This anime was a pleasant surprise. It's not perfect, and it does drag a bit by the end, but it is good and I'm glad I watched it. It's about a young girl named Hinako Yaotose, who lost her whole family, her mother, father, and brother, in a car accident several years ago. Now in high school she's extremely depressed and wishing for death. This is probably one of the best depictions of trauma induced depression that I've seen in an anime. I am kind of split on her character because she isn't the most interesting, like she isn't overflowing with personality like her friends are, but on the other hand I get it because of how depressed she was she found it difficult to express her emotions like the others. And she does get better with it as the series progresses. At the start of the series Hinako almost dies int he river, but is saved by a woman named Shiori Oumi, who reveals herself as a Youkai. She says she wants to eat Hinako, but not right away; she wants to wait until she overcomes her sadness, as she'll apparently taste better then. Later it's also revealed that her supposed childhood friend, Miko Yashiro, is also a yokai, who does have a hunger for her as well, but has been surpressing it for two reasons. One, she genuinely values their friendship, and two, she blames herself for not saving her family all those years ago. Because of that she altered Hinako's memories, which is apparently a power that many yokai have, to insert herself into Hinako's past.


As you can clearly tell, there's a lot going on in this series. And I think it mostly works. Like I said before it does drag a bit towards the end, or maybe more specifically towards the middle, but not enough that it becomes boring or anything like that. Hinako herself is incredibly sympathetic and relatable, and her established friendship with Miko, and the one she develops with Shiori, are super wholesome and likable. Because yeah, even though Shiori keeps saying she wants to eat her, it seems to me like she's developed a deeper appreciation for her than that, even if she hasn't admitted it herself yet. And as for Miko, after she inserted herself as Hinako's best friend, she would frequently protect Hinako from various evil yokai that are attracted to her due to her depression and dark emotions. Another thing I wanna mention is I like the inspiration this series clealry takes from Japanese mythology and folklore. Shiroi herself is a mermaid. In Japan Mermaids are referred to as Ningyo, or Human Fish, are closer to the classic western siren than the beautiful, seductive mermaid commonly seen in modern western stories. Another story about the Ningyo is that if you consume their flesh you can gain regenerative abilities and sometimes even immortality, and this is referenced, although I'm not sure if the series was saying that Hinako unknowingly consumed Shiori's flesh or not.


There's a lot to get out of this series. I've heard some people suggest that Shiroi wanting to eat Hinako is an allegory for yuri relationships, and I don't necessarily know if I'll go that far, but I could see it at the same time. But personally I'm just gonna stick to the message being just about depression and mental illness caused by deep trauma, and like I said before this is one of the best depictions of this I've seen in an anime. I also wouldn't mind there being a second season because while there has been quite a bit of progress over the course of the series, I do feel like the character arc isn't perfectly complete yet. There's been no announcement for a second season, but the manga does continue on after where the anime concluded.

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