C Danchi

C Danchi is a stinky stew of Lovecraftian horror, on the nose social commentary, and CGDCT/SoL stylings, all of which combine to produce a whole lot of cringe-comedy, in both intentional and unintentional fashion. The main focus was obviously meant to be the Lovecraftian horror, but all of these other elements subtract from building tension and atmosphere, so the horror has no chance of being anything more than "so bad it's good" b-movie horror—but there's a thin line between that and "so bad it's bad."

When it comes to attempts at evoking Lovecraft in visual mediums, there's usually the slow-burn horror intent on building atmosphere; ... there's also the more recent "inversion and social commentary" variety of Lovecraft-inspired/adapted works. C Danchi is a hybrid of the two styles. To make matters worse, C Danchi is not simply taking the basic concepts and ideas from Lovecraft or subsequent cosmic horror authors and expanding on them in new ways. The series is making direct references to Cthulhu by name, randomly showing a stereotypical Lovecraftian critter in the first few minutes, and depicting numerous drawings obviously inspired by Lovecraft's stories. Many authors continued to expand upon Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos after his death, and this kind of referential tendency has become commonplace in modern horror. If horror is about the unknown, then pop culture references should be abandoned as cheap b-movie crap. Nods and winks to the audience about "Cthulhu" is simply diminishing the horror and rendering this series as even more inauthentic. The cheap digital blood splatter in the opening, walking cliche's such as the all-knowing NEET drawing the alleged monsters like a tortured artist, and the senseless and badly placed cold opening, as well as many, many other elements, are also to the series' detriment.

As for the social commentary and the inversion of Lovecraft, it's a fact that horror's roots stem from xenophobia—most of the main villains of horror stories are either monsters, aliens, ghosts, some kind of aberration, or outsiders. The clear intent with C Danchi was to show friction between the Japanese and the "fishing interns," the latter being migrant workers from the Middle East, and then relate these same tensions to past events, and, finally, presenting the question of whether we will "come full circle" with disastrous consequences or if we can, to quote the great philosopher John Lennon, "COME TOGETHER." If you're at all familiar with Lovecraft's works, you'll know about the xenophobic themes of many of his stories: true to the form of horror, the outsiders harbor dark gods, and they are to be repelled. The inversion of C Danchi instead hopes to bring together entirely unrelated cultures and reconcile their differences.

It is possible to invert this trope effectively, but the writer does not have the skill to do so, or would prefer to make overcooked political propaganda rather than anything entertaining, artistic, or good. C Danchi takes the xenophobia theme and then turns it into a joke and milks it for humor in the dumbest of ways, and it's equally ham-fisted when they try to use it for serious, dramatic purposes. The writing, especially with the derpy Kimi tagging along, feels like Barney the Dinosaur: "I love you, you love me." Just add a bit of conflict. You can tell that this was meant for a Western audience or had Western influence without knowing it's airing on Toonami or was produced by Adult Swim.

For most of the series, flat characters are guided along through a predictable and familiar culture clash plot. The social commentary first arises when a man introduces a dozen or so fishery interns to an elderly Japanese lady who is the landlord. The interns are presented as the sweetest little angels, while the old lady is rude and rebuffs them because they are foreigners, and this kind of conflict between natives and foreigners will persist throughout the series, usually resulting in kumbaya song and dance sessions. First of all, I was laughing the whole time because of the numerous awkward pans over the interns and the other characters, how painfully forced it was, and the comical music; I half expected a Brazzers logo to appear and confirm this was just a prank. I didn't even know the interns were supposed to be foreigners until they started speaking broken English, which was made even funnier by the awful English dub, and all of this adds to the sudden hilarity and weirdness of the scene. By this point, it's pretty clear this series has absolutely failed as horror.

There are some interesting elements to the mystery and lore, but almost all of these threads are closed in a very fast infodumpy final episode, filled with plot holes, plot contrivances, and silliness that leaves me asking "Are you serious?" It's definitely telling that this was written by a VN author, and one who is concerned with spectacle and overly dramatic reveals above anything else, which is heightened by the blandness of the earlier episodes. The foreshadowing is poor for many of the reveals at the very end.

Finally, there's the CGDCT/SoL stylings: this contrasting cute with horror thing from Japan needs to stop. Honestly, does Japan have to include children in everything? You're lucky to ever get a protagonist older than 18, but who wants to watch 9-year-old and 10-year-old girls, one of them sporting childish cat clothing—complete with a freaking cat tail—unearth spooky Lovecraftian monsters? Does this invoke fear, build the atmosphere, or contribute anything worthwhile to the story? Sure, it's good to contrast the horror with something a bit lighter or more ordinary, but this is too much!

This is without doubt the "Hey, kid, shut up!" anime of the year. As much as I (learned to) like Higurashi, I think it's probably the no. 1 series that set horror anime up to fail. It combined ultra-contrasty CGDCT/SoL and a syrupy moe aesthetic with intensely paranoid mystery/thriller/horror writing. It's a combination that should have never worked, but they pulled it off because the scripting, the directing, and the non-linear story they had to tell was actually good. What also helped with Higurashi is that while it would cut to some very young kids once in a while, and they would baby talk and say stuff like "NIPAH MI NANODESU" or whatever nonsense, and everyone would nod and pretend to listen and say, "Aw! How cute," then we'd cut back to the older kids, and they would be like "So, anyway..." and they'd actually talk about important stuff. The problem is that our main counter-balance to the little tykes in C Danchi are like 70+, probably senile, and struggling to keep their dentures in while their mouths flap open to talk, and that also sums up everything I have to say about the animation, which is barely there—this is slideshow content.

The humorous and light-hearted songs are simply awful. The music, even during the normal parts, should buildup to or in some way complement the horrific parts. it doesn't matter how spooky it might get later, as I'll always remember the clown show music that preceded it, and the constant tonal whiplash destroys immersion. You're better off having at least somber music or more scene-fitting tracks that aren't too silly. It's like the composer only had the most childish Halloween Music for Kindergarteners compilation to choose songs from. In many ways, music and sound design are the most important elements of horror, and this is another area where C Danchi is deficient.

Essentially, we're left with a low-budget and clumsy story of culture clash meets Lovecraft in a cutesy cat costume for Halloween. There are too many mismatched and conflicting elements for this to be anything other than horrible. It's ironic that a story about an attempt to reconcile the differences between two distinct cultures is such an unappetizing mess of clashing ideas.

I'm fairly generous towards Adult Swim originals. I'm a long time fan of the block and I want to see them succeed in these final years of cable. Overall, I love FLCL Progressive even though no one else does, FLCL Alternative was alright, Fena: Pirate Princess started off strong but didn't go anywhere, and I watched one episode of Blade Runner: Black Lotus before deciding "yeah I'm not interested in this one". Finally there's Shenmue, which as someone who's never played the games, I really enjoyed. And now we have Housing Complex C, which can only be described as Adult Swim's plan B if Uzumaki ... wasn't ready in time. I applaud that we got a new horror anime but this was way too short.

God, what was the plot? A bunch of middle easterners move into a seaside housing complex, the old Japanese residents are racist, there's a mystery going on underneath the housing complex, and also one of the residents is really into the Cthulhu mythos. This is 4 episodes long and that is all I could remember about the plot. This is written by amphibian, a visual novel writer, and you can REALLY tell. Most of the dialogue is expository, which for a visual novel that goes on for several hours is fine to have. But for a 4 episode anime, essentially a 90 minute movie? Yeah it comes off more as wasted time. 80-85% of this show is exposition, let that sink in.

The first thing I noticed when watching the credits is that the character designs are by the great Yoshitoshi ABe. His designs are far closer to that of RErideD (a hilariously bad sci-fi romp that goes on for far too long) than any of his late 90s/early 2000s works, but his presence is a welcome surprise and one that I think would have generated more interest in the series had it, or for that matter any of the Japanese crew besides the director/writer/producer/studio, been revealed prior to episode 1's drop. Honestly while we're on that subject, it IS kind of weird that they bothered to reveal the director and studio since both are pretty unknown. The director is a complete mystery, so much so that it could be a psuedonym, and the studio is mostly known for in-between animation. I don't mind them being unknowns, I appreciate new faces, though the direction is pretty meh. The use of negative space was probably to build suspense but it comes off as really lame shot composition. Can't say I cared for any of the storyboarding, but the animation itself is fine.

In the sound department, I have nothing to say about the music because there is nothing noteworthy or memorable about the music. That's perfectly fine, not all scores need to be bombastic and catchy. In the case of Housing Complex C, being atmospheric and lowkey is fine. To address the elephant in the room, the series is currently only available in the English dub. It releases on HBO Max three hours after broadcast but the HBO Max version only includes the English dub, which is strange but not surprising. Part of the reason Adult Swim partnered with Crunchyroll for their last three shows was because Adult Swim is incompetent with providing the Japanese sub. Nevertheless, the dub is good and is only going to piss off the die-hard sub elitists who would probably never give this show the time of day.

A lot of my criticisms with Housing Complex C are negated by how short it is. If this were 12 episodes long and none of the problems fixed itself this would be an easy 5/10. But it's 4 episodes! I have to give this anime props for not wasting my time. There's no sunk cost to be had, it's the length of a movie. That being said, if this were a movie it wouldn't be that good of a movie. It's over an hour of exposition followed by a really anticlimactic (but fun) last 15 minutes. Do I recommend it? Well, it's 4 episodes long, you likely decided if you were going to watch it before you read this review. It's alright, there's significantly worse horror anime out there. One thing I will give Housing Complex C is that it didn't anger me, it did not make me despise the choices that are made. This is not a bad anime, it just also does not have anything exemplary either. The last episode is neat but didn't build up to it very well. I would love to see these guys make another Adult Swim anime. Just one that's either longer or makes better use of the 4 episodes.

For an anime that's essentially the length of a movie, and is a rarity being that it's horror, definitely give it a watch if you're interested. It won't change your life, but it's absolutely a fun way to spend 2 hours.

As a whole, the show was okay. The animation was consistent, pretty, and each character would pass the silhouette test as long as the roster was just this show's characters. The voicework (I watched the dub) was quite good, particularly in the later episodes. The music was solid, subtle, but not very memorable. Also, the story was genuinely interesting despite feeling cliche for a lot ... of it and requiring an hour's worth of expository dialogue to explain it all by the end (It'd be awesome to get a 12-24 episode version of this with some changes so the viewer could piece together more of what's going on by themselves if they paid attention but just not be able to confirm it until it's officially revealed).

The first episode was definitely the weakest one. It starts off interesting, there's a really great flashback to the past, but the scares wind up feeling more humorous than actually scary, and some dialogue feels off.

The second episode is where things start to feel more serious, but also a bit cliché. Despite the clichés though, it remains interesting and doesn't feel nearly as "off" as the first episode did with its scares and dialogue.

The third episode was worrisome at first, it had me concerned that it all was gonna wind up being a big bundle of clichés by the end. But stick around because by the end I was thoroughly invested in what was going down.

The final episode, despite having loads of dialogue to explain...things...was loads of fun and the voice acting was truly wonderful. The buildup from the prior episodes may not have been there, but even without that I felt satisfied with the way things ended and greatly enjoyed the ride.

Altogether, it's not great. Not even "good" really. But it's fun, and it made me want more.

Horror is anime's weakest link. It's quite possibly the one genre that the anime industry just cannot pull off well at all. To them, horror is basically just gore and jumpscares with the occasional reference to the supernatural. This is a genre that thrives off of subtlety and atmosphere, elements that the medium generally does not pull off well nowadays. "Housing Complex C" serves as another reminder of that.

I was kind of hyped for this show to be fairly honest. An Adult Swim original produced by Production IG and whose premise carries this very surreal, almost dreamlike vibe about it; I was expecting the ... next "Serial Experiments Lain" all of a sudden. It sounded like it was going to be similar to "The Drifting Classroom" or even "Silent Hill" for that matter, with residents being trapped in a housing complex and weird happenings running amock. But oh my goodness, was this show atrocious.

"Housing Complex C" commits the biggest sin a horror series could commit: it's just not at all scary. Not in the slightest. The atmosphere is way too mundane and even cheery to put you on edge. The surroundings feel too normal, there's too much daylight, and anything that felt like it was supposed to scare just came in the form of dead animals. That's kinda sick to be fairly honest. Not once did I feel unnerved by anything in this. It even tries to pull off a "The Happening" and make plantlife seem terrifying. Like, seriously, plantlife? Even something like "Another" kept me more on edge because at least that show managed to get the atmosphere down to a tee. Also did I tell you the anime just ends up being another gorefest by the end?

The characters are all boring and one note. There's practically no depth to them whatsoever. I also sympathize with any of them. The main lead is basically the typical happy-go-lucky anime girl that you see in every single slice-of-life anime. It was like putting Yui from "K-on" into a horror anime. She practically shows no personality other than being inquisitive and joyful all the time. Then there's Taka who basically exists just to solely dump exposition whenever the plot demands it. There's so much infodumping in this 4 episode anime and not enough time for viewers to take everything in. Rather than thrilling audiences with some insane scares or abstract imagery, the show just seems to throw exposition after exposition every freaking second. The show also includes a group of interns into the mix who come from another culture and are basically treated as stereotypes of that particular culture. Isn't that kind of racist?

And the dialogue. Good lord, the dialogue. I mean I'm not expecting "Boondocks" levels of swearing and slang in this Adult Swim original, but at least make the dialogue sound mature. It feels like it was written by a 5 year old. I cannot imagine any sort of adult wanting to listen to this at all; it feels like dialogue written for a pbs kids show. And much of it is just blatant exposition, like I previously noted.

The only thing the anime does differently from most other horror is the twist at the end. I'll admit, I did not see it coming, at all. But, on the downside, it makes no sense and comes smack dab right out of nowhere.

The animation and music choices are very basic. Everything about this production just screams low budget and passionate. I'm guessing the animators were treated like trash for this project and that deadlines were rushed. It felt like no effort was put into making the animation stand out or anything. There were a ton of animation errors and off-model shots and plenty of movement that feels very stilted. It kind of reminds me of the "Biscuit Hammer" anime in many ways and we all know how bad that one was.

Avoid this show at all costs. If you want to watch a creepy anime that would keep you on your toes, check out "Serial Experiments Lain". Check out "Paranoia Agent" and "Evangelion." These aren't solely horror, but they contain elements and imagery that will disturb or frighten you. Heck, even "Another" is well more worth it than this, and that show isn't even good. It's an incoherent, badly animated, infodump-ridden pile of feces that just has no right belonging in an adults programming block.

I'm sorry, I needed to vent and get this off my chest. I was expecting so much more from this.

Housing Complex C is interesting. It's only 4 episodes, and that's its main problem. It has a very interesting premise, and I genuinely enjoyed it, but being as short as it is is problematic.

This show has enough to have been 12 episodes, but because there are only 4 the pacing is all over the place. The first 3 episodes build up the tension nicely, only for the last episode to dump a load of exposition in the first half, and speed-run through the rest of the reveals and twists in the other half. Again, if it were a longer show I feel it could've ... been done a lot of justice, but for the amount of episodes it is the story really doesn't get the development and pacing that it honestly deserves.

In case you're still interested though, I'll continue the review:

Plot/World-Building - 6/10

As previously mentioned, this show has a good premise! It's just the short episode span that forces it to skip out a lot of helpful development and pacing. As there are mysteries present, plot and world-building have to be revealed over time, but (aside from the general pacing/short-run issue) it's handled well enough. Things are explained and teased enough to feel like there's actually something to grasp here but not TOO much that the ending is spoiled and revealed right off the bat.

Art Style/Animation - 7/10

The artistry here does what it needs to accomplish. It's nothing ground breaking but it works well. The characters are expressive and their personalities read through their designs pretty well. The settings are actually very nicely detailed and some scenes were actually really beautiful to watch.

Script/Voice-Acting - 8/10 (Eng Dub)

There's not much to be said here in terms of script. It did what it needed to do. Each character spoke in a natural, easy to understand way that fit their characterisation well. Again, alongside the pacing issue, there were occasional dumps of exposition and dialogue that go a bit convoluted, but other than that it was all well-done. The voice acting was stellar. Each actor fit their role nicely, and the last episodes **events** were delivered seriously well by all involved.

Characters - 7/10

For the millionth time, I'll mention the 4-episode span of this show. There wasn't enough time to fully explore most of the characters, especially since there's quite a few important ones. However, with what we were given - it was good. I found it easy to connect and empathise with a lot of these characters, and genuinely enjoyed a lot of their personalities and interactions. Majority of them were relatively standard, friendly people, but overall the cast of characters are likeable enough to enjoy watching.

Overall - 6/10

There's a genuinely interesting mystery to explore here, and it is handled well enough. Watching this show is definitely not a BAD experience, but it can get a little confusing at times in terms of pacing and the occasional exposition dumps. Luckily, with the short episode span, at least it's not too much of a commitment. I would definitely recommend this if you're an avid viewer of horror or mystery, but maybe not so much if you're not too interested in either genre as this show may not hold your attention very well.

As a fan of HP Lovecraft and not knowing anything about this show before going into it, I was delighted to find out how many lovecraftian allusions are present within the story. I was a little saddened by the rather rapid pace and somewhat haphazard approach to the story but these feelings of mine could just be due to my longing for slow burn horror fiction. The twist was interesting and gruesome but in the end I felt like there was something missing.

Overall, it’s definitely worth a watch especially if you’re a fan of HO Lovecraft. It’s a fun and gruesome watch that doesn’t ... take too long to get through

Three episodes of slice-of-life padding and semi-promising racism commentary that goes nowhere, building up to an explosion of unjustified chaos that I would say "must be seen to be believed" if I wanted anyone to waste their time on it. Nearly every plot thread is dropped, even ones which were introduced earlier in the same episode, and numerous more suddenly take prominence for reasons left very unclear. Half the finale is clumsy infodumping and it still ends up maddeningly vague as to what the point even was.

The big dude's really cool, and the finale has a smattering of brief interesting moments, albeit ones that come ... from nowhere and go nowhere just as quickly. That's not enough to justify sitting through this schlock.

Stories touching on Lovecraftian mythos tend to vary between "okay" and "garbage" and C-Danchi ends up closer to the latter, but not without its bright points. If you're watching this for Cthulu terror or because it has Yoshitoni ABe's name on it, I'm sorry to say you're better off watching something else.
The plot is a very protracted mess of remote island and ancient cult mystery. It has some decent ideas, or at least borrows some them from other works in this sphere, but fails to deliver those well with appropriate set-up and pay off. Rather it wastes a sizeable chunk of its limited runtime with ... old folks gossiping and community drama. Neither of these aspects matter in the end - the meaningful content in the first three episodes could be condensed into one (and is, with an infodump for the first five minutes of the final episode). A few key points were neatly foreshadowed, but they didn't get any of the attention they deserved.

What makes this meandering crap even worse is that the dialogue is stilted and terribly written. As of writing, the show is only available in a mediocre English dub, but even with more experienced or natural voice actors it would be painful to experience. The most benign conversation will carry on for way too long, punctuated by poor attempts at setting tone with completely random interjections of dark subject matter. None of it feels human, it's like listening to two Oblivion NPCs talk about the weather.

The show at least looks serviceable and manages to impress occasionally with properly unsettling visuals. The animation correctly focuses on characters and scenes that matter, though these carry a sorry amount of screentime due to the aforementioned wasteful writing. Main character designs (Kan and Kimi in particular) are appropriately cute and unsettling, but the rest of the cast is extremely bland. The direction is pretty straightforward with few interesting or creative moments save for a couple of shots near the climax, and sometimes you'll get creative lighting with a flashlight or a close-up of an eye. For the most part though it leans on very standard framing, with a dreadfully standard color palette and artstyle, all working to the detriment of the tone it's trying to set.

C-Danchi can't decide if it wants to be a spooky gorefest like Another, an existential nightmare in the vein of other Lovecraftian works, or a tense rural thriller like Shiki or Higurashi. It fails to deliver any of these. I'm at least glad it was short, since the worthwhile bits at the end were quick to arrive. The last episode is fun if nothing else.
Would it have been better if it had a normal series length, say 6 or 10 episodes? No, because it wastes what little it had on set-up for inconsequential BS. Would it have been better if it had proper Japanese voice actors? No, because the lines they have to deliver still sound procedurally generated. Would it have been better under a different studio and production committee? Not even that could save the dozens of misdirected plot threads, cheap jump scares and hamfisted metaphors about "optical illusions". It would be better if you turn to your backlog and watch an entirely different show if you're looking for a good horror series.

Can't beat a story that's short and too the point. C Danchi only being 4 episodes is a big reason why I watched it and I don't regret it. It's a sort of mystery, cosmic horror, with a focus on humanities vices. It doesn't over preach, it doesn't linger too long on any of the gore or animal death, and it doesn't do anything gorss to it's young girl protagonists. It's certainly not going out of it's way to spook you, with much more focus being on the build up of the story then anything else. It's very middle of the road playing it safe ... in the realm of horror animes but I don't think it's to the show's detriment at all.
Not anything crazy or must watch but if you're interested at all it's worth it.

It’s unbelievable how short this series is: the show does a wonderful of job making these short episodes feel like they are a lot longer. The writing is so air tight that not a single step is missed to keep things moving along, world building, exploration, and surely stacking up to where it wants to go. However, the fourth episode is admittedly rushed—some scenes are beautifully done and are the best in the series. It does makes sense that this episode had to come to a conclusion because of how short the run time is; it’s rather astonishing how they were able to fit everything ... in four episodes. I would’ve enjoyed a longer series that explored the mysteries of Housing Complex C since there are so many great ideas and an extraordinary amount of potential in the series.

I usually do not write reviews but seeing how this short yet very strong anime is getting kicked down like weaker series is kinda upsetting for me.
IF you want something different, very different for once, Housing Complex C is gonna be down your lane if you enjoy Mystery, Gore and Mythos and Legends. Trust me, even if the start is confusing, it comes all together at the end.
Without spoiling anything or saying too much, it is literally 4 episodes, each 20-25 minutes, the characters and writing is well done and it sure threw me for a loop all together.
I enjoy a good horror anime, doesn't ... need to be something long like Death Note or Tokyo Ghoul, neither which I actually watched, they pulled enough attention already.

I mean its alright.

Compared to the other animes that are airing while this one is, this is dog water. If we compare it to what it is, a horror anime, then Id say its still not the best. I can see where they are trying to go with the anime, but its poorly executed.

One major flaw is its direction. 3 episodes have aired so far out 4. I still cant tell if this horror anime is about Satanist, Fish people, or about a antient ritual burial ground. I just believe if they would have just focused on one horror element, then the writing could have ... just been more defined.

I am going to finish the last episode next week to just complete it.

I thought it was interesting at times and I genuinely wanted to see how it went but.. with this type of horror you have to let things bake instead of making a narrative where the eldritch plot points feel like they were just popped in there? It wants to intersperse any suspense building with traditional slice of life humor and moments which ruins it. If you are just a regular anime watcher, I would recommend this, but if you're into Lovecraft, do not watch this lmao it's like a mish mash of the barebones of several stories. It just doesn't approach the Mythos with the ... detail it deserves.

C Danchi (2022)

People say this as a horror sucks because it's just gore and jump scares. That is true but then at least with the gore, it's one above Hollywood for the most part. Not many live films are more than music and jumps, so to say this is awful because anime fails at horror is harsh. The show isn't scary don't get me wrong but it has the making of something that could be. It will be unpopular for being controversial for its use of modern religions and a way that some may dislike but then it's an anime get over it, nothing about ... this show is offensive.

The story is simple, Housing Complex C is stuck in a time loop but new people are able to come in and out of it and there is proof in the show. You have gods, worship, and the need for more than 4 episodes to cover everything.

The art is actually fantastic and a really nice modern version of an older style. I really enjoy it to be honest!

The sound is fine, the voices are great, and OST is menacing at times and mediocre at others.

Characters try to be more than they are, but then the show is simple. People struggle to overcome change and then it leads to conflict that is unnecessary.

The show is not the worst, it is good. What sucks is being only 4 episodes since the last episode basically summarises what would have been maybe 2 more episodes by talking about it briefly.

6/10. Honestly not as bad as people think it is.

“Housing Complex C” is what happens when someone who doesn’t understand horror tries to write one.

So yeah… this one hurts me. I was a big fan of horror back in the day, I have watched so many horror movies that I shouldn’t have as a kid that… never mind... Anyway, this show is just bad. It’s rather clear that the author had an idea, the last episode is proof of that, but had no skill to bring it to life in an organic, genre appropriate way. There is a plot here but the story is very mishandled.

Before we start I would like to explain something. ... I will be talking about “plot” and “story”. Many people use those terms interchangeably. I’m not one of those people, so to make sure everyone is on the same page…
I use the definitions for “plot” and “story” as Lisa Cron describes them:
“What happens in the story is the PLOT, the surface events.”
“STORY is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes internally as a result”.

First things first. This show uses some Lovecraft inspired imagery but does close to nothing in terms of cosmic horror or existentialist dread. Shame because episode 4 shows that there is a place for that. But parts that would actually work for any of those are just skims over them. It even uses Cthulhu. No, not something like a Cthulhu, Cthulhu. It shows on the computer screen the words “Cthulhu mythos”. No, I’m not against adding to the works of Lovecraft. Many did after his death but this… eee… that’s not it. It tries to establish Cthulhu as a different name for another deity. Not exactly a bad idea but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

Fun fact: there is a story here. The problem is that revealing it would be spoiler territory and as a general rule I try to avoid any meaningful spoilers whenever I can. But, despite there being a story here and being a story that has a ton of potential it’s handled just horribly. There is even something that almost looks like a second story, it’s handled a little bit better. Still awful so don’t get Your hopes up.

Horror and mystery have much in common. You could say that a lot of good horror stories are also mystery stories. The thing is, writing a competent mystery story is no small feat. You have to leave clues, false trails and give enough knowledge to the viewer or reader so they could figure things out on their own if they wish to. This show tries to do it, but does it poorly. I will give credit where credit is due, it gives clues but does it in a way we have to wait an episode or two before knowledge about what it means. But that’s to be expected when the show changes the POV character whenever it sees fit. But I’ll get to that.
It also wastes two first episodes on establishing status quo (the first episode) and a cultural conflict (second episode). On its own those aren’t bad moves, but for a 4 episode show it’s too slow. Both things should be established in episode one, so that other episodes could focus on the main mystery and horror elements.

And here we come to a problem. The horror elements. In horror the most important thing is creating a sense of tension and dread. You do it with music, diegetic sound and obscuring visual information. This show does nothing of the sort. Even if it does (yes, there are two examples of that) You get the reveal in the next 2-3 scenes. There are scenes that visually could work for building up tension but the music and sound kills anything of the sort. It’s almost like they wanted to create a horror but make it bland so that no one, no matter how young or prone to fear, wouldn’t be afraid.

The racial conflict that becomes prominent from episode 2 is a rather good idea. It should create tension, drama and build-up for the horror. It does not. It’s not that it’s used incompetently, I would say it’s use is acceptable, but there are two problems: it’s used more like it should be used in a drama not horror, and the second thing is that it’s never resolved in any meaningful way. I thought (my bad, I know) that the main mystery would be solved by way of putting the differences of the inhabitants aside and working together, but no. That would require at least one more episode and a writer that doesn’t rush things.

Now let's talk about the POV characters. We actually get two — Kimi and Taka. Kimi is more important to the plot but Taka has a much better story and both mystery and horror elements. I understand why Kimi would be a good POV choice but because of the twist in the opening and 4th episode there is a problem. Either Kimi was misplaced as a POV character, or someone changed the ending last minute. It makes very little sense for things to unravel the way they do given who she is. Again, I would have to give a massive spoiler to elaborate. Taka on the other hand would be the perfect POV and protagonist of this show. It would even turn it more Lovecraftian. Taka solves most, if not all, mysteries that are presented. He does the leg work, he has the knowledge needed for this kind of detective work and acts accordingly to get more. He should have been the MC. He even has a story and a much better one than Kimi. I have no idea why he’s just a background character. Is it because of his age? Changing his age would change very little in the grand scheme of things. Yes, it would position him differently in the interactions with Kimi and her friend but that’s all. Everything else could play very similarly. What a waste.

The thing that really pissed me off as a horror fan is the fact that the show has the gall to ruin one, and hint about the second, of it’s own twists in the very effing opening. Just how much the creators hate this scenario? You don’t just fuck up one of the most important plot point in the very beginning. The person who approved the opening animation should be fired, or at least demoted to a janitor for the next year.

That said there is one thing I actually liked. The misdirection in the first episode. That was actually a good idea with a solid execution. It changes your expectations for the show and builds at least a little tension. But then we see the opening and it’s all gone. Seriously, the opening is that bad and destructive for anything horror and mystery related.
Unfortunately, this show is a waste of time and potential. It only has 4 episodes so I won’t blame You if You want to watch it, just don’t expect much.

More Horror, Less Talking

One of the biggest problems with horror anime is they just don't have the darkness or the atmosphere to really do it. There is something with digital animation that just destroyed horror.

The story is just so wordy there's constant dialogue. It does become interesting in the last episode, little fun.

The horror is just not really there and it's becomes funny. I think maybe if it was life action it could work. but the is just something about anime horror that doesn't work.

the character designer is Yoshitoshi Abe, the man that did Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze.
These character designs look so bland ... I was in disbelief. neither he's character designs have gotten worse lately or the animators could not transfer it.

It does become so bad, It's good. after all that talking something finally happens and then it's over at least it's only 4 episodes, so it's not totally worthless.

Review contains Minor Spoilers.

Even if you just want a trashy b-movie horror anime this show will still disappoint you. 3/4 EPs are basically just a SoL drama about elderly japanese people coming to terms with their new foreign neighbors with the only "horror" element being a bunch of random dead animals. There is a subplot about some past conflict that happened at a religious site near the apartment complex that might tie into the main characters current life as well as a few characters randomly disappearing but it's never actually the focus of the show because obviously you would much rather see the elderly japanese ... people come together with the foreign workers to eat some ice cream (dead animal included!).

I cannot stress enough how even with a 4 episode runtime this anime will STILL waste your time if you are looking for creepy atmosphere or something, anything, scary to happen. Like yeah ok we all know horror anime are usually trash but this anime for the most part doesn't even try to do anything, its just about elderly japanese people and their new foreign neighbors.

And if you are sick of reading that same phrase again and again than you'd better skip this anime because sitting through ~80min of exactly that is incredibly mind numbing, the happy children trying to get everybody to be friends really don't help the show in that regard either.

The singular positive thing i can say about the show is that there is a somewhat neat scene near the end of the last episode, nothing that will keep you up at night but a decently executed gore scene with somewhat disturbing context is still better than the whole "guys i think we should overcome our differences and be friends :)" thing that was going on in the earlier episodes. Sadly that scene happens to somebody that you will not care about in the slightest and therefore has 0 emotional impact + it's relatively short and following one of the most room temperature IQ plot twists i've seen in anime in a while buuuut its an ok scene so credit where credit is due.

Art wise the first 3 episodes also are pretty much the most 5/10 possible. They tried to do their best with facial expressions and the the gore scene in EP 4 but it really doesn't change much when you've fallen asleep due to boredom already.

Show is also (at the time of writing this) only available in english. Personally not a fan of it at all, the grown up characters sound fine but the two kids are incredibly annoying to listen to. Not that their VAs did a horrible job or anything but the english-child-voice thing they got going on is just grating to me. In all honesty though, it really doesn't affect the quality of the show as a whole all that much, even with the best dub humanly possible this would be a snooze fest.

TL;DR: If you want anything that isn't social commentary on culture clash, dead animals for sp00ky, annoying kids and the adventures of the elderly do yourself a favor and watch anything else.

It isn't uncommon for around Halloween time to have a taste for horror anime. Even more so a preference for something short and sweet that one can enjoy casually or just binge in a day. "House Complex C" offers that appeal, however, it fails in so many other aspects it's difficult to recommend.

To be fair, I was immediately drawn into this story because I saw early on it's Lovecraftian overtones. For those unfamiliar, H.P. Lovecraft was an American author famous for "cosmic horror". His credits include the creation of Cthulu and the Necronomicon. "Housing Complex C" touches on many themes he is famous for, but ... you don't have to be versed in his work to enjoy this. The premise is an oldie but a goodie, an apartment complex of tenants who have lived there for quite some time offer a picturesque scene of a characters, mostly retirees, highlighted by the presence of a single little girl, Kimi. Things change when a new family moves in, a father, mother, and their own little girl, and brings a group of foreign "interns". Though never stated, I believe they are supposed to be from India. Needless to say, cultural clashes and general friction does erupt.

The two girls become fast friends. Yuri, the new girl, is a bit more reserved than the sunny and outgoing Kimi, but they soon find themselves in the middle of some very strange goings on. Animal carcasses appear in various places on the island, the prayers of the interns cause fear to the suspicious neighbors, and the ancient history of the island where the complex sits causes a sense of mystery as to what has happened long ago- and perhaps is happening again... The premise is a good one. The story builds tension well. The characters are unique enough but hardly stereotypes. But, it all comes crashing down when the realization comes that this was likely meant to be a 12 episode series stuffed into 4 episodes. The last of which boils down to so many twists and exposition dumps, it makes your head spin- and not in a good way.

This is made even more frustrating by the quality of the animation, it's pretty darn good. The backgrounds and settings appear charming in the day and creepy in the night. The voice acting, though I only saw the English dub, was quality. There was genuine care and effort put into the bones of this piece. Even dropping many an aforementioned Lovecraft reference here and there for fans like myself. Especially of the character Kan, a great, bulky intern with an odd face that screams of Wilbur Wheatley. For fans who just want some horror and gore, there is plenty of that. Gruesome stuff, too. I don't imagine I'll be eating shaved ice any time soon.

Intros and outros have some typical songs. "Make Believe" by Ivan Kwong is a nice pop rock piece to get you into the mood, with a nice montage of the characters and setting, perhaps a bit too friendly for what the subject matter is, but the effort and care is what matters and they do a good job. The ending credits tune, "Secret of the Day" by De Tesla offers a more calming song that has photographs of little Kimi growing up to distract from the likely terrifying note the show just left off on. The finale song is a warm, yet mournful, piece that caps off the show appropriately but I can't recall the title of it. Perhaps it's just meant to sooth my aching head from the chaos of the last episode...

I cannot defend the poor way this was handled and question if this should have been made at all. The tension was just getting settled when it was bulldozed by every big reveal at once. What is the point, then? Perhaps the producers and studio just wanted to get something, anything, out of this and just had it run the best they could? I'm greatly puzzled by all this. I really wish this had been a dozen episodes or so to allow a slower burn and a greater impact of twists- of which there are many- and allowed a more enjoyable horror experience. Alas, we are left with what there is. The bad execution of a good idea. It's short, sweet, spooky, and splatter-filled. So, if you're down for that and have no expectations- enjoy. Perhaps it's fitting I now ponder the mystery of what happened as the characters do in this show, but I doubt I'll get the answers. 4/10. Take it or leave it. Cheers!

In a tiny community of elders, the arrival of young foreigners has the power to change their seemingly perfect lives.

With a nicely built set of characters and an interesting mythology, this show offers plot twists hard to expect in a child's playtime. The horror is quite reserved, focusing mostly on the suspense of the story and the psychological aspect of it all, keeping the viewer constantly on edge.

Overall, it is a compelling story, mostly hurt by its short runtime, most of which was spent on the everyday, even just two more episodes would have made the show feel more complete and cohesive.

It's a shame that the horror genre of anime is such a sparse one, as the horror genre holds plenty of potential for creative concepts and compelling stories, especially when paired with its natural companion genre, mystery. Naturally, the idea of a mystery horror anime based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, one of the more notable contributors to the horror genre, is a promising one. Alas, Housing Complex C can barely be called a horror or mystery anime. Its myriad strange writing decisions and nakedly manipulative presentation elicit far more questions than its barely-there plot and cast of barely-characters, and never to positive ... effect.

In terms of mystery, Housing Complex C offers a heaping helping of dead ends and red herrings, going to great and nonsensical lengths to obscure the nature of events and the identities of its antagonists. Characters often bend to the whims of the mystery plot, completely changing their personalities as required and putting on facades for the audience rather than each other. Meanwhile, the few actual clues the show offers are delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer blow to the face, to the point where one is liable to dismiss the actual answer as a possibility on the grounds that "it couldn't possibly be that obvious". This leaves the eventual reveals feeling cheap and unsatisfying, not helped by the show's reliance on meandering explanations and confusing infodumps

The series fares no better as a work of horror fiction, with tame and played out supernatural imagery, a complete lack of tension or atmosphere and no real scares to speak of. With only four episodes, the anime has little time to establish and develop its characters, so there's little cause to mourn their eventual offscreen deaths. Its most meaningful attempts at horror come from very occasional uses of gore and mutilation, a thin layer of Lovecraftian lacquer and the invocation of a decidedly sophomoric form of misanthropy, delivered with a side of ham-handed commentary about the evils of xenophobia.

To conclude, Housing Complex C is a thoroughly unimpressive and undercooked outing, taking promising concepts and source material, mixing them with basic takes on tired themes and sacrificing them (if you'll pardon the metaphor), along with character, plot, tension, logic, consistency and general writing quality, on the altar of an amateurish murder mystery that concerns itself more with ten-a-penny depictions of social strife than with earning its reveals through clever writing. The series evokes more frustration than horror with its awkward dialogue, reams of cavernous plot holes, underdeveloped characters, overdone themes and answers that only raise more questions. If it's a mystery or horror series you're looking for, you could do a lot better than this.