Ayakashi series

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Other

I've only been able to see bits and pieces (maybe its a hint that its a horror train I am on)...but so far I like it even though its in English-dub. The style of animation is different for each of the stories (2 are similar though), the music is funky, somewhat J-popish but with undertones of the traditional Japanese...oh who am I kidding...I just liked the beat!

*spoilers alert*
..
..
..
..



Synopsis taken from the Animax site:
© Ayakashi Committee

Ayakashi is a collection of three classic Japanese horror stories that are mystifying and scary: three classic Japanese horror stories, "Yotsuya Kaidan," "Tenshu Monogatari," and "Bakeneko".


"Yotsuya Kaidan" tells the story of Tamiya Iemon, a married samurai who is burdened by his poverty. Iemon promises to marry a rich man's daughter in return for a job, and conspires with them to murder his wife, Oiwa. When Oiwa learns of his betrayal, she commits suicide. However, her vengeful spirit is not appeased and she lays a curse on everyone involved in this treachery.

Comments:
This is an adaptation of the classic Japanese story and is also called "Yotsuya Ghost Story" and is written by 18th century kabuki playwright Tsuruya Nanboku.

I saw this in full, and it took a replay to make me understand the intricacies of the story, which is told in narrative style by the author of a play Tsuruya-san. The horrifying parts are not only the avarice of the samurai and utter cheek of murdering his father-in-law while telling his wife he would help her seek vengeance, nor how the desire for the young samurai turned the spoilt granddaughter of a rich man into a co-conspirator for poisoning the samurai's wife - this is just the tip of the dirty samurai's sword!

Kami-sama, it seems everybody except the wife turned out to be bad people (except probaly the one servant who tried to rape and kill her but who repented afterwards, although he was the one who gave her the poisoned drink...hmmm).

It gets complicated as only Japanese tales turn out to be, involving the half-sister of the Oiwa turning out to be the half-sister of the other murdering man who forced her to have sexual relations with him..ergh! and who killed (or thought he killed) the half-sister's fiance but who wasn't really killed because he had changed clothes with another guy and who did get to slay the ..oh well, never mind...even I had a headache following it...

It is an interesting story as it incorporates comments from the playwright through the years about the curse of this story imprinting on the lives of actors who took part in the play, but I bet its only scary to the philandering husbands :-)


"Tenshu Monogatari" is a story of a forbidden love between a human and a goddess. While attempting to retrieve a lost falcon for his feudal lord, bird handler Zushonosuke has a chance encounter with Tomihime, the goddess who inhabits a cursed castle. Amid the escalating chaos in the land caused by the presence of creatures who feed on humans, what will happen to their love?

Comments:
Also known as "Goddess of the Dark Tower", this is based on Tenshu Monogatari, a play by Kyoka Izumi.

I don't know if it had a conclusion or the pair riding off into town was the conclusion. Part of the story is familiar in the sense of a man coming upon a goddess bathing in a river/stream (hello Ayashi no Ceres fans!) but he has to go into the castle of the forbidden gods who eat human flesh to ease the pain of their regret. And of course, he falls in love the beautiful princess (this would have been better if he had not fallen in love and got eaten also bwahaha!).

Portrayal of the princess and the struggle she underwent because her mother also ran off with a human and got abandoned afterwards has the added twist of having the falcon the hero is taking care of as turning out to be the princess' mother. Argh....I told you its weird!

Can't say much else though the story and animation style is again different, and the monsters, demons and brigands in this tale are typical of old-Japan settings. This turned out to be my least favorite of the lot, but it could be because I was left hanging about as to where the climax of the story was to be found.


"Bakaneko" chronicles the happenings in an old village, where a young bride is mysteriously murdered before her wedding. An enigmatic medicine vendor determines that this is the work of the "Bakaneko" or cat-monster, and only he knows how to stop it. However, he must uncover the connection first between this creature and the family's hidden past, as members of the family die off one by one!

Comments:
This is known as also as "Goblin Cat".

I missed everything except the conclusion.

I had skipped this because I thought the animation was more in the style of Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo and although it is colorful I was bewildered by the story and characters shaking about so I left it after 5 seconds of seeing it.

Rats! I came back later and I saw enough of the conclusion to find out this might have been the most interesting of all the tales told and not because it involved a monster-cat. In fact, the cat in this was just seeking revenge for its mistress who was mistreated, a young bride who seemed to be imprisoned.

While the medicine seller has the means to destroy the bakeneko, he must find out not only the monster's form but the truth about what it wants and the reason for its appearance. That was when the family's dark secrets begin to surface.

So goes the tale of how the once powerful house crumbles into nothingness due to the cruelty of the Lord of the clan. As the scene fades away from the vanquished monster, one feels melancholy at the passing images and suffering of the young woman who only had the little cat to keep her sanity. Really, it kind of reminds me of my fave author Edgar Allan Poe's stories.

(note, I hate horror movies and tv shows, but I love Edgar Allan Poe and his tales! talk about irony eh?)


This may again be shown in full in the month of November 2008 and those who see it may check out the tales these are based upon. I assume that if there are film adaptations about these stories, they might turn out to be scarier versions.