Souta Ueno 上野壮大, ever the prolific filmmaker, has become a name of considerable renown within the Japanese animation industry, to a point where his magnificent achievements are of a notable persuasion that goes against everything that every other anime takes for granted, through no fault of their own of course. His ability to surpass the limitations of artistic expression, irregardless of the severe constraints of production woes (as is the case with Studio Deen's fairly meager resources) exemplifies someone with a keen eye for bending the rules in lieu of commonplace practices.

Almost two years ago he took on the task of adapting Days with My Stepsister, a herculean one at that, to critical acclaim. The cinematic language, the breadth of technical aspects and auditory techniques on display, were cut and parcel definitive art of the highest degree. Through Ghost Mikawa's work he took on and exhibited a near infinite understanding of the material's strengths and weaknesses and sought to deliver something tangibly coherent so as to elicit new interpretations that would resonate with the viewer. Now, those specific skillsets can also make or break enjoyment, but it's all in the eye of the beholder. You either like his brand or not, and that's perfectly understandable.

Although his directing style proves alienating at first, there's something inherently unique about him that sticks out, to an aesthetic sense. For SHIBOYUGI Ueno uses his remarkable experience to iron out the kinks in his managerial position to more accurately continue heightening sensibilities intrinsic to his frame of mind, and with a title as thematically perverse and provocative as a genre-defining outlier like death games, that assortment of coherent storytelling avenues reaches a new euphoric high.

Just as with Gimai Seikatsu he understands the main draw of the work to an analytical extent. The setting and characters, minus Yuki, interchangeable at the drop of a hat, can be seen through an imperceptible glass of reality, where the original intention becomes more or less indistinguishable from the genuine article. Despite the titillating fanservice and invasive hypervigilance the girls are held under, Ueno makes no qualms about highlighting the seriousness of these death games. They are not fun. They are not black or white. It's life and death. And the seductive allure behind confronting death straight in the face becomes like a second skin for mentally impaired individuals like Yuki. Each game has their own stylistic spin on the macabre, until eventually, the psychological barriers behind each participant reach their own breaking points wherein Ueno entreats his own practical spin on abstraction and visual modernistic sensitivities that encroach on emotional investment.

Junichi Matsumoto is another character of unique renown that deserves a special mention, on account of their beautiful score, which, interlaced with one of the most striking sound directions, displays immaculate mastery over tension and sentimental mood.

Transgressive and transformative, the ghostly impression carried by the protagonist takes a life on its own. Ueno demonstrates time and again his willingness to go past the curve/testing the waters when it comes to taking advantage of commercial animation's benefits, contending against mainstream narrative structure, diverging at times from the original literary tools that author Yuushi Ukai has conveyed to readers. The results are a rarefied ingredient of abridged, if not imperfect, manifestations of the story's world and characters, but still palpably intimate and powerful, all in the veins of servicing a complete work of art that favors a fulfilled, unbending vision. In a genre oversaturated with heady substances like blood and gore, a venerable subsistence on violence and escapist fantasies, it's with heavy relief and exaltation to see an anime rather choose the latter approach, unrelenting in bypassing the visual splendors of brutality, even point blank refusing to assuage viewers' curiosity and concisely aim its efforts on creating an enrichment of empowering, life-changing storytelling (admittedly through the perspective of someone damaged by society)

Although it is comparatively rough and otherwise lacking in certain areas when compared with his best work (Gimai Seikatsu), it's still strong enough to warrant apt consideration. Some arcs didn't quite hit the home stretch that was intended, but there's something appealing about the inconsistency of its ups and downs that make it stand out. Which, in and of itself, was in service to the romanticization of a person as dead inside but wanting of gratification as Yuki was, twisted as she is, yet morally sound and compassionate in searching for a contorted "love" that escaped her, unawares of her specialness.