Nurarihyon no Mago

Title: Nurarihyon no Mago Genre: Action, Supernatural Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: Rikuo Nura, is 3 parts human and a quarter Demon, lives in a house of spirits with his grandfather, The current clan head of the Nura youkai. Rikou is set to be the next clan head, despite the fact he dislikes his demon side. He soon come to terms with his demon blood and decides to take his position as young master of the Nura house. However there are those who will certainly not allow it to be easy.

Review: Nurarihyon no Mago probably ended up being one of the better anime of the Summer-Fall 2010 seasons. A supernatural action isn’t as common as I thought. There isn’t too much to say about this anime so this will probably be on the short side of reviews.

The art style was pretty well done. I loved the way cherry blossoms played into the anime and how the illustrated them falling down. Scenes of the yokai sitting around drinking sake as the cherry blossom leaves floated down around them is very memorable. They had some great action animation as well. The action wasn’t fast pace or adrenaline pumping, it actually felt on the slower side. Though this may be due to watching anime like Black Lagoon and Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls. Comparatively the sword fights were pretty basic, run, slash, parry, jump back, repeat till someone hits. Despite that, I really enjoyed watching the final battle and small quarrels in between. The only complaint I have is the use of CG. They used CG for the cherry blossom tree that Rikou sits in was pretty bad. It was quite obvious that they made the tree flutter using a computer instead of blending it in with the hand drawn art. It wasn’t a killer, but it stood out enough for me to deduct points. I want to end the art with a good note so I want to also mention the eyes. Generally eyes are drawn similarly, but I felt like the eyes were drawn according to personality in Nurarihyon no Mago. The friends all had faint differences in their eye shape and color that gave them a unique look (no pun intended).

The soundtrack was well done. The opening specifically were my favorite. I probably listened to the first opening more than half the time and the second every time. Seeing as skipping openings is very common when possible I would say that’s a good sign. It wasn’t only the song that caught my attention, but the piece as a whole. The animation that followed the art also made the song a lot better.The background music wasn’t bad either and it was mainly used to set a foreboding atmosphere. It was simple yet effective.

The story is where Nurarihyon no Mago excelled. It wasn’t anything complicated or tear jerking which isn’t always bad! I quite liked the simple storyline that progressed through the season. The short arcs kept the anime fresh and interesting. They finished the season with a very strong arc as well which makes me hope for a season two. I couldn’t find any plot holes which is to be expected when there are no twists are unexplainable events. I even enjoyed filler episodes that turned the attention toward Rikou’s friends. Character development wasn’t a strong point. There were no real changes in personality or actions that I can remember. I don’t think of it as bad, but I’m afraid that the characters might get boring if multiple seasons come out.

Final statements: Nurarihyon no Mago was a solid anime that deserves a preferred watched. I do hope there is a second season as I know the manga is still on going. I may pick up the manga instead since a second season hasn’t been confirmed.