Occultic;Nine

beanwolf

I'm not really sure how to talk about this one without spoiling anything for you, but I'm going to give it my best shot. This show moves so fast that if you blink, you'll miss something story-critical and be confused for the next three episodes. Although it could have certainly used a couple more episodes so that it didn't feel like the show just did a line of cocaine before it started rolling, I don't think that the pacing really made THAT much of an impact on the content. It might be a detractor for those of you that aren't fast/peripheral subtitle readers, but for those of us that have no issue with series like Monogatari, this will be child's play. I'd even go as far as to say it's not the speed that makes this series a little "confusing" at points, but rather the way that the plot is presented. Flash-sideways, flashbacks, and the like are all employed to the point where keeping the different inter-weaving parts of the story straight can become a little difficult to some. That being said, I watched eighteen series this season and had no issue actively following this, so the effort required to get the full effect of the plot (which is honestly engaging and wraps up pretty well) is going to vary from watcher to watcher. If I could say anything to set you at ease about the speed/dialogue, it would be that Occultic;Nine dialogue kind of like an episode of Law and Order: characters are constantly moving while talking at an accelerated rate, even though their movement doesn't exactly add anything to the dialogue nine times out of ten, except that sometimes that movement is replaced by dutch angles instead. At the end of the day though, the plot was interesting enough to keep me on the hook every week, and the mystery and its resolution are legitimately intriguing. That's more than can be said for most anime mystery plots. Speaking of visuals, this one definitely had a stand-out art style and direction, employing this soft-line style that allows character designs to look incredibly consistent with their backgrounds while still keeping an insanely high level of detail in their character designs. A-1 Pictures is a master of character design when they want to stray from their "A-1 face" design templates, and this show proves yet again that they can be just as visually consistent and impressive as the most in-house studios when pressured to be. The character designs overall are very good, outside of our MC looking a tad generic in comparison and another HUGE issue that will be obvious to you immediately. There are multiple times when this show is animated "on-ones" (24 frames of animation for 24 frames-per-second video playback) to incredible effect. "Camera work" is another thing I would highlight with this show, as it frequently employs dutch angles and other framing techniques to keep the setting interesting and give you more opportunities to take in the lush background art. Voice acting was also pretty killer considering just how fast the dialogue can get at times, and although the music was pretty good I wouldn't be handing out out any awards to it. The visuals were the definitive draw here in the aesthetic department. If you are pretty fast with subtitles and are looking for a good mystery, give this one a look. One of the top five this season for sure and a definitive visual treat.

dorotheian

For people who enjoy listening to Japanese seiyuus talk as fast or faster than the protagonist of _Tatami Galaxy_, cramming as much information as possible into their rapid-fire speeches, have fun—and good luck. If you like _Another_ or _Boogiepop Phantom wa Warawanai_ or _Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World,_ you may also enjoy this series. The setting for this anime is the lovingly animated __Kichijoji__, a real neighborhood in Tokyo filled with temples and shrines, and the peculiar nature of that neighborhood and the painstakingly detailed depiction of it is part of the appeal of watching it. Because of the heavy content, I would say this anime is not for the faint of heart - though I would not call it overly suspenseful per se. It has elements of horror, but morbid curiosity is the factor that will inexorably draw you, the viewer, and the characters deeper and deeper into the story. From the beginning the anime presents compelling impossibilities and mysteries you do not yet have the clues to solve. Throughout, it is...disturbingly imaginative. The main character is am agnostic high-schooler who rushes to write summaries of alleged occult happenings on his cheap blog for clicks and popularity. He is neither open nor closed to the supernatural until the supernatural intrudes on his life and he steps straight into the scene of a gruesome murder and follows the instructions of an unknown voice seemingly contacting him through radio waves. As events go on, it becomes increasingly clear that nothing is really as it seems. You should be aware that the content is disturbingly violent in many places. The title itself should tell you that yes, the occult is involved, but that will not necessarily warn you of some other related concepts: an underage serial killer with a strange box, a quasi-New Religion conspiracy, mass hypnotism, a barrage of occult and pseudo-science, fortune-telling, witchcraft, uncertain states of death, and uncomfortably large boobs (though to the animators’ credit, they are not oversexualized beyond their extraordinary size and one obligatory Marshmallow Hell gag). _Occultic;Nine_ does end rather abruptly. The climax is narratively satisfying, but it does not concretely answer questions about the fate of certain characters. It left me with a somewhat uneasy, unfinished feeling. The plot and the characters are handled quickly and lightly without too much depth, but for a short anime with so many characters it does just enough without becoming unbalanced. The ending song, “Open your eyes” by Asaka, is one of the most beautiful I heard among the anime that I watched in 2017.

Magicfist

(Pros/Cons at the end if you don't wanna see me ramble) Occultic;Nine is an anime that felt like wasted potential to me. Making a highly science fiction show (more over-the-top than the sci-fi Steins;Gate) with a somewhat hard to grasp plot AND the bombardment of characters introduced in the first episode that is on par with Durarara!! only 12 episodes long seems very unfair. Had this been 24 episodes long, this anime would've easily been a 10 for me. Story: The story of Occultic;Nine seems very good on pen and paper, however, the execution was extremely poor due to incredibly fast pacing as well as trying to fit a vast amount of characters. The theories of "ghosts" are quite unique and interesting, and is able to make the audience (certainly me at least), be able to nod in agreement at whatever madness is ensuing. But the problem of 12 episodes reveals itself again, with some highly over-the-top supernatural phenomenons that are barely explained happening on screen (VERY PREVALENT IN THE FINALE). Art: What caught my eye in this anime was the animation. It looked very pleasing to me, especially the art style and the background colours. Albeit, the quick camera angle changes can get annoying, but the anime was try to not make the explanations and theories boring by giving the viewers an "easy on the eye" artwork. Personally, this anime has one of the best eye-candy animation I've ever seen. Sound: The soundtrack as well VA and SFX in general are great. Absolutely no complaints except for the fast-pace of speaking. Music and SFX always fits the tension and atmosphere of the environment, and really enhances your sense and focus of what's happening. Character: One of it's biggest weaknesses so far is the characters. 12 episodes is nowhere near enough to fit in all of the characters involvement, story and development in this anime. Some characters were outright done dirty and had barely enough screen time for their purpose in the anime. This made some characters' roles feel very minuscule in the overall plot of the anime. Enjoyment: I enjoyed it. I really did. No matter how many negative reviews I've seen for it, I've always felt that this anime is good. I'm not sure if I'm too generous and my standards are too low, but I really. Enjoyed. This. Anime. Pros: - Animation and Art are eye-candy. - Plot is very fun to explore. - Music is good. - Fun twist. Cons: - Extremely fast pacing. - Too condensed (12 episodes). - Not enough character build/exploration. - Minor unexplained concept/scientific issues. El Psy Congroo.

SuperVak

~~~Born probably from Chiyo's unreasonable lust for animation, Occultic;Nine's anime adaptation is in an extremely weird spot. The source material will likely never be finished, and since the cancellation of the manga, lackluster release of the visual novel, and cancellation of the canon-ifying "Occultic;Nine New World" a few days ago, that makes this anime the most complete rendition of the O;N story. I've always really liked the concept of O;N, especially within the context of SciADV (the series it's a part of. You know, the one with Steins;Gate?). Tackling occult ideas by attributing fringe science to them sounds like a really really cool premise for a story. It's unfortunate, then, that it's such a broad idea, since this anime tells its story at lightning speed in a mere 12 episodes, with barely any time to actually... explain anything. #__Occultic;Nine is a mildly fun time for fans of scifi thrillers, but one that falls apart entirely if you even begin to think about it.__~~~

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>This is a new world, unlike any other. ~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/Oo-F6T2zz00AAAAC/occultic-nine-ryoka-narusawa.gif)~~~

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__Plot:__ 2/10 If you were to watch this show and manage to mindlessly consume it, and with precisely zero knowledge of SciADV's other entries, Steins;Gate included, you MIGHT be able to convince yourself this plot is good. Unfortunately, knowing this show exists without having seen Steins;Gate is about as possible as surviving without oxygen for 10 minutes, and due to how ridiculously fast it goes even the most veteran subtitle readers like myself will have to rewind a couple times, making mindless consumption even less of an option. The fringe science concepts presented in Occultic;Nine really are cool on paper, and it gets points for that much, but the show's frantic attempts at justifying and explaining them in the very little time it has to do so are so pathetic and ineffective that by the end it's already stopped trying. Mutual recognition, idiot! The story goes off in absolutely insane directions that don't really feel all too justified or well thought out, which of course, is a result of its 12 episode runtime and the sheer absurdity of what it's trying to pull. A lot of its twists are just worse versions of twists that were already written in other entries of SciADV, and the ones that aren't are just literal nonsense. By the end of the show there are genuinely more loose ends than there were interesting mysteries to begin with.

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>Don't look at it with your eyes. Don't listen to it with your ears. You have only your hands to feel it all. ~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/yWVIOwocbVsAAAAC/typing-occultic-nine.gif)~~~

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__Themes:__ 5/10 Occultic;Nine does somehow have something to say. There is always something you can do. Even if you're the NEET God, wasting away your days running a dumb online blog, it's never too late to change, and that doesn't mean you're of no use to anyone. __Spoilers for Episodes 7-10:__ ~!The turning point of the series sees most of our main cast discovering that they died without knowing it, and Yuta falls into a slump thinking that now that he's dead there's nothing he can do. But even in such an extreme situation, the story continues.!~ It's an... ok message, I suppose. I do generally agree with it in concept. But the story doesn't really deliver it in a very powerful way, and more importantly, fumbles it toward the end by making Yuta somehow "special" without explaining how or why.

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>What can you do to promote world peace? ~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/75LgDG6hsEkAAAAC/ryoka-narusawa.gif)~~~

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__Characters:__ 3/10 The cast is more misses than hits. The highlight has gotta be Sarai, a scientific purist who resents his father's interest in occult topics. He has the most well defined arc of all of the characters, but even then, is just a worse version of Subaru from Robotics;Notes. Aria and Kiryu's roles in the story feel particularly detached and contrived, Sumikaze is nothing, Ririka is a walking representation of O;N's incomplete-ness, Moritsuka is mildly fun but ultimately not deep, Asuna is nothing, Miyuu is nothing, Ryoka is a walking representation of how stupid the story is, and that leaves us with Yuta. I actually... kind of like him, at least. Yuta is a particularly passive protagonist, which makes sense considering the themes of the story. He wants to be a hero and make lots of money, but he has a habit of ignoring information and responsibilities he doesn't agree with. That makes it all the more difficult for him to face reality when he gets wrapped up in the conspiracy at large, and his struggle with learning to take action is... actually pretty believable. I am also a big fan of the character designs, Yuta especially.

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~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/aoo9QmgMiCUAAAAC/occultic-nine-ryoka-narusawa.gif)~~~

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__Visuals/Sound/Direction:__ 8/10 Shockingly, the most quality aspects of the show are these. The show is usually visually pleasant, with an art style that kind of reminds me of Mushoku Tensei? Albeit not that good, obviously. The animation is usually fluid and well done, though there are lapses every so often. The soundtrack rocks, particularly the Opening _(The Holy Three, Squared)_ and Ending _(Open Your Eyes)_ themes. It's also got the fun little quirk of being ridiculously fast paced and difficult to keep up with. While this was obviously done to fit all of the content into 12 episodes, which was definitely not for the best, I can't deny that it gives the show a distinct and not necessarily bad flavor. Contributing to this is the directorial style that isn't all that far detached from something like Monogatari, with strange and unique shot compositions that throw you for a loop. The only aspect of this I wouldn't say is good is the sound design, which lacks the oomph it would have needed for this aspect of the show to be perfect.

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__Conclusion__ While Occultic;Nine is a fun little distraction of an anime I can't in good faith call it quality. If given enough budget to be a 24 episode series that takes the time to explain its concepts and flesh out its characters a bit more it could have at least been passable, but in its current state it just barely misses the mark. A blemish on SciADV's otherwise excellent track record.

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~~~SciADV reading order: Chaos;Head Noah -> Steins;Gate -> Robotics;Notes Elite -> Chaos;Child -> Steins;Gate 0 -> Anonymous;Code~~~