Red Garden, Volume 1 - Anime News Network

"gorgeous"

"a stylish and sexy story about death and murder"

"a series worth watching"

Shelf Life
Ready to Rumble
by Bamboo Dong, Sep 17 2007


Regardless of anything else that happens in this world from now until the end of time, there will always be one universal truth: nothing is creepier than giggling children in an empty hallway, and glowing butterflies. I've never been able to explain Japan's fascination with glowing butterflies and their connection with everything that is violently evil (though I'm hoping that one of my more intrepid readers will look it up and let me know), but it's gotten to the point where I can't see butterflies in a field without assuming that somewhere nearby lies the rotting corpse of a child.

Red Garden takes those same feelings of uneasiness and paranoia and shoots them back at viewers in a stylish, and even sexy, story about death and murder. The premise of the series is fairly original—a group of girls whose only common thread is a dead friend are led to a woman who tells them that they were murdered the previous night. That they're still able to move around and go about their “lives” is because she's graciously rented them more life. In exchange, they have to kill monsters with their bare hands.

It's not really that good of a deal, if you think about it. Sure, you're alive, but only as long as you don't get mauled to death by these creatures, and as long as you're some woman's pawn. These girls don't seem to think it's a great deal, either, and are wracked with personal problems. For starters, they're dead. Being able to go to school with your friends is a lot less fun when you know that you've been stabbed in the stomach. Add having to brutally kill whenever you're called upon? Oof.

As far as psychological horrors go, Red Garden's pretty great. The characters are a bit dull at the moment, but I imagine that as the story unfurls and they learn to interact with each other more, they'll become more complex. It's easy to draw initial comparisons to Gantz (incidentally, both series were produced by Gonzo), but the atmosphere is very different, and Red Garden doesn't appear to have as much social commentary. Instead, it focuses more on the stylistic aspect, stocking itself with chic women and drowning itself with enough red symbolism to summon Bruce Willis.

This is definitely a series worth watching, especially as the department stores start loading up with Halloween merchandise. The gloomy aura that permeates the show is enough to send chills up spines of even the toughest, and with so many unanswered questions presented in the first disc, it's impossible to not want to keep watching. The character designs are gorgeous, too, with the big hair, the huge lips, and the blunt noses. Combining these super shoujo looks with such a dark atmosphere provides a terrific contrast, and if you're not in love with the show by the time you see a fashionista clubbing someone with a baseball bat, then this probably isn't your can of soda. For everyone else who likes their ladies with a heavy dose of violence and plenty of suspense, Red Garden is a must-see.

Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 (Archive on Thursday, October 18, 2007)