Kakurenbo



"In the game of O To Ko Yo, kids will disappear."

A 25 minute short about a game of Hide and Seek? That has to be fun for the kids, right? Wrong.

Children wearing fox masks gather in an abandoned city after dark to participate in a ritualistic game of Hide and Seek for their own reasons; one boy is looking for his younger sister, and a silent participant in this round sure looks a lot like her. The rules are simple -- if you lose, the demons will take you away. And as the night wears on and the streets light up, it becomes clear that the chilling rumours are not exaggerated...

Tropes in Kakurenbo include:
""Reeeaady or noooot...Here I come.""
 * All Myths Are True
 * All There in the Manual: The official website is the only place where you'll learn everyone's names--only four are revealed in-movie.
 * Break the Haughty: The most obnoxious player who acts all high and mighty? Reduced to a blubbering, terrified baby who actually faints
 * Cool Mask: The fox masks count, to some extent.
 * Creepy Child: A few of the players, including at the end.
 * Creepy Twins
 * Cute Mute: It's hard to say if she can really be called "cute," since her face is covered by a fox-mask, but the lone female player doesn't speak, and her mask/costume are pretty cute...
 * Also the twins. They are not very cute, however.
 * Demonic Possession: What the Fifth Demon is doing.
 * Evil Is Not Well Lit: In the city, the darkness is a constant backdrop to the events that take place. Of course, light isn't exactly any better...
 * Evil Sounds Deep: The reason why
 * Executive Meddling: In the original script, the losing children were killed and horribly devoured by the demons, but the higher-ups thought it was too horrific even by the short's standard...Ironically, the ending they did approve of was more disturbing.
 * Ghost City
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: Subverted with the twins. Played Straight with the demons.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: The dub contains voice actors from numerous companies, including one boy played by Veronica Taylor. No, he doesn't catch anything.
 * Not to mention DAN GREEN as Yaimao.
 * Hunting the Most Dangerous Game
 * Ironic Nursery Tune: Well, it's not a nursery rhyme, but what else can we put this under?
 * Ironic Nursery Tune: Well, it's not a nursery rhyme, but what else can we put this under?


 * Last Stand: The twins make one against the demon pursuing them, choosing to go down fighting when they're cornered.
 * Mecha: The demons' designs are partly based on this.
 * Ominous Fog: Appears at the end.
 * Parental Abandonment: Seriously, do any of the kids' parents know where their kids are going, what they're doing? Do they even have parents?
 * What happens to the children who play the game and lose?
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted with the twins. Played Straight with the Demons.
 * Scenery Porn: To the point where the other wiki's article postulates that the theme of the work has something to do with the urbanization of Tokyo.
 * Senseless Sacrifice: Yaimao attempts to buy time for Hikkora near the end as they flee. Senseless in that Hikkora then chooses not to run.
 * There Are No Adults: No adults are seen or even referred to in this short--no, no one even mentions having parents. (Early concept art shows that originally, there were going to be adults in the town, but any adult who came in to find their children was turned into a featureless, mindless zombie.)
 * The Speechless: The twins.
 * Vicious Cycle:
 * Voice of the Legion: What It sounds like.
 * Youkai: The demons' designs are based on traditional youkai, for instance the Fifth is meant to be a kitsune.
 * Voice of the Legion: What It sounds like.
 * Youkai: The demons' designs are based on traditional youkai, for instance the Fifth is meant to be a kitsune.