This review inevitably contains spoilers as it is merely my interpretations of what I viewed. However, this is a review after all so I'll say that Blue Literature Series helps to bring Japanese classics written by famous writers to life. There is symbolism in every story and each of their narration was unique. Serialising the stories helps to add another layer to them, something which solely words cannot do. It is a good way to bring literature to the masses and is an enlightening watch.

Story 1: No longer human

Being the longest story, No Longer Human takes us through the ups and downs of Yozo’s life. Suffering from alienation and trauma, Yozo feels dissociated from society and this makes him feel like he is not human. This idea was hard to grasp at first but with flashbacks and symbols in the story, it becomes clearer but still not fully understandable. It fails to explain things from Yozo’s perspective, his thoughts and beliefs, which are crucial to the story. The original book is written from Yozo’s perspectives and explains his worldview and the show did not manage to capture the whole story. From what I can interpret, humans are social animals and they belong to a social enclave like their family or friends. However, Yozo was shunned by his father and also in school. He even pretended to be a clown just to fit in, or to please humans. We see the same thing happen in the very first scene where he joined the rebellion just for the sake of fitting in, not because he actually wanted to oppose the government.

On the outside it may not be obvious but Yozo had this delusion that there was indeed a monster inside of him. The women whom he interacted with all saw the good him but after the incident society labelled him as a murderer, as a monster that he could not run away from. Even in his happiest moments, living with the journalist and later on with his wife, the monster which he created when he was younger still followed him. The last episode moved me the most as we see Yozo live as a normal human being, living in his own house with his wife drinking with his friend. Yet, that moment had to be ruined because of someone else.

We eventually come to realize in the 3rd episode that the monster within was not him but actually from society which planted it inside of him. His surroundings, his father, his manipulative friend and the press portrayed him as a monster. It depicts the bitter truth about society that once society labels you as something the label stays throughout your life and you are unable to take it off. Something like cancel culture during the Meiji era. The guilt of his failed double suicide would carry with him for the rest of his life. It is also worth noting that the show does have the backdrop of the beginning of WW1, a time where humanity is really being questioned. This idea hit me when Hiroki reveals that he is enlisting in war and straight up says “ I am going to kill people around the world” with a sense of pride. I always saw him as sadistic as he always had tried to leech off Yozo’s demise.

The “foggy” animation helped to complement the dull and tragic nature of the show. Some scenes were very well done and there were some good special effects. The show was depicted in a very dramatic way, to bring the symbolisms seen in the story to life.

Story 2: In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom

The introduction at the start had me intrigued as it explained that the author had a different perspective of cherry blossoms. Despite the tranquil nature of the show, being set at the top of the mountains surrounded by nature, the show can be classified as pure horror. In a sense, the show is a bit cynical as it tries to weave in humorous scenes in between threads of horror. Hence, it felt a bit odd watching the show especially after Shigemaru’s (final) wife entered the scene. She was a whole new level of tsundere, bossing Shigemaru around and having a weird obsession for human heads. I was curious where the story would go with her character and when Shigemaru would reach his limit.

The episodes did try to present itself as a musical, which added to the cynical nature of the show. Hearing a seducing tune whilst women are running for their lives, leaves you stunned for a moment but in the next instant, the mood returns back to its tranquility. This runs parallel to how the mood of the cherry blossom changes as well. When Shigemaru goes underneath the cherry blossom tree, everything seems peaceful and pretty. However, the scene changes drastically at the end and he envisions his beautiful wife as a repulsive devil, causing him to kill her with his bare hands. Overall, the show clearly presents the author's view on cherry blossoms and it was an interesting watch.

Story 3: Kokoro

The story is actually quite simple in terms of plot but the way the producers presented the 2 perspectives gave it more depth and meaning. The major themes I picked out were about self indulgence and also “ the heart wants what it wants”. K who seemed stoic and self disciplined can develop feelings for someone overtime. It also talks about friendship and trusting one another. The multiple perspectives really helped to amplify this as interestingly, both the characters were seen as the villain in each other's lives. K did not live up to the expectation that Sensei had on him and felt that he was committing a crime by having basic human emotions. Whereas Sensei felt that K let him down by caving in to vices. The key takeaway here is that we are so blinded by the expectations we and society have on certain people that we do not actually get to see the truth and the reality. I like that we are presented with 2 alternatives as we will never know the true story. Even though K’s story seemed like a rebuttal to the first part, it is worth noting that it was in a different time period and the events were not exactly the same

One thing that stood out to me in this episode was the recurring motif of flowers as a symbolism to the girl. Both men saw her in a different light. Sensei saw her as a bluebell and she was dressed in a purple kimono in the first part. Bluebells signify gratitude and humility. Her personality complemented this as she was portrayed to be gentle and naive. However, in the second part we see a drastic change in her appearance as well as personality. She is donned in a red and yellow kimono, colors which are bold and fiery. Her personality changes as well as she is the one who makes the advances on K who is the gentle and meek one in this part. Instead of bluebells, he sees her as sunflowers, which signify happiness and warmth, as explained in the show. What I can infer is that the girl represents something that is missing in each other main character’s life. Sensei is looking for how to live a peaceful life and a more philosophical one, hence the girl's personality represents just that. However, K is trying to get out of his shell and yearns for human warmth and love. In the first part we see that he doesn't mind his stoic lifestyle but in the second part his humanity is revealed.

Story 4: Run! Melos

This story was another multi perspective story but unlike Kokoro, it was told chronologically across 2 episodes. The original story was just a Greek play but producers decided to add another layer by including Takada’s story which is parallel to the play that he is writing. I found this really fascinating as it shows how the play emotionally impacts him and unearths his past. This presentation was interesting also because when the story reached its climax and the trauma kicked in, it felt as though Takada’s life was a play itself. The emotions and expressions were really dramatic and I think this was done on purpose to make it seem like play in a play. Stageception perhaps? To complement this, the animation was really fluid and it was visually pleasing. This story perhaps had the best animation in this show

It was obvious that Takada’s life ran parallel to the play and while writing it, he could relate his past experiences to the play. But to who exactly? Was it Melos? Was it the King? Or Was it Serinetius? It was set up in such a way to shuffle the roles as the story progressed. We questioned Takada’s stand throughout the show: Did he not believe that people are trustworthy like the King? Was he the scapegoat like Serinetius? I really enjoyed the drama leading up to the revelation that Joshima had a fight with father which did not allow him to reach the station on time. It was in the end that Takada, who was seemingly Serinetius this whole time, became Melos who raced to meet his friend in his last moments. The ending will tug your heartstrings which shows that despite the circumstances and misunderstandings true friendship still prevails.

Story 5: The Spider’s thread

Before going into the episode, I was pretty familiar with the plot because of its reference in many other anime such as Erased and Death Parade. Therefore, the story was simple and straightforward. What made the episode entertaining to watch, however, was the animation. The trippy animation during the king’s parade and the brightly colored made the scene lively. In contrast, Kandata was jumping from roof to roof killing innocent civilians. The lively celebrations and colorful atmosphere as the backdrop to blood curdling cries almost seemed cynical. Kandata’s appearance did justice to his character with his crimson red eyes and spiky hair showing his thirst for blood. He stood out from the rest of the residents in his tattered clothes as compared to their brightly colored hats and gowns.

The main highlight of this story was when Kandata, enters hell after his grand grand execution which he mocked. The whole 2-3 mins scene where he is suffering and hallucinating is very well done, and gave a Satoshi Kon vibe (especially the scene where the flowers were laughing at him). His hysteria was also captured nicely as well as his desperation to climb up the Spider’s thread to go to heaven. I felt that scene was a bit rushed considering that was the crux of the whole story. The key takeaway is that Kandata was happy to be killed as he was tired of the life he was living but soon regretted it when he was thrown into hell.

Story 6: Hell Screen

This story was the most simplest out of the 6. Set in the same, colorful and brightly lit world as the previous story. However, we were revealed the atrocities that took place in the city. The king, who seemed docile in the previous episode, was seen as a heatless and narcissist leader. Juxtaposed to the scenery of the city and the cheerful processions, Yoshihide felt he was living in hell. This can be considered a continuation of the previous episode as Kandata went around ruthlessly killing citizens. The animation was really spectacular and artistic in this episode, especially the climax where Yoshihide’s daughter burned and he witnessed the “flames of hell”. I suppose a key takeaway from the story is that not everything is pretty on the outside.