Natsume’s Book of Friends: Humans and Yokai
Another anime that uses Japanese lore in a different perspective is Natsume’s Book of Friends. The main character, Takashi Natsume, is able to see the yokai that follows him around all day. One day he finds a “Book of Friends” containing the names of yokai that his dead grandmother, Reiko, had defeated. Being her descendant, Natsume also has this ability, which is why the yokai keep chasing after him in the hopes of getting their name back. However he is protected by a spirit known as Madara, Natsume decides to return the names to the yokai they were stolen from. Natsume’s Book of Friends is a story about the bonds between the humans and the yokai. With each episode, Natsume encounters different yokai with different purposes and stories. As he learns more about the world of yokai, his bond with them deepens.
ID: Invaded: Minds of Murderers and Criminals
ID: Invaded is a futuristic anime that delves into the consequences of using a different system for law enforcement. The Mizuhanome System allows detectives to enter a digital world that is a representation of a criminal's mind. These detectives are tasked to uncover these criminal's identities by entering a psychological plane, however, the people who enter these worlds must have killed someone prior entering the plane. Akihito Narihisago is former detective who has killed someone in his past. Even in movies and tv shows, we the audience are always intrigued by the criminal. We want to understand their motives and their way of thinking. ID: Invaded creates a twist of this as Akihito tries to understand these twisted minds of these criminals within the digital worlds. Where do you draw the line between good and evil?
Death Parade: What Happens When You Have Nothing To Lose?
In Death Parade, Quindecim is a special bar that is often visited by a figure known as Decim. The thing that makes this bar so special is that certain souls are sent there for judgment if they die together. Decim will invite these lost souls to play a game with their very souls on the line. As their true nature becomes unraveled through the games, Decim will make a call, either a soul gets sent to reincarnate or go into the void being lost forever, never to be seen again. In the story, a girl with amnesia starts to challenge Decim’s rulings. With nothing left to loose, she takes a gamble to test her reach. Death Parade is set within the realm between life and death. It provides the viewers the questions of what would happen if humans are no longer had the restricted to their mortal lives. What would their true nature be?
Psycho-Pass: The Dark Side of Human Nature
In the distant future, criminals are no longer taken after they commit a crime, but before the crime is even committed. Through the Sibyl System, Inspectors can now arrest citizens based on their Psycho-Pass, which is a score shows signs of criminal intentions. Working alongside the Inspectors are the Enforcers who have become latent criminals due to their high Psycho-Pass score. This anime takes a look into the idea of how pure justice really is and the consequences of using a flawed system to arrest innocent civilians. The audience looks into this world through the eyes of young Inspector Akane Tsunemori with a strong sense of justice, Psycho-Pass warns the audience of what happens when relying on an easily flawed system that only strives to prolong the inevitable and not fix the real problem.
