Aoi Bungaku Series | First Impressions

The next new series to grace my presence is Madhouse's Aoi Bungaku Series (Blue Literature Series). After last year's Mōryō no Hako (Box of Goblins), it is great to see Madhouse adapting more literary works. This time though, they are adapting six separate works by four different authors. Different staffs are adapting each story, and in addition, three Shonen Jump artists are designing the characters. Takeshi Obata (Death Note, Hikaru no Go) is designing for two stories; Tite Kubo (Bleach) is designing for three stories; and Takeshi Konomi (The Prince of Tennis) will be designing for one story.

The first story to be adapted is Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, and the character designs are by Obata. If anyone is interested, the English version of the original novel may be purchased here.

Who am I? And why do I look like Light Yagami?

I haven't read the original novel (though I think I soon will), so I cannot comment on the quality of the adaption itself, but I can say that I found the first episode to be very interesting. No Longer Human is also getting the most screen time (four episodes) out of all of the stories to be adapted, so that has to be a good sign.

The protagonist of the story is Ōba Yōzō (voiced by Masato Sakai), is a young man who feels alienated from his fellow human beings but has learned to hide his deep sense of dread under a façade. He has felt like this ever since childhood due to his strained relationship with his father, amongst other things. He meets a woman who harbors similar feelings to his own and they agree to commit double suicide. However, things don't go exactly as planned.

That is a LOT of Bloody Mary right there.
You sure you'll be able to drink all that, Yōzō?

This seems to be Madhouse's highest profile product this season, evidenced by the fact that this is their best-looking series this season. The art direction is dark and gritty, but this is highly appropriate given the dark tone of the original work. Plus, dark series like this are Madhouse's forte, so of course they know how to do this right. The animation is above average too, though not nearly on the level of Production I.G's stunning Kimi ni Todoke. In short, the series looks great so far in this opening arc.

Madhouse's anthology Blue Literature Series is off to a very strong start. The No Longer Human arc has definitely piqued my interest, and hopefully the remainder of the stories to be adapted will be just as great, if not better. Looking forward to the segment directed by Tetsuro Araki (Death Note anime, Kurozuka), and also the segment directed by Ryosuke Nakamura (Mōryō no Hako).

Looks like Yōzō has accepted the fact
that he is Light Yagami's previous life.