Looking for some suitable material for Halloween? Tired of watching your typical action/shoujo/ecchi comedy anime series? Enjoyed reading Hamlet? Then collect yourself a Hundred Stories and spend a dark, stormy evening with them.
Hundred Stories is about a writer named Momosuke who decides to quit working on children's riddles and compile a list of one hundred stories dealing with urban legends and myths. While walking through the mountains on a rainy, misty night, he encounters three shady characters - a long-legged, burly-shouldered, grinning man named Nagamimi, a seductively beautiful woman named Ogin, and a small monk named Mataichi who sells paper charms (and probably got fashion tips from Piccolo from DBZ). This odd trio roams the land in search of strange supernatural events, and fortunately (or unfortunately) the writer, in search of material for his book, always manages to cross paths with them. Eventually, he tags along for the ride, and this band of four set off to investigate supernatural events and find the truth behind them.
The term "supernatural events" doesn't convey anything about the horror or the disturbing nature of the scenes you'll see throughout this 13-episode series. The material is creepy. The BGM is creepy. Even the character designs are creepy - all the background people are exaggerated, with limbs and heads of all sorts of proportions. But Hundred Stories puts all this together and creates a stylistic masterpiece. The OP and ED songs are jazzy, and while jazz and horror normally don't go hand in hand, the mix in itself adds to the unusualness of the series as a whole. The backgrounds are drawn and illustrated in a traditional style to remain consistent with the setting and time period of the story. The narrating style varies from long, prolonged discussions to multiple, rapid scene changes that will keep you on your toes.
Throughout each episode, I can honestly say that you will have no clue about what the true crime is until the very end. While this can sometimes result from additional outside information, there are times when everything suddenly clicks once viewed from a different perspective. And when I said that everything suddenly clicks, I mean everything. With the exception of one episode (which I'll have to watch again), each crime is fully explained.
While Hundred Stories incorporates supernatural elements, such as historical curses and wandering spirits, it ultimately explores the darkness of mankind. With Nagamimi as a shapeshifter, Ogin as a puppeteer, and Mataichi as the leader and arbiter, the trio (and eventually, the quartet) set up scenes that, in a tribute to Hamlet, bring ancient crimes to light. And I'm glad to say that Hundred Stories isn't simply a bunch of horror stories thrown together. A plot begins to develop as the writer gets himself more and more involved with the enigmatic trio. Can he give up his world of light to live in theirs? Can he come to terms with the fact that, in the end, Mataichi and his gang are nothing but murderers? And who is their mysterious employer?
The only complaint I have with this series is with Momosuke's character. At times, he seems incredibly naive, going against Mataichi's judgment and helping out the criminal. But then you have Momosuke playing an integral role in the trio's setup. My complaint isn't Momosuke's switch from former to the latter, but the fact that he goes back and forth between the two.
Hundred Stories proves that you don't have to be mainstream to come up with a hit. Anyone with an eye for style and surrealistic art (as well as the stomach to handle disturbing material) should check this series out.
