Kemonozume is very hard to peg down. It's a lot of different things at once, and very few things the entire time. There's not enough action to satisfy the action minded, the story is too wonky to satisfy those motivated by story, the characters are too shallow for those drawn to characters, and the writing is such that those looking for memorable moments and poignant metaphors will be left unfulfilled.
There is something special here, though. The animation and style is incredibly unique, and although it ends in a sub par manner, the story has elements good writing, especially in the beginning and before the end. It's worthwhile series to a point.
Overall, recommended with one contingency:
Watch an episode to get a feel for animation. If you love the animation, it's worth watching and you'll enjoy the show at least a little. If you don't like the animation, or if you're indifferent to it, feel free to steer clear. You wont miss much.
Animation:
I was attracted to this show by the animation. It's unique and it's interesting. It's one of the few series (along with Gankutsuou) that truly embraces it's animation process, and this series really wouldn't have worked if animated traditionally. Photos (or perhaps watercolors?) are often used as background, but with lines drawn own them to give the appearance of being drawn. The style could almost be confused with unfinished or unpolished, but the fact that it's so deliberate and well animated gives it a very different feel.
The show just looks raw. That's the best way to describe it. There are some scenes which would have bored me had it not been for the animation catching my attention. Few series can manage that.
Sound:
The jazz/blues theme of the series is fun, and it adds to the quirkiness of the animation. Nothing to complain about, nothing particularly of note, however. The voice actors are good, from what I can tell.
Story:
This show tries to be too many things.
The writing it is very intelligent in some episodes, while there are some very stupid, nonsensical ideas at the same time. Disbelief can only be extended within the context that you set within the series, and although I can accept that there are flesh eaters in this world, the fact there's a giant and a random kung-fu monkey just don't make sense. Some characters are explained and fleshed out satisfactorily, others like the villain simply exist the way they are without explanation.
The show is predictable in individual episodes, although I had no idea the overall arch of the show would occur as it did. I expected a serial show about how two lovers cope with conflicted circ*mstances, but the series tries to take on almost a Kino No Tabi or Mushishi method of episodic content that tries to tell a story and a teach a lesson, and it fails. These episodes are very predictable. There's a very sweet episode that involve an old man and woman and their travels. You know what's going to happen to the two of them. And when it finally happens, not only are the main characters baffled (I like my characters to know more about their world than I do), it's executed so horribly that it completely removed me from the story. So although some aspects had me guessing at what was going to happen next, others were poorly done and easy to see through. I was overjoyed to see a flashback episode, and it was a great episode with interesting background, but then there was an utterly predictable and ultimately empty episode about secondary character who falls in love. It did nothing to advance the story or develop characters.
Gore, sex, and violence are not mature subject matters. They can be, of course, but they can also be extremely juvenile. Philosophy is mature, psychology is mature, but nudity and blood are not. The series tries to inject some philosophy quite randomly near the end, but matters are never explored and they just feel tacked on and empty. This show, above all else, is driven love between two characters. This love is poorly developed (very remeo-and-juliet-esque), poorly explained, and poorly realized. They meet in unbelievable circ*mstances, and then love each other instantly and eternally. It's great that there are some rifts in that love, but overall it's undeveloped to the point of disinterest.
There're too much nudity and gore for it to sit well with a younger audience, but there's too much silly nonsense (ninja monkeys, giants, random groping and such) for mature audiences. It's a show for teenagers who think that just because something's graphic means it's adult, I guess.
Characters:
The female main character has a past that could be interesting, but it's not well developed. The main character is boring, and for some reason pees himself during fights. I don't think he ever really gets over that, and it's not really well explained. You care for the situation the characters are in more than you care about the characters.
The side characters are either one dimensional or unlikable. They maybe hint at the villain's motivations, but he's a poorly realized an uninteresting character. If you mixed daffy duck and perhaps Alucard on the most shallow level, you would have this villain. He's goofy, nonsensical, and full of blood lust.
Value:
The stylistic merit is certainly significant, and there are some really neat parts to this show, but I doubt I'd re-watch it. This show teachers you nothing, and really leaves you with nothing. The final scene could have been poignant and heartfelt, but it ends up just feeling rushed and forced.
Enjoyment:
This show has some great parts, honestly. I'd say 1/3 of the show was great, 1/3 of the show was okay, 1/3 of the show was bad. The bad part was mostly the ending, which was unsatisfying, goofy, and poorly written. It's worth watching a least few episodes for the stylistic merit, but around episode 9 or 10, things take a turn for the worse. I do not regret watching the series, but it squandered it's enormous potential and left me with very little feeling.
It's over, the animation was neat, time to move on to something else.
NOTE: This is my second review. Non-grammar comments are very much appreciated so that I can make my 3rd review even better. Thank you for reading :)
EDIT#1: This is my first edit. I made a more substantial overview, and bolded my segments to make my review more readable. I edited some small things here and there, from content to language to spelling errors/grammar. Cheers, and thank you for the comments.
