Back when Aoi Bungaku was announced I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the concept. A handful of famous manga artists collaborating to create adaptations of six famous Japanese novels sounded like a winning combination to me. The anime finally began airing this season with a promised twelve episodes to look forward to. With the fourth episode shown just a few days ago the first novel, No Longer Human, has been completed and I’ll tell you now, Madhouse does not disappoint.

Aoi Bungaku (Blue Literature)
Original Works by: Osamu Dazai, Natsume Souseki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Ango Sakaguchi
Studio: Madhouse
Original Release Date: October 10th 2009

No Longer Human is the story of Yozo Oba, a man who believes he is a failure as a human and is constantly trying to prove himself. He is the son of a wealthy congressman, a man with an overbearing presence and importance. Growing up fearing his own father, Yozo rebels by practicing art, something his father always forbid him doing. Caught breaking the law, he lands himself in trouble with the police and ultimately becomes a fugitive. During the commotion he meets a young lady who shares the same views as him, constantly believing that she is a failure and nothing of a human. No Longer Human follows Yozo and the repercussions that this simple meeting cause. Suffice to say, this is the second bestselling novel in Japan for a very good reason. The story is there, it provides an impact, and best of all it hits hard.

The artwork is graphically stunning with illustrator Takeshi Obata of Death Note and Bakuman fame providing the visuals for the four episode tale. As a big fan of his work, he provided a huge draw in picking up Aoi Bungaku in the first place and I’m glad to see I’m not at all let down. Settings and scenery is fitting with the time period and it adapts to fit the mood perfectly. Gloomy streets full of drunkards to hallucinations are drawn well with no signs of rushing, something that an unfortunate amount of new anime suffer with.

Fans who have watched Death Note will immediately pick out the similarities, especially when comparing Yozo Oba with Light Yagami. They are shockingly similar in appearance, which seems to work both for and against it. The design suits Oba particularly well, yet in scenes where he is losing himself or, as seen in the fourth episode, he gains a pen and begins extravagantly writing, it tends to knock the mood on the head.

Both Obata and Madhouse have created a stunning work with No Longer Human and I have every bit of confidence that the next five novels will be just as incredible. I highly recommend you pick this series up, though No Longer Human specifically is a very psychological and deep novel, so viewers expecting lots of action may want to look elsewhere. With Takeshi Konomi (Prince of Tennis) and Tite Kubo (Bleach) in line to illustrate the next novels, Aoi Bungaku has a lot more to offer. Providing the anime does well in Japan, it will certainly be interesting to see if it spawns any re-envisioning of other popular novels. We can only wait and see!

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This was written for the Japanator intern application, but alas I was way too late in submitting it. Probably a good thing in the long run with university and all, but I'll be ready next time!