Occultic;Nine Part 2 Review

In March I was given the opportunity to revisit Part 1 of Chiyomaru Shikura’s Occultic;Nine series, and now I’m back to cover Part 2. My first watch of the series left me with more questions than answers, but perhaps revisiting it will lead me to discover what actually went on in this show.

As a general note, this reviews contains spoilers for the first part of Occultic;Nine. However, we’ve tried to avoid them as much as possible. If you haven’t read my previous review, then you can find it here.

This set kicks off with the seventh episode of this 12-episode anime. Protagonist Yuta Gamon has just discovered the shocking truth that his body has been unearthed as part of a mass suicide incident alongside hundreds of others. Among those pulled from the lake, we find out that all of the characters we’ve come to know are, in fact, among the dead. While Yuta struggles with the reality of the situation, our cast must band together to figure out just what happened to them – and if it can be reversed…

When we’re this close to the end of the series, it’s difficult to talk about how the plot progresses when so much of the drama of the show hinges on the mystery and ultimate reveal of the facts. Instead, I’d like to talk about how good a job the anime does of hammering home the emotion packed into the characters as they realise they are no longer among the living. Yuta tries desperately to communicate with passers-by, to no avail, and the pressure of accepting he’s dead makes him begin to crack. Other characters are in similar situations, but perhaps more harrowing is when fortune-teller Miyu Aikawa discovers that her best friend has been brutally murdered. These episodes and sequences are compelling pieces and gripping both on a first viewing and even now, knowing ahead of time what’s to come.

I feel like my feelings on Occultic;Nine are always difficult to pin down. Having watched the anime twice and read the three currently released light novels, I finally have a grasp of the story (something that eluded me originally and will many others) and have come to like the cast – but it’s not all perfect. If you dig too deeply into the story then it starts to fall apart, because it’s overly complex and does its best to stop you figuring things out by throwing you off the scent, but all this does is serve to confuse the viewer. There are holes in the plot all over the place, and although these have proven to be fillable by reading the light novels (which are unfinished at present) or playing the series’ visual novel, as a standalone anime it doesn’t quite work.

The problems that plagued this series in its first half continue into its second. Occultic;Nine still doesn’t handle swapping between characters all that well, although this is somewhat alleviated by the cast largely being in one place for the final three episodes. The characters are interesting enough, but if any of them got on your nerves originally (and there was always a high chance someone would), you’re very much stuck with them and their annoying habits. This is especially true of Ryoka Narusawa, the eccentric and most annoying member of the cast, who plays an important part in this part of the show.

Despite all this, I still believe that Occultic;Nine is a promising watch for sci-fi fanatics and those who followed Chiyomaru Shikura’s other series, like Steins;Gate. It’s not as polished and has its problems, but there really is a gripping narrative under all the issues.

Animation for the series has been handled by A-1 Pictures, and overall continues to be vibrant and full of life. The more unusual of the camera work (like excessive dutch tilts) we saw in the earlier part of the show are mostly absent here, but there are still some neat concepts on display – like a top-down look at the cast standing on a bridge. Where the music is concerned that, too, has retained the same level of quality as the first half of Occultic;Nine and brings with it a selection of varied and fitting electronic scores.

While I didn’t watch any more of the English dub for this review, the Japanese voice actors continue to do a splendid job in their roles. Notably the performance Yuta’s actor, Yuki Kaji (Kenma Kozume in Haikyu!!, Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney), gives during the final episode is gripping and charged with the emotions. Overall Kaji voices Yuta’s breakdown well and puts his all into the character.

This release comes to the UK thanks to Manga Entertainment, and is available on DVD and Blu-ray. The release includes Episodes 7 to 12, and on-disc extras comprise clean opening and ending videos, as well as trailers.

Overall, Occultic;Nine continues to be a show that I can’t recommend to everyone. Re-watching it gave me a new perspective on the story as well as finally understanding what happened at the end. I think sci-fi fans will likely get a lot out of it, and the gripping nature of the story will pull you in regardless. Just don’t look too hard at the story or it’ll give way beneath you.