Mouryou no Hako



Mouryou no Hako (Box of Goblins) is a relatively obscure series revolving around boxes. Seriously, it's far better than it sounds.

The year is 1952. Japan is still struggling to get back on its feet after its crushing defeat in World War II. The old folk beliefs are slowly being overshadowed by the emerging Western-style modernization. And among the lonely hills and fields on the outskirts of Tokyo, boxes containing the severed arms and legs of several female victims keep turning up. A small private detective agency gets involved in the investigation, and along with them, a very different sort of onmyouji named Chuuzenji Akihiko.

At the same time, a young girl named Yuzuki Kanako is missing. Her friend/reincarnation Yoriko witnessed her disappear beneath a moving train late at night, after which Kanako was brought to a strange, black box-shaped hospital deep in the hills. Her washed-up actress "sister" has employed the help of haunted ex-soldier Detective Kiba to find the severely crippled girl before it's too late.

And in the pages of an up-and-coming novelist's newest work, a man on a train encounters a gloved man carrying a box with a human head inside of it. A head that is, beyond all reason, alive.

Despite gorgeous animation courtesy of Madhouse, and a plot from one of the finest supernatural mystery novels in recent years, this series is still sadly below many people's radars. The three plotlines collide in a brilliant, multifaceted way, with plenty of High Octane Nightmare Fuel and Body Horror for all, of course. Definitely Needs More Love.

Tropes:
 * All Myths Are True
 * Alternate Character Reading
 * And I Must Scream
 * Anachronism Stew
 * : How this story starts.
 * The Beautiful Elite: Kanako. Subverted later in the story.
 * Bishounen: Enokizu Reijiro, the self-proclaimed "detective" who in the novel is often compared to a European procelain doll. Being roughly 30 years old, he's more Biseinen than Bishonen, but who cares?
 * Plus pretty much everyone on the main cast, at least in the anime. (CLAMP did the character designs, after all.) In the novels, Sekiguchi's often called "monkey" by several characters, and Kyougoku is once referred to as "Akutagawa's ghost."
 * Body Horror: On the most profound, deep-in-your-soul level possible.
 * Buddhism: Early in the story, Kanako tells Yoriko about the concept of Tennin Gosui ("The Five Death Omens of an Angel" or "The Decay of an Angel"), which is found in several Buddhist writings.
 * Cherry Blossoms: Lots. Especially in the first episode.
 * Continuity Nod: Sekiguchi's novel seems at first glance to be a metaphor for what's happening with the Kanako/Kubo case. However,
 * Dramatic Thunder leading to It Was a Dark And Stormy Night: episode 3 and again in episode 11.
 * Cute Kitten: The Chuuzenjis have a cat (named Pomegranite!) that have no relevance at all to the plot but... it's so cute!
 * The Four Gods: Referenced in several instances by Chuuzenji.
 * Hey It's That Voice: Kanako Yuzuki is Haruka Tomatsu
 * Akihito Chuezenji is Hiroaki Hirata
 * Tatsumi Sekiguchi is Hidenobu Kiuchi
 * Reijiro Enokizu is Toshiyuki Morikawa
 * Morihiko Toriguchi is Daisuke Namikawa
 * Kubo is Tohru Furuya
 * Yoko Yuzuki is Aya Hisakawa
 * Hyper Awareness: Chuuzenji.
 * Imperial Japan: Most of the main cast fought in World War II (which ended only 7-odd years prior to the start of the story), and Chuuzenji himself was recruited by the infamous Unit 731 (although he didn't get involved in the Unit's more monstrous activities).
 * Les Yay: Yoriko and Kanako
 * Mind Screw: To the point where it's almost impossible to figure out what's going on if the viewer hasn't been paying attention well enough. However, the ones who have been paying attention are vastly rewarded for their efforts by a wondrous ending.
 * Mr. Exposition: Kyougoku
 * : Central part of the shocking truth revealed near the story's end.
 * Reincarnation: Kanako believes that she is Yoriko's reincarnation and vice-versa. At the same time. Seriously.
 * Which from a certain point of view makes that a Groundhog Day Loop; because they're reliving the same two lifetimes over and over again...
 * Religion Is Magic: Averted somewhat.
 * Religion of Evil: The Cult of Onbako-sama.
 * Scenery Porn: Pretty much every background scene is beautiful and creative in both colouring and design.
 * Serial Killer:
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Kiba.
 * Sekiguchi, Kiba, Enokizu, and even Chuuzenji were all in the war, although the latter two saw less frontline action than the former pair. Sekiguchi was also Kiba's senior officer (believe it or not).
 * Shrines and Temples: A couple are shown, most notably that of the Onbako-sama cult.
 * Stoic Spectacles: Sekiguchi is this is in front of other people (even his own wife), though his monologues reveal otherwise.
 * Stringy Haired Ghost Girl:
 * Technology Porn: how many machines are needed in a hospital room for one single patient? (episode 3)
 * To be fair, this was 1952. A humongous iron lung was considered the cutting edge in life support. Imagine what would be needed to
 * Telepathy: The entire first half of an episode chronicles the real-life story of Mifune Chizuko, the Meiji-era psychic whose misfortune also inspired The Ring.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: To the point of abuse. Talking scenes are underlined with tornado-scale gusts of wind, dancing is punctuated with torrential cherry blossoms, and all driving is done as maniacally and erratically as possible, especially when there isn't any semblance of a reason.
 * Youkai: Not only does the story tie very closely into the myth of the Mouryou, Chuuzenji gives us a downright etymological and cultural low-down of what "Mouryou" actually means.
 * Some fans find his explanations a bit long, but it's extremely important for understanding things later on. It also helps if you know a bit about Onmyodo and kanji, to say the least.