Flowers of Evil

Tweekums

On the surface to plot to this series is very simple; protagonist Takao Kasuga is a schoolboy with a crush on classmate Nanako Saeki; one day after school he steals her gym kit… he decides to return it but he is too late; everybody knows it has been stolen and they believe some pervert took it. Took make matters worse Sawa Nakamura, a girl with no friends and a propensity to cause trouble saw him take the clothes. From that moment on Takao's world starts to change as Nakamura threatens to expose him if she doesn't do as he says… she believes that he is a pervert and she intends to make him accept that fact and even rejoice in it.

This is one of the most distinctive anime series I've seen; the rotoscoped animation may not be to everybody's taste but I felt it added to the sense of creepiness as did the unsettling music used in the series. Another thing that added to the suspense was the slow pace; at one point half an episode is taken by Takao just walking through the somewhat rundown town; this could have been incredibly boring but instead managed to raise the tension while we waited to discover the consequences of his actions in the previous episode.

The story was believable with characters that didn't feel too exaggerated; even Nakamura, who is probable psychotic, didn't become an over the top stereotype. There is no real violence but at times it feels as though there could be at any moment. Takao was an interesting protagonist; outwardly a good if somewhat quiet student but inwardly tormented by feeling he didn't understand.

I would definitely recommend this to anybody looking for something rather different although it is definitely a 'Marmite' series… people will either love it or hate it! The final episode doesn't wrap up the story but strongly hints of more to come; I certainly hope enough people enjoyed it to warrant another series as I was left wanting more.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

score 10/10

Tweekums 9 July 2013

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2828202/