By AnimeEv 1 year, 5 months ago
I slept on Kurenai. I’m not happy about that, and I beg it’s forgiveness because it’s great, and hopefully you will too.
Based on a series of light novels, Kurenai inhabits a world somewhere between yakuza mystery theater and Diff’rent Strokes, where violence and tenderhearted kindness take turns on the main stage, all the while backed up with great visuals and some fantastic characters.
Ok, I’ll put it this way: it’s like Maison Ikkouku with more hostage negotiation and less entrance exam anxiety.
And a particularly nasty-looking biological speciation, designed for the sake of assault.
And a hot goth neighbor who wears a shrunken skull.
(Exactly).
Anyway, the plot, the plot, the plot… ShinkurÅ Kurenai is a nice, respectful, and quiet 16 year-old who lives alone and attends school during the day. In the evening he works as a conflict mediator, and he often ends up stomping mudholes in people’s asses and coming home a broken mess to commiserate with Benika, his mysterious and cunning boss and benefactor. At school he finds himself hanging out with his taciturn information agent, Ginko, or with the outgoing Yuuno, who happens to be both Shinkurou’s sparring partner and a member of the family that taught our hero how to deliver a whuppin’.
With me so far? Cool. It gets better!
One day Shinkurou is assigned to take care of Murasaki, whom Benika has abducted from a creepy and influential family of high repute. 7 years old, stiff, domineering, and inquisitive, Murasaki rules the show with an iron fist and an attitude to match… and she’s awesomely hilarious. Watching Shinkurou take the hits she dishes out, and then watching him scold her for it as they slowly bond over being two lost souls in a strange and daunting world is a joy. Every scene with them together is pure gold. If all slice of life shows were goodly enough to include this much humor and judo, I’d be the happiest man in my apartment.
Anyway, Shinkurou lives in a big shared house with a number of strange and funny tenants who, of course, take an instant liking to Murasaki and begin to educate her about life and love. This would sound sappy and silly if they weren’t the kind of folks who you’d find in a show like Kurenai, and watching Murasaki morph after her daily dose of tutelage and TV is a blast. The voice acting of the motley apartment crew alone is more than worth the effort to find the show.
As the show progresses through its 13 episodes (an OVA was released later), we see the group bond, change, sing, laugh, and cry their way through the slings and arrows of life. Occasionally there’s an ugly fist-fight with a crew of intractable yakuza or a hilarious public bath etiquette scene, which keeps the show moving on an even keel and keeps us guessing about the show and its aims. I’m just about to finish the TV show off and I’m certainly still wondering what’s going to happen!
Brain’s Base was behind this one, and it shows, especially considering the fact (*) that their most recent work, Durarara!!!, was more fun than a BBQ at the Playboy mansion on national hot make-out day. The production values aren’t as uniformly high as DRRR’s, but you can rest assured that by no means is the show ugly or unappealing visually, and the characters could carry this show if they were stick figures being photographed by untrained monkeys in a cave at midnight.
As mentioned earlier, the strong voice acting of the cast coupled with the excellent writing, timing, and story threading make Kurenai a show that you shouldn’t miss if you’re ready for a mix of something new and wild with something old and familiar. It’s a great ride, and in a refreshing turn of events it’s not overly meta-textual or forced in any way. Each episode jets right along and delivers, as all great shows should. Highly recommended.
Get in the game, y’all!
(*) = This has been proven. By somebody. Somewhere. I promise. Maybe.
brain's base, durarara, kurenai
