Mouryou no Hako Intro

Mouryou no Hako (魍魎の匣), Madhouse animation, opening song by Nightmare, CLAMP character designs, adapted from Natsuhiko Kyougoku’s mystery novel. A amalgamation of all-round excellence or mystical flop?

Opening scene of a man (who looks like a 25 year old Sumeragi Subaru), on his way home to his granny’s funeral. A guy who looks like Alucard from Hellsing or Akabane from Getbackers sits opposite him. He holds an elaborate looking purple box which he opens to reveal the head of a young girl – who shockingly opened her lips to sing. “Yes she’s alive..” the man in black smirks into the opening strains of ‘Lost in Blue’.

Unlike other detective (Himitsu) or supernatural series, Mouryou no Hako does not feature a “monster of the week” but thankfully, has a plot and offers a mystery to be solved. Thus there is some merit in watching every episode, simply for clues and details.

The greatest flaw of Mouryou no Hako is that it mixes detective with supernatural and is sometimes so deeply mired in mysticism that it becomes nonsensical. Trying to piece the pieces together is especially hard because we are offered factual events (e.g. discovery of body parts), ghosts and legends in equal amounts. The greatest challenge is to be able to tell them apart. Afterall, myths and legends about goddesses and evil spirits cannot explain criminal actions… or can they?

This series reminds me of Tokyo Babylon for its mix of detective with supernatural. However, its style and presentation is much more complex. In TB, you know that omyoujitsu is used to commit crimes. Belief in omyoujitsu is not necessary to enjoy or comprehend the story. In Mouryo no Hako, nothing is known for certain regarding the relationship between spirits and crimes.

In terms of atmosphere, it is closer to psychological thriller Monster. Except that Monster is a childhood horror story, whereas Mouryou no Hako is just a horror story constructed of creepy urban legends, creepy characters, creepy families and a creepy murder case all thrown together. In contrast to other ’supernatural’ animes, xxxHolic and Natsume Yuujincho, the focus of Mouryou no Hako is more on the murder mystery, though the title itself suggests that a larger role for supernatural forces.

As a detective story, the intrigue and suspense is better done than ‘Monster of the week” series like Himitsu the Relevation. The touch of mysticism lends it romantic and otherworldly tones absent from solidly ‘detective’ animes. It is certainly not an action series though.

The key players in Mouryo no Hako featured in the last opening scene are Detective Kiba, author Sekiguchi (Subaru Lookalike), investigator Toriguchi and Kougoku-dou.

After wading through episodes of Yuujincho, Kurozuka, Kenonome Zume, Kuroshitsuji, Blade of the Immortal, I look forward to having an anime that balances suspense with substance, so I’m hoping for the best out of Mouryou no Hako. Hopefully, it doesn’t sink too deeply into its own philosophy and urban legends.