After the First: Youkai Apartment

Synopsis

This is the story of Inaba Yuushi, a young male who lost his parents at a young age and up until he graduated middle school he has been staying with his uncle’s family. Now as he is about to enter high school he aims to live on his own. However, the dorm he had planned to stay in had burned down and is left without a place to stay, however, with a bit of help he soon finds himself with an apartment to stay at until repairs are done at the dorm. The catch? The apartment is a residence to ghosts and youkai!

The First Episode

The overall plot and theme was rather cliche and the backstory of the protagonist, while not necessarily similar but overall is a kind of mix of all other protagonists that are in a similar theme. In terms of personality and general reactions, protagonist Yuushi is a slight refresh from the usual protagonists that are either overly settled with the supernatural or constantly get shocked with everything.

The art and animation is pleasant enough with soothing tones and attention to detail but is not really a stand out when compared to other series. Counting the good points of the series, the music is by far the highest with its catchy tune and memorable tone. Overall, the theme, storyline and character background is rather generic in many points but at the same time there is a difference which makes the series unique. The art is not half bad but the music is the stand out for the episode and as a premise it did well enough in execution

After the First

As the episode progressed there was definite improvements in sme of the art and animation but at the same time there were times when more could have been done such as the party scenes at the apartment. Multiple times there were still shots showing the expressions of the characters or other moments to transition to the next screen but it felt more like a moving comic rather than an animation.

There were some moments that the animation and art did well such as with action scenes and supernatural scenes but for more mellow scenes; with the use shots and moving shots, it made it seem rather stagnant even with the soundtrack playing. But improvements for animation aside, the series did well in little details and background tones for the most part.

The plot has a good flow and the genres don’t get mixed up in one another. While it may be rather generic in terms of story type it does have pieces within that make it unique to other series involving youkai. It’s not heavy handed when it comes to explanation of supernatural creatures and the portrayal of the characters and the depictions of drama and action.

Overall, there is room for improvement in the art and animation but at the same time it has its moments. The shift in genres when it happens is not too heavy handed and keeps in line with the flow of the story which until now has done well in execution. The characters as well have developed nicely and to conclude, the series has much room for improvement but at this time the series isn’t half bad in terms of execution and development

RATING: 7.5/10