Broadcast season: Summer 2024
Number of episodes: 20
Viewed on: Crunchyroll
Translator: ?
Genre: Supernatural, Drama, Mystery
Thoughts: After years of begging Studio Pierrot to make a second installment of Yona of the Dawn, the studio has rewarded us beggars with Yatagarasu. The most surprising thing? I'm not complaining.
Yatagarasu is a film adaptation of a series of novels about a supernatural society of “yatagarasu” – creatures that can transform between human and giant crow forms. After centuries of peaceful rule, a golden yatagarasu was born and brought on a mission to bring about change and save their society from an unknown threat. The problem is that he is the second prince, causing a succession crisis. Amid political chaos, Yukiya, the rebellious and protective second son of a small village leader, is forced to serve the mysterious golden prince Yatagarasu, and his peaceful small village life is changed. change strongly.
Yatagarsu gives me everything I love in stories: historical society, connections to mythology, and tense political intrigue. Making me dislike this type of anime means its production values are trash, its stories are meaningless, or its characters are incapable of being liked. Of these three products, production value is most at risk due to a general decline in quality due to industry issues. However, Yatagarasu successfully avoided all three.
Yukiya
The two-part series features two separate stories, with two separate mysteries for each part. I don't want to spoil the plot of either trial, so I won't go into too much detail for this review. What I will say is that the pace and atmosphere were fantastic. We learn something new in each episode without giving away too much of the mystery, and this is quickly becoming a series that I can easily discuss with other viewers each week to theorize about the plot. their crimes, motives, and ultimate goals. Every character in the series is complex and, by extension, suspicious, making the reveal of the main villains of both series extremely satisfying.
I admire how Yukiya and the heir prince, often referred to as Young Master (“Young Master Wakamiya”) instead of his own name, developed a relationship. I have to admit, at first I was afraid that this would be a series with a romantic tone between the very young Yukiya and the grown prince as stories like this often are. However, their friendship and eventually brotherhood develops in a completely platonic and believable way. Their personalities are quite opposite—Wakamiya is calm and often confusing, while Yukiya is rude and honest—but their common similarities are their wisdom, their position as second sons, and the political conflicts caused by they were born to quickly solidify their tacit understanding of each other.
Attractive supporting characters
The supporting characters are just as intriguing with their own quirks, motivations, and secrets. This is especially important because most of the mystery revolves around the side characters, so without their nuances, the mysteries wouldn't be the same. I also like that these two mysteries are completely different. The first part takes place at the royal palace, while the second part takes place in the larger yatagarasu world.
When it comes to the yatagarasu society, while a supernatural world, it harkens back to the Heian period, and this is where I have to talk about the character design. The character's costumes are simultaneously historically accurate to the period of Japanese history upon which the society is based, while also being fantastical enough to make sense in the world. My favorite element is that all the yatagarasu wear a specific black kimono if they want to transform into their crow form. In fact, clothes play an important role in the plot and it's this attention to detail that I love to see in a story.
Clothes and colors are very important
Because the story is more grounded, there is no need for overwhelming animation, just beautiful shots and visual direction. Yatagarasu offers a lot of that through its lighting, landscape, and colors. My favorite scene comes in the penultimate episode of the first trial, where the culprit is exposed. As the main characters gradually reveal evidence against the perpetrator, the colors become increasingly dimmer and redder. By the time the culprit started making excuses, the entire world was engulfed in blood red and the darkness stretched like a monster. This is the kind of storytelling that the visual medium provides that the written medium cannot, and it's proof that when translating this story from book to anime, the team considered how to best exploit the dialogue. dialogue of characters through visual means..
From both an objective and subjective perspective, Yatagarasu is one of the best anime I've seen this year. Best of all, it still has a lot to give. The second season elevates the importance of the character's world and expands it in a way I've never seen before. The ending wrapped up the storyline, but because of all the new questions I had about its world-building, the final episode left me screaming for more. Studio Pierrot made me fall in love with Yona of the Dawn. I begged them, please, don't let me hang Yatagarasu anymore.
Rating
Plot: 8 (Multiplier 3)
Characters: 8 (Multiplier) 3)
Art/Animation: 7.5 (Coefficient 2)
Voice acting: 8
Soundtrack: 7
FINAL SCORE: 78
