Requiem From The Darkness Volume 3

Requiem from the Darkness is the story of Momosuke Yamaoka, a young author collecting tales of the supernatural (the majority of which he experiences first hand), to compile in his book, ‘the one hundred stories’. But on his travels Momosuke also meets and becomes entangled with the Mataichi Gang.

Consisting of Mataichi, a powerful spirit wrapped in bandages and intent on sending spirits to the other world, Nagimimi, a shapeshifting spirit, and Ogin, a busty female puppeteer, Mataichi’s gang follow the orders of a disembodied flame and exorcise the spirits they encounter. Momosuke soon comes to value their connection to the spirit world and tries to follow them, but the Mataichi gang only use him to accomplish their own ends, and show themselves to be morally ambiguous at several points in these three episodes.

What we get in Requiem is not a well-crafted movement toward the conclusion of a grand story set in a fictional world, but instead a series of ghost stories, each one almost episodic, and with little effect on those before or after them. Either way, the stories of Requiem can be intriguing and worthwhile, but the series suffers from structural problems. The impression, for example, is that a lot of time is spent raising most of these stories (in the first three quarters of each episode), only for them to fall apart in the last few minutes. All in all, too much time is spent wading through the gore, and too little developing the characters or an overarching story.

As a series of ghost stories, however, there is much to enjoy in Requiem from the Darkness, and although of varying quality, where Requiem shines is in its presentation. Stylised details (such as the crooked backgrounds and shadows that are utilised to create an impressive use of contrast) are foremost in this, however, with the animation and CG elements being fairly outdated. Music and sound, contrarily, are used to great effect, complimenting the onscreen action well, especially in the creation of atmosphere.

The stories themselves are also intricate, and, when not confusing or littered with characters who die or betray the heroes after five minutes with or without the character development necessary for the viewer to care, can be quite enjoyable. The first episode sees Momosuke visiting his brother on his travels, only to find that his brother’s servant has been possessed by the spirit of a recently murdered ex-pirate whose soul is trapped in a stone firing gun and fighting that of a demon. The second episode follows Momosuke’s attempts to discover the secrets behind the legend of a vengeful spirit, who, no matter how many times executed, returns to life. The third and final story is perhaps the most satisfying, however, telling of the events that led two young girls, once best friends and inseperable, to become divided by the jealousy of one. Kyoemon, always second to Shiragiku, began to set fire to everything around her, setting alight her place of work, marriage and even Shiragiku herself, but Mataichi sets a trap for Kyoemon, whilst all the while her lover tries to calm her madness.

The real problem with Requiem is simply that it’s stories don’t go anywhere though. There are signs of a greater story in the waiting, but the real problem with the series is only that its stories don’t go anywhere, and at the pace its developing, there is unlikely to be a resolute and satisfying ending. Either way, volume three has offered enough to please many viewers, and I won’t try and second-guess such a strange little series.

In Summary

A mixed bag visually, but if you like your ghost stories, there’s enough to enjoy in this volume, so long as you’re not adverse to mature themes or the self-contained nature of the episodes.