When I started watching the series, I couldn't help but notice that how many similarities there were between this series, and the hugely popular, Elfen Lied. But, after finishing the series, I realized that it is by the same author and has various similarities, But it is not meant to be an duplicate and doesn't actually appeal to the same crowd! It isn't even a horror/gore series. Brynhildr in the Darkness is primarly a dark drama with light comedy.
Story
The show began pretty well in my opinion presenting us with a serious and dark story. We get presented to our main characters Murakami and Kuroha, and we also get presented to Kana afterwards in the second episode. I thought the mystery was nicely done and it kept me going back to this show week after week. Now for the actual story-line, As a child Ryota Murakami knew a girl he called Kuroneko, with whom he shared a passion for astronomy, but he lost her in a fall from a dam that badly injured him and killed her – or so he was told. Several years later he still pursues astronomy as the only member of his high school's Astronomy Club, which means spending most of his free time at a mountainside observatory. One night he encounters a girl who seems to be a dead ringer for a teenage version of Kuroneko, one who even has a suspiciously similar name – Neko Kuroha. Even stranger, she uses odd powers to save him from a rock-slide she knew was going to happen and explains that she is a man-made witch who has escaped from a lab. But if she is Ryota's Kuroneko then she does not remember him. Ryota just cannot leave such oddities alone despite Neko's warnings to stay away, which results in him getting drawn into a dangerous world of runaway teen witches who bleed to death if they do not regularly take a certain medication, a laboratory run by a man willing to send more powerful and obedient witches out to hunt down the strays, and a secretive group which seems to be opposing the lab but may not have the best interests of the witches at heart, either. If Ryota cannot help the witches whom he gathers together stay alive, can he at least help them live a little in the time they have left?
Characters
This anime had a pretty likable cast, and as male harem leads go, Ryota Murakami is a cut above - he is intelligent, intuitive, respectable, brave and determined to the point of recklessness, and keeps the girls together when they might even lose hope! Neko Kuroha, is initially implied to be stupid but that is later shown to actually be gaps in her memory and learning, partly due to being stuck in a lab for several years and partly due to a side effect of using her power. She does not stick out as much as some of the other girls do but does not easily fall into one of the standard anime archetypes, either. Tachibana Kana, is completely paralyzed except for one hand, but the trade-off is a precognitive ability that usually keeps the group out of the worst trouble. Kazumi Schlierenzauer, is the electronics-manipulating witch, has the most distinct personality as the one most obsessed with experiencing what life has to offer but she is also the one who mostly keeps everything to herself also her distress over the witches' mortality. The later addition, Takatori Kotori, is a more endearing airhead than normal as the group's teleporter, and a couple of other witches who pop up in the late stages are potential allies, who also show promise! The villains were also pretty interesting a stoic mad-scientist trying to play god and a psychotic yandere, not unprecedented but still intimidating enough to be taken seriously and still a better motive than the standard world domination. Overall, the series is almost worth recommending for the core cast alone; transplant them into a sitcom and they would probably work just fine.
The animation and artwork was great. Some things didn't follow up in the artwork though, like the witches standing out as the only students without uniforms and a scene with characters using red paint as fake blood, there was no differentiation between the color of blood and red paint! Still, the animation and action sequences were pretty good, also the colors gave the basic "Sci-fi" type of feel, nothing was too colorful or bubbly, but gave more of a darker feel, And that is what you want in an anime's like these!
For the sound, I admire the OP's very much, The first OP "Ejected" by Nao Tokisawa was just mysterious music but with interesting animation to follow, It really drew me in! The second OP "Virture and Vice" by Fear isn't probably for everyone since it is a metal type. But if you like that genre, than you'll like it too! And the ED was surprisingly cheerful, which was nice if you have had such a dramatic episode. For me, the music tied everything together in the anime.
Enjoyment
Yes, I definitely enjoyed this anime and it hits a home run in everything you expect it to. It showed mystery, hell, the ending definitely did! It's about witches, and as childish as it sounds, the fantasy factor of this anime was anything but child's play. Of course, it was also sci-fi themed! The drama in it would also leave you wanting to continue watching it to see what happens next! Though there were also the perverted scenes, it didn't seem to fail to make you smile or laugh! [But at this rate with all the terrible reviews, I'm not so sure that this anime would be considered as good one. :P]
4 STAR ANIME.
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