Ajin - Overall and Episode One Review

Hi everyone, Otakura-chan here!

*Volume One book cover Image from Wikipedia*

After some time deliberating what my first anime related post should be, I thought I would start on a not very talked about TV series. Ajin. Originally a Seinen manga written and illustrated by Gamon Sakurai called Ajin: Demi-Human. And adapted into a CG animated series by POLYGON PICTURES (producers of 'Knights of Sidonia').

The overall plot consists of protagonist Kei Nagai (Voiced by Mamoru Miyano) a Japanese high school student who is killed in a traffic accident, soon discovering that he is an 'Immortal' or commonly known as 'Ajin'. Kei becomes a wanted person by the Government, and the only person supporting Kei is his childhood friend Kaito. Because Ajin are considered inhuman and dangerous beings, they are used as test subjects for horrific human experimentation, leaving those that have escaped their torture to plot their revenge.

After hearing the plot of Ajin, I became slightly apprehensive at starting the series not only due to the difference in art style to typical anime, but from reading a synopsis online I assumed it would have a similar premise to Tokyo Ghoul - where the protagonist is both human and some other dangerous being and seeing their tragic struggle as they believe that they don't belong in either of those worlds - I don't like to compare anime myself, even if their is a subtle similarity between the series, they are both completely different, as in Ajin the protagonist seems to have a mundain existence and quickly accepts his immortal side, and his overall persona doesn't change as it is implied that Kei has an antisocial personality disorder.

And from looking at the art style of the series, I believe it does the anime justice by making the characters specifically the Ajin look less 'cartoony' therefore heightening the sense of a supernatural and dark nature within the series, now I'm not saying that normal animation isn't good enough, I just think it could make or break this series if the main focus point looked too 'cartoony', also with the use of CG animation this makes the series stand out from the 'norm' of anime.

So after reading the synopsis also listening to the opening song "Yoru wa Nemureru kai?" otherwise known as "Do you sleep?" by Flumpool (to which I have banged my head to the rocking tune many a time!) I dove right into Episode One "What's that stuff have to do with us?" also known as "Bokura ni wa Kankeinai Hanashi".  Episode One acts as a prologue for the series to kick start into action, by starting in Africa where many locals are killed by a single western soldier who doesn't seem to die after being shot multiple times, only to be stopped by tranquilizers, from U.S troops.
After this we are moved to follow the narrative of Kei who meets his demise in a traffic accident, however being revived due to his Ajin nature, and here we see the first sign of human nature as Kei's school mates and bystanders quickly turn against Kei, as it is referenced earlier in the episode that a reward is given if anyone brings in or has information of an Ajin, this leads Kei to run for his life only depending on his childhood friend Kaito, who surprisingly accepts Kei's newly found Ajin identity.

From watching Episode One I immediately had high standards that were indeed met, and I highly recommend this series to anyone who is interested in elements of the supernatural and the conflicting view of humanity within this animated series.

Thanks for reading this review and I hope it has make it easier for you to know about this series in some detail, and comment down below your favourite supernatural anime/manga or your favourite moments in the Ajin series!


*I do not own the image or the referenced series, but the written content is my own.*
ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE RESPECTED CREATORS.