Konnichiwa Hivers, it's me, your ridgette again! For today, I'm going to share another horror anime recommendation, and this one is really spooky. A two-part anime that both have teen-aged girls as protagonists, this OVA narrates their lives whose fates were shrouded with supernatural encounters. The first one encountered a mysterious girl, while the second one got tangled in a haunted house. Can they escape the horrors that they're experiencing? So now, come with me as we check out the horrors of The Curse of Kazuo Umezu.
About the Anime
The Curse of Kazuo Umezu (Umezu Kazuo no Noroi) is a horror anime that aired on March 1, 1990. This anime was produced by Takahashi Studio, and it was directed by Naoko Omi. Its genre is obviously horror with a tinge of mystery. By the way, it is a 43-minute-long OVA that was based on the short stories from the manga written and illustrated by Kazuo Umezu.
The OVA began with that warning from a strange man, and it's apparent that he really warns us not to toy with the supernatural. Like I've mentioned, it's a two-part OVA, and the first one was about Masami, who was not only jealous of the new girl, Rima, but also really frightened of her presence. While the whole class admires the new girl, Masami finds her presence and even her stares terrifying. Since the day that the new girl arrived, Masami has experienced nightmares that she doesn't remember when she wakes up. Along with the nightmares, she finds a hideous, small scar on her neck.
Experiencing those unusual things, Masami blames it all on the new girl. Determined to pin Rima down, she asks her friend to help her get evidence. Together, they set up a video recorder that will eventually record the truth behind her nightmares, but what she's about to uncover is something that's bound to change the course of her once normal life—and it's something really terrifying.
The second part of the movie was about a timid girl and her vivacious friend Nanako. Despite her apparent dislike for horror movies, Miko still joins her friend in her horror movie marathons. But it seems that movies aren't enough for Nanako because, as soon as she saw the abandoned mansion, she decided to explore it with Miko. Terrified of the idea of exploring the rumored haunted mansion, Miko adamantly refuses to go with her friend, but after the persistent persuasion of Nanako, she finally gives in. Little did they know that their little tour inside the haunted mansion would be a grave mistake, and definitely there's no turning back.
I was baffled after watching it for the first time. I think the terror that I've felt while watching the movie somehow affected my understanding, so I rewatched it this morning. Upon rewatching, I noticed a lot of details that I'd failed to notice the first time I watched it. The plot twist was something I didn't expect, and I was really shocked at how it turned out. Although it ended quite vaguely for me, I like how the fates of those characters remained undetermined, thus leaving us viewers free to speculate about the possible things that will happen next.
Also, I liked how bloodcurdling the screams were. Those screams made me reminisce about my childhood memories, where at 6:00 p.m., me and my grandma would listen to the radio dramas. The screams in that movie were really similar to those I heard in the radio drama, and even the background music is really similar! Those dramas really scared the wits out of me when I was a child, and I never thought I would hear that background music again in this anime. I thought I had already outgrown my childhood terror for those kinds of sounds and background music, but I guess I'm wrong. I almost screamed the first time I heard the bloodcurdling cry. It really shocked me, and indeed, the music and background sounds did great in amplifying the fear that I felt while watching.
As for the visuals, for me, it's not to my liking. It's really an old anime, so I guess that pretty much explains why the animation was not that decent. The blood doesn't look that realistic, and for me, the characters expressions were sometimes exaggerated. Their exaggerated expressions were somehow disturbing, but I guess that's just fine because horror-themed movies are supposed to be disturbing, right? The art style may not be at its best, but it was certainly enough to deliver the terror in me.
Overall, the movie was really terrifying, especially when you watched it alone. It somehow gave me the temporary anxiety of seeing those creatures near my bed when I slept. I guess I'm not really that fit for watching horror movies, especially those with dolls in them. I'm really not fond of dolls, and even way back in my younger years, I didn't really like dolls or stuffed toys because I really imagined that they would choke me the moment I slept. That's why I grew up playing with wooden swords and toys other than dolls and stuffed toys, because I'm not really comfortable playing with them.
My personal rating for this movie is 7/10. This movie made me reminisce about my childhood terror, and it really made me terrified at some points. The story is brief and really straight to the point. Even though I wasn't able to predict some of the plot twists, the other mysteries were pretty obvious. Anyway, I like how they put some foreshadowing in the details and even some of the dialogue. The art style and animation may not be the best, but it definitely gave me the creeps! So if you're up for an old, spooky anime, then you definitely need to watch The Curse of Kazuo Umezu.
Before I end this review, if you want to get spoiled further, I gladly share with you its short amv, so—
That's all for now, Hivers. I hope you enjoyed reading my anime review. See you on my next blog!
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne minna-san~
The pictures that didn't have a source were screenshots from the anime, while the first and last pictures were edited in Canva.
Omgoshhh!!! Finally met a dark-anime lover! I haven't seen or read this one but it looks interesting!!!!!!! I recommend you to also watch shiki!! Have you watched it already? It's one of my fave dark animated series. It might be long but you'll probably love it too! 😁💞
I have heard this one before, but I never got a chance to check it out. I have watched some of the dark anime series (blood c, corpse party, another—the usual mainstream ones) before, but I always ended up not finishing them ahhahahuhu. That's why, now, I just settle for movies or series with fewer episodes.
As a fan of spooky stuff I'm definitely going to binge watch this. Sounds like an interesting plot plus the animation style is actually my favorite, so it seems like a really good combo.
Thanks for this recommendation and for such a great post :)
Totally worth it to watch! Although the animation and art style aren't to my liking, it did a good job in spooking the hell out of me (now I'm paranoid when I see a small scar even it's just from a mosquito bite ahahaha).
This animated film seemed interesting. Would like to watch soonest. Thanks for sharing the review, @ridgette.
It indeed is interesting! The plot was quite baffling at first (or it's just me not understanding it because I'm too spooked out ahahaha), but the endings were definitely satisfying, tho they leave a lot of questions in my mind.
You're welcome @rosealign, and thanks for stopping by!
I've never see any horror anime but I guess this one will be worthy to binge watch
It was really a terrifying one, tho the first one was quite slow-burner, but once the mystery got solved, the real horror enters and it did really shocked me! It's just a 43 minute-long OVA, so it's not really dragging to watch.
Kya I'm still not sure if I can handle the suspense tho
The suspense was really enjoyable, and it really kept me at the edge of my seat! Definitely a must watch!
1990? Wow, we really went backwards with this anime, but I think the best comes from those times. I think today's censorship doesn't allow us to see gems like that, but it's good to know that these things exist.
Thanks for sharing!
The horror way back then was really terrifying despite that the blood and gore details weren't that convincing. The way the blood exaggeratedly spurted out really made me uncomfortable, and the screams and sound effects—for me, those were more terrifying than the visuals! Old horror anime were indeed gems!
You're welcome @musicandreview!