Lost Village

Summary: >

Thirty people who want to escape their lives take a trip to a rumored village where no one will will find them. Nanaki Village does in fact exist, an empty place ready to take anyone who wants to stay there. As conflict between the group flares, doubts about staying arise. Arriving at the village was just a bus trip, but leaving means each of them must face their worst nightmare.

Thoughts: >

Lost Village is the kind of anime I should love, but didn't. Good points show through from time to time, but overall it was a huge disappointment with poor implementation. I'd like to say there was some reason to give it a shot anyway... but I don't think there's any feature strong enough to say that.

The mysterious environment sets the stage for potentially great drama. However Lost Village felt a lot like watching a reality show where I hated EVERYONE. With 30 people at the village, there are too many characters (most are unnecessary), and by the end I still didn't know who many were. Pruning the cast would have improved things a lot. "Group" dialog annoyed the hell out of me. Everyone gathers, with each taking their turn to give their input about a topic, which is quite often trivial shit. I don't care what everyone thinks, especially when they add nothing to the conversation.

I lacked empathy towards characters because I hated them, but that could have become a feature if this anime started killing them off in turn - which it doesn't. The "protagonist" Mitsumune was my least favorite among them. It's also annoying how clearly insane people are treated as equals, like they have valid opinions. Would you listen to a guy who says everything is a conspiracy, or a girl who's always screaming about executing everyone?

Individual back stories could have been a highlight, but fail to measure up; although they're not bad either. Best among them is Mitsumune's, who's childhood was beyond F'd up. There's overall plot involving what the village is, the nature of the monster stalking them, and the possibility someone intentionally trapped everyone in the village. It isn't terrible, but certainly not on the level expected of a thriller / survival story. With some mild plot twists, it's in watchable territory. Probably. Well, Maybe.

Worth picking up? If the setup is the kind of mysterious adventure you crave, it might be. I doubt you'll love it, and you may be disappointed, but it's not completely terrible. For everyone else, skip it. It's a character driven anime with poorly done characters. Visually its nice assuming your TV brightness is up high enough to see most of it. Also there is this dinky music often spoiling the ominous feel, something I wasn't feeling anyway after a guy was attacked by a giant boob. Lost Village simply falls short in too many areas.

Screen Caps: >