We can all agree on the fact that horror anime often fail to actually be scary. Yet, it seems that Yami Shibai does a good job at it.
Story: 15/20
Each episode consists in a 4-minute short story, always following the same pattern and starting with the narration of a storyteller who briefly introduces us to the characters. We are then rapidly thrown into a seemingly ordinary situation, which progressively proves itself to not really be quite ordinary. The tension builds up until the climax is reached, signaling the end of the episode. Some people seem to consider short anime to be inherently bad, but I think this duration works well with the horror genre. The fact that the story ends really quickly prevents us from getting distracted, which would nullify all the tension-building.
The stories are very open to interpretation, as the reason why the events of the episode happened is never really explained. This can be unnerving, and even seem like a cheap way to write a story without having to think too much about it. It's probably true, but I think it also helps strenghtening the fear. The episodes start with an everyday situation that becomes abnormal because a supernatural being made its way into it, leaving the protagonist to wonder what exactly is happening and why. The fact that the threat's nature is unknown increases the sens of danger and the feeling of not knowing what to do. There are a few stories in which the side characters seem to understand the situation, but they never explain it to the protagonist, leaving them – and us – to face something we cannot comprehend.
Characters: 17/20
Each story has its own characters, the narrator being the only one who appears in every episode. As you can guess, we do not have much time to get to know them before the episode ends, but this is not really a problem because there simply is not much to learn about them. Those characters are not complex or remarkable in any way, acting like most people probably would if they were in their place. A lot of them are not even given a name and are simply introduced by the narrator as your average man, woman, little boy, ...
Is that a bad thing? Not really. Each story shows you how some people can suddenly find themselves in a terrible and horrifying situation, and the fact that those people are awfully normal only increases the feeling that those stories could be real. They are happening in our world, to people who are just like us, so how can we be sure that they really are just stories?
Visuals: 14/20
Let's directly get to the main point: the animation. It can be a major turn-on or turn-off depending on how you see it for the simple reason that... well, there is actually nothing that could really be called "animation" in Yami Shibai. The visuals are made to mimic the style of the kamishibai, which is a style of storytelling that uses paper characters moving in front of a background. The movements are therefore very limited – for example, when someone talks, their lips don't move – and illusory, as the characters simply jump from one pose to another. But when the time comes for real movement, you'll definitely feel uneasy.
The characters have a design that's quite realistic compared to most anime on the market which clearly helps setting a more serious mood. Most of the colours used are either dark and dull or reddish, contributing to the establishment of a eerie atmosphere.
However, the art style varies from one episode to another, some being much prettier than others.
I'll let you guess which one I like best.
Sound: 17/20
The voice-acting is quite good, but also different from what you're probably used to. You won't hear your typical anime voice that no real japanese person has, but something closer to reality in the way the characters speak.
The musics are fine, but rather discreet. The sinister atmosphere is mainly set using sound effects or a sudden silence.
The ending is sung by Hatsune Miku, which is... very surprising. But – and it is maybe even more surprising – it actually fits the mood of the anime quite well, the robotic vocaloid voice giving the song some kind of strange tone.
Enjoyment: 19/20
So, did Yami Shibai find the miracle recipe to make a scary anime? Not completely.
I found all the episodes – minus one – to be creepy, but the quality wasn't quite constant. While some stories were really nice and managed to frighten me, others were extremely weird, leaving me with a "What did I just watch?" feeling. Obviously, we are all very different when it comes to what we consider to be scary, and if some people will shiver in fear while watching this anime, others will just probably wait for the episode to end without batting an eye.
On a side note, I'd like to point out that most episodes contain a jumpscare. I admit that, well, I'm not a fan of those, as I don't consider that making me jump is making me afraid. However, jumpscares are something that's rarely used in anime and, for this reason, I think it is quite remarkable.
As a whole, I really liked Yami Shibai. It is different and, even though it isn't perfect, it is very interesting and entertaining. It will certainly not appeal to everyone, but I'd recommend it to anyone who likes horror stories.