Anime Review: The Lost Village
- Very Average Joe
- Sep 13
- 4 min read
English Title: The Lost Village
Japanese Title: 迷家 (lit. illusion home)
Director(s): Mizushima Tsutomu
Screenwriter(s): Okada Mari
Studio: Diomedéa
Released: 2016
Runtime: 12 episodes, ~24m each.
Starring: Sakai Koudai, Aisaka Yuuka, Yashiro Taku, Sakura Kaoru, Igarashi Hiromi, Shimizu Ayaka, Tada Konomi, Suzuki Tatsuhisa
The series begins on a full bus at night with rain and fog. It’s a tour group and everyone take turns introducing themselves, a convenient way to set up the busload of characters that range from teenagers to young adults.
The intended destination is the Nanaki Village. According to urban legend, it is a hidden place, implied to be shielded from the rest of the world and perfect for those who wish to escape and start over. Indeed, almost everyone on the bus has been rejected by the world and wishes to leave their problems behind.
The first episode is the bus trip and although the dark tone is nicely set up and some buildup is necessary, they could get to the village a little sooner.
When the group reaches a village, presumably Nanaki, it is abandoned. Some signs indicate that it has been abandoned for about a year, while others indicate a more recent date. Soon, they hear strange noises, people vanish and suspicions flare…
The premise is intriguing and despite the pace of the first episode, it is sufficiently gripping. Unfortunately, the tone changes and shifts too much even if there are some good ideas.
Whilst there is a busload of characters, about ten of them have more lines than the rest. But no one is completely neglected even if they merely have a few lines and not much is known about them. Some may argue this is too unfocused, but this actually helps provide different viewpoints and convey the feeling that this is truly a large group. It would be worse if the narrative focused on three characters, leaving the rest to merely hang around in the background.
The main character is Mitsumune, a high school boy who is naïve and is too easily willing to help others to the point of being annoyingly imprudent. His friend, Hayato, keeps telling him off. Hayato is only there out of curiosity rather than wanting to escape the world.
As sources of conflict, a young man named Mikage overtly airs his suspicions. Although his views are totally understandable, his hostility and tendency to take charge are grating. Meanwhile, another man named Valkana is just angry all the time but he likes to get things done.
As the group decides whether to stay or leave the village given the perceived dangers, a girl named Masaki recommends staying. Of course, she conveniently does not explain herself, and so Mikage finds her suspicious whilst Mitsumune defends her.
In short, their character flaws come across as too forced and annoying. No one is perfect, certainly not people who want to escape the world and chase an urban legend, but one expects better from those who believe they have suffered injustice and, in that sense, are supposed to be better.
For example, one expects tour leader Dahara and his associate and folklore expert Koharun to have planned better on how to settle in the village depending on what they find or don’t find. Instead, the group blindly deals with their problems as they unfold. As such, the plot, like the group, is all over the place.
The fact that this review is unavoidably all over the place is also indicative of the series’s inconsistent tone and messy structure. After a few episodes, some character backgrounds are revealed in flashbacks. This technique is normal enough but it is crudely executed.
The series takes too long to reveal more about the mystery of the village. When the phenomenon is made apparent, it is crudely shown, and when the logic and mechanics of it are explained, it is just blurted out without being sufficiently clear. To some, it may even be laughable even though it is presumably not intended to be a comedy.
The pace of the last few episodes picks up to the point of being rushed. There is a busload of characters, which is fine, but they could be better utilized throughout and each given a more substantial resolution since there are 12 episodes.
Overall, it’s not the worst series ever. It is intriguing. Some hate it, but despite the annoying factors, I didn’t mind watching it all the way to the end given that the production is mostly fine.
If one sees the first poster and expects a dark, gritty and trippy psychological mystery-horror, then one will be disappointed. Whilst there are elements of that, it also has the tone of the second poster. Ultimately, it is as if the story was outlined well enough but the script was never refined.
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