English Title: Aoi Bungaku Series
Japanese Title: 青い文学シリーズ [lit. blue literature series]
Director(s): Various
Screenwriter(s): Various
Studio: Madhouse
Released: 2009
Runtime: 12 episodes, ~23m each.
My Verdict: Not bad but nothing spectacular. Some of the stories try too hard.
Aoi Bungaku Series adapts 6 modern Japanese classic stories by Dazai Osamu, Sakaguchi Ango, Natsume Soseki and Akutagawa Ryunosuke.
Each episode is introduced by Sakai Masato, the voice actor of Oba Youzou in the first story, who gives a little background about the original work and its author. The visual style and tone is not the same for each story. Generally, the voice acting is solid across the series.
Below are a few comments for each story.
Episodes 1–4: “No Longer Human” (人間失格) – Director: Asaka Morio, Screenwriter: Suzuki Satoshi
Based on the novel of the same name by Dazai Osamu, the plot follows a young man named Oba Youzou. He is an art student from a rich family and is seemingly spoiled and disturbed. After hooking up with a woman, the two attempt a double suicide but he survives and, as before, struggles to fit into society or even know what that means. (Please note that I have not read the novel.)
It is animated like a psychological thriller. Visually, it can be dark and gritty, at times more intensely than others. The glow effect is often used. There is nothing supernatural in the plot despite the tone. Visually it vaguely resembles other Madhouse productions such as Texhnolyze (2003) and Monster (2004).
The pacing is mostly measured. The short episode lengths help the work avoid being consistently slow but some scenes are. Episode 3 and Episode 4 both jump a few years to keep it fresh. In any case, it is hard to sympathize with a main character who seems to be barely trying to deal with his problem.
Episodes 5–6: “In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom” (桜の森の満開の下) – Director: Araki Tetsuro, Screenwriter: Iizuka Ken
Based on the short story of the same name by Sakaguchi Ango, the plot follows a bandit who lives in the forest. He is scared of the cherry blossom due to a story involving a kidnapping victim. One day, he comes across a beautiful young woman and takes her as his wife, expecting her to submit like his other wives because of his threatening demeanour… except she is demanding and he gives in to her every whim.
This one also takes a comical tone despite the obvious darker aspects of the plot and themes. It never abandons the mild-horror approach and, although there are a few chuckles, it is not quite a black comedy either. As such, it is a little inconsistent and the resolution does not clearly link back to the kidnapping story either.
To be fair, the short story reads similarly, and this anime is close to the original text in most respects.
Episodes 7–8: “Kokoro” (こゝろ) – Director: Miya Shigeyuki, Screenwriter: Abe Mika
Based on the novel of the same name by Natsume Soseki, the plot follows a young student referred to as “Sensei” who lives with a widow and her young daughter. The three genuinely get along well. Sensei then invites his friend “K”, also a student to live with them. Over time, K falls in love with the daughter which complicates things. (Please note that I have not read the novel.)
The first episode is told mostly from Sensei’s point of view and the second episode, unlike the novel, is told mostly from K’s point of view. Different points of view are intriguing. The problem is that K’s point of view is in some instances too different from Sensei’s. This is presumably deliberate but it is trying too hard and it doesn’t need to. A subtler approach would benefit the work.
The other problem is that the runtime is too short for this story, even a few more minutes for both episodes would help although it does well enough given the time constraints. The music, although the composition is fitting, is probably too contemporary given the setting. Despite the problems, it is still a good story, arguably the second-best of the series.
Episodes 9–10: “Run, Melos!” (走れメロス) – Director: Nakamura Ryosuke, Screenwriter: Kawashima Sumino
Based on the retelling of the Greek legend in the form of a short story by Dazai Osamu, the plot follows a playwright named Takada who lives alone in Tokyo in 1950. He is commissioned to write the play “Run, Melos” and, although he is not that interested, he accepts the job.
The narrative shifts between the present as Takada struggles to write, the play being performed, and 15 years prior when he was good friends with an aspiring actor named Joshima, revealing why the two haven’t spoken in all these years—the threads displaying the themes of loyalty, betrayal, and waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
Dazai’s short story does not have the character of Takada, his story is only of the Greek legend. Takada’s play takes parts of Dazai’s story but the anime does not sufficiently explain by Melos was captured in the first place.
Despite being a story about a writer writing, it still works. Using Takada’s story and the Greek legend to mutually frame each other makes a more interesting work. This is arguably the best of the series. The plot and themes, although simply conveyed, are relatable and the pacing is good for its length.
Episode 11: “The Spider’s Thread” (蜘蛛の糸) – Director: Ishizuka Atsuko, Screenwriter: Kobayashi Yuji
This is based on the short story of the same name by Akutagawa Ryunosuke which was partly inspired by the parable of the Onion in the classic The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The plot follows the notorious criminal Kandata who ends up in Hell.
Akutagawa’s short story is written in third-person omniscient voice, either from Buddha’s point of view in Paradise or Kandata’s point of view in Hell. It does not go into the details of Kandata’s criminal activities whereas the anime dwells too much on it. Most of the episode is merely Kandata fighting and trying to escape the authorities.
So, whilst the anime tries to provide some background regarding Kandata, it fails as far as the moral of the story is concerned. A runtime of twenty minutes is just too long for something so short. It also tries too hard visually when Kandata is in Hell.
Episode 12: “Hell Screen” (地獄変) – Director: Ishizuka Atsuko, Screenwriter: Kobayashi Yuji & Ishizuka Atsuko
This is based on the short story of the same name also by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. The anime makes use of the same setting and visual style as Episode 11.
The plot follows Yoshihide, a famous and talented painter, who is commissioned by the king to paint the mausoleum interior. The king asks for his beautiful country to be painted so that even in death he can be surrounded by his land. However, Yoshihide sees the injustices the king perpetrates and paints the country as he sees it…
The short story is interesting as it is narrated by a menial at the palace and there is the question of to what extent is the narrator reliable—the king is described in a positive light and Yoshihide is not, even rumored to be involved with the dark forces. There is also intrigue involving Yoshihide’s daughter who serves at the palace as a lady-in-waiting. There is a mild Lovecraftian vibe to the story.
The short story in English is approximately 9,500 words long. The anime simplifies the story, which is understandable given the change in medium and the runtime. Yoshihide is a decent man and he is the viewpoint character, the audience sees the horrors he witnesses. This aspect is done well enough but his daughter instead acts as his assistant, so her plot thread is in effect missing or disconnected.
Overall, it is not a bad adaptation but, like the previous episode, the visual style tries a bit too hard at times. The style adapted by the first story would work very well with this one.
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