200https://i.ur.com/VUeNm9G.png AkumaKun 2023 is one of the four new projects announced in 2021 to celebrate Shigeru Mizukis 100th birthday. To the uninitiated Mizuki is an incredibly influential figure in Japanese pop culture. Being a Youkai researcher his interests in the world of folktales and how they affect the society they encompass influence the works he writes. His most popular work is Gegege no Kitarou which made a huge step into the western anime community back in 2018 with its most recent adaptation simulcasting on Crunchyroll. However 34 years after its initial adaptation and 60 years since the publication of its first manga AkumaKun takes an allnew step into the modern era of anime airing a new adaptation on Netflix finally allowing this series to be accessible to the western community. The story of AkumaKun is similar to that of Gegege no Kitarou but instead of episodic stories about Youkai AkumaKun is about well Akuma. Akuma means an evil spirit however theyre also synonymous with devils or demons which AkumaKun references a lot since hell is a place where these evil spirits go. These Akuma prey on human desires usually perfectionism and greed and use those emotions to control and manipulate humans creating the conflicts for each episodic story. AkumaKun 2023 is similar to its 1989 counterparthttps://anilist.co/anime/8194/ in storytelling however its important to remember that it is not a readaptation. AkumaKun 2023 takes place after the events of the main series with the two main characters being the children of the original AkumaKun and his companion MephistoII. With this being said you dont need the context of the original series or original characters to understand this adaptation as not only do the previous main characters get their own development as parents but also because this series is its own thing in many ways. This review contains slight spoilers however I have a spoilerfree TLDR at the end 700https://i.ur.com/3Zh78Pk.png The biggest difference between the two adaptations is tone. Mizukis adaptations are often childish in appearance while being morally complex and gruesome in storytelling. Gegege no Kitarou 2018 is a great example of this: bright childish designs and comedic moments with very gruesome tales of death and suffering interspersed between. However AkumaKun 2023 takes this idea a step further by conveying these themes through its visual style. AkumaKun often gets very grim conveying its brutal deaths in an honest but gruesome way. While the character designs are similarly childish in appearance lacking any depth in detail with soft round faces and eyes the backgrounds are in complete contrast to this. Backgrounds are rough and gruesome in appearance with rugged linework and impressively detailed designs. The shading is bold and has only one tone of dark black encompassing every inch of detail in the backgrounds. Shot composition is used to highlight this beauty with many closeup shots showing the detail on surrounding objects. This depth of detail is in every way impressive as it is beautiful and its reminiscent of Shichirou Kobayashis work. The backgrounds are supported by a great understanding of colour composition blending everything together and having light bounce off of characters in a very satisfying way. This can be attributed to the colour designer Kunio Tsujita at the helm who has worked alongside Shichirou Kobayashi on Utena as well as many Toei projects such as Ojamajo Doremi Gokinjou Monogatari Mali Gali and Hakaba Kitarou. The backgrounds are just jawdroppingly gorgeous and do a wonderful job at selling the dark and gruesome tone of AkumaKun. 350https://i.ur.com/CT2fnZs.png 350https://i.ur.com/7GnIewA.png 700https://i.ur.com/frUC46C.png In many ways AkumaKun 2023 can be compared to Hakaba Kitarou 2007https://anilist.co/review/22438 an adaptation of the original 1950s Kitarou Kashihon that Mizuki published before Gegege no Kitarou. This version of Kitarou is violent not afraid to show death in its purest and most gruesome form. The 2007 Hakaba Kitarou adaptation takes a similarly differing approach to its visuals by having a rough art style to help convey its darker themes. Similar to this version of Kitarou AkumaKun 2023 isnt afraid to be as gruesome as possible straying away from the more kidfriendly tone the 1989 adaptation had. Im not sure what the original manga for AkumaKun was like since the 1989 anime isnt an adaptation of the original manga. However I assume its similar to Hakaba Kitarou in that it has a much darker tone compared to its subsequent releases. In AkumaKun 2023 were shown violent murders and deaths and it doesnt shy away from how horrific they are. However this cynical portrayal of human life isnt just for the sake of shock value. The gruesome deaths we are shown are interwoven with the core themes of the series and in almost complete contrast convey the value of human life. The core themes explored in AkumaKun 2023 are the human desire for perfection greed and jealousy. There are stories like a mother accidentally murdering her own child because her child went against her perception of her so she made a contract with a devil to impersonate her daughter in a way she wanted her to be or like when a rich bastard who has a goal of trying every food in the world blindly murdered his maid because he wanted to summon Satan to be the first to taste his flesh. As absurd as some of these stories can get AkumaKun never fails to deliver these stories through great mystery and intrigue tying everything to the ideas its trying to convey. The idea of selling your soul to the devil is a key component of the stories told in AkumaKun as we see many characters throughout the series make contracts with Akuma out of a desire for perfection. However making these contracts always ends in misfortune because the devils only want to manipulate humans by preying on their desires. One of my favourite episodes episode 9 was about a writer who wanted to create the perfect script and sold his soul to an Akuma to do so. He was obsessed with making a masterpiece he was obsessed with that perfection but that desire eventually led him to abandoning his wife and child due to frustration in himself. Even when he makes amends with them years later he believes he failed as a father and doesnt deserve to be one. But what does being a good father even mean? What does that look like? And just because youre imperfect that means you dont deserve these things? AkumaKun tells the audience that you should always value what you have in your life and never let greed or the desire for perfection get in the way of whats truly in front of you. These themes and ideas are very common in Mizukis works and adaptations however AkumaKun 2023 takes it a step further by questioning the morals of the main characters. In episode 6 the newly introduced antagonist Strophaia questions Mephistos claim that everything that happened is the fault of the Akuma implying that they wouldve lived happily if it werent for them. Throughout the series thus far Akumakun and Mephisto are the heroes that save humans from the Akuma that possess them however Strophaia questions this moral saying Its easier to blame someone else. But the more you do so the more painful it gets. Are AkumaKun and Mephisto really protecting humans from Akuma or are they protecting humans from their own internal horrors? Episode 7 presents us with an Akuma who was rescued and raised by a human a human who offered up all of his kindness to save others but ultimately succumbed to the weight of it all. This kindness he received growing up led to him forming a human heart becoming a politician with the goal of helping others. Yet this strong desire leads him to kill those who oppose him letting his inner Akuma take over his body. At the end of the episode however he chooses to give himself up to the police instead of attacking Ichirou because he truly does want to do whats right and have a human heart. AkumaKun 2023 is inherently about the internal horrors of ordinary people with the Akuma serving only to exacerbate these horrors. Throughout the series were made to question the true meaning of these morals while the mystery continues to build with each subsequent episode and its very entertaining for that reason. At the helm of series composition is Hiroshi Oonogi who most notably worked on the 2018 Gegege no Kitarou adaptation. I believe Oonogi has a great understanding of the themes of Mizukis works and is able to portray them superbly. His work in Gegege no Kitarou 2018 is similarly impressive so Im very happy he worked on AkumaKun. 350https://i.ur.com/4cXdRoc.png 350https://i.ur.com/8CD9cjH.png 700https://i.ur.com/AqkEuDa.png Not only is the thematic writing for AkumaKun 2023 on point but the character writing is also great. Ichirou is such a fascinating main character because despite sharing the same role as AkumaKun he isnt at all righteous like his father. His goal isnt to befriend demons or to unite demons and humans together nor does he have any interest in the millennium kingdom the thing that his father was looking for in the original series. In actuality he doesnt care at all about those things. He has a disregard for common courtesy and just about everything expected of him in social interactions. Like how he ignores Gremorys blatant attempts at getting with him or when he calls out the mothers taste in history books in episode 1. In many ways Ichirou doesnt act very human nor like an Akuma either and he seems to rebel against the idea of what it means to be an AkumaKun . I find this characteriszation to be very interesting especially when taking into consideration his relationship with the people whove looked after him. MephistoIII is also a very interesting character. Despite sharing many traits with his father MephistoII he is much weaker because hes a halfhuman halfdemon with his halfhuman part holding him back. Yet despite this he doesnt resent his halfhuman self as its often what defines him as a person. Hes very empathetic and respectful of others which is in complete contrast to Ichirou. Because of this hes often quick to call out Ichirou whenever he does something morally questionable. Like in episode 1 when he tries to stop Ichirou from explaining what happened to Hinas friend because hes concerned about her mental wellbeing. There are also times where Ichirou has a disregard for his own life which MephistoIII gets very upset at him for like in episode 3 when Ichirou almost dies trying to summon Satan. Many of these situations end up with MephistoIII being frustrated with Ichirou however this often comes from a genuine concern for Ichirou which is a reflection of the kind of relationship the two share. I really like the dynamic Ichirou and MephistoIII have with each other. This relationship they share is important in contrast to the other important figures in his life as he was abandoned by them both. However this is going into endingspoiler territory so I wont expand on this point as its something worth watching yourself. However the takeaway from this is that the relationship MephistoIII and Ichirou share is one of genuine concern for one another something Ichirou feels he lost growing up. Because Ichirou was abandoned by both Akuma and humans he lacks traits to be defined by either. Instead of valuing human life and fighting to protect lives hes seen calling out humans for being fundamentally untrustworthy and appreciating how faithful the Akuma are to their objectives despite the fact that being an AkumaKun means to fight for humans. This was influenced by the Akuma who raised Ichirou Strophaia who also constantly questions the morals of AkumaKun and its intriguing to see this development unravel throughout the anime with how it affects Ichirou. MephistoIII on the other hand is the complete opposite despising Akuma who manipulate human lives. The relationship between Ichirou and MephistoIII is incredibly entertaining to watch and a highlight of this anime for me. The villains of AkumaKun are equally entertaining to watch as their overwhelming force of pure evil intent overpowers every scene theyre in and I always felt a genuine sense of fear whenever they appeared. They waltz around the main characters with a calm yet passive aggressive demeanour poking fun at and questioning their every action. Because of this slowly learning more about who they are throughout the anime is very entertaining to watch. Even the episodic antagonists as in the Akuma who possess humans are fascinating to watch. Because they prey on human desires and manipulate those feelings a huge focus is put on exploring what these desires are. The big reveal at the end of each episode is always exciting not only because the mystery building up to it is intriguing but also because the thematic exploration is always on point. Im not going to talk about the last couple of episodes because they are worth going into blind and I just dont really want to spoil the ending in this review. However everything that AkumaKun 2023 builds up towards in the first 10 episodes is handled incredibly well. The ending does leave a lot to be desired and was definitely the worst part about this anime however to me it didnt ruin what it built up towards. The ambiguous ending somewhat implies therell be more to the story so Id love to see a second season some day. 350https://i.ur.com/mJ6R4RG.png 350https://i.ur.com/YQuCkye.png With that all being said themes and character writing aside I just love the overall writing of AkumaKun. Each episode is very entertaining as both the mysteries and sliceoflife moments are written very well. I especially love how the sliceoflife moments are intertwined with the main plot of most episodes. It was fun seeing MephistoIIIs home as he sat and discussed with his parents whats going on. Its adorable to see how much MephistoIII relies on his parents for support. Even the moments where Ichirou and his father were together. We get to see that despite Ichirou being resentful towards his father he still cares about him and what he tells him. These slower moments sprinkled through are much welcome as they help develop the characters away from all the crazy gruesome shit that goes on in each episode. Episode 10 is one of my favourite episodes for putting aside the detective conflicts and Akuma fights to focus entirely on the relationships between the characters which I really appreciate. I enjoy how AkumaKun 2023 handles these things more than Gegege no Kitarou for which Im currently watching the 2018 season as of writing this because it feels like Gegege puts way more focus on the battle scenes than character moments whereas in comparison AkumaKun 2023 has battle scenes that go by very quickly. Its why the episodes in Gegege 2018 with the least amount of fighting or none at all are some of the best. Thats one pet peeve I have with Mizukis adaptations and Im happy to say that AkumaKun does a great job of balancing its action scenes with the episodic mysteries and character moments. The episodic mysteries in AkumaKun 2023 are genuinely suspenseful and often subvert my expectations in a way that works well and as Ive said before it does a great job of intertwining the themes of the series with these mysteries. The overarching mysteries were also very interesting with antagonists I found myself genuinely fearful of and I was always excited to get to the next episode to see what happens. AkumaKun 2023 is an incredibly entertaining show thats supported by overall great writing and awesome characters. The music and sound design are worth mentioning too for a few reasons. The music does a great job of adding to the atmosphere and setting the mood in unique ways. Akio Izutsu was listed for creating the music and while I dont know much about him I can definitely say that hes a great musician and was able to create some very fitting pieces for AkumaKun. The sound design is equally great. One of my favourite moments in episode one was when Ichirou looked under a bed and found an Akuma under there. There was a pause on Ichirous face with the BGM continuing to play like normal in the background but as it cuts to the creepy Akuma the music suddenly cuts. This little detail made an already creepy scene even more disturbing as it helps take the audience by surprise when the creepy figure suddenly shows up on screen. Little details like the ominous whispering and creepy sound effects during the horror scenes work great at building tension and there was never a moment where I felt anything was out of place. Much like the art style the music fits the atmosphere of AkumaKun perfectly. I also liked the inclusion of the OG voice actors for Shingo and MephistoII returning in this adaptation. MephistoIII also shares the same voice actor and it feels like a treat for the fans because of how iconic his voice is. I also really like the voice actor for Ichirou he does a great job of portraying his personality with his monotone voice. 350https://i.ur.com/KwX8kvr.png 350https://i.ur.com/2qLq4Pi.png Im surprised Ive gone this far into the review without mentioning him which mind you required an extreme amount of restraint but you cant talk about AkumaKun without mentioning the prolific anime director and selfproclaimed Iyashikeiking dont quote me on that: Junichi Satou. Junichi Satou sat in the directors chair for the original 1989 adaptation of AkumaKun and reprised his role for this adaptation. Knowing he was working on this adaptation is what got me interested in it in the first place because Junichi has been somewhat on a roll recently when it comes to revisiting his older works. In 2020 we were blessed with Majo Minarai wo Sagashite a movie based off of the Ojamajo Doremi franchise which did an incredible job of revitalising the core themes of Ojamajo Doremi and building off of them to tell an incredibly touching tale. I feel similarly about this AkumaKun adaptation as it too calls back to the ideas explored in the original and builds off of them to create something special. One thing very noticeable about Junichis work is the thematic density and the staffs ability to tie many different ideas together. While a lot of what makes a Junichi anime great doesnt directly relate to him since the creation of anime is basically like a massive group project I believe Junichi does a fantastic job of keeping everyones ideas together. You can see this in a lot of his most recent works: Majo Minarai the new Aria movies and Hugtto Precure with AkumaKun being no different. Junichi Satou is a phenomenal director and Im super happy he worked on this. He deserves all the praise he gets. Conclusion/TLDR All in all AkumaKun 2023 is an amazing adaptation of the story utilising the themes and ideas established in the manga and original adaptation and expanding on them to create a very unique experience. Its gruesome portrayal of death is one that is utilised superbly and watching the episodic mysteries unfold is very entertaining. All the way from its gorgeous art style to its ability to intertwine these themes with its mysterious plot line I consider AkumaKun 2023 to be one of my favourite Mizuki adaptations. Great story and very entertaining characterization that constantly forces the viewers to question the animes morals. Considering this adaptation was conceived as a celebration of Shigeru Mizukis 100th birthday it feels like a celebration of the themes and ideas he explores in his work. Not only that but it also feels like a gift to the fans. AkumaKun is a great introduction to Mizukis works and I highly recommend watching it if youre interested. You can watch Gegege no Kitarou 2018 as its on Crunchyroll however to watch his other adaptations will require watching fansubs of which fortunately there are plenty out there for both Gegege no Kitarou and the original AkumaKun. Thank you so much for reading this review if youve made it this far and I hope you decide to give AkumaKun 2023 a try Or if youve already seen it and like it my recommendation is to watch Hakaba Kitarouhttps://anilist.co/review/22438 as it provides a similarly unnerving and gruesome experience. 700https://i.ur.com/8DW8izg.png