Devils Paradise (Episodes 1-6) - I May Be in the Minority on This One

Summary -

In order to find the Elixer of Immortality, the Shogun is willing to pardon one criminal who can recover it. Our lead character, Gabimaru the Hollow, just wants to get the pardon so he can live a normal life with his wife away from the Shinobi world. Each criminal is assigned a member of the Yamada clan to keep watch over them during the journey.

Criminals are selected because the Island they are traveling to is very dangerous and full of threats that the Shogun can't begin to understand. So far each expedition sent has yet to return. There is conflict both amongst the criminals on the Island as well as the strange monsters that inhabit the land.

The animation is amazing, visuals are hit and miss -

Animated by Mappa, it's no wonder the animation of the show is this good. I feel like at this point they have such a good reputation for great animation I can just say 'Done by Mappa' and move on. And so I will. Instead, I'll talk about the actual visual design.

In some ways, I think the visuals are really interesting and imaginative. There is a weird mix of insects with human faces, all the way to monstrous forms of Buddhist and Taoist statues as twisted monsters. Some of these look appropriately out of place and horrifying against the lush forest landscape the show takes place. On the other hand, some of the imagery just looks goofy as shit. Seeing a giant with arms coming out of his eyes looking like they are demanding you stop where you are doesn't look horrifying to me. It's a similar issue I had with Attack on Titan, the giant monstrosity rocking the long-haired bald guy look is not scary, it's goofy.

The show is back and forth on this for me. And it ends up on the goofy-looking side enough in these first few episodes that I can't get myself invested in the horror the show is trying to convey. As great as the animation is, it's not going to matter if you are put off by the imagery like I am.

Backstories feel rushed and at times unnecessary -

So many characters get some backstory done via flashback as they are introduced, or in the case of the giant just after his death. The problem is these backstories both feel like they take a fair bit of an episode, while at the same time barely giving you reason to care. It feels like you are just being told why you should care about said criminals, and not shown why.

And at times with the giant, this is not only true but happens after his death. Meaning not only do I still not care about him as a character or feel bad for him, but now I feel like it's just padding out episode length with some pointless filler.

Overall -

I don't have as many points to make as usual, because six episodes in all we have is the show trying to establish the cast and not focusing too much on the building story. The problem is I think it does a poor job of establishing its characters, so after six episodes I just don't care enough to keep watching. The visuals are too hit and miss to be a big draw for me, despite some wonderful animation. It's not really a bad show, just not a very interesting one.