Tag Archives: Horror

Turning Up the Creepy to Eleven in Blood on the Tracks Volume Three

May 17, 2023 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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Apologies for taking Mother’s Day off, adjusting to my new work schedule has left me a little more tired than usual, so I did not have much energy to write. That being said, today’s volume certainly restored a lot of my blood flow, because my heart was pounding for the majority of it.

While still processing what has happened, Seiichi finishes his summer vacation and returns to school. However, it seems as though his attempts to figure out why his mother would attempt murder have left him quite literally speechless. Eventually, he cannot take it anymore, and, well…now is the time to leave for those who have yet to read it and want to avoid spoilers.

The Confrontation

The last two chapters are thus far some of the most emotionally charged manga I have ever read. Horror is historically something that anime as a medium has failed to do a ton of justice. However, with manga, it is a different story. Because there is no set pace, reading manga comes with a degree of control: how fast eyes scan up and down, whether or not fingers decide to pick up the next page. Oshimi draws on this principally brilliantly when writing the scene between Seiichi and Seiko.

The way the darkness of the house builds the atmosphere in otherwise less tense moments before the two start arguing is brilliant. Not a single panel is wasted when it comes to mixing the cocktail of emotions the two of them feel. The character shading also really helps, with some panels even showing the two as almost dark outlines, but still drawn with enough complexity to see what they are going through with little to no visible face.

Shigeru’s Return

Another element of this volume that was particularly effective at building the atmosphere was seeing Shigeru again. It is not often that vising someone in a hospital can be as frightening, but again, Oshimi does it well. Seiichi’s cousin is not only immobilized but visibly deformed from the fall. His bloodshot and yet somehow still dead eyes and lack of speech contrast dramatically with his character in the opening chapters.

From volume one onwards, it had yet to be the case Shigeru appeared at all. This helps to build a lot of nervous distraught in Seiichi, who, after seeing him in his horrific state, finally gets the courage to confront his mom.

Minamalism and Atmosphere

Though some of the mangaka’s backgrounds can feel a bit underdone, this is not to say that a lack of linework is necessarily always bad. In fact, there are many points where it arguably adds to the atmosphere. The previously mentioned scene near the end with Seiichi and Seiko is a good example.

Many of the characters in the panels of these chapters can be extremely detailed. However, Oshimi also plays with some elements of minimalism, with the two of them at points looking like rough sketches. This rougher sketch work seems to represent points where the world around them has changed completely. For Seiichi, he is experiencing a whole new person that he does not recognize as his mom. In Seiko’s case, it likely feels like her son has betrayed her for going to see Shigeru in the hospital.

Conclusions/Predictions

As the world is crashing down around him, it seems likely that Seiichi will be forced to make a choice about how he wants to proceed. My best guess is that more than likely, he will try and get his dad to help him with his mother, and that there will also probably be more attempted murder.

Have you all read Blood on the Tracks? Let me know down in the comments.

If you are interested in reading more from me, check under blog to read my most recent stuff, or look below for some related posts. Also, if you would like to support Animated Observations, consider donating on Ko-fi or through paypal, or pledging on Patreon. You can even support by just liking and sharing this post.

As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting the blog on Patreon.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Initial Results

Higurashi is Scary, and Yes That is Surprising

December 20, 2020 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It’s no surprise that most horror anime tend to be underwhelming at best when it comes to actually being scary or intimidating. As I have talked about before, there are many inherent limitations that animation has when it comes to penetrating our sense of reality, the main one being that, and the end of the day, they are just drawings. Drawings, at least most of the time, are not scary.

This rings just as true for the original “Higurashi,” as it was limited both by the production quality of mid-2000’s Studio Deen, as well as a lack of overall frames, making the animation even less expressive. While there were still some good moments in the original, it just did not get the adaptation the series needed to achieve its goal. The same holds for the series’ follow-up, “Higurashi: Kai.”

However, Studio Passione is back in force for the…sequel? yeah, so apparently I missed a lot in regards to the specific storyline of the series, as I, along with most of the community were under the impression that this was going to be a remake of the first season. The scene with Rika at the beginning of the second episode made that abundantly clear. Guess I should have finished “Kai,” huh?

Whether or not one is fully caught up on the lore of the “Higurashi” universe is irrelevant to the fact that “Higurashi: Gou” is a strict upgrade, at least in terms of the animation.

For starters, the lighting of the series does a much better job at contrasting the brighter colors of the show’s opening episode with the darker moments that come only 20-30 minutes later. This is most evident in the scenes where Keiichi and Rena are at the trash yard together trying to get out the Kernel Sanders statue, when the glowing red sunset fades into ominously into pitch black.

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There is also the character’s themselves that move much more often. The scene that demonstrates this the best is when Keiichi confronts Rena on their way home, asking if her and the others have been hiding anything from her. Rena goes from her sweet, innocent Persona to her real self in a matter of seconds, completely changing the tone of her voice. On top of that, the way her body is animated makes it look as if she slithers next to Keiichi, looking up at him from below. It happens so fast that it legitimately scared me, but in a way that does not feel like a cheap jump scare.

Still, there have been plenty of welcome changes outside of the animation as well. The one that I noticed most immediately was the symbolic repetition of certain actions as a way of provoking certain scenes in the show. In the first episode, it shows the fate of everyone at the end of the rotation, with everyone accept Keiichi dead, and him violently swinging what looks to be a bat on Rena. The show uses various different instances, whether it be him using a saw to get the statue out for Rena, or Rika’s ceremonial dance, to further remind us of what will happen to those characters.

While I would not say it is a strict improvement, the soundtrack definitely does a great job at setting the tone. The new opening also reintroduces the characters well and has a killer music track to boot.

Overall, there is a lot to like about “Higurashi: Gou,” and despite not being fully caught up with the series myself, although that might change by the time this comes out, I am fully invested in this new season and look forward to the insanity to come.

How do you guys feel about the new “Higurashi?” Let me know in the comments below.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Gleipnir Episode One Reaction

May 5, 2020 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

“Oh boy, now that the semester is over, I have so much free time. I wonder what the seasonal stuff looks like.” *watches one episode of Gleipnir* …huuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

While it is true that I have not been actively watching the stuff that has been coming out, I have still been following enough of it to know that Gleipnir was going to be weird, even before its release. Just based off the description of the manga, it was likely that Gleipnir was going to be bringing something strange. However, strange does not always necessarily mean good.

The show’s first episode was…ok. There were a lot of unique elements to be sure. The opening scene where a monster of some kind was looking for a vending machine, only for another person to pop out was great. Not only did it highlight what is likely to be a key plot point, but also had an indie-horror vibe without even being based on a game, which is pretty cool.

Shuuichi is where a lot of the show’s strengths and weaknesses will likely be based. On the one hand, there is a lot of potential for interesting storytelling through his monstrous powers. The fact that he is a monster but does not really look like one is already something that has been highlighted by Shuuichi himself, and Clair has already said, albeit mockingly, that he looks cuter in that form.

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Still, there is a lot of potential for him to be pretty boring. The first episode is already relying on a lot of ecchi elements that do not necessarily fit the horror vibe that it is trying to establish. What’s more, I get the feeling that Clair might not get the proper development that she honestly deserves. It was really intriguing when after Shuuichi says he is the one who save her from the fire, she responds by telling him that was her suicide attempt.

The show’s music and animation, at least so far, can be summarized as not particularly interesting. A lot of the color combinations in Gleipnir, along with the show’s character designs, feel pretty normal for this era of anime. The only thing slightly unique is that, for some reason, it feels like everyone’s face is slightly flatter than they should be.

The music is passable for what the show is trying to do, but again, not that notable. It relies on a lot of modern sounds, such as high-hats and a little bass mixed with more traditionally horror-sounding music in order to get through its more action heavy scenes.

Overall, I feel like this could end up being a great show, but it really depends on where they go from here. I will likely continue to watch it even if it is just to see the train wreck that it end up becoming.

Are you all caught up with Gleipnir? How do you you folks feel about it? Let me know in the comments.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Anime/Manga, Opinion

A Major Disconnect: Exploring the Lack of Effective Horror Anime

November 11, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 6 Comments

For me, It’s hard sitting through horror movies. I know, I know, I’m a weakling, but it’s true. Even subpar products like the recent remake of Flatliners had me in all but the most panicked of states. No matter how hard I try I can’t get through the creeping effects of seeing people on screen and knowing that they will more than likely die.

Halloween got me thinking more and more about Horror as a genre and as a storytelling convention. Even poorly made horror films can still get a lot of people with a well-timed jump scare. However, anime, and a lot of animation, doesn’t really have that advantage.

In the game of life, animation drew the short end of the stick when it comes to scaring people. Unfortunately, their are a few underlying reasons as to why.

One of the main two reasons is that animation is often perceived as childish. Whether it be literally kid shows like Yugioh or Pokémon, or even a less sophisticated adult comedy like family guy, it is ingrained in many fans minds that animation is just for kids, and that we shouldn’t be scared because that be dumb.

The other, and more important reason is that no matter how detailed and alarming, we know that animation isn’t real. The reason that simple jump scares often get to us more than a well planned frantically horrifying scene in anime is because we simply don’t associate these things with reality, because they’re drawings, whereas live-Action horror films have the air of looking at least theoretically possible.

And this really sucks. Shows like Higurashi which put time and effort into building up an intense atmosphere really only make me feel slightly creeped out, as opposed to legitamently scared. Because of these realities, Horror in anime remains a niche and under appreciated part of our beloved medium.

I’m really curious: What has your experience with horror anime been? How scared of an anime have you gotten? Let me know in the comments. Bye for now, Friendos!