It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Drama
Review Status: Full (12 Episodes/ 12 Episodes)
Licensed: Unlicensed in the US, licensed in France
Art: Not too bad. It may look a little rough, but the animation is smooth and it looks NOTHING like the OP (thank goodness!). It’s full of bright, saturated colors. In short- it looks good.
Summary: Based on a series of light novels, Kure-nai is about the adventures and misadventures of 16-year-old Kurenai Shinkurou. Shinkurou is an authority in settling disputes between people, and finds his life turned upside down one day when he is assigned as a bodyguard for Kuhouin Murasaki, the daughter of a powerful plutocratic family. (from ANN.com)
Review: I have to say, this was nothing if not interesting. Girl is stolen from her ‘family’ on the wishes of her dead mother, dumped on a teenager who knows nothing about taking care of kids and yet is expected to expand her view of the world and be her bodyguard? Sounds…. Somewhat familiar. And it isn’t done badly.
I mean, you do have to have a suspension of disbelief to accept most of what goes on – Shinkurou is apparently a budding Yakuza (or something like that- we’re never really given any clarification) who at 16 is getting to be pretty good at what he does. Whatever that is- we see him taking care of a lot of punks, but not a whole lot more. What gets me is his ‘Horn’, a magical weapon that really had no place in the story and could have been left entirely out of the plot, as it serves absolutely no purpose.
Murasaki, though, is absolutely adorable. Taken from an upper-class home and family, she behaves like many other spoiled children do: not knowing how to thank others, open packages from the convenience store to feed herself, or clean up after herself. She herself is completely believable, and though is at first annoying because she’s a bit of a brat, quickly learns that she can’t behave the same way that she did in her home.
The situation itself, though, is highly questionable. Since the person who stole Murasaki was only given directions to let her see the world, she decided to dump the girl in the heart of the family’s territory. They don’t bother to change her name, take her to a different part of the country- nothing! So you just know it’s a matter of time until they find her.
How Murasaki is treated while she’s with Shinkurou is pretty believable, though would probably shock some. But the thing is, there are worse people out there- at least she’s surrounded by people who care for her well-being. They may not be the best foster parents in the world, but who is?
But then you get to the end- and woah. It’s just not right. How they find Murasaki, what happens with her family, even her family situation… it’s totally messed up! There’s unsound biology and outright stupidity on everyone’s part, and I was disgusted by it all. What had started as a cute little anime turned into a train wreck of morals and emotions.
Overall, I’d say watch the first seven episodes, then leave happy.
Recommended: Only if you’re into depressing endings. This also isn’t the most kid-friendly of titles out there, so 14 and over.
Other anime you might like instead:
Baby and Me (manga),
Fruits Basket (manga),
Kiki's Delivery Service (anime),
Kaleido Star (anime),
Aishiteruze Baby (manga and anime)
Bunny Drop (manga)
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