Yakumotatsu

This was a solid OVA, though it felt like the beginning to something better. It had a solid enough cast and premise. The main character, Takeo, has a sword that his father wanted him to purify. Takeo hitches a ride to one of those villages. You know the type. That's out in the country and far from the city center. The village has a shrine, and he and his friends stay with the head Shaman. Takeo is going to purify his sword. His friends are going because they're making a play about an ancient event (tribes and ... war). They're going because they want to study the people of such a traditional village, in order to write an authentic play. As coincidence would have it, they happen to visit on the day of a ritual, and the day before an even more important ritual.

The premise is intriguing and the cast is solid. Takeo and Kuraki are good foils. One is a bit darker and sneaky, while the other is described as "too nice for his own good". Kuraki's sister was nice, and Takeo's friend who wanted his notes was great. Kuraki's dad was great as well. Those 5 form a solid cast. Of course, this was back in the day. Some shows during this time had that one side character that was annoying, and the show would be better off without them. This show had two, but they were a couple, so a package deal. Yeah, they brought this anime down. They were unnecessary, and just outright annoying. I still don't understand the purpose of their characters, other than being a plot device. Though at least the main characters and the good side characters made up for that couple.

The ending left a lot to be desired. And I mean that literally. It just felt like a prologue, or an introduction. It wets your appetite a bit, but that's all it does. There's a lot left out. A lot of things unanswered and unexplained. In a way, it's a true OVA. This is that "want the rest of the story and understand what's going on? Read the manga!"

With that said, I think it's solid overall. It's a 6/10. It was definitely above average, but it wasn't particularly good. Like I said, too much was left out and we only get to semi-connect with two characters.

Eight Clouds Rising is a fascinating, insular little 90s OVA that is in some ways similar and in other ways distinct from the massive catalog of short anime projects released at the time. If nothing else, it is a pretty, intriguing, and generally entertaining OVA. Beginning with the story, it follows a theater troupe visiting a shrine for inspiration regarding their upcoming play, as things begin to go awry concerning the bizarre mystical nature of the place, and the family that handles the sacred operations of the temple. While there are some weird themes I feel didn't necessarily fit in ... the narrative very well, it still has a very storybook atmosphere, as though this were something told around a campfire, which I believe plays to its benefit. However, it also only feels like a prologue, as though it is the beginning part of some more interesting story that it is about to embark on. Unfortunately, that part doesn't exist, and all that's left is a fairly solid prologue.

The art, meanwhile, stands out as the strongest aspect of this anime by a mile. It is rich, colorful, and smooth, bolstering the sense of a sacred and mysterious atmosphere that this anime gives off. I especially like how they animated the eyes of the characters, which are not only unique but also capable of carrying poignant emotion.

The sound is solid, meeting all basic standards of quality, with characteristic voice work and a detailed sounds of life that really breathe life into the show's more mystical elements.

The characters are also generally pretty good, meeting all basic standards of quality, and while they do feel as though they are being moved along by the plot for its own ends, that kind of plays into the bizarre religious atmosphere of the anime, which is a strength. Of them, my favorites are the brooding and mysterious Kuraki, and the generally nonplussed Emu. Kuraki is exactly the kind of character you'd need in a story like this, and in addition to bringing a good character design to the table, he contrasts the Naieve Takeo, while Emu, despite being only a secondary character, contrasts everybody in the story as being somewhat detached from it- Emu is just a guy, caught up in and yet unbothered by the goings-on of the strange tale unfolding around him. Overall, Eight Clouds Rising is a generally fine way to spend 58 minutes. Whether or not you'd enjoy it comes down to your personal taste, but if you like subtle Japanese mythology and ubiquitous forested mountainscapes, you'd probably find this worth your time.

No review at all for this? That seems slightly undeserved - it is not that bad after all.

Eight Clouds Rising or Yakumo Tatsu is a short 2 episode OVA which is based on a manga of Natsumi Itsuki (some might be familiar with her as the creator of the rather popular Hanasakeru Seishounen which was written before Yakumo Tatsu). The manga was serialized from 1992 to 2002 by Hakusensha in the shoujo magazine LaLa. Additionally it was published in 19 single volumes in Japan. The OVA covers only the storyline up to chapter 3 of volume 2 of the manga.

This explains why the OVA will ... leave you with the feeling that you just watched the introduction to an epic story - the prologue to something bigger and more complex. No use in trying to find the continuation though, nothing more got animated. Who knows, maybe a follow-up project was planned but never saw the light of day?

Story (might contain minor spoilers):
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The story revolves around two young men: 20 year old college student Takeo Nanachi living a perfectly normal life in Tokyo and Kuraki Fuzuchi, who is the 16 year old son of the head priest (or rather shaman) who oversees the shrine of a Sword God somewhere (presumably) in the Shimane prefecture.

Nanachi's family is in possession of an old ceremonial sword left by his dead grandfather, who was a renowned swordsmith. For some reason or other his dad has asked him to get the sword purified. So Nanachi grabs the sword and takes it along while going on a trip with the college theater group to a village in the mountains. Obviously he was told that purifying the sword was possible by visiting a shrine in the vicinity. His arrival at the shrine coincides with the first day of a festival which is held there every 49 years. Upon reaching the festival grounds he gets to see a dance of purification performed by a priestess of the shrine.

When Nanachi and a friend make their way back to the house of the Fuzuchis, where the group is supposed to stay over night as guests, they meet Yasuko, the daughter of the house. Yasuko looks like the priestess they just watched but after inquiring they get the surprising answer that the "priestess" is actually Yasuko's brother Kuraki. Kuraki is supposed to follow in his father's footsteps as shaman as well as becoming the 15th master of a special sword technique practiced by the Fuzuchi.

In the course of the story Nanachi becomes involved in Kuraki's family business and is suddenly confronted with supernatural powers, evil spirits, tragic clan feuds, shamanism and mysterious memory flashes from the past.

Visuals:
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I have some complaints here. The character design is quite pleasing to the eye in a generic pretty-boy way - expect lots of sparkly eyes. The backgrounds look detailed and colorful, the animation is fluid, though it is nothing to write home about. The creators make heavy use of panels with only the camera panning or zooming in, which results in lifeless action scenes that fail to wow the viewer.

Sound:
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The (not bad at all) score by musician/composer Hajime Mizoguchi consists of unobtrusive classical tunes performed by the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra. The ED is an instantly forgettable and unsuitable J-Pop song.

Daisuke Namikawa (Nanachi) and Tomokazu Seki (Kuraki) portray the two main characters convincingly. I did not listen to the English dub, so I cannot comment on it. The background and environmental noises are clear and distinct.

In a nutshell:
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The OVA offers a glimpse of plot that has the potential to become something interesting but then ends abruptly with only an unsatisfying closure. The watcher is left with the sensation that the really enthralling parts would have started right after the end of the second episode. Although the story feels too rushed, the anime manages to give a good outline to the main characters who, alas, have the tendency to throw angsty fits at the worst possible moment. The anime succeeds in establishing a moody and mysteriously supernatural atmosphere. There is no clear evidence in the OVA whatsoever, but the way the characters interact leaves a vague shounen-ai feel.

If you have an hour of free time with nothing else to do, why not grab some peanuts, your favorite beverage and watch this?

Might appeal to someone who enjoyed X, Mirage of Blaze or Amatsuki