Something Trippy this Way Comes: 18if

Double, double, toil and bubble ladies and gentlemen!  Cause this week, I’ve got a new anime review on an actual anime.  This week I decided to look at a fairly new show that had been on my watchlist for a while.  Granted, of the newer shows that came out earlier this year, there were others that would have been more appropriate to review.  But this time I wanted to review a show that was horror or supernatural that didn’t have vampires.  So sit back and relax, and hope you enjoy witches as I do this week’s review on 18if.

Haruto Tsukishiro is a teenage boy trapped in a world of dreams.  While in this world, he later meets a professor named Katsumi Kanzaki, who has been researching the dream world for quite some time.  The two combat witches-girls suffering from Sleeping Beauty syndrome in the real- in hopes of waking them up and gaining further information about the dream world.  The pair also learns more about a mysterious girl in this world named Lilly.

When I first saw the poster for this show, I expected a lot of good things from this show.  Well, I got some good things from this show.  Overall, though, I give 18if a 6.5 out of 10.  Yeah, I was a little confused as to what was going on.  But on the upside, the visuals were pretty cool, even though they do tend to be a little trippy sometimes.  And of course, I do love how episodic the series is.  Then again, I didn’t get too far.  While having a complete story arch span over an entire season, I feel that episodic approach tends to keep my attention more.  The problems are stated and solved within the episode, which make them quick and easy watches.  This show also had a neat idea with each episode having some sort of theme.  For instance, the first episode was techno while the second episode took on a complete horror theme, though this probably constitutes the show’s concept surrounding dreams.

Still, like I said, I was confused.  Though the show’s overall concept was really cool, it was just too confusing.  So much so that I pretty much just stopped watching  (Yeah.  That’s doesn’t happen very often on purpose).  I felt like there was so much left in the dark that it was so hard to really grasp what was going on.  Keeping some of those details quiet is fine, but only if you can give the audience an idea of what they can expect, and that’s what this show lacked in a lot of respects.  Still, I can’t say that much more because it left a sour taste in my mouth, but I would still recommend it for some great, nonsensical entertainment.

So who knows where this series will go?  I don’t really know.  But at least it beats me having to review more anime horror shows with vampires!  Currently this show is available on Funimation Now in Japanese and English.  Now before I go, I do have one quick announcement to make.  The next two weekends are going to be busy for me, so much so that I might not be able to do any reviews or other posts.  That being said, there will be no posts for the next two weeks.  So the next time you’ll hear from me is the 29^th when I do Character of the Month!  Finally, in light of the recent Las Vegas shooting, I would like to send my condolences to the victims and their families.  You are in my thoughts and prayers and God bless!  Anyways, stay tuned for the 29^th when I reveal Character of the Month!

-Hanime on Anime

18if Trailer