Aoi Bungaku (Evergreen Literature)

Aoi Bungaku is the anime I was waiting all last season for and had somehow overlooked. I picked it up after the season ended, and was taken by surprise. At first I met a fellow who appeared to be hanging out afterhours in a library, and he began to speak of famous japanese authors and their works, a bit of their personal history, and some observations to spark intrigue and curiosity before the animated part of the episode began. I can't say I've read any of these stories or their translations, but hearing this guy's intro really put my mind in a hungry mood. I wanted to think about the story and what the author's life had brought to it.

Don't think this anime will bore you. There is plenty of good animation to keep you satisfied and a few unanswered questions to keep your brain hungry for the next episode. The series covers a few stories, written by different authors. A single story may take two to four episodes. The first story spans four and gives you a taste of what the anime can provide that most of the other anime this season cannot. For the mind, there are deaths, twisted happenings, and inner turmoils. For the eyes, the stories seem to use different anime styles that bend and flex to accent the story or access it from a different perspective. By the second story, you'll see that this anime has quite a few tricks up its sleeve. Though each story stands alone, we have the host to guide us through an animated tour of some of Japan's famous works.

I'm currently nine episodes in, but after the first, I realized I had almost missed out on a great series. If the first four episodes, you are still unsure, try that 5th episode which begins the second story and it might get you hooked. Leave the high school dramas and slapstick actions behind and delve into a series that has anime chops to draw you in, and literary classics that will entice you to have more.

Recommendations:

• Himitsu: The Revelation...peering inside criminal minds and the minds of victims, the team called Section 9 suffers more than just sleepless nights >>
  
• Genji Monogatari Sennenki >>...this take on the Tale of Genji brings to light the sadness and tragedy of a character that was dazzling and loved by many women
  
• Bokurano...it's easy to be dazzled by the giant robot, but what really shines is the character struggles that lead up to the deaths of each controller as each chair is emptied >>
• Jigoku Shoujo: Futakomori...the outcome is being ferried to hell, how the characters' grudges came to grow and grow until the cursed red string is pulled is worth the watch >>

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