HIGH-RISE INVASION
I first saw the above image on Bloody Disgusting one day and discovered a new horror anime was coming to Netflix. After watching a trailer I was willing to give this a try. There isn't enough quality horror anime out there (or maybe I haven't seen enough of what's out there). I know there's a bunch of horror anime out there that I haven't seen, many that I should see, so I couldn't pass up a new opportunity.
Based off of a manga by the same name, High-Rise Invasion sees a group of random people waking from a strange sleep to find themselves trapped in a series of high-rise buildings. Trapped on the upper floors, they can't reach the bottom to escape. They can travel between buildings via suspension bridges from rooftop to rooftop. Stalking these rooftops are people in white masks, armed with an array of weapons, their sole purpose to kill or scare others into committing suicide.
Yuri wakes to find herself trapped in this horrifying parallel reality. Seeing a helicopter land on the roof, she races to the top floor to escape. Her phone rings and her brother is on the other line. He says he's trapped in this high-rise hell too. Yuri can't leave without her brother. With masked maniacs descending all around her, Yuri battles her way through this "kill or be killed" world.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
First off, the animation is beautiful. Forget that cheap-looking juvenile CGI animation from the Netflix GHOST IN THE SHELL or the gawd-aweful 2016 BERSERK series (we won't mention the hideous Netflix SHE-RA animation either). High-Rise Invasion even makes the quality animation of CASTLEVANIA look slightly anemic by comparison. The design and look of the show is very classic and straight forward, meaning there isn't a unique look or distinctive design. The animation here is timeless, not a current fad or a signature artistic style. This anime looks gorgeous now and it will look just as gorgeous 20 years from now. This is how Ghost In The Shell 2045 should've looked.
Blood and guts. This show is full of brutal scenes, blood, and violence, everything a growing boy needs. This show does a great job of building tension and coming up with creative ways to deal with situations. I'm not familiar with the manga this is based off of, but I was getting a "PURGE" vibe from the images and the trailer. There's a set of rules to this world too which also channel Purge esthetics. All of it works to create a fun and thrilling story.
What really makes the show stick are the characters. Yuri is fun, cute, charismatic, and badass all at once. She embodies some of the anime girl troupes that we're all familiar with, but then breaks that mold by becoming something else. She becomes a great hero for the show. Her brother Rika is also a cool and capable character that could easily lead this show on his own had he been cast as the lead. The supporting cast too is full of great characters like Mayuko, Sniper Mask, and Kuon. Then, of course, there are a scary cast of "Masks" who embody the core esthetics of 80's slashers. I love a good slasher flick, especially ones with unique masked killers, and High-Rise Invasion has those in spades.
If there is one thing I'd have to complain about it would be the short 12 episode season. I WANT MORE! An awful lot of story was packed into this small season, they could've even expanded quite a bit on everything here (which I would've loved to have seen), but if it would've resulted in a cheaper looking final product then they made the right choice. I guess if I want more I'll have to start reading the manga.
THE VERDICT
Beautiful and amazing animation coupled with an exciting, mostly fresh, story and some charismatic and likable characters, and you've got High-Rise Invasion. The horror elements brought me in and I stayed for the story and characters. And the tension when a Mask shows up never gets old. I couldn't get enough of this show. I had to pace myself while watching to make the enjoyment last. Instead of binge watching I decided to watch one episode a day. It was painful but it did prolong this excellent show a bit.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 3 out of 10 (it's almost as if there's not any nudity though as no vital bits actually show)
I eagerly await a second season, assuming it did well enough to have a second season commissioned.
For more of my thoughts on anime, check out these other posts below!
No comments:
Post a Comment