Today my review will be a little different from others. You see,
soon after I stumbled onto IA, I stumbled onto a series of songs known as the
Kagerou Project by Shizen no Teki-P. There are three novels and an ongoing
manga adaption (It’s currently on chapter 12). I’ve read the manga, I haven’t
gotten a chance to read the novels yet, not entirely sure if I can get them in
English. If you know if I can, please tell me! I love this story! It’s
interesting and so unique. The songs can also tell you the story, though some
make more sense once you know the characters; they can also be mind-blowing! I
love them so much~ Alright let me begin explaining. Now the manga has a
beginning, but I don’t really want to give a summary of the manga. Instead I’m
going to explain the basics:
Azami is Medusa, her hair growing as snakes. What makes her
different from the classic Medusa is that each of her snakes possess a unique
ability. She’s an immortal and has lived relatively alone for years and years and
she thinks of humans as “dull creatures that die easily”. But one day she met a
young man who wasn’t afraid of her. He was the first human to not fear her and they
quickly fell in love. They had a daughter and she was happy, until she began
worrying about their deaths, not wanting to be alone again. This fear drove her
to using her powers of snakes to create a never-ending world where they could
be together forever. Sadly, her family
never enters this world and she becomes trapped there.
Years and years later, in a industrial and modern city, there’s a
group that calls themselves Mekakushi Dan. Each member has come into contact
with Kagerou Haze and have gained a special ability because of it. From my
understanding, when someone whose suffering and have some sort of strong desire
because of this pain, suddenly dies they come into contact with the Kagerou
Haze or rather they enter the world Azami created. There they are possessed by one of
her snakes, gaining that snakes ability and coming back to life, there eyes now
glowing a vibrant red whenever they use this new ability.
The members consist of
Tsubomi Kido: First member of Mekakushi Dan and currently the
leader. She was the second daughter of a wealthy family, but not a illegitimate
daughter, the child between her father and his mistress. Because of this, she
always felt out of place and was treated cautiously by those who interacted
with her, unsure how to treat a wealthy man’s bastard. She developed a strong
desire to “disappear”. Other sources also imply that she was molested and that
also contributed to this desire. Her entire family was killed in a fire started
by her recently bankrupted father. She came into contact with the Kagerou Daze
and was possessed by the snake with the “Concealing Eyes” ability, gaining the
power to hide her presence.
Kousuke Seto: Second member of Mekakushi Dan. Since he was younger,
he has been on his own. He was small and timid, having trouble speaking with others. Because
of this, he was viciously bullied and had no humans friends, an abandoned dog
being the only one he considered his friend. Because of this, he wished that he
could “understand how someone” or something “felt without using words”. Then on one stormy day, a group of kids threw
his dog in the river. Seto drowned after throwing himself into the river in an attempt to save it; this is where he came into contact with Kagerou Daze and was
possessed by the snake with the “Stealing Eyes” ability, meaning he can “hear”
information of whoever he looks at. 
Shuuya Kano: The third member of Mekakushi Dan and is the one who
came up with the name. When he was younger he didn’t attend preschool or
kindergarten, spending his time alone with his mother in an apartment. She was
emotionally unstable and often hit him, causing the neighbors to spread rumors
about her abusing him. Believing it was his fault for upsetting his mother, he
desired strongly hide the bruises on his body so that he could “deceive” the
neighbors that attacked his mother. One day, thieves broke into their apartment
and his mom was stabbed by a knife as she tried to protect him. He was killed
after when he tried to fight against the thieves. This death allowed him to
come into contact with the Kagerou Daze and become possessed by the snake with
the “Deceiving Eyes” ability, thus gaining the power to deceive how people
around him perceive him
Mary Kozakura: the fourth member of the Mekakushi Dan and a very
unique one. She is the granddaughter of Azami, her mother Shion being her
daughter. As a young girl Mary was constantly told by her mother to never make
eye contact with a human, or they’ll turn to stone. She lived in the forest in
cabin away from the rest of the world with her mother. One day, while she was
playing outside, she was found by humans and attacked. Shion attempted to turn her
attackers into stone in order to protect her only daughter, but they were both
hit in the back of head, the impact killing them. They were both swallowed up
by the Kagerou Haze. But only Mary returned, her grandmother giving her the
“Combining Eyes” ability, the ability to unify all the “snakes. She also has the
“Eye Contact” ability, something she’s possessed since birth because of her
Medusa blood. 
Momo Kisaragi: Fifth member of Mekakushi Dan and Shinataro’s
younger sister. Her brother is a genius and because of this she developed an inferiority complex,
always feeling stuck in his shadow. Because of this, she desired that people
would pay more attention to her. One day she visited the beach with her father
where she drowned after getting caught in the waves. After this, she came into
the Kagerou Haze and was possessed by the snake with the “Eye Captivating”
ability. Since then she can draw an abnormal amount of attention to her
personality, body, and senses. 
Takane “Ene” Enomoto: the Sixth member of Mekakushi Dan and a
computer program that loves messing with Shinataro. She was once a human named
Takane. When she was human, she lived with her grandmother and had a disorder
that caused her to fall asleep spontaneously. Because of this she always had
trouble developing close relationships with people around her and attended a
class for handicapped students in high school. The class only consisted of one
other person, Haruka, whom she loved. One day, someone administered her with a
drug and she died, entering the Kagerou Haze, where she was possessed by the
snake with the “Eye Opening” Power, gaining her an immortal
spirit. 
Shinataro Kisaragi: The seventh member of Mekakushi Dan and Momo’s
older brother, and he’s a little different from the other members. In middle
school and high school, he was always at the top of his class in National Mock
Examinations. But he’s high intellect caused him to develop a very apathetic
personality. The first time he opened up to someone was his classmate Ayano, who
was cheerful and sat next to him. They became rather close and he was devastated
by her death. Depressed, he started living as a shut-in, spending a majority of
his time on the internet. Then one day, a mysterious software entered into his
computer and a virtual girl named “Ene” took over his computer. Because of her,
he left his room and became entangled with the Mekakushi Dan. 
Hibaya Amamiya: The eighth member of Mekakushi Dan. He went to the
city for a summer school program that would prepare him for middle school entrance exams with Hiyori, a friend he has unrequited feelings for.
During their time there, while shopping together, he gets involved in a traffic
accident, where he comes into contact with the Kagerou Haze. There he is
possessed by the snake of “Eye Focusing” abilities, and acquires the power to
perceive objects and details that are far away. I don’t understand why he
gained this particular power, or why he came into the Kagerou Haze but Hiyori,
I guess its something that will be revealed with time. 
Haruka “Konoha” Kokonose: the 9th member of Mekakushi
Dan and once a human, but somewhere before the current timeline he was turned
into a cyber-being. He doesn't remember anything from his life as a human. When
he was a human, he had a frail body and poor health, repeatedly hospitalized as
a child. He attended the handicap class with Takane. He suffered a sudden
stroke during his second year of high school and died, coming into contact with
Kagerou Haze. He is possessed by the snake of the “Awakening Eyes” ability,
meaning he can remake his body into one that he finds one that’s ideal. Thus he
became Konoha, but since the process put a large strain on his mind, he lost
large parts of his memory.
When it comes to Konoha and Ene’s background story, I've also
heard that their teacher was part of a research team that wanted to understand
the Kagerou Haze and that he let them use Konoha and Ene as experiments. They
gained it artificially and thus lost their humanity. This explanation seems to
fit most of the songs better, but a lot of sources give me the background
stories above. If you know which ones
true please tell me, though I have a feeling it’s a mixture of the two.
A great story with amazing characters you come to love and
sympathies with. Read the manga and watch the videos, it’s a wonderful series.
Songs:
Jinzou Enemy/ Artificial Enemy
Mekakushi Code/ Blindfold Code
Kagerou Days/ Heat-Haze Days
Headphone Actor
Souzou Forest. Imagination Forest
Konoha no Sekai Jijou. Konoha's Stae of the World
Kisaragi Attention
Children Record
Yobanashi Deceive/ Night Talk Deceive
Lost Time Memory
Ayano no Koufuku Riron/ Ayaon's Theory of Happiness
Otasuimi Rectical Moon/ Moon Viewing Recital
Toumei Answer/ Transparent Answer
Ene no Dennou Kikou/ Ene's Cyber Journey
Gunjou Rain/ Ultramarine Rain
Shinigami Record/ Death God Record
Dead and Seek
Here’s Children Record, which many consider
to be the opening of Kagerou Days:
~Nadeshiko-chan
No comments:
Post a Comment