Kyousogiga

Kyousogiga is a 10 episode comedic fantasy action series that originated with a few online episodes.  The series, an original creation by the staff of Toei Animation, was picked up and aired on Japanese TV in the fall of 2013.

    Long ago a lone priest named Myoue had the ability to make drawings come to life.  This ability caused him to be shunned in Kyoto so he moved to the mountains to live his life in peace.  One of his creations, a black rabbit names Koto, fell in love with him and struck a deal with a buddha in order to have a physical body to make Myoue fall in love with her.  Eventually she wins over his heart and they adopt an orphan as their son.  Myoue also creates a brother and a sister for the boy.  Soon though they decide to move from the world and live in a city created by the priest, The Mirror Capitol, where nothing can be destroyed or die.  Their happiness doesn't last as Koto remembers that she has to return her body to the buddha she borrowed it from.  She and Myoue leave the city and their children.   Centuries later, the city and the children have grown and all three are awaiting the return of their parents.  Life comes to an abrupt change when a mischievous young girl named Koto arrives with a magical hammer.  She begins destroying their paradise/prison which confuses them as nothing can be lost in the city.  Her arrival appears to signal a change and possibly an end for everyone.

    This is a pretty entertaining series.  It’s really great to find something original and fun like this.  It brings a glimmer of hope back to the landscape of anime.  The story is fun, the characters are pretty memorable and the ending does not disappoint.  I really can’t find much wrong with it.  There were things in the series that reminded me of other anime.  Most particularly some of the character designs reminded me of something out of Tenchi Muyo.  It also reminded me a lot of FLCL.  The real story takes place over 10 episodes; there is 1 episode that is outside of the main story, 1 review episode and 1 live action episode where the voice cast tours Kyoto.  The series deals in some pretty heavy Buddhist imagery, only some of which I understood.  The real theme of the story is about finding ones place in the world.  Fans of FLCL, Samurai Champloo and Tenchi Muyo can easily enjoy this quick series.

    It is available on Crunchyroll and there is no word yet on anyone picking it up in North America for DVD release.