(Not really the title screen, there isn't an OP, but this is the title of the individual arc)


Aoi Bungaku was not originally on my list of animes I was going to follow this season, and I can't figure out why. The day I discovered it, I went nuts - it looked dark, detailed, and deep. And I got really really excited about it. The episode aired 9 days ago, and I patiently sat around waiting for subs from a group from their RSS feed. And in the end, I ended up finding it on some site, hardsubbed as an avi. Quite disappointing. But I will do my best to convey this anime even with the subs.




This is UMC.

Set in what seems to be around WWII, UMC is going to be part of a revolution against the government. The ecomony and, well, life in general is going to shit. One thing I really really like about this anime is the art style, as it really portrays this depressing situation very well. Instead of blue, we get black. Instead of red, we get brown. Everything is in a shade of some neutral color, and in the rare case that we do get something that's supposed to be bright and flashy, it's instead painted dull. During flashbacks, things are a dull yellow. It just... fits.




She's a prostitute whose husband left her.

There's really not much to say about this series. It's dark. It's depressing. The anime as a whole is covering 6 literary works, so it's not going to all flow all nice between episodes, and giving away the plot of this episode is probably giving away the plot of the entire first arc, as it's probably going to be like... two episodes.




Symbolism is all over the place, too. Nice touch.


Art is awesome, music is so-so, plot is slow and not very engaging. Ending montage was MADE OF WIN. I also loved dialogue awesomeness like this:
UMC: I'm ashamed.
Prostitute: Of what?
UMC: For being alive.
Prostitute: Me too.


Rating: 8/10, room for improvement throughout the arcs, as they'll be pretty separate.


-calidynd


Fucked with by Halo



Mamiko Noto: no