Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi was a series that had an asterisk next to it on the schedule for sure. Initially it was on the periphery of my attention, but once I saw that Mochizuki Tomomi was writing and directing (it’s an adaptation of a web manga by Nujima) it became a subject of interest and a sleeper. Mochizuki is one of the true giants of the anime industry (he directed one of my all-time favorites, Zettai Shounen), but he’s in his mid-60’s now and doesn’t take the lead on a series often these days. His resume has plenty of misses as well as hits, but I was intrigued to find out what drew Mochizuki to this material.
Bottom line is, I get it. The simple truth is there’s a certain element you get when auteurs work on anime (or any TV or film) that you just don’t get otherwise. It doesn’t always work but it’s always there unless they’re just mailing it in (which certainly does happen). It’s not as though Mysterious Disappearances (or any Zero-G production that I can think of) has the air of a lavishly-budgeted series. But it has style, and plenty of it. Mochizuki composes a shot in a way that wouldn’t seem natural to a director without a distinctive sense of aesthetic. Everything looks interesting (including the OP and ED), and that makes a big difference in holding your attention for 23 minutes.
As for story and character, those held my attention too. The main players here are a pair of bookstore clerks. Adashino Ren (Yamashita Daiki) looks to be in his late teens but vibes as older. Ogawa Sumireko (Fairouz Ai) is 28 (it’s her birthday). They two have a friendly banter at work but you sense that Adashino really gets under Ogawa’s skin with his relentless cheekiness (those their managers says he never talks to anyone else). Sumireko is interested in the occult, and apparently a writer, though it seems as if she hasn’t seen much success since winning a newcomer aware at 15. Adashino-kun professes to be her fan.
A case of “reverse shoplifting” (I worked in bookstores for many years and never saw that happen once) kicks off the premiere’s mysterious events. The manager presents this book to Ogawa-san, who takes it home and glances at it when it falls out of her bag as the clock strikes Midnight and her birthday begins. She recites a waka poem, part of the Man’youshuu – a collection of poetry from the Nara Period, probably compiled around 759. Afterwards she morphs into the body of child (in the poem a man laments the aging of a beautiful woman), and finds herself struck by a burst of creativity the likes of which she hasn’t felt for a long time.
After that it gets a little hazy just what’s happening here. Unquestionably we find ourselves in a world where magic is real – this actually did happen to Sumireko. Adashino is obviously not a normal human. He figures out what happened to Sumireko and why, and manages to locate her and coach her how to return to her normal self. That’s vital, by the way, because all of her 28 year-old blood and guys and bone has been crammed into that tiny body. He insists he’ll deal with the book – she flips out and absconds with it. He has connections in this area, that’s absolutely clear, though just how and why is not ( I did note that he shares a name with a famous temple in Kyoto, built to soothe the souls of the abandoned dead).
I’ll say this – series which sport the sort of dialogue Mysterious Disappearances does can sometimes be insufferable. This is not naturalistic stuff – it’s highly stylized and theatrical. It’s a tough needle to thread and most series which try to manage only to stab their own finger, but I think this one manages to pull it off. I enjoyed the chemistry between Adashino and Sumireko and if indeed we’re headed towards the pair of them solving mysteries of the week, I think that has a chance to really work. Between that and Mochizuki’s undeniable talent there should be enough here to make Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi a keeper.
The post First Impressions – Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi (Mysterious Disappearances) appeared first on Lost in Anime.
