Kyousogiga

This season, I’ve decided I won’t be reviewing any one show. This is mainly due to the fact that there isn’t really any show I want to review this season. So, instead, I’m going to review whatever OVAs and movies air and I can get my hands on. I know some OVAs and anime movies are based on pre-existing shows and may or may not make sense to me based on whether or not I’ve seen the preceding series (or read the manga series), so I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

And on that same thought, I chose Kyousogiga to start with because, as far as I can tell, it’s a one-shot. (I suppose now would be a good time to warn about possible spoilers; I’m not spoiling intentionally, just subconsciously.)

Synopsis: Kyousogiga centres on a set of siblings – actually, two sets of siblings. The first are foreigners who are trapped and unable to return home until they capture a ‘black rabbit’. This destructive dream team comprises of Koto, the eldest and a girl, and her two younger, twin brothers, A and Un. The other set of siblings – a demon named Yase, a monk named Kurama, and a priest named Myoe – are the children of Lady Koto, the patron deity of their city, and therefore run the city itself. Myoe has been assigned the duty of looking after Koto and her brothers, and while he complains a lot about them and their reckless actions, he does care a lot about them.

There are a couple of other characters who play an important role, namely Doctor Shouko: a young girl who wears goggles and a white coat and is a primary player in maintaining order and peace in the city. She and her partner run things from behind the scenes, almost as if playing a video game. The other is a character who resembles Koto, though she wears a mask and fights with a sword rather than an oversized hammer.

Kyousogiga is an ONA (Original Net Animation) and therefore, the quality isn’t fabulous, but the animation is still really good, in my opinion. It’s very colourful and vibrant, which really compliments the action in the show. In terms of artistry, it’s kind of like Mawaru Penguindrum – except more erratic and nonsensical, but just as visually stimulating. It’s a fairly simple story that you kind of just fall into without really realizing it. Sure there are parts that I don’t understand myself, but I only realized that after watching it a second time for the review; maybe I don’t understand because I’m thinking too hard about it.

There are a lot of references made to Alice in Wonderland in other reviews (Marina at Anime B&B actually sites that the opening poem is an excerpt from a Lewis Carroll’s poem; A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky) what with Koto and her brothers chasing an elusive rabbit in a fascinatingly strange world that isn’t theirs. The setting, though, is similar to a ‘normal’ world except with some very technological advancements and unusual geometrically-shaped citizens. Going back to how simple Kyousogiga is, there’s no explanation whatsoever regarding the world the show is set in; you’re expected to take it just as it is, and you kind of do – because you’re too busy trying to figure out what’s going on. It’s linear, but it works.

This would have been a good first episode to a longer series, but as a twenty-five minute stand-alone episode, it does quite well. If you watch it, be sure to “stick around after the credits” because there’s more that happens after. I’m a little sorry I don’t have more to say about it – mainly because I didn’t (and still don’t) quite understand it. I know, one of the most obvious themes is the need to be with family. This came up notably with that being Koto’s main reason for finding the rabbit, but also during the short conversation the twins had about whether or not they actually wanted to return home to their parents, and their ultimate decision that they certainly didn’t want to be separated from their sister. I was a bit confused in the flashback of Kurama, Yase, and Myoe’s past; they were speaking as if Lady Koto had already left, but wasn’t Lady Koto there? But again, it had something to do with family wanting to be together. Irregardless of the lack of understanding and the lingering confusion, I did find Kyousogiga enjoyable and would recommend it to watch. Just don’t go in with super high expectations or looking for extremely complex characters or a complicated storyline. It’s just a fun show that does a good job being fun.

Other Reviews I found on Google:

Star Crossed Anime Blog (okay I didn’t find this on Google; I just follow psgels like a lost puppy)

Anime B&B

Otakuness Anime Reviews