OCCULTIC;NINE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL MysteryOccultic;Nine
MANGA Sci-FiOccultic;Nine
ANIME MysteryChäoS;HEAd

REVIEWS

• 

  beanwolf

  80/100
  A breakneck-speed mystery tale with a unique aesthetic flair throughout. Slow readers beware; be ready to rewind.

  I'm not really sure how to talk about this one without spoiling anything for you, but I'm going to give it my best shot. This show moves so fast that if you blink, you'll miss something story-critical and be confused for the next three episodes. Although it could have certainly used a couple more episodes so that it didn't feel like the show just did a line of cocaine before it started rolling, I don't think that the pacing really made THAT much of an impact on the content. It might be a detractor for those of you that aren't fast/peripheral subtitle readers, but for those of us that have no issue with series like Monogatari, this will be child's play. I'd even go as far as to say it's not the speed that makes this series a little "confusing" at points, but rather the way that the plot is presented. Flash-sideways, flashbacks, and the like are all employed to the point where keeping the different inter-weaving parts of the story straight can become a little difficult to some. That being said, I watched eighteen series this season and had no issue actively following this, so the effort required to get the full effect of the plot (which is honestly engaging and wraps up pretty well) is going to vary from watcher to watcher. If I could say anything to set you at ease about the speed/dialogue, it would be that Occultic;Nine dialogue kind of like an episode of Law and Order: characters are constantly moving while talking at an accelerated rate, even though their movement doesn't exactly add anything to the dialogue nine times out of ten, except that sometimes that movement is replaced by dutch angles instead. At the end of the day though, the plot was interesting enough to keep me on the hook every week, and the mystery and its resolution are legitimately intriguing. That's more than can be said for most anime mystery plots.

  Speaking of visuals, this one definitely had a stand-out art style and direction, employing this soft-line style that allows character designs to look incredibly consistent with their backgrounds while still keeping an insanely high level of detail in their character designs. A-1 Pictures is a master of character design when they want to stray from their "A-1 face" design templates, and this show proves yet again that they can be just as visually consistent and impressive as the most in-house studios when pressured to be. The character designs overall are very good, outside of our MC looking a tad generic in comparison and another HUGE issue that will be obvious to you immediately. There are multiple times when this show is animated "on-ones" (24 frames of animation for 24 frames-per-second video playback) to incredible effect. "Camera work" is another thing I would highlight with this show, as it frequently employs dutch angles and other framing techniques to keep the setting interesting and give you more opportunities to take in the lush background art. Voice acting was also pretty killer considering just how fast the dialogue can get at times, and although the music was pretty good I wouldn't be handing out out any awards to it. The visuals were the definitive draw here in the aesthetic department.

  If you are pretty fast with subtitles and are looking for a good mystery, give this one a look. One of the top five this season for sure and a definitive visual treat.

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• 

  dorotheian

  65/100
  disturbingly imaginative, drawn in by morbid curiosity

  For people who enjoy listening to Japanese seiyuus talk as fast or faster than the protagonist of Tatami Galaxy, cramming as much information as possible into their rapid-fire speeches, have fun—and good luck. If you like Another or Boogiepop Phantom wa Warawanai or Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World, you may also enjoy this series.

  The setting for this anime is the lovingly animated Kichijoji, a real neighborhood in Tokyo filled with temples and shrines, and the peculiar nature of that neighborhood and the painstakingly detailed depiction of it is part of the appeal of watching it. Because of the heavy content, I would say this anime is not for the faint of heart - though I would not call it overly suspenseful per se. It has elements of horror, but morbid curiosity is the factor that will inexorably draw you, the viewer, and the characters deeper and deeper into the story. From the beginning the anime presents compelling impossibilities and mysteries you do not yet have the clues to solve. Throughout, it is...disturbingly imaginative.

  The main character is am agnostic high-schooler who rushes to write summaries of alleged occult happenings on his cheap blog for clicks and popularity. He is neither open nor closed to the supernatural until the supernatural intrudes on his life and he steps straight into the scene of a gruesome murder and follows the instructions of an unknown voice seemingly contacting him through radio waves. As events go on, it becomes increasingly clear that nothing is really as it seems.

  You should be aware that the content is disturbingly violent in many places. The title itself should tell you that yes, the occult is involved, but that will not necessarily warn you of some other related concepts: an underage serial killer with a strange box, a quasi-New Religion conspiracy, mass hypnotism, a barrage of occult and pseudo-science, fortune-telling, witchcraft, uncertain states of death, and uncomfortably large boobs (though to the animators’ credit, they are not oversexualized beyond their extraordinary size and one obligatory Marshmallow Hell gag).

  Occultic;Nine does end rather abruptly. The climax is narratively satisfying, but it does not concretely answer questions about the fate of certain characters. It left me with a somewhat uneasy, unfinished feeling. The plot and the characters are handled quickly and lightly without too much depth, but for a short anime with so many characters it does just enough without becoming unbalanced.

  The ending song, “Open your eyes” by Asaka, is one of the most beautiful I heard among the anime that I watched in 2017.

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• 

  Magicfist

  81/100
  A potential masterpiece if it wasn't for the over-the-top fast pacing and short length.

  (Pros/Cons at the end if you don't wanna see me ramble)

  Occultic;Nine is an anime that felt like wasted potential to me. Making a highly science fiction show (more over-the-top than the sci-fi Steins;Gate) with a somewhat hard to grasp plot AND the bombardment of characters introduced in the first episode that is on par with Durarara!! only 12 episodes long seems very unfair. Had this been 24 episodes long, this anime would've easily been a 10 for me.

  Story:
  The story of Occultic;Nine seems very good on pen and paper, however, the execution was extremely poor due to incredibly fast pacing as well as trying to fit a vast amount of characters. The theories of "ghosts" are quite unique and interesting, and is able to make the audience (certainly me at least), be able to nod in agreement at whatever madness is ensuing. But the problem of 12 episodes reveals itself again, with some highly over-the-top supernatural phenomenons that are barely explained happening on screen (VERY PREVALENT IN THE FINALE).

  Art:
  What caught my eye in this anime was the animation. It looked very pleasing to me, especially the art style and the background colours. Albeit, the quick camera angle changes can get annoying, but the anime was try to not make the explanations and theories boring by giving the viewers an "easy on the eye" artwork. Personally, this anime has one of the best eye-candy animation I've ever seen.

  Sound:
  The soundtrack as well VA and SFX in general are great. Absolutely no complaints except for the fast-pace of speaking. Music and SFX always fits the tension and atmosphere of the environment, and really enhances your sense and focus of what's happening.

  Character:
  One of it's biggest weaknesses so far is the characters. 12 episodes is nowhere near enough to fit in all of the characters involvement, story and development in this anime. Some characters were outright done dirty and had barely enough screen time for their purpose in the anime. This made some characters' roles feel very minuscule in the overall plot of the anime.

  Enjoyment:
  I enjoyed it. I really did. No matter how many negative reviews I've seen for it, I've always felt that this anime is good. I'm not sure if I'm too generous and my standards are too low, but I really. Enjoyed. This. Anime.

  Pros:

  • Animation and Art are eye-candy.
  • Plot is very fun to explore.
  • Music is good.
  • Fun twist.

  Cons:

  • Extremely fast pacing.
  • Too condensed (12 episodes).
  • Not enough character build/exploration.
  • Minor unexplained concept/scientific issues.

  El Psy Congroo.

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