Genre(s): Mystery, Supernatural, Romance
Age-Appropriateness: 15+ (Gore, Violence, profanity)
Platforms: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
TheAwersome Rating: 7.8 / 10 (Fun writing, annoying characters)
Premise: Hidden in plain sight, spirits known as yokai inhabit the world. While most are benign, a certain subset threatens the tenuous peace between yokai and humanity. Ever since she agreed to become their “God of Wisdom,” Kotoko Iwanaga has served as a mediator between the two realms, resolving any supernatural problems that come her way.
At a local hospital, Kotoko approaches Kuro Sakuragawa, a university student whose long-term relationship ended with an unfortunate breakup. Kotoko harbors feelings for him and suspects that something supernatural lurks within his harmless appearance, so she asks Kurou for his assistance in helping the yokai.
TheAwersome’s Thoughts: There’s a lot of good, and a lot of mediocre anime nonsense here. I really like the various cultural yokai that make appearances, and the general premise is definitely a fun one. This honestly feels like a strange mashup of Phoenix Wright and Monogatari, for better and for worse. There’s the annoying, boundary ignoring, bratty main character who gets away with far more than she should with how she treats those around her, and Kuro is pretty bland. But, that isn’t front and center the whole time, as the meat of the show is solving the mysteries and convincing the clients. There is a lot of interesting exploration of truth vs. what people will believe and/or want to believe. What’s the truth that will be “satisfying”? It is a bit unsettling to see and realize just how many wildly different yet equally plausible scenarios exist with limited information.
TLDR: An interesting mystery and exploration of truth, albeit with somewhat shallow characters.
A second season has been confirmed for Winter of 2023.
I have more words and thoughts to share on this one but haven’t finished ironing them out. Keep your eyes out for an opinion piece.
You’ll Likely Enjoy This if You Enjoyed:
- The distinctly Japanese yokai and supernatural aspects of Ghost Stories
- The mystery unraveling, supernatural powers, and philosophical discussions of Monogatari
- The detective aspect of Phoenix Wright, A Certain Scientific Railgun series
At a Glance Anime 