Red Garden is a mystery thriller anime that takes setting in New York City, rather than the present day Japan. This is indeed a stylish Gonzo produced anime series that continues to prove itself interesting due to its depth of plot and attractive animation style.
The story kicks-off with the odd string of suicides in the private institution on Roosevelt Island. Four teenage girls, Kate, a rich girl and member of the preppy corps of elites known as Grace; Rose, a more down-to-earth girl who devotes a lot of time to looking after younger siblings; Rachel, a diehardparty girl; and Claire, a rebellious outsider have nothing to do with each other but share a mutual friend named Lise Meyer who has been murdered.
All of the girls seem to have forgotten about events that have taken place the night Lise died, and all are drawn to the sight of enigmatic, swarm of red butterflies that only they can see and soon enough to be approached by a strange woman, Lula who tells them they are “dead”. Now, the four girls must work together to learn the secrets of their death. I suppose the mystery is what keeps this anime captivating enough for its viewer to see what comes up next.
The animation was a good compliment to the character designs whereby, strong lines defined strong features and delicate lines, barely visible. Beyond that of character design, the background art continues to be just as remarkable with its dark night scenes and vast cityscapes, as well as in the simple details of interiors. However, the last scene of the anime was a little blinding as the characters were completely orange. Other than that it’s a thumbs-up for the New Yorker style in each character in the anime. Each brings a really different attitude and dynamic.
The opening and ending themes are fun, fitting with the characters of the story. One such is “Oh My Juliet”, in the second opening which pumped up my liking and excitement. The voice acting is wonderful, everyone fitting the characters they are paired with. The background music is a perfect fit, never seeming out of place. Very subtle for the most part, things occasionally spike in activity whenever something scary or dramatic is happening in the series.
Many recent shows have over-the-top background music for the entirety of the episode, but Red Garden takes the classy way out and uses the background music as a final touch to the overall perfect artistic design.Everything about this show is visually appealing. Fight and action scenes are fast and with a lot of drama. The show took up the credibility to switch from a mystery piece into horror piece, and then back again as it suits. The violence isn’t so intense that most people wouldn’t be able to take it.
In a nutshell, Red Garden is beautiful in presentation, and artful in story. It is a mature work with a lot of varying innovation. I really enjoyed this anime.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Great anime, nice music, and fitting story. The horror scenes are exceedingly detail, and background detail gets a 5 out of 5. Personally, the gore factor isn’t strong enough for me, but should be good enough for 90% of viewers out there.