Review for Requiem From The Darkness: Vol.4 - Eternal Rest (UK)

Introduction

That'll teach me to fall asleep during an anime disc. It turns out that the final episode of volume 3 was the start of a four-episode final arc for Requiem From The Darkness, that the female character Shiragiku, who Momosuke let escape, returns to create more murderous mayhem, that following that debacle, Momosuke and Mataichi's group parted ways, but Mataichi's boss Kyogokitei still has plans for the erstwhile author, and that events now conspire to reunite the four, in perhaps their hardest challenge yet. Normally, at this point, I'd hasten back to volume 3, to rewatch the episode in question, to take in what I had slept through. But I have a hard time caring about Requiem From The Darkness. This final volume is its last chance to keep me awake for 75 minutes. I've long ago given up hope of it actually being interesting.

Momosuke is an aspiring writer at the end of the Edo period in Japan. He's made a living writing children's riddles, but he would much rather be remembered for more weighty work. It's why he's currently wandering the country, looking for material to contribute to his 100 Stories. But that journey takes him unexpected directions when he runs into three odd characters, Mataichi the Trickster, Ogin the Puppeteer and Nagamimi the Bird Caller. These three people wander the land, seeking out the darker, sinful sides of human nature, devising suitable punishment for the sinners. It's a twisted world of dark spirits and vengeful demons, and Momosuke is caught up right in the middle.

The final three episodes of Requiem From The Darkness are presented here on this MVM disc.


11. Marine Spirits - Funa Yurei
It's been three months since Momosuke and Mataichi's group went their separate ways, but Momosuke has become somewhat obsessed with finding them again. It's that obsession that leads him into the Kyogokitei teahouse, where he meets Mataichi's 'boss'. And it's where he gets a lead to Twin Island, and a legend of sea ghosts. Only these sea ghosts are pretty corporeal, and are terrorising shipping in the area. Mataichi, Nagamimi and Ogin are in fact already there, but there's less of the afterworld, and more of the real to this story. It's a high stakes game being played for something called the Fire Lance, and caught in the middle is the Kawakubo Clan

12. The Death Spirits of Seven Man Point (Part 1)
13. The Death Spirits of Seven Man Point (Part 2)
The Fire Lance has been taken, and Mataichi's group, having ditched Momosuke, are hot on its tail. Momosuke on the other hand is pretty sure where Mataichi's group is going to be, hearing tales of a lethal curse in Kitabayashi, where one death leads to seven more, and each of those seven leading to seven more in turn. It's an exponential increase in slaughter, but once again, there's nothing all that supernatural about this atrocity. It's going to be quite a bloody reunion, and more so than Momosuke anticipates, because behind the massacre is a familiar face, Shiragiku.

Picture

Requiem From The Darkness gets a 4:3 regular transfer. It's a standards conversion as usual, but it's a striking animation style that doesn't particularly suffer as a result. Requiem is full of shadows and darkness, uses a limited dark pastel palette, bold lines and strong contrasts to create and build on a very effective spooky atmosphere. It's a gothic looking anime style, eschewing the traditional clean and slender lines for something more grotesque and warped. It's a style that would be at home in a Tim Burton movie, although it may just be too creepy even for him. It's made all the more unsettling with a veritable menagerie of character designs, with traditional looking characters like Momosuke and Ogin, interacting with escapees from a Judge Dredd comic. Mataichi and Nagamimi are far from what you would consider normal anime character design, and the same ethos applies across the board.

Sound

You have a choice between DD 2.0 English and Japanese, with optional subtitles and a signs only track. The show gets a couple of easy-listening jazz style theme songs that seem at odds with the tone of the show but wind up working surprisingly well with the moody and atmospheric imagery. I went with the original language track as usual and was happy enough with that, but what I sampled of the English dub was quite pleasant to listen too, well acted and with the cast suiting their characters. The sound isn't all that expressive, but it's distinctive enough, and puts across the creepy and unsettling aspects of the animation well.

Extras

The disc gets the usual animated menus and jacket picture, and you can enjoy a 5 minute slideshow line art gallery, an art setting gallery with 10 images that you have to click through, and trailers for Ikki Tousen and Gun X Sword.

Conclusion

The final volume of Requiem From The Darkness did indeed put me to sleep, but to its credit, only the one time. It's a step up from the snooze-fest of volume 3, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement. While this final volume does have enough of a narrative to hold the interest, and it does pull something of an entertaining story out of the bag, it really is too little, too late. There turns out to be a grand conspiracy, back stabbing and counter-manoeuvres, with the game pieces being played with, the darkness inside human hearts, which turns out to be pretty dark. The problem is that none of the characters, none of the players have had the sort of development that makes them relevant to the viewer. It's a battle of ideology between Mataichi and his boss, Kyogokitei, yet when it came down to the final act, I really didn't care at all.


Requiem has deliberately and monotonously plodded through the better part of thirteen episodes, and when it comes to the final two or three, it actually shifts up into second gear. But that change of pace is insufficient to engage the emotions, and it really just feels as if the dull and dry recitation of events has just sped up a bit. Normally, I'd talk about the story, mention some of the noteworthy characters, alight on those points of the show that may have thrilled, excited, entertained, or just maybe humoured me. Not with Requiem, as once again I find myself in the annoying position of actually forgetting a show while I am in the process of watching it. I can't recall any other time where the previous twenty minutes of a show have been blanked from my memory as the end credits roll, indeed the episode synopses I wrote above are only possible because I took some notes as I was watching.


Requiem has been a tiresome experience. It may be a horror anime, it may sound good, it may look excellent, but the content is woefully lacking. It may even have two of its discs rated 18, and with a horror the usual warning is to be careful when you watch it, lest you have nightmares. Not with Requiem. I'd say be careful watching this show, as you may not even make it to your bed before falling asleep, and falling asleep while seated is hard on the spine. This may be the best volume of Requiem From The Darkness of the series, but that really isn't saying much.