Kikoushi Enma

Just finished watching, so I thought it was time for a full review. It was a little short, but still a great OVA to watch. Story: A great little story to watch, It may seem like the classic: Demons appear and all of a sudden a team shows up to combat them, and i guess in a sense that's true, but there is more to it than that. It has a down to earth feel to it. Although you may think pssh superpowers and demons.... how can that be down to earth? Well Although there are superpowers involved, nothing is overly dramatic and over thetop. there is also the human element of the regular individuals who get dragged into the horrors that surround them. All in all, everything is wrapped up pretty nicely and closes off with a somewhat dramatic finale. 8/10 Art: Probably the best part of this entire OVA was the artwork. it builds so much of an atmosphere that pulls the viewer into the environment, experience the emotions of the characters, and the thrill of watching what is unfolding on screen. One thing that was lacking a bit was the artwork of the characters. Don't get me wrong, the characters were decent looking but they weren't anything special. It seems to stand out a bit more when you compare minorly detailed characters with the highly detailed backgrounds. 9/10 Sound: My first impression on this OVA is that probably where this OVA is lacking the most in is sound. I meant that quite literally, there didn't feel like there was that much sounds going on. Actually looking back on it, and re-listening to a couple segments from the episodes i noticed how wrong i was. There is sounds throughout most of the way, but it feels like it has been incorporated so well into the scenery and what is happening that I didn't actually notice. I was drawn so deeply into actual going ons of the scene. The dramatic ominous music, was used throughout, but never overused, and was always changing. the other sounds generally consisted of things like characters breathing loudly, screams, and the scenery. I thought that this just added to the dark and ominous atmosphere that was created throughout. Although you could argue well.... there is not too much background music, and there isn't even an opening. I would agree with most of that. There isn't much background music, but it is well placed. However the lack of an opening, and the kinda lousy ending song were a bit of a disappointment. Ranking this OVA purely based on sound, its kind of low, in that it although it builds up the atmosphere very well, stand alone the sounds are quite generic. 6/10 Characters: One thing about this OVA that i was not overly fond of. The main three characters seemed somewhat one dimensional, and we barely learned nearly anything about them. Little to no character development. Motivation- nada, backstories- nada, how they got their powers- nada. Those characters were a bit of a disappointment. On the other hand however the "mortal" characters whom the stories revolved around,we had a little bit more information about them. The characters were a bit better introduced and we learn more about them, but even then, we still only scratch the surface. Overall the largest flaw of the OVA Enjoyment: I found this OVA to be very enjoyable. I found myself constantly leaning forward towards my computer screen just being engrossed into the story. I honestly didn't notice the 40 min time of each episode until i finished it. Well worth the watch 9/10 Overall: I do recommend this to most people. Although there is a slight bit of nudity, and ecchi scenes, nothing is over the top and it really doesn't take anything away from what the storyline does so well to build up. If you can find the time (and i am sure you can) i suggest you to check it out. 8/10

Story: This story starts like many of the same genre, with demons escaping from an Underworld and possessing people and objects alike to kill people and take over the human plane of existence. There is one main character, a man not from the human plane, on a mission to destroy these demons. The leader Enma is a red-headed man who is constantly draped in a black cape, a black hat that is similar to a witch's hat, and uses a staff that produces fire. Though he is considered the "main character", his other companions play big parts too. There is Enma's witch hat, Shapoji, whocan talk and smell the evil auras demons give off. Kapaeru, the Japanese creature Kappa in a human-like form, is the information gatherer for the group. Last is Yukihime, another hunter like Enma, but uses the power of frost or ice. The first two episodes show how Enma's crew handles a couple situations where people are possessed and killings occur, but by the third episode, the show takes a complete 360 degree turn, showing five individuals placed within a house that kills them off individually, using each character's problematic past as the way to kill them. Only within the last five to ten minutes of the last episode does Enma show up and save the day...or does he? I gave this OVA a 6 for story due to the lack of a cohesive story. The first half follows the beginnings of a decent plot, but the third episode had me scratching my head, wondering why these people were in a house being killed, followed by an even more confusing fourth and last episode. The reasons why these events were occurring were never explained, leaving the viewer to ponder the connection to the rest of the story. The last gripe I had was the extensive amounts of naked breasts being flashed throughout the four episodes. I do not mind nudity being used if it benefits the story in some way, but the usage here was for nothing more than looks. A warning to those of a weak stomach, this anime is full of blood and gore of all sorts. With a demon baby being born and crawling from the victim’s private area, to a mother trying to stab her young daughter. It is very graphic in content. Animation: The animations used were a little above average. The better animations were used for the blood, gore, and any other parts involved with the killings, while the rest was just plain. Even the main characters were done with minimal effort. If the production company had spent a little more time and effort on this project, it could have been very well done. These are the reasons I gave this a 5. Sound: The sounds used were actually decent, in most cases, though as before, the best sounds were used during the most graphic parts, such as a knife cutting or a person being possessed by a demon. The rest of the anime's sound was very basic and could have used more work. These reasons are why I gave it a 5. Characters: This was the worst part of the anime, for me, given these episodes are about 40 minutes each. While Enma and crew are very humorous through the majority of their time on screen, there is almost nothing known about these characters. No background on why they are killing demons, no background on where each character comes from, and no idea on their philosophy of the human race, just to name a few. All that is really known are the characters kill demons and Enma is a pervert. Their comedy was funny enough to warrant a 4 from me, but that is cutting it close. Overall: This anime had the potential to tell a great story with excellent characters to develop. Being an adult anime, this OVA also had the potential to take this story to a whole new level of intensity, but did not capitalize on the opportunities. I would only recommend this anime to those hardcore fans of demon anime that enjoy highly graphic storytelling, but otherwise, ended up turning into no-man's land, which is where this anime belongs.

wow, lets start this out by saying i will never forget this anime and i dont think i will be the same after watching it. this anime started out good, and you dont know where its going. but it takes a strong psychological turn and by the 3rd ova it takes it in a direction i never expected, its not the violence even though it had some decently violent scenes.that did not bother me so much, but it was a psychological headf**k on the darkness of the human heart. and it was quite scary in the last 2 episodes not for the fact ofanything but the emotions and thoughts it evokes in the watcher... i loved it and i wanted to give it a 8 or 9 overall but i had to give it a 10, just for the fact it is very good, but also one of the very few anime i have seen that evoke such strong feelings and thoughts, i will never forget this anime and i dont think i will be the same after watching it. a must see for anyone into the psychological animes and also for those into anything GOOD...

Despite several interesting ideas presented and the potential of the story this anime fell flat. In the end it tried to do too many things and consequently did not of them very well. Story My biggest problem is with the story/plot. Kikoushi Enma wanted to be mystery, horror and psychological anime while being deep, funny, touching, scary and a touch sexual all in 4 forty minute episodes. The idea of the darkness in all of us is good but it wasn’t really developed until the 3rd episode. If that was the “meaning” of the OVA it was not a fully formed thought. The demon hunting wasagain an interesting tease but not really explained. Despite the lack of development the OVA was not confusing – just missed potential. Characters Again there was potential for interesting and enjoyable characters, but the character building was abandoned to try and save the plot. The "main" characters had personality, although not all ways consistent with the tone of the show, and I would have really liked to see more of them and how they were related which is not explained. Art/Music Both the art and music where pretty decent. The art looked a tad dated/generic, but overall it was solid and little sexy. They made good use of dramatic light and dark contrasts and overall it fit the darker mood of the anime. The music didn't strike me either way really. Overall neither was good enough to compensate for its other short comings.

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