Midnight Occult Civil Servants

With the abysmal number of people watching this series, it's SOOO easy to forget that this anime ever existed in the eyes of potent men, at least it was for me anyways. I really also find it hard to understand why this series GOT a green light, because, more than the manga (translated) adaptation that doesn't exist (as of this review and probably forever), I hardly doubt that even the Japanese people watching this would be happy about this. However and anywho, the crux to this series is about a new working-adult recruit called Miyako Arata. He is assigned to the Nighttime Regional Relations Department squadin Shinjuku, of which, each of Tokyo's 23 wards has departments like this, founded to mitigate paranormal and occult-related events. Unbeknownst to anyone, Arata's special skill is the Ears of Sand, which translates to the understanding of non-human speech, and through mythical Yokai creatures, many say that Arata is the Heian-era exorcist, Abe no Seimei, resurrected in spirit. And that's the story overall, because we only get to watch and listen Arata's special skills as one that we wished to have if we could have a superpower of sorts. Plus, his interaction with the Shinjuku crew and the never-ending groups of Yokai that revere the Seimei spirit into reconciliation, just like a Yokai councilor. Needless to say, you can easily pass by the episodes with a nap, as it doesn't really try to engage with the audience well with its overarching episodic story lines. The character count doesn't pay too well-off either. Seo Himezuka and Kyouichi Sakaki, the 2-man crew that has been in the job more than Arata doesn't strike off as redundant or useful (depending on their help to Miyako), but foremostly being assistants to helping solve daily crimes that involve Yokai, and often the 3-man crew are able to get by nicely. Even through the progression in this series of Arata meeting the mischievous Aztec god Huehuecoyotl and working together with misunderstanding colleagues from the various wards, and Sakaki saving his family member, that "meh" experience stays stagnant, as if there isn't any story nor character development to try to take advantage of to establish a base to the anime. Nein, I say. Liden Films' art and animation is getting much worse, but thankfully it doesn't detract from the watching experience that is this and last season's Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka, which is plenty fine for its target demographics. Trying to play on the available budget offered is a good advantage, but if this is all it has to offer, I would still gladly watch it. Musicality-wise, Evan Call is back to do the music for this series, and I can only really say it's one of the more mellow music soundtracks (as opposed to Violet Evergarden), but more action-y type of music. Both the OP and ED, performed by the characters themselves (Arata for the OP and Huehuecoyotl for the ED) fit the premise for the occult-feelings of the anime to a T. Not the greatest sounding, but not bad either. Overall, this anime just reeks stagnancy for me. All the while I try to watch this with an open mind that it will eventually get better, it instead went onto an entirely different route that hopes the aesthetics will somehow make up the difference in viewership. And it honestly never did. And I'm finally done watching this show, on with the OVAs later in the year!

I'm writing my first review ever simply because I find this show's low rating on MAL baffling. Well, not exactly baffling, but rather a pointed demonstration of how restrictive some people's view of what anime should be really is. The show doesn't have an overarching plotline, intense action, or romance. That is to its strength. It's a calm, thoughtful, and steady excursion into an intriguing world. In each episode you'll see the cast interact with supernatural creatures, drawn from mythologies all over the world, and explore how the existence of those creatures can create problems and solutions for people living in the modern world. The charactersare grounded but interesting, and the show is not afraid to deal with mature themes without feeling the need to wallow in them. More than that, the show is judicious with its characters, with one of the main characters not appearing in multiple episodes when he would've distracted from the narrative. This is an episodic series, and it knows how to play to the strengths of an episodic series. As long as you're willing to sit down and enjoy some thoughtful worldbuilding, creative takes on traditional mythology, and an overarching theme of making the world better by creating a place for everyone, then you'll have a good time. This show is adult not because it depicts anything explicit, but because it expects the viewer to be a little worldly and to appreciate the nuanced tensions that we encounter in our day to day lives. If you're an adult who's curious about the world, and willing to reflect on it, then watch this show.

I'd be interested in reading the source material that this hot garbage came from. This show was the poor man's Natsume Yuujinchou, completely lacking in all emotion and quality all around. *Sound: terrible. Every time the "Anothers" speak, it's in this weird double voice that makes them exceedingly difficult to listen to. Plus they speak so closely to human nuances that the whole point of the anime is thrown off. *Art: Although the art style is a bit different from typical stuff, the way flying characters just hover with no movement to hair and no realistic movement bothers me. It also bothers me that whena character is looking "thoughtful," they just stare. There is no soul in ANY of the characters' eyes. *Story: I like the idea. Dude has an ability that allows him to communicate with spirits, but they're not friendly ghosts (except that most love him anyway). He helps people by communicating where they can't, and has a tie to them thanks to an ancestor whom everyone mistakes him for. Sound familiar? It's already been done, and done SO much better! *Character: So the Ears of Sand main character can hear "Anothers." You have a former host, an androgynous scientist, a tech guy? with no personality, and a whole slew of one dimensional single shot characters. I suppose if the anime stretched multiple seasons they might get development like in Natsume, but as it stands they're awful. Then there's the fact that the "Anothers" are supposed to be so far removed from human understanding that we just can't get along, but by the end of the first few episodes the main character has an Another cat living with him and acting like a cat as well as a supposedly terrifying trickster god from Aztec culture. *Enjoyment: None. I kept waiting for it to pick a theme that wasn't so heavy handed, but it's really all there is.

I started this anime off with a completely different expectation and was very well surprised. I don't really have much to say other than that the anime was worth my time and I'm very glad I had the time to watch it. It was also a little neat that the anime gives you the "Wholesome" and "We're all humans!" type of vibe but in Hitoribocchi no Kyuuketsuki, it got a little dark, especially around the end! I think there was alot of dark hints around the anime but it only got really apparent in Hitoribocchi no Kyuuketsuki. The main character is also very gentle butvery naive. I'm just glad he didn't end up in any extremely serious conflicts. I also wish i could have seen more of huehuecoyotl. He was a fun character, despite how troublesome he was.