Mouryou no Hako

Score: 8.5

“..If you build an enclosure within your heart, evil things will brew. Those things he called “mouryou.”

Built upon calamities of emotion, Madhouse effectively released a series worthy of a masterpiece. Mouryou no Hako hits a delectable balance, with extensive background in supernatural folklore, mystery, and science fiction – all tying in to a well-done and extensive detective, mystery story. This is how horror and mystery should be done!

Story: 9

At first glance, the story seems to be about two girls – one girl who has problems at home and the other, a seemingly perfect girl, who tells her that she will be the reincarnation of ... the other and vice-versa. Then there’s a disturbing part where a mysterious man has a box in his hands, and voices coming out of it. Further down the road, you will follow detective Kiba as he tries to find out what’s going on. Do not be thrown off by the first episode’s foreshadow and its yuri themes (I might also add that Anime News Network found the first episode very compelling with “heart-achingly beautiful yuri.”) It is simply the preamble of Mouryou no Haku as to what you will see. There is also an amazing string of characters (A lot I might add) that tie in to the story and reveal connections. Indeed, Mouryou no Hako can be confusing at first, but as you follow the series, everything opens up in a mythological-like story. The story offers metaphors shrouded in secrecy, your mind questioning the whole box stuff (WTF moments too), and eventually leaving you blown as it all ties together in the end.

Mouryou no Hako is indeed a multi-layered mystery/detective story. It can be complex to the point where the viewer does not understand what’s going on. Of course, this series isn’t spoon-fed to you. You actually have to think, and that’s what makes this series so great.

Art: 10 Sound: 8

The animation, quality, and design were all nicely done. CLAMP finished off the designs with a professional touch while Madhouse did the animation wonderfully. If you thought Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was disturbing (It was actually), then you haven’t seen anything…yet. The gore, limbs, abstract scenes, and other “things” were certainly something. Not just enough for one to go all squeamish, though. The movements were detailed and subtle, with the backgrounds leaving a sense of awe for the viewer. Everything looked so amazing, crisp, and detailed therefore giving this piece a solid 10.

Opening theme: Lost in Blue by Nightmare

Ending theme: Naked Love by Nightmare

The music and insert sounds were also nicely played throughout the series. I actually bought the OST for this. The soundtrack is amazingly nice to listen to. With the opening and ending by Nightmare, it adds a nice touch to this prodigious piece. I would say that this was definitely one of Madhouse’s best OP/ED’s.

Overall: 8.5

No, I can’t rate this a 9. Mouryou no Hako is an amazing series, but everything is not perfect. It falls short due to its amount of talking and occasional scene changes with different characters. This certainly isn’t for everyone and thus, may turn people off. Regardless, the series storytelling is the main selling point that makes this anime so unique and refreshing. It is truly unfortunate this anime has been underrated and highly overlooked. One thing is for sure though. There’s something about this anime that leaves a lasting nostalgia or melancholy – and one that allows a few of us to treasure this wonderful rare jewel.

Wrapped within the coils of the night, two young girls dance as if in a trance, illuminated by the crystal-white moon. They continue twirling; hypnotized by each other’s company as waves of cherry blossoms encircle them, following their every move. The two girls are distinct from one another. Kanako is a beautiful, intelligent girl with ideas beyond her years, while Yoriko is a timid girl who aims to be Kanako, in body and mind. Kanako offers Yoriko this chance as she tells her that they ‘are’ each other and that this life is just one of many conduits that hold their endless cycle together – ... as one another.

Cascades of cherry blossoms continue to fall menacingly as if harboring some secret and beckoning some turmoil.

Elsewhere, a man traveling on a train finds himself in a deep slumber. Upon waking, he finds an unknown man sitting across from him speaking to a box. Puzzled, he looks at the stranger hoping for some answers. The stranger is quick to oblige as he slowly opens the box, revealing the head of a girl –seemingly alive and quietly vocalizing, who looks eerily familiar.

Thus, sets the stage for the complex tale of Mouryou no Hako.

Adapted from the novels of Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Mouryou no Hako is the second installment of his Kyōgokudō series (Kyogokudo is otherwise known as Akihiko Chuzenji; he serves as one of the primary characters). The 13-episode adaptation intertwines multiple narratives to create a dynamic mystery that’s entrenched in Japanese folklore and Eastern philosophies. Contextually, the story is set in post-WWII Japan and centers around serial killings which involve young girls getting killed and dismembered, and then left to be found in seemingly random places. The point that sets these murders apart are that the body parts always found neatly packed in a box. Mouryou no Hako can roughly be translated to “The Goblin’s Box”.

Even though the bizarre nature and methodology of the murders would naturally seem to be driving factors of the mystery, it remains superficial at best. The events that define the mystery deal with the aforesaid girls, Kanako and Yoriko. Yet, the significance of the two girls lies in what their relationship represents for various entities, rather than them as individual characters. To elaborate, it is their story, which initially seems to be running independently, that is the binding force of the narrative and the characters that follow. This creates multiple story-lines that then start to run in various directions, often clashing and interjecting, in a sphere of constant chaos, while retaining the true spirit of a stellar mystery. The work breathes enigma; constantly exhaling an air of confusion tinged with curiosity and thrill, but one that never over-extends into contrivance or nonsense. In turn, then, the murders function more as an auxiliary measure to explore the full scope of multiple subject matters, which stretch far beyond just a cat-and-mouse game.

Mouryou no Hako follows a non-linear, non-chronological format to relay its events. The series is broken into entries, from the perspectives of various characters, which reads like a diary that’s out-of-order. However, there is order to these events since it’s the characters that are the pieces of the overarching puzzle, rather than the events themselves. Time feels almost stagnant; irrelevant. Yet there is a cycle; a rhythm to each account that is composed through intersecting observations, literary expositions, and a calculated exploration of the supernatural and temporal.

Each character has their own manner of unveiling their perspective or information. This allows the work to capitalize on many different elements. First, it gives the work the ability to move with unpredictability, making it potent in its revelations and plot(s). Second, it helps narrativize the characters as a functioning and integral part of the events and story, rather than just voices narrating them. Often stories of this nature have a hard time selling compelling characters and personalities unless they have a titular Sherlock or Poirot to go along with it. Even though there is a “central” detective (in the form of Kyogokudo an onmoyji, which is a practitioner of a niche kind of magic, occultism, and natural science), almost every character involved shares the burden and thereby moves as a unified unit or agency. This is partly what makes the structure and narration of the anime so interesting, especially when looked at from a character’s point of view and what role they play in the overarching tale. However, this also means that characterization in the traditional sense is not the show’s aim. This does not mean the characters are badly written or poorly constructed. To clarify then, the characters are not notable because of their individualistic transformation; nor do they really “develop” all that much. The characters are who they are; stagnant, but with something to say. It’s what’s being revealed through these characters that is far more important than who they are (or become) from beginning to end. Yet, they aren’t lazily constructed. All the characters have their idiosyncrasies that play into the narrative in a way that enhances it and offers much to appreciate about how this specific work uses its characters to craft its puzzle, piece by piece - and each piece matters.

Nonetheless, it’s what is being revealed through the pieces that become the heart and soul of this show. The conversations and expositions carry the true genius of this series; from its substance to its style. To really distil it down to the core, it’s important to re-establish the many disciplines it invokes as Mouyou no Hako is not just a mystery, but many shades of humanity. It draws inspiration from the traditional Japanese literature, the philosophies of the East, religious paradoxes and hoaxes, spirits and spirituality, science and séance, warfare and medicine, and of course, the mystery that arises from combining all these elements and neatly packaging them into the “Goblin’s box”. The crazy thing about it is that it works, and it works on so many levels that it’s almost astounding that it's able to pull off such a chaotic cacophony and turn into an orchestral masterpiece.

Therefore, the core of the series is one giant mesmerizing kaleidoscope; endlessly alluring with its wondrous elements, full of color, and mystery. What makes it really work is undoubtedly its writing, atmosphere, and presentation.

First, the writing. For many, this could be a detractor, but the show (as expected) is very dialogue heavy. There are episodes just dedicated to dialogues and exposition, and to many, this may seem extremely heavy-handed or imposing. However, the quality and impact of what’s being conveyed is so well-done, and so integral to the actual plot(s) that once everything is contextualized, it’s hard to not be blown away by the sheer beauty and profundity of some of the dialogue. Furthermore, there is a serious psychological aspect attached to the writing. It doesn’t just drop containers of pretty sentences and philosophies, rather the writing is more focused on making a psychological impact on its characters and its viewer. Even with its often-detached-lecture approach, the vitality of the writing goes a long way and leaves its imprint far after all has been said and done. Thus, if there was ever a show to balance the scope of Eastern mysticism and an enthralling mystery, this is it. And nothing more than the writing – the fluidity of it, the insight of it, the prose of it, the meaning of it – crystalizes its place as one of the best of its kind.

Second and finally, is the atmosphere and presentation. The writing is brilliant as are many of the other elements, but the way the show integrates them together is a feat in and of itself. The work relies heavily on atmosphere to do this and uses visual and audio cues to then heighten every frame or shot or the series. The show utilizes pauses, silence, and the occasional wind chime in the middle of dialogue or narration with such precision that it almost feels purely like a work of horror, and it wouldn’t be hard to argue that it may be given the sort of fear and discomfort it effortlessly creates. Visually, the series is haunting, too. It uses sepia tones to create a look from the past but maintains a life-like art-style both in character, and backgrounds to give it the edge it needs to remain gripping and unsettling. It feels and looks aged, but the presentation does all it can to manipulate the setting into an insidious nightmare that captivates and terrifies.

Mouryou no Hako is the quintessential mystery. However, calling it just a mystery is a disservice since it transcends the very genre it assumes and transforms into something completely different. There is much to be loved about what this series accomplishes, and a holistic, first-look review such as this can barely scratch the surface of it. Yet, this isn’t a series that can ever be argued as universally appealing, even if tries to cradle the cosmos in its arms. It practices esotericism to a possibly faultable degree, which can easily be conflated with “pretentiousness” and “over-indulgence” to the dismissive mind. This does make the show highly inaccessible since a lot of the subject matter falls into very segmented niches and requires a close follow on the dialogue and its progression (which is fast-paced and dense).

Nevertheless, to walk in the dark, into the unknown night is not something enjoyed by most - and Mouryou no Hako is precisely that. It tampers with subjects and themes that are arguably part of human nature, but ones that lie in the shadow. Under the veil of a serial killer’s murder spree, it’s motivations extend far beyond what’s understandable for a mystery for it tries to grasp the core of being on not just a temporal plane, but realms that lie outside cognition. However, there is a sublimity it strives for, like the fully-lit moon in the passing night, bringing forth what’s been hidden, and as such, the series rewards those who can tread in the dark; with a light at the end that’s worth basking in, even if it means struggling with the unknown and unfathomable.

Have you ever wanted to be a private detective? Asking that, I beg to you another question. What is the degree of depth and detail that needs to be sought out to truly understand the complexity of a criminal mind? Perhaps this is out of my comprehension as an avid anime viewer but I'm sure Mouryou no Hako is not only scratching the surface of the true horrors of a criminal mind, but is inviting me to bathe in it.

Me and dialogue story-telling have never really snuggled up together on the mattress but being a person entirely aware of that, I can wholeheartedly say, ... "what a truly astonishing exercise in dialogue driven story-telling we have here". As I stated in the opening segment this show stands as a tribute to detail and the huge amount of research that is required in truly understanding the mind of a criminal, the component of this series that reflects this above all else is the dialogue. Each and every spoken word is like a work of art, each uttered letter is a moment worth savoring, whether it be the simple whisper of a future lover; the withdrawn complacency of an actress; or the intelligent observations of a detective, the essence of the dialogue's writing is phenomenal. All of these moments pervade the entire series that make this an intellectual feast for any sturdy and patient viewer.

As some would know, the Japanese meaning for Mouryou is Goblin and a Goblin bears resemblance to a picturesque description of madness, painting an image of its grotesquely alienating figure. This ideal crosses and intersperses itself in the eyes of its antagonist. What beauty is there, finding solace within the impurities of insanity? Mouryou no Hako answers this question with the act of deforming and preserving human ligaments, the act of preserving the human body after death, a fools hope, but an act that has been carried out by mankind for eons.

I would like to say that the whole story matches up to the quality of dialogue and the mass of clever metaphors within this series, but sadly, the actual story only just missed the cut. Mouryou no Hako follows a series of brutal murders carried out by an anonymous killer, and becomes a philosophical study of the condition of those deemed mentally insane, the series asks many questions about this fortunately never wavering to far from what it originally set out to do.

The negatives that I refer to would actually be the dialogue heavy story-telling. Now this might come across as unusual considering the praise that I have given the dialogue but even its phenomenal quality does not excuse the fact that spent too much time on too many details. There was a particular scene in the middle of the series that was a discussion that took place for two whole episodes. The scene in question though being necessary could probably have been a condensed a bit, as it can be argued very truthfully that it removes a lot of the tension that had been developed up to that point and the other problem with the scene is that while it was very interesting, it didn't contribute as much to the series as was probably intended.

Besides that point, I have little to no problems with the story as it is well made and knew how to keep me guessing until that final moment when the mystery was revealed, which brings me to say that the story is almost masterful in its execution and that alone can make it a true gem in the anime medium's detective genre.

It is not unusual for me to commend Madhouse studios in the art department for any of the series that they have released, but as it stands Mouryou no Hako's art is highly noteworthy simply because of its detail and intense elegance, which helps to accentuate and set up the mood that the series wishes to establish. There are two particular scenes that I want to take note of within this series, mostly because I believe that they capture the insecurities that lie deep within the characters.

Falling cherry blossoms are a foreshadowing of death, two girls dancing a careless waltz in the moonlight, a waltz of death amidst the ascending petals of these blossoms. This scene was almost painful to watch with its melancholy but at the same time it was almost impossible to look away with how truly mesmerizing it was.
The other scene that I would like to mention was a moment of disconnection, a scene of limbs moving without a body, it was highly ostracizing and highlighted a comparison to the feeling of having one's limbs removed from the body whilst in a state of consciousness.

These two scenes delved into what I believe are the true horrors of this series and the art and design of the scenes are what effectively achieved it.
Another aspect that I wished to mention is the attention to detail with all the characters actions, movements and display of emotion, they are fluid actions which have a realistic touch, I will delve into more of this in the character section.

The characters in this series are truly immersed in the story and that is a feat in and of itself. As I stated in the Art section, many of the characters in this have a divine commitment to insanity, and to properly highlight the insecurities that these characters have requires proper development, does Mouryou no Hakou achieve this, yes.

Much of the characters development is heavily influenced by the dialogue on display, and wastes little time in identifying the subtle animosity of one character, the worrisome plight of many observers and the subdued emotionally detached personality of a strong steadfast detective.

Dialogue isn't the only contributor to character development as the creators are fully aware that much of what is spoken is not spoken at all, the art department did well in identifying a realistic approach to the display of body language which is a leap away from much of the quirks of your average anime series. I found this aspect of Mouryou no Hako to be very interesting and in some way refreshing. A particular point that I want to identify is the moment that a girl grins at a friend of hers, that one small action contained an unspeakable malice driving pure fear into me as a viewer and it made me question much of the intentions behind such a smile.
The actions are thought provoking, like the detail and textures of the story the show is detailing, it offers an almost beautiful contrast and reflection of the richness of the series.

Not one character does not contribute to the entirety of the story, which is an excellent feat again, whether it be the man and woman casually preparing for work finding the detached limb of a murdered girl beautifully preserved, just that moment is acknowledged later in the series.

One problem I have with the characters is this, they are not memorable! Even though I commend the show for its detail in its characters and their actions, I simply cannot praise this series characters as much as I want to.

One thing that the OST of Mouryou no Hako has going for it is that it is simply relaxing to listen to, it's not a pumping soundtrack but is more of a sound that is grounded in the traditions of the theater.

There were many moments in the soundtrack that were like sweeping rustlings, carefully placed to build tension, a particular track that I want to commend is "Madoi Hito", that is an orchestration of string instruments that builds a spectacle, almost romantic display of the tension. These tracks seduced me into the moment, which does wonders for the series as the immersion exacerbates the constant build. This build made many scenes all the more potent especially in those moments of horror.

I do love a good murder mystery and Mouryou no Hako is definitely satisfying that sweltering itch but the best thing and most notable thing about it was that it scratched it in the most surprising way possible. That said, it must be said that much of the reasons why I have enjoyed this series have already been listed.

I believe a well made story can contribute to how much I enjoy a show and Mouryou no Hako certainly fits into that category with many twists and turns that constantly enlightened me on the depth that this series had. To its credit any series that can keep me so actively engaged with such heavy dialogue is worthy of being commended, and it is those many moments of dialogue that made this series an absolute delight.

However, I can only enjoy a series such as this so much, thankfully with my large attention span I was able to take in many of the details but on some occasions I found myself yawning during a very long bit of dialogue. Despite being remarkable, at times it just simply stretched out for too long but these moments are few and far between.

Would I rewatch this series? Perhaps. If I were to ever re-watch it, I imagine I would probably like it less because the mystery is so well crafted that I would probably catch on to every single moment when the culprit displayed an important piece of evidence.

Mouryou no Hako is a rare series that does everything (literally) to remove itself from the norm, I probably haven't seen a series so far removed from the norm for quite a long time and for that it gets some points in my book. It is not a perfect series either, with some questionable moments here and there but for the most part many of the scene changes were fluid and the series maintained a height of consistent quality on both a technical level and story-telling level that is rarely seen.

Unfortunately Mouryou no Hako is not a series for everyone and has a particular niche audience in an already niche medium, which is a pity as it is a truly excellent work in many respects that offers an experience like no other.

Story 9/10
Characters 8/10
Art 9/10
Sound 7/10
Enjoyment 8/10
Overall 8/10

Let me write and explain as best I can why I think Mouryou no Hako is bad. And I don’t mean simply bad, I mean absolutely awful. My friend (who greatly adores this anime might I add) sat with me and had me watch the entire thing just today. If not for him, there’s no way I would have watched more than a single episode of this murder mystery. Now be warned, this review is really fricken' long, so prepare yourself. The review is also written for people who have already seen the show, so it's full of juicy spoilers. So be warned.

So because ... of how convoluted the plot is, I’m going to save that for last. First I will talk about the exterior aspects:
My first complaint is simple: the show has very little to show visually. There’s tons of events talked about in the script during many episodes that are never actually shown to the viewer. It’s actually surprising how little the show actually shows you; I’m guessing that it’s simply your job to quickly pick it up and comprehend everything via the script. You might call it a 'smart person anime’ or something akin to that, but I call it cheap. Is there any reason not to show visually what the script is talking about? I guess the makers felt it’s much more important to keep showing the three guys talking in the room, or the group of guys talking in the big room full of boxes, or the guys talking in the car, or wherever. When the show does show the viewer what it’s talking about, it’s done in a cryptic way that doesn’t really help anybody comprehend what they’re talking about. When I say this, I’m mainly thinking about the discussion about the demons.
A mini complaint I have is some visual imagery in the show. In the first or second episode, we see some disturbing scenes, those being a talking dismembered head in a box, a talking doll, and a cop who sees a lot of bloody handprints on the windows of a train. However, after those three, we never see any disturbing things again. Why were they even there? Besides the head, the imagery had no purpose and was forgotten in the grand scheme. Was it just there to make viewers think this show might actually be good? I am forced to think so.
My second complaint is the music. For a murder mystery about a demented man who severs little girls into pieces and puts the pieces in boxes, there’s a surprisingly high amount of calm peaceful music, so peaceful in fact that I had trouble staying awake to read the many many subtitles. Music is a very easy method of telling the viewer what kind of mood you’re trying to set. If you want the viewer to feel tense, then just put some scary high pace music in the background and, even if your story is garbage, the viewers will still feel the right tensity. The fact that this show has so much calm, slow music playing constantly during the incredibly dense episodes where they’re discussing demons, murders, or whatever tells me as a viewer that the stuff they’re talking about is not only unimportant in the big picture, but also that what I’m seeing now is a waste of time, filler if you will, in order to reach thirteen episodes. Now most of the time the fricken’ show doesn’t know what kind of mood it wants to set, so instead of having no music at all, it just has evening cicadas chirping away in the background, regardless whether cicadas actually would be chirping at that time of day. Now, plenty of times they do get the music right (good job, it’s not that hard), but those times are quite scarce.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way, lets get on to the plot, and the characters.
My biggest problem with this show is just how illogical the characters are. They’ll do certain things that don’t make any sense and the way the show explains it is unsatisfactory. Let’s do a quick rundown of some characters.

Let’s start with Yoriko. Compared with many other characters, she’s given quite some time to develop. We find out that she hates her mother for no reason other than that she’s possessed by a Toorimono. She then falls in love with a fellow student due to her charms, and they start saying they’re reincarnations of each other. Yoriko then pushes her friend into a train for no reason other than that she’s possessed, and then blames it on a man dressed in black. She later gets apprehended by Kubo and dies.
Now let’s try to justify her actions logically. I suppose she could hate her mother because she’s dating a man she dislikes, the show hints at that, but come on. The mother is her only family, probably the only person she ever received love from. It’s not like the mother hates Yoriko, she deeply loves her. The relationship should be similar to Honda Tohru from Fruits Basket. And yet, Yoriko wishes the mother would die. The show also hints that it’s because Yoriko is in those teen years and has all those hormones flowing. Hmmm, I don’t remember wishing my loving parents would die when I was fourteen.
Her falling for Kanoko makes enough sense. Yoriko is unpopular in school and Kanoko approaches her for seemingly no reason at all. Yoriko listens to Kanoko’s strange stories about them being reincarnations of each other, they have meals together, read magazines together, and they both have romantic moonlit dates. And then she pushes her into a train. Huh? Why would she do that? Kanoko was crying before then, and Yoriko noticed a pimple on her neck. That somehow triggers murderous intent?

These kind of things in the plot turn me away. There’s no way to explain such actions except saying that she was possessed. What a great ploy to resort to in a fricken’ murder mystery!

Now let’s talk about Shunko Kubo. He awakes in a train only to have a man promptly show him a girl’s dismembered head in a box, which then moves and speaks. He then feels a desire to have a dismembered head of his own and starts cutting up girls in an attempt to achieve it. He fails and meets up with the scientist who actually did achieve it, and agrees to have himself dismembered. He then murders that guy by biting him furiously.
Now please reread that and see if you can take any of that seriously. First off, there’s nothing really wrong with Kubo, he’s just an average novelist. Unlike the other novelist in the series, he didn’t go to war and doesn’t have any trauma. He has nothing wrong with his brain, and has no reason to think strangely. Though in order for the plot to hold any water, he has to for some reason have a massive desire for dismembered heads. So much that he would risk his entire life so he could have a head of his own. If this guy actually existed, he would have a reaction of surprise and shock to the head, and probably later convince himself he was seeing things when the head spoke. That reaction makes sense.
After that he continues to do crazy things. Why he would agree to get his own body dismembered is beyond me, and even stranger, why he then murders Mimasaka the scientist. For one, how did he manage to murder him? He was clearly sealed inside that box, and Mimasaka had no reason to open him up, he was on the run from the cops. For two, why would he want to murder him? He agreed to become a dismembered head himself, what would biting the man to death achieve? I guess the only explanation is that he was possessed by a Mouryou, or a Toorimono, or whatever.

Next up is . This guy has lived with Kanako and Yoko for fourteen years, and is in love with Kanako. So much in fact, that when he sees an opportunity to murder a scientist and claim her dismembered head for himself, he scoops it up like candy. In addition, while he’s on the run from whoever may be chasing him, he decides it’s a great idea to show a complete stranger in a train his dismembered head that he just murdered someone to attain.

Need I go on? The actions these characters take really just don’t make any sense no matter how you look at it. I mean, unless you assume he also was possessed. And if everybody was possessed, this really isn’t a murder mystery at all, and just a crazy phenomenon.

And that’s really just where the plot falls apart. You can’t have a good murder mystery if you’re going to blame so many events in the crime on ghosts, or demons, or whatever they are. And the anime knows that, so it tried it’s very best to explain those demons so that viewers can go ‘ok that makes sense’. But no, it doesn’t.

In addition to the characters not making sense, they are also very uninteresting or very dislikable. Lets look at the characters in Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, another murder mystery show. That show sort of split into two parts; casual every day, and scary murder. They did this so that time would be spent making the audience like and care about the characters they’re learning about. If all we see is the murder part, it would be equivalent to a news report on television, which sounds like, ‘someone got killed? Aw, that’s too bad. Oh! Looks like it’ll rain tomorrow!’ Mouryou is somewhat like that news report, but slightly worse. This could have easily been fixed by showing more visual images of the characters most involved with the crime. I am talking especially about Yoko, Mimasaka, Kanoko, and Kubo. I’m guessing the reason not much is shown or explained is because nothing they showed would have explained their irrational behaviors.

This anime, for being only thirteen episodes, has a shockingly high amount of irrelevant tangents. Allow me to give a few examples. A hefty amount of time was spent talking about a famous box maker who was famous for, um, making boxes. Why he needed to even be mentioned is beyond me. Maybe because the murderer puts the ligaments inside of boxes? I thought that was because the first dismembered head he saw was inside a box. Besides, the boxes weren’t important at all. It’s similar to talking about the case of a guitar instead of the guitar itself.
Another example was the story about the clairvoyant girl, the one who poisons herself after the media bad mouthed her. Why was this story even told?. Why even talk about clairvoyance in a murder mystery? Why give one of the detectives the power of clairvoyance?

This actually brings up what I hate most about this anime. It has so many ‘because I told you so’ moments. Why does Chuuzenji know so much and why is he so clever? Because I told you so. Why is Enokizu, the hired detective, clairvoyant? Because I told you so, and so on. The ending and explanation to the plot has to be spoon fed to the viewers because there was no way to logically reach the conclusion yourself. Everything has to be told in a because I told you so manner by Chuuzenji because there was no other way to explain it.

Many people leave this anime with high spirits because the ending somehow manages to put some small amount of sense in the convoluted plot. But they seem to have forgotten the horribly dreadful ten or so episodes before it. An anime isn’t good just because it’s ending is good. It’s not ok even if one episode is bad, especially when the anime is only thirteen episodes. Each episode should be rich in mystery and constantly have me focused and trying to piece things together with the information fed to me. Instead I found myself laying down, fighting my urge to sleep, as the episodes dragged on about the heavy lectures on demons, clairvoyance, and other things that in the end had little to do with the murder itself.

Now, it’s true there’s plenty of elements of the plot that I did not pick up, and that definitely hindered by understanding and overall enjoyment of the show overall. But I feel that is certainly not my fault, but the show’s. If it was actually well written, paced, and visually presented, I would have been mentally active the entire time as well as emotionally involved. Sadly, it failed to achieve either.

This is one series that did just about everything right. Obviously it’s not for those who don’t like people talking over and over again, but it’s perfect for those who are looking for mature and complex anime. This is how mystery should be done!

Story-8/10
I honestly can’t recall any other anime apart from a Mamoru Oshii-production that puts more emphasis on talking as this one. The series follows a string of bizarre murders, and the people who try to solve it. This whole mystery is multi-layered, it’s full of flashbacks and references, you’ll never know when something that passes the screen is important for the future. ... There are lots of scenes that don’t necessarily have any direct meaning, but instead are there to flesh out the setting or throw the viewer on a side-track, and yet the series itself never loses track of its goals, and everything comes together in the end in one of the best endings I’ve seen.

Characters-9/10
Another big selling-point of the series is its cast of characters. They hardly get as much screen time or background as your average anime, and yet they’re utterly amazing. The animation knows exactly what it needs to do to show their subtle movements and gestures in order to flesh them out while many other things happen, and the background that’s there is meaningful and has a huge impact. Every character has his or her own distinctive presence, with the best ones being Kanako and Akihiko, both for very, very different reasons. The entire cast is colourful and a delight to watch, despite the huge amounts of talking within this series.

Art-9/10
Then the visuals: they look utterly incredible. Especially in the beginning episodes, the characters all look crisp and very detailed. The animators throw the most beautiful shots and visual effects at the viewer. Combine that with an awesome soundtrack, and you’ve got some amazing production values.

Sound-7/10-
The soundtrack is amazingly nice to listen to. OPs And EDs are nothing in particular to listen to, but the soundtrack does what it needs to do.


Overall Enjoyement-8/10
So overall, this has been an amazing series. The script is fresh and creative and has a huge impact. There’s a lot of symbolism, both visual and in the storyline, and an excellent recommendation for those who look for a short mature series. The storytelling is strong yet subtle, and it’s yet another masterpiece by Madhouse.

This review is one of the hardest that I put myself to write; when I sat in front of the MAL review box and tried to think about something to say about this anime, I was simply blank. Why?

In short, Moryou no Hako should be re-entitled "Moryou no Hako - Let's sit down and talk! THE ANIME".

Story

I'm still not sure, to be honest. Moryou no Hako had this gimmick of having its characters say a lot of stuff, make a lot of references, when in reality 3/4 of it didn't even seem remotely pertinent with the actual issue. At around episode 6, I ... just brought my hand to my chin in a thoughtful position and thought: "This anime is making me feel stupid for not being able to grasp the point of their dialogues", then I just questioned: Am I really stupid? or is this anime trying to sound intellectual for the sake of being intellectual? Or, even worst, cryptic for the sake of being cryptic? Now, believe me, I really like mystery shows in all their glory, I also enjoy philosophical shows and I definitely don't consider myself to be stupid, so then, what happened?

Answer: Moryou no Hako tries too much to make itself sound more "complex" than it actually is by inserting several elements and stories that might sound that they're important, but in the end they're completely ignored or have no meaning. As an example, the exposition episodes that spoke about the difference between mediums, priests, onmyouji and fortune tellers only served as nothing but background exposition that was in no way related to the actual story and sincerely, we could have lived without it or have the short version from each character itself. The drama behind the fortune teller ladies? Same. Useless. The story behind the box making? Useless. Kaiba's supposed trauma? Err... The reincarnation theory of the two girls? .......... Do I have to say more?

Besides exposition, the execution and delivery of the shows fail a lot too. There isn't even one moment when I felt enlightened, like "ooh, this is what happened!". It simply didn't allow me to. I just had to let myself pulled by their weird reasonings and conclusions till the last episode when somebody brought himself to solve all the mystery for us and enlighten those that were supposed to actually solve the mystery. Yay!...

There was really nothing to get tensed about, the revelation just fell flat and my reaction to it was something like a blank “oh”. The plot twists that concluded in that revelation had me give similar reactions; they definitely failed to do their job: to impress, maybe out of being so vaguely brushed to a side, that I was more than once left speechless wondering whether it was important or if it was some sort of revelatory turn that was portrayed in such a trivial manner as if they were talking about it over tea! Which they probably were for most of the show!

I would say (or somebody might assume) the slow pacing influenced my lack of “feelings” for this anime, but actually, I do like slow paced series when I think that they’re justified to take their time; usually they do to portray certain events and/or characters in certain ways to make ground for a justified development, but in this case, throwing exposition over exposition and reference to Japanese Shintoism over other references doesn’t represent “good slow pacing storytelling” since, again, most of them didn’t even matter.

On a lighter note, the conclusion was actually quite well made and I definitely understood where it tried to go, but 5 minutes of awesome in the last episode kind of looses "awesomeness" when put against all the episodes that lead to that.

And saying all this is a shame because overall it could have turned into a very interesting show if they only knew what to focus on, what to develop and when to throw in hints. The original idea was actually VERY intriguing, so I just feel sad for its failure.

Characters

Bland. If there was supposed to be any character development, I didn't see it and the little that we actually have comes out of nowhere, definitely because they were busier talking and narrating rather than doing anything ( I know I’m repeating myself). If Eno could have just been on the screen for the whole time, I would have been happier and more entertained. Not.at.all.because.he.was.pretty.*coughs* Yes, I actually needed these shallow reasons to be entertained.

If it knew how to deal with the characters, once again, it would have turned into a pretty decent show. But sincerely, I wasn't even able to remember most of the characters’ names, nor did I empathize or at least cared for anybody at all in their current states. Their expressions didn’t exactly help me figure them out either, since there was a lack of them overall. I question whether they were supposed to be viewed as humans or as “masks”.

Other, if not most, of the reasons why the characters suffered of bad writing could be copy-pasted from the Story section.

Art/Animation

Art was fairly nice seeing that CLAMP worked on it, but I can't say the same about animation. The close-ups were gorgeous, some background scenes like the cherry blossom trees scene were also gorgeous, or the "limbs" scene, but then you get the rest of the show... The characters were simply butchered in most scenes where the focus wasn't their faces and sincerely there's not much animation at all since most of the show happens as they sit in a chair and talk or sit around a table and talk.

I would like to point out that the manga had designs that would have worked far better for this story. All characters look VERY different from their anime counterparts; they’re way less “beauty-fied” and more “real” or made to “disturb” the reader or at least give them a sense of uncomfortableness even while looking at them. And actually, some scenes would have made more sense if the characters weren't "glamored" up.

Soundtrack

I really liked the opening and ending songs, but for the actual OST, it was limited and quite forgettable. Some of it didn’t exactly fit the scenes we were shown either.

Conclusion:

I did not enjoy it. At all. Moryou no Hako anime is simply a waste of potential that I just wanted to finish and scrap from my list. As far as I know, the manga’s execution is considerably better, so I’d like to direct you towards the manga if you’re interested in this show. Or if you already read the manga/novels and want more, then yes, I guess you’ll be able to enjoy this.

I was severely disappointed with this series. After watching the first episode I was hooked. In fact, the first few episodes (what I would call the first "arc") was very fascinating and really draws you in. But then once you're addicted... they ruin everything.


STORY
This anime reeks (in a good way) of a creepy, traditional Japanese horror story. Unfortunately it isn't the focus of the show. The story is in one aspect psychological and in the other... just a predictable murder mystery with a dab of sci-fi.

ART
It's designed by CLAMP so of course it's gorgeous! Downright pretty to look at times and mind bendingly creepy ... at others.

CHARACTER
I would call this anime a psychological thriller. Why? Well I don't want to give any spoilers. But the characters' messed up psyches are one of the things that really got me interested, made me want to finish the show. These are NOT normal people but at the same time if you didn't "see" inside their heads, you'd think it was just another normal mystery show about some Average Joe guys.

ENJOYMENT
Oy. This show reminds me of .hack//SIGN in that it has soooo much potential and falls a bit flat. Like .hack it's gorgeous and has great sound. But so little action and way too much talking about nothing. There are at least two episodes of some of the characters sitting around talking about what mouryou are. And it's like reading the dictionary. I literally fastforwarded through one episode to nearly the end and they were STILL talking about nothing. Even the characters mention how long winded it was getting. And the studio threw in some psychological shots of what the one eccentric char might be thinking about while being bored to tears by the others; sadly, it reminded me of the pathetic Stephenie Meyer biography comic book. And it still manages to be excruciatingly boring and goes nowhere. But I digress-- sorry for the rant. That's just one "arc". There are quite a few enjoyable aspects of the show, it's just difficult to walk into it expecting a fantastic horror/thriller and getting so much less than that.

Hi there! This is going to be my first review ever but because I love this anime very much and I think it's incredibly underrated so I had to jump over my shadow. :)

Mouryou no Hako.. well what can I say. The story about a series of dismembered girls being found and how an investigator figures out what happened sounds rather simple at first, average even. But boy.. it really isn't.
What makes Mouryou no Hako incredibly interesting is the fact that the entire plot gets told through dialogue. Sure, that doesn't sound very exciting at first but it had me on the edge of ... my seat. The viewer ought to think for himself and figure out what is happening or what might have happened. And because it's not all laid out for you it's even more enjoyable. Kind of like an interactive anime? If you can call it like that.
You get to see the very unique characters of whom everybody has their own incredibly huge issues, go through a lot of character development in such little time. And to be really honest.. when I first started this I really didn't expect to be hit with such an interesting plot. Even more so because the ending is superb and not foreseeable at all. It's not one of those 'I can see the ending of this anime before I even start it' kind of animes that try to work you up with a lot of suspense but still fail miserably at actually delivering a decent story. Mouryou no Hako feels simple, effortless even when it really isn't. It's quite complex but that's what makes it so interesting. It makes everything seem so casual almost like you're watching a trailer about a summer love story but then the plot hits you and it deals with harsh realities and the ugliness of the world. And Mouryou no Hako is perfectly capable of giving you both of these impressions one second to the next.

The art was immensely beautiful in my book. It had a lot of greyish, soft tones (almost like one of those slightly yellowish old american movies) to it that fit perfectly with the ambience of the anime. There are also a lot of wonderfully, detailed nature scenes that took my breath away.

Anyways if you are somebody who always hopes to get stunned and amazed by plot twists and clever storyline but usually gets disappointed by the sheer abundance of 'we-tried-too-hard-to-make-this-interesting' animes I think Mouryou no Hako can help you out. Once again I'd like to put out there how effortless this anime feels but you just know how much hard work and love they put into this anime. It's a masterpiece to me that deserves to get noticed.

This is a psychological thriller/mystery/horror. Basically, if your definition of horror centers around action and gore filled in with a bit of dialog . . . you might want to try out Hellsing. Also, if you don’t have patience to sit through an intellectual dialog that requires you to think in order to comprehend, you will probably be disappointed.

However, if your tastes run toward the complex and disturbing, then this anime was awesome. Compared to most anime I’ve seen, this one covers a lot of ground in just thirteen episodes. It may also be the first anime I've ... seen that managed to round out the plot by the end, much less in such a short amount of time. YES, finally, an anime with closure!!!!

The music neither added nor detracted from the story, which is a pity as the use of sound and silence in this genre can make a huge difference in the audience experience. However, it’s impressive that it managed some suspense without efficient use of this medium.

The animation was quite compelling and beautiful.

The plot and characters ranged from complex to disturbed, and were generally creepy throughout the series. The plot had enough twists and complicated details that it's best to watch straight through. The transition between the center-stage protagonists which featured in the opening versus closing scene was a bit jagged, but in this situation it would be difficult to do it well. If you pay close attention, you can come to the good guy/bad guy players within the first half of the series, but for many it will be difficult to predict the end before the end. There is a very CLUE-like strategy session at the end (miss peach in the library with the candlestick), which is so cliché I actually liked it. It takes guts to use something everyone has seen and talent to make it work.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. It was very mature, but not un-necessarily obscene. I definitely would say its NOT for everyone, but if you like to play mind games, or have any interest in deviant social behaviors then it is quite entertaining.

*PS if you are really into this sort of thing try reading the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The first two books are above average, though nothing astonishing. However, by the third book the authors are into their groove and have decided that Pendergast really is their greatest asset (he more of a supporting character in the first two books). By the third book, they are brilliant!

First of all, I'd like to clear one thing - this review is my personal opinion only and it could be crude.
Lets start, ok?
How should I say it....The very first thing that came to my mind was: "Ah! It's like one of Haruki Murakami novel"...Strange, complicated, pressing. It's a slice of life, but you can't believe that...and in the same time you assume, that in someway it could be. You don't fully understand, partly you don't like, but you keep reading.
Same here. (First 5 episodes for sure)
Honestly speaking, I am not a big fan of such genre, well, not quite right..I like suspense and ... mystery, I like make my brains work, but I don't like to screw them. I also don't like pressing melancholic mood, especially if I don't see serious reasons for it. So when I watch such stuff, I usually say: "Huh?/What?/Kill yourself, already./Say it!/Get drunk!/Get a hobby!"
MnH wasn't an exception. I've started to understand the story on the 5th episode, lost it on the 6, and regain..on 8th. Of course, everything became clear in the end, but you have 12 episodes before it.
I'm not sophist , and I'm not good in reading between the lines, in this case, I'm afraid it's more like reading between lines that are between lines.
Nevertheless. I'll give the story 8.99/10
It's complicated, but interesting. Like I said, MnH is a case when you keep watching in order to understand. You lose the thread, you rewatch some moments, you desperately want to know what's going on. You'll get tired, because of it, as well. Especially, if you know nothing about japanese folklore and japanese is not your native language.

Characters...8-9/10
Two main girls are...annoying. Maybe, I'm too old, but this shoujo ai "I love my best friend, she's an Angel" obsession is not what I like. It's delusional in the worst way.
All female heroines are mentally unwell, more or less.
Male characters...are interesting, but... sadly, there is not much information about them. If for example, you can see what kind of person Kiba-kun is, you can try to imagine things about Chuuzenji, you can try to make your brains work in Sekiguchi's case..But when it comes to Enokizu, you simply have no work material.
There also (though, I might be wrong here), jumpy character development. There is no much of showing the process of ''how he/she became like this", it's more like "and after that he/she became like this", in other words, MnH shows only "turning points", which I don't find very satisfactory.

Music: 9/10
Very good.

Art: 9/10
Looks very decent to me. Solid and quite realistic.

Enjoyment...7/10
Mouryou no Hako is like a dream. A muddled, confusing, sometimes realistically unrealistic, sometimes unrealistically realistic one.
It screws your brains, it leaves lots of questions..it makes you want to re-watch, or better, read the original story.
On the second thought, maybe it's me who complicates things and this story is quite simple?

Overall: 9/10
* Chuuzenji's monologue about demons and moryo was very informative.
* No matter how you look this story is not ordinary, but quite refreshing.

Mouryou no Hako was first published in 1995 as a horror mystery novel. It was written by Kyogoku Natsuhiko. The same writer who wrote the story that Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari was based off of. Cut to more than a decade later, Madhouse picked the novel up for an adaptation. Which aired from October to December of ’08. I don’t really know anything about the series beyond the genre and studio. And Madhouse has been involved in some terrible, mediocre and stellar anime so that doesn’t say much. So, let’s take a look and see how this one fares.

Story:

Someone out there is dismembering young girls. Police ... have found limbs in boxes in a variety of places. A group of old friends find themselves drawn to the case. Can they resolve it and find an abducted teenage girl, Kanako, before it’s too late for her?

Let’s start by talking about the big flaw with the series. It’s slow and not in a good, suspense building way. No, it’s slow because the narrative comes to a grinding halt so that it can spend long stretches with these blokes sitting around a table talking about spirits or it grinds to a halt to spend a while talking about clairvoyance. And what do these elements do for the story? They allow the “mystery” to be solved without any actual investigation because… bullshit. I’m going to just put this forward as a possibility. Maybe, just maybe, the suspense and mystery elements would have been significantly stronger if there had been a proper investigation instead of long scenes with our heroes sitting around a table like a bunch of bloody nobs. That isn’t the only problem with the series. Some of its attempts at horror come across as more than a little silly and a lot of its “twists” are so heavily telegraphed that you can see them coming far before the reveal.

There are some aspects of the narrative that work well. The series does have some legitimately disturbing scenes. It also starts out pretty well, establishing the mystery and looking like it’s going to get interesting. If they’d kept the momentum and kept the mystery going well, then this could have been a compelling series. But then it all gets derailed for faffing about.

Characters:

The characters in this are all right. You get a sense of personality from them and they certainly aren’t just tropes. However, the are a bit under-developed and there are certainly points where they succumb to bad horror clichés. To give an example, there’s a girl who readily goes to meet the obvious villain, in spite of him being blatantly sketchy. There are also moments where the dialogue reaches purple prose levels of stilted and trying too hard to make the language sound grandiose.

Art:

There’s a lot about the artwork in this that looks good. The backgrounds look good. The characters are nicely designed and there are a few scenes with well done horror imagery. That being said, most of the horror imagery in this is bollocks. First off, there re the limbs themselves. There’s no sense of muscle, sinew or blood. Instead, you’re left with something that looks like a cheap plastic mannequin’s limb instead of an actual limb that came off of a person. Which results in a disconnect betwixt the disturbing concept and the non-threatening mediocrity of the image. There are also multiple occasions where the series tries to scare us with boxes. Because when I think of a frightening, grotesque image, I think of a room with boxes strewn about. In all seriousness, I don’t think that’s going to scare anyone unless they have pygmachophobia.

Sound:

The acting is competent, mostly. It is brought down a bit by the overly flowery moments and by those tedious stretches of our main characters doing exposition about spirits. However, there are a lot of good actors in this. Hirata Hiroaki, Morikawa Toshiyuki & Tomatsu Haruka to name a few. This is a series where there’s enough range to the characters that they can show their abilities but not so much that you could call it a great performance for any of them. The music was composed by Murai Shusei, the same bloke who did the music for Terra Formars. And he did do a pretty nice job with it.

Ho-yay:

There is quite a bit of it at the beginning. The early stuff with Kanako and Yoriko is full of les-yay. Then Kanako gets abducted from hospital and there’s no more ho-yay.

Final Thoughts:

This is a series that had a lot of potential. There are some strong ideas behind it. Unfortunately, the execution is weak. Ultimately, the series suffers from the mystery being poorly handled, the characters being under-developed, lousy horror imagery and long, boring interludes. There’s still some good stuff in there but not enough to make this a decent series. Ultimately, it ends up being average with its execution failing utterly to live up to the potential of its ideas. My final rating is a 5/10. Next week I’ll end the year with a look at Coppelion.

I looked upon this star as it melted, the burden of such secrets weighed down the heart and kept more than bitter thoughts from overtaking the pain. It reminded me of how abuse is often a catalyst for future hearts and minds, as if a cycle from sadness and confusion shapes the way we live more so than higher qualities of love and respect.

Amidst the drama of unnerving lusts, a tale of despair wove great threads of patterns foreshadowing the end of all the collective desires. It was as if peering through a shallow pool at a land whose inhabitants knew nothing of ... needs and the spirit of goodwill. Hell may be such a place, at least if only in the imagination.

I believe the spirit in which took hold in the hearts of the characters was explained jejunely in condescending tones, aimed towards a more pedantic audience. Although a minor quibble, it offset the mysterious existentialism that drove the somewhat confounding plot forward.

To the former point, I enjoyed the dichotomy of verism and Platonic Forms such as beauty and lust. As the stars fell from the heights of their glory unto a stolid countenance, I was aghast at such horrors of the mind and yet fascinated by the similitude to mundane life.

Truly this was an expression of the aplomb of sin, the magnanimity of pride and a dismembered head in a box.

This series confuses me. I see no way to write my opinion on this without spoilers.

1. Start with a guy on a train, girls head in a box, HAVE MY INTEREST. Suddenly 20 minutes of twisted yuri romance which will obviously lead to death due to the whole flash forward of strangling. Along with two wholly unlikable characters.

Episode 2. HEAD IN THE BOX AGAIN. Me: Alright, lets go! Story: No, detective's talking about the deaths? YOU'RE A PUBLIC SERVANT! Know your place! Ok I'm done.

Unfortunately attaching big names like CLAMP or MADHOUSE to something is not enough to make me like it. The ... art is pretty, but that's not enough to keep me watching anything. I'd rather watch a good story and characters with ugly art and bad music, than have great music and amazing art. I guess I don't fit into this generation of anime lovers who need their 10-bit bluray encodes on shows from the 80s that haven't even been remastered.

For those who don't know, Mouryou no Hako is an anime based on a novel by the Japanese author Natsuhiko Kyogoku. Adapting a novel into an anime or film is always a challenge. Almost invariably, the experience of watching a visual work of art is bound to end more quickly than the experience of reading a (in this case 1000+ page) novel. To visually portray every detail that's in a book is nigh impossible, and Mouryou no Hako is an example of what can happen when things go slightly awry during the process of page-to-screen translation. To be clear, I haven't read the novel, ... and this is not a “the book is so much better” review. I just think it's important to bear in mind that this show's problems might stem not from directorial laziness, but rather from the challenge of adapting a difficult piece of source material.

The first episode of Mouryou no Hako will most likely leave you with no idea of what the show is going to be about—it shows the (somewhat touching) story of two close friends, both of whom have been shunned by their families in the past, seeking comfort within each other. However, at its core, the real story starts off in a classic “whodunit” mystery fashion: The limbs of dead girls are turning up in boxes that are scattered across the Japanese countryside, and there are quite a few people who'd like to figure out why. How are these two plots related, and who is responsible for the murders? Well, essentially, the rest of the series is spent figuring that out. The plot is heavily layered and very complex. That's neither bad or good in and of itself, but simply a matter of taste and comfort. If you're the kind of person who has a tough time remembering names, dates, events, who's related to who, etc. while you're watching, then you'll probably have a tough time with this plot, because there are quite a few things to keep track of. I personally derived a lot of enjoyment from this storyline because, unlike that of many series, it asked a little bit of my brain. If you're looking for something simple and uninvolved, look elsewhere.

You'll note that I said I enjoyed the plot itself. What I had a problem with, however, is the way that it was presented. This is essentially a supernatural mystery story...and yet, most of it is solved on paper and through dialogue. Very little active investigation actually occurs. The detectives receive clues in the form of letters, photographs, books, and other documents which seem to show up at their feet seemingly out of the blue (or through overly convenient plot contrivances). The show suffers from this approach, and from the pacing overall. At least a third of the series is spent in the living room of the main character's house, with all of the makeshift detectives talking about ancient Japanese and Chinese spiritual entities. This discussion is interesting and relevant to the plot, but not interesting and relevant enough to warrant the 60-80 minutes of screen-time that it receives, and you'll probably find that a few of the episodes seem to drag by with not a lot happening. There are frequent flashbacks which make a little bit of progress towards creating the illusion of plot momentum, but they just don't quite make up for the huge amount of cryptic, meandering dialogue present in the middle and end of the show.

The characters themselves suffer from a similar problem: The series seems to take it on faith that we'll identify with them immediately. Obviously time was a factor here, and the cast of characters is big enough that it'd be difficult to fully develop them all. Every main character seems to represent a missed opportunity. The police officer haunted by his past as a soldier, the private detective who is a clairvoyant, the well-read exorcist who seems to know everything about everything, the writer/editor moonlighting as a mystery-solver...they're interesting concepts, but Mouryou no Hako fails to make them three-dimensional enough for us to truly care about. They're not quite bad enough that I'd call them “flat” characters, but they're definitely missing a little something.

Art-wise, this series is two steps above the norm. Character designs are very pleasing to the eye, and the animation, though infrequent, is quite fluid and smooth-looking. Mouryou no Hako hits the nail on the head in terms of relating the lighting and atmosphere to the plot and themes—whether it's a train station at night, a sleazy club in the red-light district, an eerie hospital owned by a somewhat suspicious doctor, or the dimly lit house of a murderer, everything screams “dark detective story.” The backgrounds (moonlit forests, rolling fields, city slums) are created with impressive detail.

When it comes to sound, the bag is mixed. The soundtrack is orchestral, and it's spearheaded by several lovely piano melodies. For the most part, very enjoyable. However, lack of variety quickly becomes a serious problem. The same songs seem to play over and over again, and while you'll probably love them the first time, it's only natural that if they play every six or seven minutes, eventually the viewer will become annoyed.

Overall? Much like the murder mystery that its characters struggle to solve, Mouryou no Hako is a strange case. It's full of good ideas that are marred by sub-par executions. In my eyes, the good outweighed the bad by a fair amount. If you could rate with decimals, I'd probably put this at about a 7.5 or 7.6. The mystery, atmosphere, and art are enough to buoy it the above-average realm.

At first I thought this is an anime gore, because it tells the story of mutilation case in the box. But I was wrong, gore in the anime is not horrible as it sounds.
An anime that is quite complicated. It can't be enjoyed if to pass through dialogue in it. Anime is filled with chatter like this should be followed in patience.
And really, I heaved a deep breath (feeling satisfied) after successfully passing this anime until finished.
An anime that has a great story..

I watched this anime recently; unfortunately I couldn't finish it, so I imagine many people will disregard this review, which is fine.

The reason why I gave "Mouryou no Hako" such a low rating is because of the scattered narration. I don't think a story should be scattered so much to the point where you have no idea what's really happening until the end. That's just not a great way to tell a story, no matter how "well" the ending might be.

I think one anime I could think on top of my head that does this pretty successfully is "Baccano!". But even when watching that ... anime, I could grasp what was happening after a couple episodes, and the ending, I understood the whole story (or stories) fully. The characters were understandable, and even with the story line not being linear, the show was still entertaining to watch. Watching "Baccano!" was like being handed jigsaw puzzles piece by piece so that I could put together each information without a lot of confusion over what the full picture looks like.

This anime just doesn't do that. It has a very, very interesting plot (dismemberment, murders, and cults!), but to make an already complex subject even more hard to understand by adding some sort of spiritual force and talks of "reincarnation" is just too much. I know it's based of a book or something, but the contents of a book and an animated show are completely different. There are some things too difficult to animate, and the book probably translated very poorly into the show. Watching this anime was like being handed a bunch of puzzle pieces mixed in with a bunch of unrelated items at the same time and flashing me what the completed product was supposed to look like at the end.

As for the characters, Yoriko and Kanako were both very strange characters. They were a bit irritating to watch, I didn't enjoy watching their conversations; it was just really absurd, and Yoriko's insistence that she was Kanako's reincarnation was not explained at all in the episodes I watched. Even if it was explained later on, it's just not a great idea to execute her character like that and expect viewers to feel like that's something to be simply accepted. Detective Kiba wasn't really that great either. None of the characters left a good impression on me.

As for the art and sound, I can't say much. I'm not too picky on those sort of things as long as the story stands. The characters look beautiful in certain scenes, and the animation seemed average.

I mean, all-in-all, I don't expect every show to spoon-feed the plot to me, but I do expect them to give me something in every episode that lets me understand some of the characters and the story. I just don't think that was achieved in this anime.

This is for those who might think of dropping the series due to it's randomness and diverging plotline
That's was mind blowing. I am still speechless. The anime keeps on giving you hint to solve the mystery but is often neglected by the viewers as being part of the eccentric art style (like SHAFT studios).
The way the incongruity in storylines smoothly converge, leaves viewers in awe and wondering why didn't they notice the clues mixed in.
But have to admit that was the cringey kind of incest there.
Liked the part where the wires got replaced by flowers in the author's pov of how the scene appeared ... to him. That completely defined why he went through all the box making.

Mouryou No Hako, which stands for "Box of Evil Spirits," is an anime series that is set in postwar Japan and focuses on a dark mystery. The plot portrays a team of detectives as they try to clarify the confusing case of dismembered bodies found in boxes with girls from the school. The main feature of the plot, which carries a number of mystical threads from Shinto, is the intricate, non-linear plot which is full of the surreal or psychological scenes. While the anime will be entertaining, it will also be thought provoking but, requires an engaged mind to understand its subtle ins and outs.

The ... series shows the Mouryou phenomenon as one of the most significant topics, drawing on Shinto teachings and mythology as a source. However, the beginning is quite interesting, the narration sometimes is too drawn out and complicated. A more effective strategy would have been to gradually expose the true nature of Mouryou by following an investigative path, rather than using a character who has previous knowledge and just advises about it.

Despite this, however, it is the strong suit of Mouryou no Hako to have a several excellent features. The storyline is based on an authentic historical setting and the artistic sense of style is vintage noir, which is quite unusual among anime. The show deals with the severe subjects, which is characterized by a mature narration whose metaphor helps to explore sin and its proliferation in the heart of a tormented and suffering soul through the "Box of Evil Spirits" phenomenon.

With its visual and audible effects, the anime competes for the audience attention and impresses by its high-quality animation and sound production. CLAMP charecter designs are not only interesting but also true to life. Additionally, the soundtrack is great and the voice-acting is actually praiseworthy. The main characters of the cast are men who can think and are mature—a detective, a writer, a psychic, a reporter, and an actress who has a great ability to mesmerize the audience. But there are many features of the characters that are not fully developed, they are just used to advance the plot.

In summary, Mouryou no Hako showcases both strengths and shortcomings. While it may not ascend to the status of a masterpiece, it remains a worthwhile viewing experience for enthusiasts of deliberate, dialogue-driven anime exploring mature themes.

The writing is superb, the characters are cool, but being too many of them they get to have a few main features instead of being more complex.
What really bothered me was the poor choice for a main character (i know he switches between them, but eventually you can tell who is his main character).. or maybe thats it.. he spends too much time on this weak personality instead of other who are more mature. And the nail in the coffin was the exageration with the culture and rituals.
That's my take on it, you can do whatever the fuck you wanna do

[Review in English and Spanish]

[English]
There is no doubt this is a pretty weird show. However, I will try to explain why it is worth watching it, as well as it's weak and strong points.

Possibly anoying things:
"Mouryou no hako" has a really interesting story, confusing, but interesting. It is not confusing in itself, it is not complicated as an argument if you tell it linearly, but the narration is not linear at all. There is a mistery and the bits get discovered in an erratic way. As a consequence while you are watching most of the episodes you will feel as you don't undestand anything at ... all! but in the right time everything will come together. Pay attention to names! there are a lot of characteres and you might get lost if you don't remember which one is which one (actually I had to watch some episodes with Anime List's characters guide on one side to get the names...).
If you don't like people having long conversations about simbolism and philosophy then a couple of episodes will bore you to death. However, in my opinion these episodes are crucial to get the whole picture, to get the idea that this anime is trying to transmit. And of course, if you decide to not watch these parts and jump to the next main event you will understand even less what's going on.
It can have violence and crude scenes for some people. These scenes are wrapped into an aura of art, which can make it even more shocking some times. But the relationship between art, mysticism and death is fundamental to the show.

Good aspects:
if you are a fan of symbolisms and allegories you will like this show. If you are a fan of intrigues and complicated misteries you will like it too. If you are interested in japanese mysticism and myths you might find it interesting. If you like intense drama, at the level of Greek drama relationships between characters then you will like this show. If you like old fashion sci-fi ideas (machine vs human) related to world war's disasters and experiments you will find this show interesting. If you are interested in the tension between science-magic-religion and how all of them can be used to controll people's ideas and behaviour, this show is for you. If you have already thought about the thin line that exists between the conmotion caused by artwork and the excitement of a crime, this show is for you. If you like all of the above, like me, then you should watch it!

And that's only if we talk about the story. Because I must say this anime is gorgeous. I love the art, the characters designs, the landscapes, the decorations, the details, the colours, the lights and shadows, it's a whole ten.

Finally, this anime presents a whole spectrum of characters with different motivations, origins, worlds, ideas, etc. that come together and get mixed up around this mistery and some how they all fit and all of them contributes to the sofistication of the story.

Summing up, this is a sofisticated and beatiful anime, that if you don't mind to feel a little but confused for a while or watching long conversations then you won't have any problem you enjoy the multiple special and valuable features that make this anime so special, and, in my opinion, totally worth to watch.

[Español]
No hay duda de que este animé es bastante extraño. Sin embargo, trataré de explicar por qué vale la pena verlo, así como ventajas y desventajas.

Cosas que podrían molestar:
"Mouryou no hako" tiene una historia muy interesante, confusa, pero interesante. No es que sea confusa en sí misma, ya que el argumento no es complicado si lo cuentas linealmente, pero la narración no es lineal, en absoluto. Hay un misterio y trozos de ese misterio son revelados de manera errática. Como consecuencia durante la mayoría de los capítulos sentirás que no entiendes absolutamente nada! pero en el momento indicado todo tendrá sentido. Ponle atención a los nombres! hay muchos personajes y te puedes perder si no recuerdas cuál es cuál (de hecho tuve que ver algunos capítulos con la lista de personajes de Anime List a un lado para recordar los nombres...).
Si no te gusta ver a la gente teniendo largas conversaciones sobre simbología y filosofía, entonces habrá un par de capítulos que te aburrirán muchísimo. Sin embargo, estos capítulos son fundamentales para obtener la idea principal que este animé quiere transmitir. Y por supuesto, si decides no verlos y saltarte hasta las partes donde ocurren los eventos principales, vas a entender la historia todavía menos!
Puede tener violencia y escenas crudas para algunas personas. Estas escenas están envueltas en un aura artística, lo que las puede hacer aún más chocantes a veces. Pero la relación entre arte, misticismo y muerte es fundamental en este animé.

Aspectos positivos:
Si eres un fanático de los símbolos y las alegorías, te va a gustar este animé. Si eres un fan de las intrigas y los misterios complejos, también te gustará. Si estás interesado en el misticismo y los mitos de Japón, lo encontrarás interesante. Si te gusta el drama intenso, al nivel de los clásicos dramas griegos, entonces te gustará. Si te gustan las antiguas ideas de la ciencia-ficción (el hombre vs la máquina) relacionadas con los experimentos y desastres que dejaron las guerras mundiales, te parecerá interesante. Si estás interesado en la tensión que hay entre ciencia, magia y religión y en cómo estas pueden ser usadas para controles las ideas y las acciones de las personas, entonces este animé es para ti. Si ya habías pensando alguna vez sobre la delgada línea que existe entre la conmoción que genera una pieza de arte y la excitación de un crimen, entonces este animé es para ti. Si te gusta todo lo mencionado, como a mí, entonces tienes que verlo!

Y eso es solo si hablamos de la historia. Porque debo decir que además, este animé es precioso. Amo el arte, el diseño de los personajes, los paisajes, las decoraciones interiores, los detalles, los colores, las luces y las sombras, es un 10 completo.

Finalmente, este anime presenta un espectro completo de diferentes personajes con distintas motivaciones, orígenes, mundos, ideas, etc. que se encuentra enredados en este misterio y que de alguna manera todos calzan en él y contribuyen a la sofisticada historia que se desarrolla.

En resumen, este es un animé hermoso y sofisticado, que si no te importa sentirte un poco confundido por un momento o las largas conversaciones entre personajes entonces no tendrás ningún problema para disfrutar de las diversas características que son únicas y hacen tan especial a este animé y, en mi opinión, digno de verlo.