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Studio : Brains-Base
Length : 12 Episodes
Year : 2008
Genre : Mystery - Adventure
Synopsis :
Shinkurou is a mediator, someone who settles disputes, however they need to be settled. He is hired to be the bodyguard of a little girl who has run away from a rich and powerful, yet very abusive family.
Added : 2008-03-31
Synopsis by : Molenir
Last update : 2008-09-26
Last update details : Production staff added to studd
Score : 8.75
Number of reviews : 4
Link(s) :
Official #1 : Official Kure-nai Website (Japanese)
Release(s) :
2010-07-27 -- Episode(s) 0 by Hina. BT Link
2010-07-06 -- Episode(s) 1 by Gleam Street. BT Link
2008-06-22 -- Episode(s) 12 by Bullet Speed Sub. BT Link
Found 29 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
Hits : 28898
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Posted by : kevinchaosvs 
Posted on : 2009-01-09  
This may not be a very accurate comparison, but it’s probably the closest I can find: Kurenai is like the Baccano! of 2008. Firstly, both are considerably underrated. Secondly, the style is, to a certain extent, rather similar.
Story/Dev: 85%
Kurenai is the type of series which I’ll term as being “progressive," meaning that you cannot really appreciate how good it is until you have watched it to the end. Although the first 9 episodes were focused mainly on the “slice-of-life" aspect (i.e. Murasaki’s new lifestyles as well as Shinkurou’s school life), there was evident plot progress and the viewer will inevitably notice the underlying dark mood of the said plot (Murasaki’s tragic background). Despite the solemn nature of the plot, it did not ruin the fun atmosphere from the slice-of-life aspect, precisely because the way the main plot was developed in the first 9 episodes was done in a rather subtle manner. And this subtle progress in story also helped to prevent the plot confrontation in the last few episodes from appearing abrupt. Lot of series tend to mess up when they leave comedic fillers in order to enter the more serious main plot, precisely because of the sometimes sudden drastic change in ambiance.
Now the slice-of-life part is no doubt the main focus of the series, and undeniably, it is the charm of Kurenai. Though of course, the story centers itself mainly on Kuhoin Murasaki rather than Kurenai Shinkurou.
Characters/Dev: 90%
Much of the series’ emphasis is on Murasaki on how she slowly adapts to the change in her lifestyle. The production team has done a very good job in the portrayal of Murasaki, her being a child smart beyond her age yet still with her child-like naivety and demeanor. It was certainly very entertaining to see her attempting to “speak like an adult" thanks to her neighbors and from watching too much television. It also helps that she herself is already someone who is mentally mature for her age, but by the end of it, because she is after all a mere child (and being isolated in the Inner Sanctuary), she ended up being oblivious towards how society works. The side cast was also very interesting, adding up to the overall hilarity level of the series. I was certainly very entertained with watching the interactions between Murasaki and Shinkurou and I have to throw in additional compliments to the scripting of the dialogue in the series. I loved some of the conversations there. The voice acting of Murasaki is great too.
Animation/Graphics/Design: 87%
Similar to Baccano!, the arts was more of the somber and relatively dark type – which I think is one of the reasons why this series is underrated; it just wasn’t the flashy type, thus may not appeal to or attract most people. However, that is not to say that the art is not good. The art style is rather unique and, as many mentioned before, the character designs felt real. I also like the somewhat solemn art style.
Now to the fight sequences, which is another great part of the series that I’m gonna rave about. Though not as action-fueled as Baccano!, Kurenai is absolutely in no way inferior in terms of the quality of how the fights sequences were animated. I’m very impressed with how the actions scenes were choreographed in the last episode. The fighting style, combined with how the camera angle is set and most importantly, the timing, were all very well executed. That scene alone had high re-watch value.
Music: 78%
The music, while not outstanding, was still good. OP and ED were rather simple; didn’t leave much impression in me. Nevertheless, the bgms complimented the scenes well.
Summary:
This series is pretty unique, with a nice blend of lax, hilarious slice-of-life and serious plot. Kurenai is definitely worth the watch. The personality of Murasaki was really very well fleshed out by the production team.
Personal overall rating: 87%
Posted by : du5k
Posted on : 2008-12-27
It’s hard to believe this series is still relatively unknown, because it’s pretty damn good. I haven’t enjoyed anything like this for a long, long time.
The plot for Kurenai is still relatively original, having a young girl from a rich family to live with a poor kid in a completely different environment, but learning to enjoy the life she wasn’t able to in a secluded world she was raised in. I agreed with seefutbow; the ending somewhat killed the series for me, as the first 8 or 9 episodes would have undoubtedly scored a perfect 10 from me. I feel that what it really should have been is an open-ended conclusion of the relationship between Murasaki and Shinkurou, not the fate of the Kuhouins, the bad guys in the series. Well, the series pulled a Suzaku-style ending which likely eliminated any potential sequels, when there are still potential novel materials to be used. I’m also dying to see more Murasaki. The ending also felt a bit abrupt due to Murasaki’s sudden determination and the somewhat weird pacing of events right at the end. The fact that Murasaki and Shinkurou didn’t manage to stay together also left a bad taste in my mouth.
There are many factors to why I enjoyed Kurenai so much, but the most important factor would be the delicacy they put into growing the gradual bond between Murasaki and Shinkurou with well established conversations and interactions. The characters, including the side characters like Tamaki, Ginko and Benika is very well designed and has a very "real" feel to them, making them very likable. Roles like Benika’s usually have an irritating feel to them, but I glad it I enjoyed’s Benika’s character as well. Murasaki is simply way too adorable, being mature and considerate about Shinkurou while having a very childish behavior towards most things.
The opening animation isn’t very fitting, and the song itself has too much going on, but it’s still good. I greatly enjoyed the artistic style of the ED with the funky music. You think Yuuno can’t sing? Well, her VA sang the difficult ED song. The overall animation is really good, though they seem to have reduced too much of the gore. Murasaki’s VA is about 15 years old when she voiced her character, which is a good choice, seeing how most series doesn’t try to use younger VAs for kids in the series. Yuuki Aoi’s voice really fits Murasaki’s character, and she’s really good at it too.
Oh god, I think I turning lolicon for Murasaki.
Plot-wise: 7
Story Style: 10
Production Quality: 10
Value: 9
Posted by : Himitsu
Posted on : 2008-10-05
Kure-nai. It was a lovely series. It spanned for 12 Episodes but there was no unsatisfying or "incomplete" feeling. They did very well with all the events. There were plenty of laughs and fun when it came to the characters. I think the best entity of this anime was the dialogue. The witty humour and interaction between characters was always engaging and made it easy for me to like the characters.
Love the animation. Love it! Character design too! I really admire the art aspect of Kure-nai. Instead of going for "bishie" or "bishoujo", they go for characters looking human. Kure-nai used a lot of dark colours and they did very well with it. The animation is super smooth. The movements are note worthy. You only see this transition flow in movies like Millenium Actress or your crush's hair~. This superb animation aspect is especially commendable for the action. You get to see every swing, stab, drop-kick, and dodge. It was awesome.
It's pretty difficult to explain why I enjoyed Kure-nai this much. This series managed to execute events that always get you excited to see what happens. The opening was alright, and the ending song was fun. I was hoping for more romance between characters, but this didn't drop down the points significantly. The ending was a bit odd, but it did seem to close the books nicely. I simply remember leaving this anime with a good feeling than a lot of complaints.
Kure-nai had great dialogue and compelling characters to support. The character design is probably within one of my favourites and the action was enticing! Murasaki can be a bit of a brat, but she learns a lot and she's very cute. She's a kid afterall.
Posted by : seefutbow
Posted on : 2008-07-21
Woohoo first review! Kurenai could have been quite possibly one of the most enjoyable series I have seen in a while. The series had humor, wonderfully written dialog, and good character development. I really enjoyed watching Kurenai for the most part. The ending was a bit disappointing, but after contemplating the ending for a couple days, I am somewhat satisfied.
Highlights:
-The best and most enjoyable part about watching Kurenai was ironically not Kurenai Shinkurou, but Kuhouin Murasaki's interactions with the world that she had not experienced before. Murasaki's amazing intelligence, frank personality, and young and naive mind all combined for an interesting and humourous experience throughout. Murasaki's quick quips, whether because she had understood a concept previously foreign to her or remembering something she had heard, were just adorable and endearing. You can't help but hope for the best for Murasaki.
-The dialog was very well written throughout the series. The conversations were very believable and realistic. The most memorable example would probably when Shinkurou had to manage a conversation between Murasaki and Yuuno. The whole conversation was highly humorous because it very realistic and could easily occur in real life. In addition to being realistic, the writing was surprisingly witty between all the characters.
-The background music for the most part was very well done. Each scene was supported well by the background music.
Lows:
-Some things just didn't make sense near the end of the series. I mean if you had a get out of jail free card, would you sit in jail a couple years first before you got out of jail? I don't think so right. (Having thought some more about this, I understand why it happened, but I still don't agree with it.)
-The ending really killed Kurenai for me. The series felt like it was building towards something, and as the series was peaking, the writers chose to take the series in a completely different direction. I can see why the writers may have chosen to write the way they did, but that doesn't mean it will sit right with me.
Er...:
-The animation wasn't spectacular, but the animation did suffice. At times, the animation would be extremely realistic, but at others, the animation would be downright strange. An example would be certain scenes with Murasaki's hair. Her hair would split and move like real hair, unlike the stationary hair of many other anime characters, but in some scenes, the characters would seem to be oddly proportioned, seeming like they could fall down at any moment. I was very torn about the animation, but I did enjoy the style for the most part.
-The series does have some very questionable themes, so I would warn against watching Kurenai, if you're easily offended by certain taboos.
Kurenai was an amazing ride for about the first 10 episodes or so. The final two really ruined the series for me. I'd rather remember Kurenai for the amazing ride it provided for the first 5/6 of the series, rather than the final couple episodes. Kurenai was probably my favorite series in the Spring 08 lineup (yes it even beat out Geass R2 so far). I'd recommend the series to most people, though some may find certain themes of the series disgusting.
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