more of it whilst the anime has left gaping holes for the viewers' minds to fill. Though Kurou was inconspicuous and monotonous in his expressions, we did have a sense of what he felt inside through his short monologues. I did hope to understand a little more of Kuromitsu, seeing as the series focused more on Kurou's thoughts than anyone else's. Romi Paku and Mamoru Miyano portrayed the voices of their characters well enough for me to give this category a high mark. The rest of the seiyuu's deserve credit. I suppose that the shortness of the series is to blame for cutting short every character's expected developments.
~[ E N J O Y M E N T & O V E R A L L]~ [7]
Just to be fair, I'll award this anime a 7. Were it to improve in its character and plot development, it would've been awarded a higher grade. Though I do give immense praise to the development of the actual animation. It is different from any other post-cyberpunk anime to exist within the Japanimation realm. The rough grunge scenes, the splash of eccentric hues in the opening and battle scenes, the ancient softness of the 12th century lifestyle - it was all done quite well. Furthermore, the series will leave you thinking on what to value - life or time. Kurozuka is meant to represent the connection between time and life. The two walk hand-in-hand. Without life, there is no time. Without time, there is no life. One affects the other. They both need each other. What is more valuable? Immortality or living to the last minute? That is up to you to decide.
Master10K
Kurozuka is a lot of things but for the most part it’s a Seinen, Historical, Sci-fi, Action anime jam packed full of high-octane Rated-18 action to please action lovers. However like most series, this one starts of grand but eventually wanes as it progresses. It begins with the main protagonist, Kurou being pursued for reasons not explained and one intense action sequence later, he and his companion seek shelter in some mysterious woman’s home. Kurou soon develops feelings for this woman named Kuromitsu but soon after he discovers her dirty little secret. Another insanely gruesome action sequence later and the real story begins, as Kurou embarkson an all new journey of immortality. All I can say is that the 1st episode was awesome but soon after that the biggest flaw in the story soon appears, as early as in the 2nd episode. It is the story’s timeline and when dealing with this concept of immortals living through the ages, it doesn’t help when things keep jumping from period to period, making it easy to lose track of what’s going on in the story (until the action sequences wake you up). Heck by episode four, I gave up on trying to figure out the chronological order of events and just followed Kurou on his unexplained journey to find Kuromitsu. The thing is that the story was actually decent but it was executed poorly, with chucks of major plot points left unexplained.
Another thing wrong with this short series is its characters. Sure the main 2 were fairly interesting but Kuromitsu was as much of a mystery to Kurou as she was to those who watch this. As for Kurou, he would have been more interesting if he actually got some back-story and maybe showed some emotion, instead of those random outbursts. There are actually other characters to mention but they are so bland and uninteresting that I even struggle to remember their names 10mins after watching an episode.
With all the bad stuff taken care of, discussing the animation is a nice change in direction, because it can be described simply as awesome. This anime seems to go for very aesthetically pleasing environments with a sort of grudge textured look and the heaps of CG that actually goes well with it. Not to forget the reason why I think of the animation as perfect, which are the action sequences that have obviously been influenced by a lot of things. As for the music the soundtrack is certainly fitting for the series; with a mixture of tranquil tunes and high-octane beats for any given situation.
Overall Kurozuka proved to be an enjoyable hack ‘n’ slash fest but there are more than enough action sequences for even an action lover to be bored with and having a poorly executed storyline as an alternative isn’t good at all. Trying to make sense of the messy story is like trying to solve a sudoku puzzle; make one mistake and you’ll have to backtrack to where things make sense. Having a lacklustre ending doesn’t help either but those who are able to ignore these flaws would still enjoy Kurozuka for its awesome action and interesting concept.
GonWithARose
“Majestic, bizarre, violent and dark. A surreal and poetic journey that turns into something more profound than what it looks like” REVIEW FREE OF SPOILERS! -STORY: 8- "KUROZUKA" it’s a well-founded and rich story. Its narrative could divide people, some by saying it’s boring and unadorned –or complicated- and by others –like me- saying that is meaningful, metaphorical and gorgeous. The story of this show could be like a stream, whether it calls you, takes you and embraces you leading you swiftly –although, trough some “what the hell is happening here?” moments- across the tale or it rejects you for it isn’t a plain and simple story of vampiresand war, it is complex.
-ART: 8-
The art depicted in this show is marvelous. The designing of the characters is believable and the action scenes are appealing and not exaggerated like most of the vampire/action shows out there.
-SOUND: 10-
The voice acting is a jewel. It is passionate, it is deep. It’s calculated for the type of show that “KUROZUKA” is. The voice actors are believable since they’re transferring the feeling of solitude shown in the show through their voices.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack has a dream-like ring to it. It’s a delicate mixture of instruments. It is cold, sad and dark, like a mirror of the situation the surrounds the characters and their own feelings.
-CHARACTER: 7-
The deepness carried through most of the show –superbly if I may add- in most of its features: Script, voice acting, art and soundtrack is something amazing, yet lacking within the character department. Don’t misunderstand me, the characters are well-defined, distinct and incredibly well depicted –and I liked them, to be honest- but there’s an important aspect that the show didn’t display, the “backbone” of the characters –or in other words, their backstory and development-. To put it bluntly the characters look like they’re just there, like a superfluous, convenient and momentary entertainment without a direction or reason, just a cause. But let us remember that this “cause” this “reason” IS the backbone and the main focus of the story, making the character development/background faintly unnecessary. After all, we as viewers we want to know about the characters we are watching, we want to get “closer” to them, we want to understand the: “why’s, the where’s and the when’s” of each characters, even if the story doesn’t really depend on such things, which is clearly the case of this show.
-ENJOYMENT: 7 & OVERALL: 8-
“KUROZUKA” is a difficult show to watch. As I said before is complex, and for moments it looks like the show doesn’t know where its leading, but the end it’s what makes it a whole. Is it enjoyble? Yes, a lot. But you need an open mind and most importantly understand that this show is meaningful and not just action after action scene.
A really amazing show.
Thanks for reading!
ravenlok
This anime pissed me off enough that I wanted to review it. The story opened with great visuals and fantastic animation. I loved the kabuki openings which summarized previous events. In short, Kurozuka started with great promise. *If you're worried about spoilers, you should probably stop reading here.* Alas, that promise was quickly broken. I don't mind a bit of confusion when it serves the purpose of the story, especially when it originates authentically from the character's perspective. There's a limit, however, and Kurozuka drives past it, swerves off the road, careens down a mountainside, and explodes in a fantastically animated and entirely gratuitous fireball.I watched to the end, and as Kuro promised, all was revealed. Unfortunately, the ending leaves us with a plot hole so large, Karuta could drive his magic bus through it. (Apologies for packing my driving metaphors so closely together.) So are the two main characters immortals or are they immortals and time travelers? Clearly, there's a time "reset" that happens in the last episode. This reset seems to fall into the category of "wouldn't it be cool...". In answer, "No, it wouldn't." Absolutely nothing in the previous episodes suggests a time spiral or Ouroboros or that little infinite loop of paper whose name escapes me at the moment. This is laziness or stupidity on the part of the writers.
The show should be praised for it's interesting take on vampire folklore. And also for bringing a genuine touch of horror to the fate of the main character at the end. In spite of these good things, where's a barge of cliches loaded in this anime. Here's one I'm f-n sick of: generic demonic bad-guy shoots tentacles or spikes from his/her body. This anime does this not once, but three frickin' times with different characters. That's when the show became risible to me (or was it when Karuta turned his bus into a rocket and blasted up a nearly vertical drawbridge...).
Speaking of characters... What characters? Another barge of cliches: The femme fatale. The dashing rogue. The hooker with a heart of gold. The amnesiac hero. Shall I go on? The "best friend" betrayer. The nature-magic wise-woman. The gun-wielding bad guy acting as foil to the katana-wielding good guy. The two main characters never really say much of anything. Why should I give one damn about anyone? When a certain chick gets bulls-eyed near the end, you know what I felt? Nothing. Not a thing FOR HER. I felt massive annoyance at the writers for f-n with me, but that's it. This is bad storytelling, simple. I don't have to like or love the characters, but I do have to be interested in them. Did not happen.
Without a compelling story and characters whose fates we're interested in, excellent art and animation is purely gratuitous. I'm sorry this anime sucked; I wanted to like it.
Your mileage may vary.
Purjoloek
tl;dr - Kurozuka is a bad anime. I really support and like some points made, but the show itself is of pretty poor quality at most times. You don’t know what to expect when you dive into Kurozuka. While this is true for a lot of other anime as well, Kurozuka is a special enigma. Being about vampires (especially the main leads) can turn people off, seeing how vampires are often portrayed nowadays. Sadly, thoughts hop to Rob Pattinson as Edward in the cringe-inducing soft pornography for girls known as Twilight. Sure, Twilight isn’t the only sinner, but due to it’s popularity, it is the moststand-out. Onwards to Kurozuka, then.
On first on-look, Kurozuka seems to be a love story about vampires, set in Feudal Japan. That preconception is quickly smashed to bits after the first episodes as we skip to a bleak future version of Japan that has been a-bombed. Back in the past, our hero Kuro (known as “Minamoto no Yoshizune”, a very famous and popular Japanese literature hero) was fleeing into the mountains, and came upon the lodging of Lady Kuromitsu. He and his close ally Benkei were allowed to stay under the condition that they do not approach nor enter Kuromitsu’s room. Of course, that promise doesn’t mean all too much and Kuro finds himself outside the mysterious woman’s room, where he sees her biting and drinking the blood of a man. The place is attacked, and Kuro is badly hurt helping his hostess. The two had quickly became attracted to one another, and Kuromitsu offers Kuro eternal life with her. Kuro accepts. Then the focus shifts to the future where Kuro has become separated from Kuromitsu and ventures to find her. He instead meets Karuta and Rai and becomes embroiled in what is basically a civil war between the Red Army and the rebels, both fighting for the very prize Kuro seeks: Kuromitsu.
I was pretty excited to watch this, as it felt like vampires were treated as a big deal and it also seemed like a cool set-up for a powerful romantic saga, but alas, all the potential amounted to jack shit in this absolute train-wreck of a series.
The series jumps from different time periods, usually at the start of episodes, without giving the viewer much warning or explanation, which is the major flaw of the series in my opinion. It’s very hard to get a grip on the characters as is, so there’s really no need to confuse viewers additionally.
It’s hard to gauge what exact powers are afforded to the vampires of the series, as Kuro just seems to go all Goku on people at times when he needs to put another gear in. Besides obviously being more powerful than normal humans, there doesn’t seem to be much to vampires, other than whatever odd time dilution Kuro can cause when convenient. It’s never really explained what they can do. The reveal of how they work is also incredibly slow-played, so there’s not much in the way of flavour being given to us, except for some bursts of information at times.
As is the case with the vampirism angle, characters in the series don’t really develop. They’re very static in personalities and in what they do. Not even the main character ever develops, he just learns more about who he was. Frankly it’s very disappointing, because when things happen to our tragic heroes, it’s hard to care about them as they’ve just been one-dimensional plot-points. That can work if you have strong characters to begin with, but as noted, these characters are dull as hell. You also get some unintentional comedy in the absolutely bonkers scientist with a penchant for torture, who starts quoting Stoker (because you have to fucking shoehorn that into a vampire show like your life depended on it) and Tolstoy, and is generally weird as hell.
The story is equally odd. Parts of it just comes and goes as it pleases, like there’s a revolving door of relevance. It really is hard to care about what is happening when you don’t grasp the relevance of events to one-another. Characters just do complete one-eighties in order to provide more filler before the end finally arrives. It really is a shame, because it felt like it was to be a show that made vampires rather cool again, but the amount of plot-holes and contrivances really do get in the way of enjoying it. All of the reveals towards the end just made me laugh out loud with their increasing craziness, until we arrive in bizarro-world come the ending.
Visually, it’s very pleasing for most of the time and there is a lot of incredible imagery, but then you get some absolutely retarded character designs that feel like they invaded from another series.
The sound design is pretty decent, but many characters in the series are woefully miscast and a lot of the performances are really bad. The soundtrack, however, is pretty damn awesome. Both the OP and ED are great.
Now, I’ve been shitting on Kurozuka a lot, but the final episode shows up and delivers the best possible ending the series could have had and I really freaking loved it, so I'm ultimately torn on where to go with the series; good or bad? Ultimately, with all the tomfoolery, I’ll go with bad, but there’s certainly enough good in here that a person that disagrees with what I found negative would find this to be a damn good show. It also increases my frustration with the series’ unfulfilled potential. The run-time of the entire thing is way too long relative to what it’s trying to convey. Honestly, remake this in film-length and condense the story a bit, and I’ll watch the hell out of it. I’m totally behind the point it makes about love and selfishness and I actually came away from it rather liking the vampire concept, but the length and general poor quality makes most of the series unbearable to watch.
D5
I liked this anime, but had difficulty in rating it. In some ways, it is either more or less than the sum of its parts, depending on the point of whoever is watching it. The story is presented in a manner which involves a lot of flashbacks, dream sequences which are not clearly distinguished from reality, surreal imagery, explicated metaphor... in short, it is overwhelmingly confusing. Even after watching the entire series, all I can say about the plot is that it is designed to mess with my head... anything else is questionable, so even if I wasn't wary of spoilers, I can't really give you anydetails (I mean, I could, but, not really).
If you've watched Serial Experiments Lain, or Memento, then this probably belongs in a similar category in terms of the way the story is presented as a plot.
Sound, Art:both Great! (9/10)
The sound and art have very high production values... but I would put the Art one step below perfect because, although somewhat intentional, they are so many time-jumps that not only the story, but even the action is at times difficult to follow.
The characters... (8/10)
well, they are somewhat well developed but I really had to think about that for a bit. For certain, it is an interesting way of presenting common themes by changing various details... so I will just say that the characters are very well thought out, but are overshadowed a bit by the non-linear presentation and even the "flashiness" of the art style.
They are few "slice of life" moments in this series, so it is hard to connect to even the main characters... even when background history is being given, it is usually in the midst of a battle or tense situation.
Enjoyment... (7/10)
Ouch, my head hurts!
I appreciate that the production values were high, and the plot was well thought out and spans a vary long time... but at the same time, I had to just stop the series and go to watch something else, whilst my brain adjusted to "normal time flow", least I start walking backwards or something.
In that sense, I enjoyed it less than the more linear (in terms of time presentation, but perhaps, more incomplete in terms of story details) Serial Experiments Lain... and there was so much going on, involving several major "players", that I actually found Memento easier to follow.
Overall... (8/10)
I would say this series is very good, but its presentation pace will overwhelm even people who like non-linear story presentation (anyone who claims different, just shut off their brain or something and is lying to themselves), and the ambiguous ending sparks more questions... unlike Serial Experiments Lain, which I have re-watched several times, I am deeply hesitant to even glance at Kurozuka again... it does something to stretch the mind, but perhaps in ways that it would be best not to attempt too often.
If "Ringu" and Serial Experiments Lain are mindfucks, then this is a hardcore mind-gang-rape... but by a very beautiful flock of fangirls.
Or something.
BobDiesel
What a terrible terrible anime. Sure the first 2 episodes were terrific. Great gore, great action and a bit of romance. However everything goes downhill. The anime is very confusing. There's many flashbacks which appear without warning which is confusing. Powers and abilities of all of these characters are poorly poorly explained. There's times when the anime doesn't make sense. The anime is a trainwreck. But to make matters even worst the ending is a catastrophe. You have not a clue what's going on at all. You don't know if time reset and a continuous loop happens, you don't know whether time is continuing or whetherKuro actually gets that actual body. I'm sorry for putting in spoilers but this anime is a bellyache. I wouldn't recommend watching this EVER!
babykiwi
I first watched this anime a few years ago out of boredom when I couldn't find anything else to watch, and I'm so glad I did! Now it's definitely ranked as one of my favorites. The balance of action & romance is perfect. The storyline is interesting, and leaves you wanting more. Rarely if ever a dull moment. It's definitely one of the first I would recommend.
MasterOfLazyness
Lazyman reviews. Alright, so this is about an Anime called Kurozuka. Rated R -17+ and up For it contains: Mild nudity, Suggestive Themes, Boring Violence, Repeated Scene Effect, Ear Bleeding Laughter, Vampires of The Non-Twilight Kind, Zombies, Demons, Mutants, The Quest to Tap it and Blood. Lots of blood. Not so much Gore just blood. They seem to censor or magic pixie fuzz any or all of the gore out. As we go along it’s good to know that this show aired back in 2008 and was animated by Madhouse studios. Go Madhouse! Another thing to notice is the extreme skinny people and bazaar limb length thatyou will see quite often in this show.
Right off the bat you’re slammed with the power of the Annoying Red Haired Masked Man With Fan while he spurts out what seems to be haiku’s sung with extreme Old Man’ness. It doesn’t get any better… just more reoccurring.
Now I shall touch a bit on the shows Intro. I’m not a fan of screamo or screecho or whatever the hell people wanna call it. It sounds like someone was trying to sing while getting their entire head shoved into a fully functioning blender. The beginning song only fits because of the fantastic animation along with it. Yup, that’s about it.
As for the outro, if you haven’t already muted or closed the player then you will hear the sounds of a slow paced song set to ease your heart as you escape the sounds of the intro.
But you will still quickly move onto the next episode as the voice starts to slowly annoy you also. It’s like softer, slower paced screamo. It still doesn’t work. Some people out there might like it. Good for you. But this is mah lazyman review and my opinion is “Me No Like”. Mmmkay?
This show by far has THE MOST ANNOYING RECAP EVER DESIGNED.
Remember that Annoying Red Haired Masked Man With Fan I mentioned earlier? Of course you do, How could you ever forget him. Well, he reappears every single episode.
That’s right, out of the 12 episodes of this show, you see his ugly mug a minimum of 12 times. You actually see him more than just 12 times but I’m giving you a heads up on what to expect. But hey, at least you get to watch him throw that fan in the exact same way each and every episode and watch that fan land perfectly in the center of their organization symbol each and every damn time. Oh… wait… That’s pretty damn annoying as well now that I think about it.
Moving right along the action of the show is almost enough for some to continue watching until the end. For others, you will most likely be dropping this by episode 3 if you haven’t already. The beginning was still pretty good at keeping you interested in the things you don’t quite yet understand about the show. But even that has a limitation.
They try to pick up the pieces of the action by adding in slow motion and more Vampire like fight scenes. Which I must say, they did damn nicely. Although the whole inverted colour or heat detection mode is like you went back into the 60’s for some fun with colours. Ignoring the fact they almost all have the bone structure and appearance of malnourished basket ball players, the animation is freakin’ sweet. You can notice parts where they got a bit lazy and threw in a quick flash of white or black before they would change to the next part. It saddens me to see that potential go down the drain. Whos to say you can’t have good action in a romancy kind of theme? Well, for now, you might be right. At least in the case of Kurozuka.
The characters start off as interesting works of art and are slowly left in the pools of blood you will most likely see them lying in. Kurou is a love struck fool who just happens to have the ability to kill anything he wants. Kuromitsu is a siren-vampire-terminator who just happens to accept guests. Benkei… is a monk. The Red Emperor is a man of song. Rai is a rebel prostitute. I could go on but the list is long and the jokes only get worse.
At the end of watching it all… I felt the ending was pretty damn bleh. Sure, I understood the bits the show left everywhere for us to pick up and understand like a trail of candy eggs. It just didn’t solve anything it may have explained it but there was no actual solution. It’s like hitting the reset button instead of wondering why you have to hit that button and working at the problem from there.
The Story gets 6 Rusted Samurai Swords.
The Animation gets 8 Gallons of Blood.
The Sound gets 5 and a half Screams of Terror.
The Characters gets 6 Close Up Shots.
Overall the show should hold a 7 but it falls short of that mark and is left with the bitter taste of 6 Fans of the Red Emperor.
Floydogenic
From the first scene I felt like I'd seen the anime before. By the second or third episode I confirmed in my mind that I had indeed already completed Kurozuka & my uncertainty wasn't due to confusion or imagined deja vu- but due to themes of eternity, reality, fate and life and death and life again being wonderfully executed in the story telling. The unclear progression & perception of truth all succeeded in making this Alice in Wonderland- Ergo Proxy journey enthralling (Brownster's 'engrossing' was well chosen). Reaffirming D5's ' hardcore mind-gang-rape' description as very true. Rating the anime was difficult when it came toEnjoyment as no terms seemed close to relevant other then 'great'. There were many fight scenes leaving me in ecstatic awe (I LOVE sword fight scenes and Kurozuka definitely satisfies!) but I don't think the true story lends itself to 'enjoyment', unless you're masochistically-orientated as the love and life in kurozuka are dark (few happy bunny moments) but beautiful nonetheless.
Once I started I knew I had to watch it throughout and am happy I did.
I find it hard to agree with people complaining about the 'confusing' 'messy' plot as it seems perfectly suited. Definitely worth watching and bring tissues for the fight scenes- they are HARD :P
Gsarthotegga
Although this series has a reputation of being confusing, it's actually very straightforward—it's just that the first three or so episodes are jumping around to different time periods, relying on flashbacks, peculiar editing, unfinished plot threads, a bizarre head trip where the main character doesn't know who he is, and jumbling it all up to create what looks to be a non-linear, experimental anime, but this doesn't last. We begin in 12th century Japan, and the story specific to the characters of Kuro and Benkei remains superficial. There is some kind of feud between warring factions and Kuro is on the run. These elements fadeinto the background as Kuro develops an unhealthy obsession with an immortal vampire woman. Most of the male characters end up becoming enamored with her.
The gore and visuals of these segments bring to mind Shigurui, but that doesn't last long either—we're briefly transported to WWII Japan in what is little more than a battle sequence—then straight to a cyberpunk world reminiscent of Texhnolyze. I suspect there was a fair amount of influence from that series and there are also many aesthetic similarities, right down to using the katana as a symbol.
About the only thing this show has going for it are the aesthetics. The music is a mixture of traditional Japanese folk and modern electronics. Both feudal Japan and the bombed-out wasteland are drawn lavishly. The animation is mostly smooth enough, although there are occasional icky CGI bits and moments with typical TV sluggishness. The directing form the Attack on Titan director is also solid. It's the characters and the script that are the main problems.
1,000+ years apparently weren't kind to the immortal main character, as he behaves like an amnesiac, yet he doesn't necessarily seem to be written as a true amnesiac. The way the show is edited early on with these time skips gives the impression that the main's journey through time and space is non-linear, but he seems to be subjected to intense visions and flashbacks.
The one and only motivation or interest he has in life is his immortal lover, Kuromitsu, and he spends the entire series hunting her down—yet he doesn't seem to remember or know anything about her. This is despite the two of them supposedly having been together for many centuries. He has one of the blankest personalities imaginable and has the most stoic "..." anime elitist segments possible.
Kuromitsu remains an enigmatic character not only to the main, but also to the audience. I would hesitate to call any of the characters archetypes or even criticize them as being flat. These are poorly written character sketches at best. They're just completely empty, and they don't have anything insightful to say, nor do they have notable motivations. Most of the males other than the main either want Kuromitsu's attention or want to become super mutants. Kuon's role here is especially stupid.
The terrible script consists of the characters going from point A to B and back, flashy fight sequences with loads of plot armor and zero tension, and just random gibberish about a red army that spans all the way back to the 12th century or earlier that wants Kuromitsu's blood, so they can become immortal and continue on to the next step of evolution. The exact relationship of the red army to the city is not adequately explained, but they kill people at random or abduct them to perform experiments on them.
Then there's the intoxicating stupidity and obsession of the "love" between the two main characters. They're so banal and empty as characters and seemingly know nothing about each other. There's also a reason we have short lifespans. Can you imagine anyone being so alluring that you fawn over them for 1,000 years? For what? To be loved, to love? To touch her hair and kiss her and string together poetry? uwu. It would be about the same if the main character spent 1,000 years looking at porn or sending money to e-thots on Only Fans. This shallow undying romance stuff just makes me want to hurl. Think about what a man could accomplish with immortality, and he spends that time staring at her and asking to kiss her boo boos. What a loser.
While there is a plot twist at the end that adds a touch of poignancy and creates somewhat of a ghastly rumination on immortality and mortality and the possibility of a cyclical plight for the main character, if not just another confused recollection on his part... what I described above does hold up as the reality for one of the characters. Kuromitsu is a beauty to be sought after, and that's it. There's no reason for her to be sought for, however. She's so indescribably dull, and this kind of allure was pulled off better in Babylon—but at least that character didn't have to draw the men in for eternity.
A central problem is that the series has so little plot and so much action—this story could have easily been summed-up in half the time, and we would lose nothing—then we might be closer to a mediocre production rather than this poor offering of a series.
blitzburns4
[Spoiler Warning] I am an idealist. Always have been. For those who are unsure of what, precisely, pertains to being an idealist. An idealist is simply someone who is guided by an ideal rather then (a) practical purpose or consideration. I don't wish to be rich simply because being rich is more practical to being poor- no. I want to be wealthy because I chase an ideal that emphasizes that being affluent will help me end my lifelong pursuit of happiness. It other words, I believe being wealthy is not the be-all/end-all, and that being rich will not directly result in happiness. There has to besomething else- an ideal- that would be better accomplished through being wealthy. For me, that ideal would be raising a family. A consequentialist, on the other hand, would simply do anything necessary to accomplish his/her goal. (In this case, being rich.) Let's just say we were both struggling businessman. The practitioner would be willing to screw over both other businessman as well as customers simply to accomplish the goal of racketeering as much profit as possible. However, as an idealist, the goal of making money is secondary to the ideal. Even in the face of financial difficulty, that ideal is not sacrificed. It remains constant, whether the idealist becomes wealthy or not.
You, the reader, are probably wondering at this point why the hell am I going so deep into Idealism vs. Consequentialist in an Anime review. (After all, this is not a Philosophy lecture.) If that is the case- You, dear reader, are absolutely correct. The reason, to put it simply, is that ties directly into my review. It is the point of view I had going into this anime. It's vitally important that you, the reader, understand that. When I viewed Kurozuka, I didn't necessarily just see it singularly as a product, but also as the ideal is represents. One must remember that Anime, after all, is a form of art. As a product, I'll be the first to admit that it's a very lackluster series. However for the emotional impact (Think of the primary "WTF" feeling it gives you.) it succeeded -very- well; leaving me thinking back to this show days after it had ended. This, obviously, makes this show a bit of a paradox to review. Worry not, though- after hours of contemplation I finally feel resolve with my opinion of this show. I will share it to you now.
Just like we start any story, (Regardless of the medium) I wish to start my review from the point by which everything else starts to fall into place- the beginning. In the beginning, Kurozuka was the literal incarnation of perfection. If the show had finished as strongly as first forty minutes, then this could have been one of -the- anime classics of our generation. It's sad, really. Idealistically; Practically; it does not matter. There is no debate, and there is no question. Both realistically and literally this show has more or less one of the greatest opening sequences of all time. (A sequence many other anime, such as Beserk, Gungrave, and Ga Rei Zero have all tried but haven't gotten quite right.) But, alas, as the saying goes, 'The Brightest Flame burns the fastest.' So soon does the bright light all but disappear.
*Minor spoilers ahead.*
The main premise of this show is that of a journey of two immortal lovers who can not die. (Sounds interesting, right?) In the beginning, we see how the two primary characters meet and fall in love with each other. We start with a prince named Kuro who has suffered the ultimate price of being royalty- death. His family's political enemies want him dead, and have chased him from his home. Death chases him wherever he goes- and because of that, he's always on the run. However he already knows it's only a matter of time. (We even see him tell his assistant that he should simply kill him so he could survive.) The story starts when, having just barley survived an ambush- he takes shelter in a remote home in the mountains. It's there that he meets Kuromitsu; a beautiful woman who agrees to let the two fugitives take shelter in her home- on the single condition that they do not go into the basement. However, soon after Benkei- Kuro's loyal assistant- leaves to find medicine for the injured and sick Kuro, the house is attacked. One thing leads to another, and Kuro finds himself killed protecting Kuromitsu. Because he was the only person Kuromitsu had ever met who hadn't been afraid of her, and protected her, she makes him an offer to "chase eternity,"- together with her forever.
The only problem (And this is were this series starts to go downhill.) is that things do not go according to plan. Kuro, before he could become fully immortal, is betrayed and killed by Benkei- his loyal assistant and fellow warrior. Instead of chasing eternity with Kuromitsu; Kuro finds himself stuck in a loop where, though he is immortal and can not die, he has no body- and must change bodies every 100 years. (Or he really will die.) When he changes bodies, for whatever reason, Kuro also loses his memories. The show (or the rest of the ten or so episodes) starts about a two thousand years later. The world has ended and started again, and Kuro is still afflicted with his curse. Since he lost his memories, for about nine episodes we see Kuro do nothing but search for a woman whom he scantly remembers; (Kuromitsu.) only seeing her through random flashbacks. Literally, nearly nothing happens plot wise for the entire series up until the very last episode. In the very last episode, it is revealed in a climactic revelation that Kuromitsu had planned to finally break Kuro free of the cycle, which had plagued their chasing of eternity. Her plan failed, but being an immortal she simply made herself content to try again. And so, the show ends right where the series starts.
In the entire 12 episodes that this series encompasses, there is only about three episodes worth of story. In fact, this show would have done much better as a five episode anime short; like Afro Samurai. Or, even better, as a movie. (Like Ninja Scroll, which this show is clearly based off of.) If that had been the case- the score of this show would have undoubtably been in the eight to ten range. Sure, it would overshadowed and constantly compared to the earlier examples, (Afro Samurai and Ninja Scroll) but by being too ambitious and dragging out this story much longer then it should have been- this show only served to bring itself crashing down.
Again, unfortunately, this is not the case. This story is not told in a hundred-minute movie or a five episode anime short. The reality is we, the viewers, are left hanging around watching about nine and a half straight episodes of absolutely nothing but action. Sure, the action's good. Sure, we are introduced to really cool villains and get some strong backstory on them so that they are relatable. But this show, in my humble opinion, presents the action secondary to the plot. When the show (seemingly randomly) shifts focus from being an amazing story to simply being nothing except a series of amazing action scenes; I think there isn't a single viewer out there that didn't feel left out. To tell you the truth, I felt like breaking down and crying at the missed potential. And yet, the action is what encompasses and highlights the majority of this show. So it makes it very hard for me (as an idealist) to judge this show based off the assumption it was meant to be a story-related show. In hindsight, and after much contemplation, it's really quite clear (Though I don't want to believe it.) that this show was never meant to be known or remembered for its story. One only has to refer to the absurdly choreographed action scenes, or the sudden and random use of slapstick humor, or the restart ending. (The only reason that I could come up with for a complete restart ending is so they could continue the non-stop action in a potential second season- which would have undoubtedly been created had this show been positively received and/or successful.)
I know at this point I should go into other detailed aspects of this show. The action, the characters, the sound. But it's really all unnecessary at this point. All the side characters are simply there to continue the action. (Old wise woman states that Kuromitsu is being held somewhere else? Sorry, all that really did for me was remind me of how Toad would tell the player that Peach was in a different castle in the original Super Mario Bros.) There is no story related to them; and it didn't take a genius to figure out what their fates were going to be once the show (unsurprisingly) started killing them off. The sound, with the exception of extremely rare cases like Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo- where they serve to be a deeply rooted theme found in the very foundation of the show- is simply something that exists to most of the time... A necessary burden for most TV series to help portray what they want to portray. This show is no exception. The sound simply wasn't exceptional or memorable. The sound didn't serve to be a deeply-rooted theme of the show, and there were no catchy soundtracks that one would want to go back and listen to. (Like in Black Lagoon or Darker then Black.) The animation was good, perhaps even great. However, the extreme feeling of disappointment I felt whilst watching this show all but cancels out the otherwise superb choreography and animation.
In conclusion, I recommend watching this show only if you really want to see what missed potential looks like. Never before have I seen something THIS close on the edge of greatness or glory. Perhaps if one were addicted to Ninja Scroll-type sword action and had all but exhausted all other options... (Very unlikely.) then perhaps they would be interested in watching this show. However, for everyone else- this show will not do anything for you except give you a depressed feeling of missed opportunity.
Thanks for reading,
Blitzburns4
Abs0
Warning to anyone planning to watch this: DO NOT EXPECT THE PLOT TO MAKE SENSE. The plot is a complete and total clusterfuck and does not even begin to make sense no matter which way you look at it. If the ending says what I think it says, being Kuro is the worst hell. The recursive plot reminded me of Highlander: Search for Vengeance. Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, let's focus on the specifics. Art: Amazing. The art is really well polished, on par with Hellsing Ultimate. Animation: Smooth fight scenes, lots of slow-motion and special effects. High quality animation.Choreography: Pretty good, the sword fights are quite nice to watch, Kuro utilizes a lot of acrobatic moves which are nice to see. I would say that it's at least on par with Highlander: Search for Vengeance if not better.
Morningstar991
"Destiny is predetermined" // "Love is blindness" if either of those sounds true to you then you will like Kurozuka. On the surface it's an episodic story,but all it takes is 5 minutes to realize it's much more than that,told trough flashbacks,dream sequences,deja vu's and timelapses,which for some reason confuses the average anime viewer hence it's low score.As for the art & animation both are top-notch,it was peak Madhouse at the time after all. It's hard to write a review without spoilling anything so all there is to be said is to watch and form your own opinion,don't trust the MAL score in this instance.
Callow
Kurozuka is extremely different in the way the story is presented. Do not take that statement lightly. At the beginning of this anime (for what seems several episodes) it is extremely hard to stay interested because of the perspective the story. It does however, change so that the watcher can follow along and begin making sense of the earlier scenes. Considering the actual content of the anime, the story was interesting with intriguing art. The action primarily in the middle of the anime is fairly graphic, which was almost unexpected... But very entertaining. Saying those few things, I appreciate the different approach in story telling, howeverdaunting it was. It almost makes me think they did it so the watcher would be as dazed and confused as the main character. I stayed long enough to get past it because of the art and the hints of mystery at the beginning. The mysteriousness was redundant, but the redundancy serves a purpose.
Overall I would recommend this more to those who are primarily interested in action, thrillers or just up for something different. I do think it is good though, and worth watching for its other aspects. Even though it contains supernatural mystery the action is what you would probably stay for, because the mystery takes a bit to reveal itself... AS a mystery.
Overall: I give it a modest 8 for its uniqueness, art and story
tentacle_raep
Kuro means black. Or so I've been told. And I think Kurozuka means black coffin. Maybe. Anywhoo. Let's say you're a toppled Japanese Lord running from demonic usurpers in the chilling mountains with your seemingly loyal retainer and stumble upon a large manor presided over by a beautiful woman who is all alone in this dangerous climate. Moreso, this woman is completely willing to let you spend the night on one request: don't go into her personal chambers only to discover her getting her freak on with a bloody corpse... Clearly no good will come of wanting to have sex with her and be her eternal lovemonkey slavebecause she'll cut your head off and you'll be forced to time travel through apocalyptic worlds in endless search of this demon who on one hand lavishes her love upon you and on the other endlessly eludes you.
So that's the premise. Kuro, the retainer dude, becomes an immortal vampire head thing, and searches for the mysterious Kuromitsu vampire chick across time--falling in love over and over again. There are some Jade Empire guys who eternally seek her because her blood can make you immortal, but there's a catch (isn't there always). And there are some recurring characters that span the ages, but it's all confusing and contrived, and irrelevant to the main story.
The style of this is clearly retro cyberpunk with new production values. There's a hint of Ninja Scroll and Fist of the North star in the character designs, backdrops, and apocalyptic wasteland. There is over the top bloody violence, and the fight scenes are nicely done. Also, there is the classic theme of a ragtag band of adventurers seeking a princess in a castle taken by a dark lord (which more or less describes the generic cast of extras that follow Kuro along--but most have amusing traits, like the quiet and ruthless Kuon who seems to remember useless details about kids cartoon with great enthusiasm).
There isn't much to the plot, just the endless pursuit of Kuromitsu and the typical Demon-play we've come to expect, but the character design is creative and the pacing is decent. There are flashbacks, which add to the timeless plight of Kuro and his amesia (the core of the premise), but overall this is just a grindhouse flick so there's little to fault on something that isn't being too pretentious.
Of note there's an amusing episode that totally goes overboard in regard to a bag of shit and a wheelchair (you may not want to see it, now that I think about it).
With all that said, the ending polarizes you. I hated it the first time, the second I decided to accept that it wasn't that bad to reiterate the central theme of pursuing an unreachable goddess.
Make up your own minds.
mouthpiece
Kurozuka is a title which proves that no matter how great a book looks, it still needs to have some sort of manageable writing in it to sell and be liked. This only meant to be a metaphor and not my opinion of the source material, which was a novel, turned manga, turned anime. I haven’t read those (which are hear are far more entertaining) and I am only going to talk about the anime version. So basically, the problem with this show is that it lacks context. And by that, I do not mean action, cool looking warriors, explosions, and the like. It has lotsof it and it is artistic up to a point to boot. The problem is that it lacks ANYTHING ELSE other than that. The characters never manage to become sympathetic to you, the story is simple and still manages to be confusing, and there are no oversexualized lolis and boobs all over the screen every five minutes to keep you interested into watching just for that. As cool as the action and the cinematics are, people would gladly choose something with no action and no art, as long as it has likable characters and erotic service.
The production values are downright amazing as long as superficial looks go. This is Madhouse we are talking about and it poured lots of cash to make everything look eye-catchy, dynamic, and cool, with lots of cinematics and artistic overtones, ranging from a traditional Japan to a futuristic steampunk dystopia. They even went as far as deliberately drawing characters in an almost grotesque way, with spider legs and bizarre faces as to further make it look special. The action scenes are also very good to stare since they are usually very brutal and gory, while the soundtrack and the voice acting fill in just fine.
Most who watched the first episode were simply amazed and impatiently waited to see what follows next. And then they watched the second episode… and then the third… and then most lost interest. Why? THERE IS NO CONTEXT! Why is everything happening, for which reason, why should we care, and how long can we just be content with fancy visuals and over the top action? Everything and everyone are downright basic.
- The setting switching from past to future has been done numerous times in the past, mostly in videogames, and the result is always the same: It looks good as a button-mashing action game but it sure as hell makes a boring story.
- The characters are distant from the viewer; they feel too unsympathetic, cold, stuck on a one-track mind. Most of them are nothing but mass produced freaks without personality, existing only to be killed by the hero who simply looks for someone major to kill. That is all.
- For most of the duration, all you see is the hero going around, butchering freaks, and gathering bits of confusing information that by the end of the series don’t even offer anything of importance. It’s just all about finding the Big Bad and to off him/her; all the rest of the plot is a completely uncaring-for-the-viewer witness of repetitive search and destroy missions. It gets boring really fast.
- The action, as cool as it may be, still is too unreal and over the top to tolerate for many episodes. Improbable motions, scene mistakes, injuries not being important, and characters doing some really basic mistakes for the sake of the script pile up so fast that you can’t ignore them after a few episodes. And since the action is about a distant super warrior and a bunch of faceless freaks, there is no emotional bond with all that happens and again you have no reason to keep watching.
There you have it, a show that tries to pass as cool without first winning your sympathy. This is why I always say the characters are the backbone of any series; if you don’t care about them, then you might as well be watching a WW2 documentary. A similar title which did the same mistake is the “Highlander: The Search for Vengeance” movie; equally flashy without any actual context (and duration) to back it up. A title which did it right though is Samurai Champloo; it has a simplistic plot but its characters are very likable early on and you watch for THEM and not the two-lines-long story.
I do not recommend this anime. It starts in an amazing way but loses steam faster than those steampunk monstrosities the hero slices to pieces.
apatch3
The first two episodes of this anime really gripped me, even after the third i was left thinking that the story had such promise, it could turn into one of the best animes this season, sadly i was wrong the story is set wonderfully and deteriorates from there. Throughout the series you'll find a number of overly glorified battle scenes, (since kuro is a vampire) you can expect quite a few unrealistic feats to dash across your screen. Even as i write this review i wish i could go back in time kill the writer and take his job.The sound is solid not the best I've heard I thought the opening was iffy, The characters are not developed properly the story's many strings just dont tie together, i remember the end of episode 12 felt like being jabbed at with the bristles of a dirty broom (each representing a loose end). I suppose if u liked the senseless battles that afro samurai threw at you, you'll like kurozuka. But if youre looking to enjoy an anime storywise .. then steer clear of this catastrophe
