Dark Gathering ダークギャザリング

2023 summer | Episodes: 25 | Score: 7.8 (51222)

Updated every Mondays at 01:05 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: HIDIVE | Anime Digital Network | Bahamut Anime Crazy | Muse Asia

Synopsis

Spirits have always been attracted to Keitarou Gentouga due to his strong spiritual presence. A traumatic encounter with one had caused his right hand to be cursed, forcing him to wear a glove at all times. Now a college freshman, Keitarou is trying to live as normal a life as possible. With the encouragement of his childhood friend Eiko Houzuki, he becomes a private tutor. Since he is at the top of his intake class, his first client is the tutoring firm's most promising student, Yayoi Houzuki. To Keitarou's surprise, Yayoi is Eiko's cousin, and she possesses two pupils in each eye—allowing her to see into the spirit world and purposely seek vengeful spirits to exorcise. Ever since a car accident killed both her parents, Yayoi has been searching for the powerful spirit that kidnapped her mother's departed soul. Seeing that spirits are so attracted to Keitarou, she ropes him into helping her collect other evil spirits that will assist in her future fight. Although her quest is dangerous, Keitarou reluctantly decides to join her, even as each new spirit they meet has him questioning his resolve at every turn. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Shimazaki, Nobunaga

Shimada, Aino

Hanazawa, Kana

Sasahara, Yuu

News

Reviews

ominoussage
01/02/2025, 08:17 AM
An interesting adventure-like horror anime you shouldn't miss. Started with a simple plot but later gets deep and adds more interesting characters into the mix which makes you want to keep watching. The horror doesn't just come from the ghost stores or urban legends; there's also your common disturbing news like crimes, dark and spooky places and of course, the gory animation. The setting changes quite often too which is different from most anime shows nowadays which is really nice. The main characters have a well-connected dynamic that further makes sense from their developments throughout the story and they all have their own unique characteristics thatmakes them special and likeable. They all work together to solve the issue and support each other which is really nice. The enemies are actually powerful and the concept of having a chance of beating them from knowing information and following procedures makes you want to keep wondering how things will turn out and keep on watching. The OP and ED is really good, too. It adapts based on what's already been shown to the viewers which is spoiler-free and I think should be the standard for anime shows. Music and SFX is well done. Not a single moment where the BGM sounded off. The one thing that keeps me from rating it a 10 is the animation. It's certainly good enough to make an anime, but the story is so great that I think it deserves some more detail and effort. The character designs are already good, just wished it had better animation. Overall, 9/10. Besides the plot, If you don't mind seeing some disturbing stories and scary stuff, watch this anime.
AniSabii
08/02/2024, 10:21 PM
I loved it! The story was solid enough to make me bookmark the manga to read for later. I prefer korean mangas too and rarely want to read a Japanese manga, but this one was different. It took me a long time to get past the first episode, but once I did I was hooked. The main reason being was Yayoi, but Ill get to that later. I'm a big thriller, suspense, and horror type of guy when it comes to anime. Especially when it comes to very good ones like dark gathering because its like finding a needle in a haystack. It took meawhile to get past the first episode because of a biased towards Yayoi. I just couldnt take the anime serious at first because she was this young animated girl. Ironically enough though Yayoi ended up being my favorite character in the show because she got that dog in her. Its not really much else to say the art was amazing and the soundtrack was cool too for a suspense, thriller, and horror vibe. If my girl was into this type of genre I would definitely watch this with her no problem. Dont expect no high school of the dead fan service type deal lol but truth be told this anime does completely fine without it. No disrespect to the people who put this anime together at all though just a hobby for me. I know how it is to create things and havent it judged harshly just got to keep creating for the love of the craft. Story: 8 Art:8 Soundtrack: 8 Characters: 9 Rewatch Value: 8 (Idk why, but in the summer I love watching suspense/thriller anime) X/Twitter: AniSabii (I follow anybody back thats into anime)
Eravern
06/21/2024, 03:22 PM
If you are looking for horror, this is kinda mediocre, there was one very chilling aspect, that gets ruined by playing it off as a joke in ep 5, some parts are downright just FNAF jumpscares, a lot of the more disturbing themes seem too much to have a big effect, a lot of edge. If you are looking for a Shounen, this is also kinda bad, very repetitive fetch quest-like structure, characters have pretty good motivation for what they are doing and are all morally gray, exept for the MC who seems to be the pure of heart kind. The characters are fine, classic apathetic character,pretty tame sadist yandere and easily scared MC, villains are villanous.
morgue-oni
06/16/2024, 09:00 AM
Dark Gathering If you’re a horror fan, you’ll enjoy it - if you’re a horror snob, well, why are you even watching a horror anime? I personally, feel catered to. Plot: 8/10 Horror is a genre that anime notoriously struggles with, and often fails at. Which is why I appreciate shows like Dark Gathering that don’t take themselves too seriously and don’t commit too hard to trying to be ‘serious’ or ‘scary’. This show hits horror and it hits supernatural, just not in the way that you’d traditionally expect. Did it scare me? No. Do I expect any horror anime to scare me? No, not really.As a fan of horror generally, did I enjoy this show? Yes. The plot is motivated consistently through each character’s individual goals and desires, all of which make sense and stay consistent - an aspect that many anime shows tend to fail on. It helps keep the show interesting, the viewer engaged and most importantly; it drives the plot forward. The format of each episode can get a bit repetitive but I don’t necessarily think that’s the hallmark of a bad anime (many shows do this and succeed, think JoJos, Death Parade, Cowboy Bebop). Despite horror not being this, or really any, anime's strong point - there were a couple of episodes that I found to be genuinely disturbing and quite uncomfortable to watch - mainly around the 14th to 18th episodes. So major horror fans should enjoy those episodes especially. Characters: 8.5/10 I love the characters in this show, I don’t think they’re overly simple or complex - they fit the overall theme of the show perfectly. Even supporting characters that we’re introduced to are interesting and their plot points don’t take over from the main overarching plot, they add to it. This show has birthed one of my new favourite characters in Yayoi, and I even like the main character despite some of his flaws. However, the one thing that stops the characters from being a 10/10 for me was when we learn that one character is a ‘tsundere’, it doesn’t add anything in my opinion and didn’t feel natural or like it was valuable to the show. It felt like it was just thrown in there for the sake of it - or for the sake of helping to patch over some plot points in the future, which is slightly lazy writing. Animation/Design: 10/10 I knew I would like this animation and character design, it caters to exactly the type of aesthetic I enjoy - darker and grittier, with ‘’standard’’ scenes also. However, I didn’t expect to love the design so much. Especially Yayoi, who may actually be one of my all-time favourites now. Her design is especially interesting due to the contrast from the other two main characters, and she often looks a little ‘strange’ or out of place, which adds so much to the atmosphere and enhances the overall vibe of the show in my opinion! But, maybe I’m glazing a little. I enjoy how the spirits don’t end up conforming to one set theme and they all look pretty individual; it keeps things interesting to look at. In a show like the how the supernatural look is almost imperative and I’d say they did extremely well with the designs in this show. Overall: objectively, 8/10, subjectively for me: 10/10 I love this show, it feels like it truly caters to me. I found myself slowing down on watching the episodes just because I didn’t want it to be over so soon. Don’t listen to the horror snobs in the comments who refuse to enjoy anything - give this show a chance.
Afifputraadriza1
05/02/2024, 03:25 PM
ITS A HORROR POKEMON 💀🔥🔥 Personally Dark Gathering Is Just Another Level Of Horror, Different Than Others,Out Of The Box, And The MOST IMPORTANT Thing Is, ITS POKEMON BASED That Can Kill Its Own Owner 🤣🤣 Soft Spoiler ALERT But Seriously The Storyline Is Just Peak, Not Generic Entry Level That Just Want To Avenge Or Redeem Something, Starting With Just Want To Defeat A Ghost That Kidnapping Her Mother, Into A Fakking God/DeityAnd Yeah You Will Be Thinking To Defeat A God By Gathering Other Semi God Level Ghost Or I Can Say Evil Pokemon 🤣🤣 But I Bet, The Story Is Unpredictable, Character Development Is Just Good Too And The Greatest Thing Is Every Semi God Ghost Has Its Own Flashback And ITS Server Really Well Really RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO SEEK ABOUT GHOST AND ADRENALIN OF ACTION, BEY YOU WILL ADDICTED
PixelB
04/13/2024, 12:31 AM
How many horror anime are even out there? Rarely is there any actual horror anime that gets released, and when they do, it's not particularly executed on a high level. Higurashi? Both adaptations are pretty mid and the source material...meh. Corpse party? Just edgy shock value. I'm basically out of any other ideas. And no, "horror" anime doesn't count. Horror evokes fear. Dread. Stuff like Mieroku-chan, Tokyo Ghoul, etc doesn't even count. They might be good shows, but it's more supernatural than horror. After all, horror is the fear of the unknown and being unable to fight back. The aforementioned shows do feature supernatural anomalies, butthere are defined methods of fighting back and the show is the clash between humans and the supernatural. Think of stuff like xxxHolic, Ghost Hunt, or even Toire no Hanako-san. Sure, there might be ghosts and supernatural involved, but when the characters have abilities to easily kill them, it's not horror, is it? So it's safe to say that while Dark Gathering features some of that supernatural flair where characters are fighting and killing ghosts and spirits, it also embraces the horror aspect and tries to evoke fear in the readers and viewers. And it's clever about it too, expressing the contrasting themes of horror and a bit of shounen through characters. Yayoi embodies the battle-shounen aspect of the show. She has methods of restraining, controlling, and killing spirits and ghosts. While she faces fear and ghosts with unbelievable abilities, she doesn't falter despite life-threatening circumstances. She makes use of ghosts she previously captured to challenge higher-level ones. It's because this show still embraces that horror, fear, and helplessness against the unknown that the show stands out and in fact, tries something new. Keitaro and Eiko embody the theme of fear. While Yayoi is out there fighting the enemy, Keitaro and Eiko are for the most part, completely helpless against the supernatural, They have to confront enemies that can kill or permanently cripple them in mere moments while having to devise a way to deal with them or get out alive. Rather than capturing or killing, surviving seems to be the most compelling objective. And it's definitely what makes the show that good. Yayoi is a character that isn't supposed to feel too much fear or have too much weakness, but by introducing characters that are quite helpless, you can certainly experience the horror they experience firsthand through their perspectives. Speaking of the horror encounters, it is reminiscent of something like Jojo's Bizzare Adventure when it comes to abilities. Each ghost has abilities, a unique nature, and different strengths similar to what a Stand would have. Only by dealing with strong enemy abilities with knowledge, wits, and speed will you be victorious. It is possible to overthrow or beat opponents with seemingly invincible abilities with the right strategy. Combined with the horror aspect in the form of Eiko and Keitaro freaking out with every encounter, it does pay homage to the horror genre while still maintaining that battle-shounen vibe that it tries to hone in on. And it's a damn good thing that it did. While this show is a bit spooky at points and there are creepy things that happen, the animation just isn't there. The soundtrack is nice at times, but the choreography and storyboarding are just not meant to evoke too much horror. The problem with horror in animation is how much time it takes to perfect. You need tons of detail, pacing, storyboarding, the right ambiance, and sound quality to achieve an effective horror show. This takes a lot of money, time, and creativity. With something like Demon Slayer, you can kind of just throw money and the product will be good since it's just hyper-detailed fights. What about animating horror? It's pretty damn hard. Games like Ao Oni which have animated graphics have you control the character so it evokes a sense of horror much more easily than just a show. And live-action shows are even easier. You just hyper-realistically CGI scary things and put it in the dark chasing someone and you're already halfway done. So, Dark Gathering makes do with what it can and I applaud for it.
happa_hana
03/25/2024, 01:44 AM
thank goodness headphones exist or else the bone chilling wouldn't be as impactful - just how the artist intended. I was prepared knowing that Dark Gathering (DG) is pretty horror-filled but oh my god i was not 'prepared' prepared for DG at all - if viewers can just be patient and push through the first cour of the anime (which isn't too difficult to do imo, the episodes are all pretty intriguing enough to sit through) - shit just hits the ceiling man - DG is NOT for the faint heart or stomach. The horror is absolutely macabre enough to twist your brain chemistry buti think it really does succeed in fueling the feeling of you wanting to continue despite the terror this anime will put you through (in the end we are all nourishing a yandere in us) here's a breakdown in numbers: story - 11/10 - at 1st it feel like it might be light-hearted territory of typical horror but OH BOY the jump it does is enough to sit at a distance & watch in case your heart freezes over, some of the most grotesque stuff is waiting for you at the juicy centers of the story where the plot thickens and has you on edge soundtrack - 11/10 - NAILED It is the best way to put it - the soundtrack absolutely elevates the creeps & acts as an essential part of the storytelling & action rather than just filling in for"epic music" - even listening to the OST album solo at night w some good headphones on will have your heart racing - like you're inviting the unknown into your space - spooky af but the souondtrack makes this anime such an S-rank winner! characters - 7.5/10 - the exception being Yayoi - 11/10 - she's just amazing! i have no words i absolutely love her & her VA. Kei & Eiko are also pretty good but i also think that they are pretty set-in-stone characters who are pretty solid enough w incremental character growths happening. however, they don't steal the fun of the show - they are imp characters that add to the action & structure & are good side-characters (than main) to Yaoyi. There's also Ai who i think has potential - she's been mostly at the back for the entirety of S1 so i hope she is treated well w the tragedy that she is burdened w on the 2nd season.
pionappies_
03/08/2024, 06:27 AM
If you like anime that contains ghosts in it, I think this anime is suitable for you. At first I didn't have high expectations for this anime, at first I often saw it on my TikTok home page. I thought this was just a normal horror anime with the MC being a strange little kid. But for some reason I suddenly wanted to watch this anime. And it turns out I really enjoyed it, each episode was not boring at all. The gore is also good and the graphics don't seem too different from the manga. I hope to watch anime like this again, or do youhave any suggestions??
whyamihere101
02/20/2024, 03:43 PM
Came for the yandere, stayed for the plot. Basically, the anime is about spirits. They're invisible to normal people, but our main characters can either see or sense them. They defeat spirits and add them to their collection to use and defend/battle against other spirits. The little girl, Yayoi, is a genius with an IQ of 160 (literally), who can see but not sense spirits. Keitaro, the black-haired mc, can sense spirits (but not see them), and gets dragged into the spirit battling life by Yayoi and Eiko. Eiko's the yandere girl, who has a... hidden, twisted side. Let's keep it at that. But her loveand obsession for Keitaro is cute and amazing. And the anime got balanced comedy. Superb. Be aware though, this anime might not seem disturbing at first, but once you watch it, it definitely has some quite dark moments that go further than mere murder, so if you get uncomfortable easy, maybe skip those parts. All in all this is one of the best 24-ep animes I've seen, hoping for a S2.
vulcavtuber
01/27/2024, 05:13 PM
A very interesting folk-legend inspired horror show broken up by a mediocre slice of life. Definitely keep in mind that this is a fairly comedic show with some very serious bits. Slowly, the show matured more with the characters knowledge and that was something that made it more enjoyable. The attention to little details from the ghost stories when showing the spirits themselves was a very nice touch leaving me eager to know what parts of each urban legend were going to be true. Some of the urban legends were very interesting and unsettling, something some horror comedy animes fail to do. Biggest gripe would bethe MC, Keitarou's, unnecessary recaps of the show. Multiple times he would just break down the entire backstory in an overexplained way taking me out of it - we just watched and learned all of this but for some reason he feels the need to keep telling us and not in a "previously on..." kind of way. Just straight up reflecting on his life for seemingly no reason. Idk.
undamoth
01/25/2024, 04:52 AM
Horror and anime just seem to be an elusive puzzle that is still on the process of perfecting. The Japanese animation medium just seem to have a hard time getting that perfect blend to make a show effective in inciting the dread, disgust, terror, and sheer feeling of discomfort that any good horror wear on their sleeves. It was a different matter to manga for so many things go right on that medium. Translated to the screen however, with numerous changes needed to elicit the same effect and more often than not, it was just worse with unfitting color schemes, off-note pacing, and unfavorable sounddirection just to give an example. It takes a lot of effort to make one get terrified of drawings. Now, is 2023's Dark Gathering the elixir to cure the issues of horror anime? Well, not quite to be honest since it still is a horror-comedy in its heart but when the horror stuff comes in, it goes hard, and boy it goes hard. Dark Gathering is about a trio consisting of two adults and a little kid who goes around the cities of Japan hunting down spirits and getting on all sorts of supernatural conflicts. Sounds generic right? It could've been easily a run-off-the-mill ripoff of Supernatural, Gegege no Kitaro, or Yuyu Hakusho but somehow, it does not feel like any of the spirit-busting shows I've known. It is much, much closer to Higurashi than Yokai-Watch and most surprisingly, this show feels like a spiritual successor to Shadow Star Narutaru, which was a fucked-up show that deconstructed the beloved long-running Pokemon. Yes: Dark Gathering is an amalgamation of Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hostel. So much reference, yes, cause underneath its numerous arsenal of inspirations, Dark Gathering feels somewhat unique... and that's why I love it. Namely because of how they do the spirit busting, which unfortunately would go on spoiler territory. Just note that the show is named very appropriately. My favorite aspect of the show was its hardcore horror elements which were surprisingly haunting, disturbing, and shockingly gory in comparison to what the show feels in its first few episodes. The show is VIOLENT. Like don't be fooled with its colorful presentation and at times shonen-like aesthetics during uneventful bits for there are matters discussed and experienced in the show that was way beyond what is initially promised by its synopsis. The psychological horror lands well during the story segments but it does not shy away from getting visceral during the hauntings. The characters I thought were serviceable at first but then things happen in the show that just elevated them quite nicely. Well, aside from the suspension of belief that a middleschooler can do exorcism feats like a brat-sized John Wick, the show managed to make viewers feel the codependent dynamics of the main trio. The main dude is a determined scaredy-cat, the main badass is the aforementioned kid wonder, but the most memorable one is definitely the driver Eiko who was just as unhinged or moreso than the ghosts in the show. One needs to see this chic to believe it. She is terrifying as a person irl. Speaking of which: The ghosts. Oh man... the ghosts in the show are not your typical lame-ass spooky-dorky stalkers who just possess and blow wind on your faces. No... the ghosts in this show will wreck your shit up and I am pretty sure most people will not survive these terrifying forces of nature. These ghosts can bend reality, has their own domain expansion, rip you apart not unlike those from cartel videos, and boy do the supernatural battles get so hype. Not only that, the tension was quite strong from midway beyond, with high stakes, fucked-up villains, and plotlines that just keeps outdoing the episodes prior. The show did horror well, complimented with its animation, sound effects, and atmosphere, the latter which I revere to be one of the most important aspect horror shows must have. Now lemme complain a bit. I love the show and after it ended, the void came on me... just how good shows must be able to do. However, I do know that the show will not be for everyone. For starters, the violence and utter craziness of most of the stories were nauseating to think about. This is not a show for pee wee little boys and girls. There are R-rated stuff in here that is conceptually worse than most gore movies I've ever watched. The show is not a slowburn, it is in-your-face brutal like Made in Abyss. This is a ghost show that just straight up has the nihilism of those German fairy tales. Likewise, there are genuine discomfort on how some of the resolutions came to be and the protagonists have done a lot of ethically questionable stuff as the show went on. Also, I will riot if season 2 wont come out. Me and my dog too.Also, the main protagonist Yayoi looks ridiculous but I adore her personally despite her superhuman feats. The OP feels like a mid2000 Jrock loveletter and the accompanying visuals werent far off either. The ED was ok. What stood out however are the effects for the spooky stuff. When bones get crushed, they sound like it. When someone screams, boy does it feel like someone was being murdered thru the mic, and when meat gets torn... yeah... you get it. In short, it does sound effects extremely well. The animation was mostly above average, however packed with sakuga moments during some of its supernatural battles and some during the nastier side of things. It could've used less colors though. In summary, Dark Gathering is way too hardcore for what it looks like. There's genuine terror and the protagonists undergo numerous developments during their affairs, with long-lasting effects on their psychological states and body. The ghost-busting is fun as hell, the characters grew on me, plot was hype, and has some of the most fucked up ghost stories I've come across in anime. Watch it binged. Definitely watch it at night. But really... don't watch this with kids. Unless you want to torment them for a lifetime
denkisoda
01/01/2024, 02:00 PM
A refreshing horror anime! Good horror anime has become increasingly rare. Quality is lacking even for adaption of quality manga (like Junji Ito's). All impressive horror anime that I can think of are from over a decade ago, such as *Another* (2012), *Higurashi: When They Cry* (2011), and *Shiki* (2010). Early 2010s was indeed a golden era for horror! Without horror elements, this anime should be called "Dark Pokémon." The main story follows a very standard formula: battling, defeating and capturing enemies (growing the team), and ultimately challenging the final boss. Therefore, even though it spans 24 episodes, viewers won't grow weary of it after thehorror elements becoming routine. Instead, they'll focus on how the protagonists continues to battle and delve into the background stories of the enemies (some of which are quite fascinating). The beginning of the story (ep.1-9 or so) presented (seemingly) standalone exorcism episodes. They acquainted viewers with story settings, and contributed some of the best action scenes in the show. This part exudes a classic horror movie vibe hitting the right note (urban legend, jump scares, etc). Personally, I feel this part could have been more concise to quickly get into the subsequent part. But compared to other animes that keep dragging, *Dark Gathering* is already a well-paced one. After ep.10, where the anime delved into its "Pokémon" part, the creator's boundless imagination was revealed. Various attributes, personalities, and backstories of evil spirits required diverse strategies. Of course, the eerie atmosphere was still there, but the viewers' attention had been drawn to "How would the protagonists tackle the next battle?". In the latter half of the anime, I gradually grew accustomed (or a little fatigue) to the horror, but my curiosity about the story's development persisted until the very end. The anime excelled in both plot and atmosphere; but I wouldn't give it a higher score due to its less-than-satisfactory production. It's evident that the budget was limited: the characters often came across as rough, and the battle scenes frequently feature almost static key moments. Nevertheless, the fact that the anime provided such great enjoyment despite resource constraints speaks to the excellence of original manga, and the staff's good handling of horror theme. Additionally, I think choosing Hanazawa Kana as the voice actress for Houzuki Eiko was spot on. The ending theme song, performed by Hanazawa was also excellent. Despite the flaws, the anime is definitely worth watching if you find recent horror animesunsatisfying!
Phobossus
12/29/2023, 01:49 PM
I like my reviews informative. Here is a rather brief summary of the factors that should help you decide whether you'll enjoy this show or not, without delving much into the story. ‣ 1. Correct expectations Most of anime horror fans have probably seen this statement at least once in their life: "Anime is not a good medium for horror." While this is true by the definition of horror we're intuitively used to from live-action series, I also think most of us are aware we don't come here to "be scared". We come to experience the eerie, dark atmosphere, watch *the characters* being frightened and putunder mental pressure as they are forced to deal with constant danger, finally there are also viewers who specifically seek the presence of violence and gore - the tools that every horror anime appears to make use of, be it excessive or not. Dark Gathering checks all the aforementioned boxes. If you've come here for those things, suffice to say you will get them. You will also get the opportunity to listen to an amazing OST by Kohta Yamamoto (best known for composing the soundtrack for Attack on Titan) that contributes to the overall atmosphere just perfectly. ‣ 2. Tolerance for comedy I don't like comedy in anime, I specifically don't like the presence of gags to 'lighten the mood' in otherwise serious shows because they're immersion breakers. If there's anything bad (in the eyes of likeminded fellows) to say about Dark Gathering it's that it has comedy. The good news is, it doesn't throw it at us randomly. Most of the time the show follows the rule of "Screen time for comedy & screen time for serious business is mutually exclusive". In addition, they do limit its amount later on, so you mostly need some patience to look the other way in the first couple of episodes - and that leads us to point three. ‣ 3. Patience Some anime are said to have checkpoints - the episode number the viewer must reach for the quality of the show to increase, sometimes significantly. For Dark Gathering, it is believed the early introduction episodes of monster-of-the-weekish nature end with E08. Personally, I call E08 the soft checkpoint and E11 the hard checkpoint. It is E11, the first multi-episode story, that successfuly sold me on the show. It is also then that I got the impression the amount of comedy was significantly reduced, the story gained a stronger direction, and my interest in the very world, its lore and its characters started increasing. This by no means indicates that early episodes provide nothing of value. They introduce us to the characters and lore, but are generally agreed to be weaker than the latter part. ‣ 4. Positive attitude towards adventure battle shonen story structure Not the notorious shonen dialogs or power of friendship, no. What I mean is just the design of the story progression. The main character strives to get stronger in order to beat a certain opponent and follows a plan with that purpose in mind. We eventually get to know major villains, we gradually learn more and more about the spirit world and its rules as we witness our main cast engage in different, increasingly more difficult spirit encounters that are themselves a mixture of puzzle solving and pokemon battles, all while staying within the frames of an eerie horror anime. --- Initially skeptical, I'm definitely glad I ended up completing Dark Gathering. I hope this instruction will help some undecided souls resolve their doubts as well.
Tora3maru
12/26/2023, 10:10 PM
Alright boys, first ever review and as someone who just capped off the final season. Idc about your tips for new writers MAL, I'm throwing down my pure unfiltered, slightly censored, thoughts. Dark Gathering starts off seeming like your typical horror anime, cowardly guy meets ghost hunter, we get monster of the week fights, and deux ex machina demon hunter barely saves the day. In terms of horror you're not going to find anything too special here, and it's probably aware of that because as you slowly delve and unravel this series, you'll slowly realise what I did, this ain't no horror anime, it's a f**kingshounen plot. Dark Gathering sets up its established horror themes but then proceeds to add monster tam- it's Pokemon, it's a horror-themed Pokemon. It'll start pretty slow but you'll eventually realise you're coming back for the horror not for the terror or suspense, but for the thrill of seeing two ghosts pit it out against each other and wondering "Oh sh** which DaGamon (I coined the term from DA-rk GA-thering MON-ster) we'll see next?". A lot of the intrigue of the series will come from Yayoi gathering S-ranked DaGamon, which she intends to pit against a big bad final boss. Oh, and they even have their own catchphrase, "Retsu Go-Suto!", wordplay with "let's go" and "ghost". Idk man, if that doesn't scream Shounen plot idk what does. Arguably it's not for everyone, and if you're looking specifically for a good horror title, this might not be it. The main reason I come back to this show is how they spotlight these DaGamon, and seeing how it blends horror elements into a Pokemon-esque series, like imagine if the process of catching Pokemon could kill you, and even after you caught them, they still wanna kill you. You'll get to see how interesting and unique each DaGamon is from the others, all have different personalities and morals, and unique backgrounds that lead to them being the S-ranked DaGamon, on top of their special attacks and abilities in action. I think the biggest scene that sold me on the series was the one scene where, mild spoiler, the fight and capture of F Tunnel Ghost, which gives that big S-rank v S-rank DaGamon fight, but the biggest "dayum" moment comes after the battle when Yayoi "catches" the ghost, its like "dayum, you sold me anime" and it also highlighted how badass Yayoi is. Oh yeah, outside of DaGamon which can be considered their own characters, there are the human characters. Uh, Yayoi is undoubtedly the highlight, this lil stoic demon-hunting girl, you'll get plenty of moments to witness her being badass, but despite her veteran demon hunting exterior, you'll see endearing elements and she can be a childish goofster too. Keitaro is ghost bait, and obviously, he starts off wanting nothing to do with them and very wimpy, but he's our foil for exposition dumps and at the very least he doesn't come off as too annoying, and he'll naturally grow the most out of the cast. Eiko just scares me, she's also voiced by Kana Hanazawa, so that confuses me, and also scares me even more, idk what else to say, oh she's Keitaro's love interest and its not bait cause they mutually express their feelings early on, but I think that scares me the most. Throwing down aesthetics, art and animation is serviceable, sakuga this is not, and being that it's not focusing on visual horror, I don't think adept horror fans will get much thrill there, but it does the job I guess, and its far from bad. Music, I can't say much about the OST but the opening is adequate parts horror-ry and upbeat enough to be shounen-esque, its something I'd find from an emo-garage-band-kid's mixtape. Hana Kana does the ending so you know those are solid hits, especially the 2nd ending, it's very soothing it almost makes me forget what kind of series its from, but very nice to wind down to. So yeah, Dark Gathering, its a solid banger, do not be fooled by the horror genre, because it is in essence more of a shounen plot, and the DaGamon are fun to watch, and seeing how it parallels Pokemon but deviates through horror elements which gives the show enough uniqueness and intrigue that separates it from anything else. Give this show a shot if it sounds like your cup of tea, I'd like to see it go well because I am heavily invested in the overarching plot, and I'd like to see a continuation.
Marinate1016
12/26/2023, 09:54 AM
Finally, after many years we have a legitimately good horror anime. Dark gathering is one of the best shows of 2023 and a must watch for anyone looking for a dark and genuinely disturbing story. When this show got announced, I was a little skeptical as anime just seems like a medium that doesn’t focus too much on horror stuff. Yea, you have Ito Junji’s stuff, but outside of that there’s “another” and a few psychological thrillers and that’s it. For a country that’s produced “The Ring” you’d think this would be a way more popular niche. Fortunately, Dark Gathering breaks the mould and is agenuinely horrifying watch in the best possible way, featuring a loveable cast, great lore and world building and some good action. Not knowing much about Japanese Yokai traditions and history, I found the series very informative as well. The cast go across Japan exploring various haunted locations and getting rid of the ghosts inhabiting them. These aren’t just some Casper cute little things they’re dealing with, but genuinely unhinged and demented spirits who do some of the most gruesome things imaginable to those unfortunate enough to visit these places. The cool part is many of these locations exist in real life and some actually do have haunted backstories which you can read up on. From ripping brain steams out, to eating internal organs, suicide and much more, this show doesn’t shy away from controversial and dark topics. As the name suggests, it embraces them and has so many legitimately disturbing scenes. I appreciate this a lot as anime just doesn’t do this much. It also manages to create an unnerving atmosphere that illicits actual fear. I’ve never been afraid before of watching an anime, this was the first time for me and I’m glad. It shows more of the emotions that can be conveyed through this medium which is cool. The cast are great. There’s 3 main characters and they all flow so well together. While Yayoi is pretty OP, Keitaro and Eiko are not and instead rely on their cunning and teamwork to take on ghosts. As the difficulty of the encounters ramps up, even Yayoi has to rely more on the other two for help and it just makes for a really cool dynamic where every character is useful and important. There’s also romance which gets taken care of rather early on, which is a massive plus for me. My only complaint on the character front is that Eiko getting kidnapped or being a damsel in distress kind of becomes a repetitive meme at a point in the story, but it is what it is. Technically, it’s a solid show. The animation is good enough, character designs are very unique and the OST heightens all the tense moments. Similar to good horror films they really know the types of songs to compliment tense and frightening moments. Hats off to the studio. I could really go on all day about Dark Gathering. It’s one of those shows that everyone who watches it loves it, but not enough people have seen it. Whether because of Hidive or the packed seasons it’s aired in, I don’t know, but if you like dark anime and want a good horror series. This is the one. Dark Gathering gets 10 dolls, out of 10.
PastUchiha98
12/25/2023, 11:17 AM
Finally a decent anime horror that actually give chills with that sort of 2000 anime style vibes 😳 The plot seems to me like a kind of Pokemon BUT with exorcism and spirits fights so yeah this can conquer almost everyone😂 Even if the art style is kinda poor (maybe due for the budget) the cast then still did a great job, especially Yayoi the basest loli of the year with her background, mental strenght and plot twist that she gave into this first season🗿 This was both unexpected and nice try so yeah, i'm in hype for the manga adaptation in my country andcan't wait for the season 2....Let's Ghost!
EdySilva
12/24/2023, 02:37 PM
Man, it's been 25 weeks of pure pleasure and insanity. I've always been a huge horror and supernatural enthusiast. Consequently, I felt like there was a lack of a genuinely macabre anime like Dark Gathering. I begged so much that my prayers were answered. I love how scary, unique and cool this anime is. I really didn't expect it to be so good and not have any bad episodes, it's crazy. He proves to you masterfully that you don't need beautiful animation to make a good anime, there were 25 episodes full of risks and increasing tensions. My Sundays will definitely never be the samewithout Dark Gathering. Now I can only hope for the announcement of the second season.
BropixWuff
12/24/2023, 11:14 AM
Dark Gathering is a Supernatural-Horror, Adventure Manga by Kondou Kenichi, who was an assistant who worked on the manga D.Gray-man. It was adapted into a 25-episode anime by OLM, housing talents that helped produce amazing shows like Summertime Rendering, OddTaxi & The Apothecary Diaries Set in modern-day Japan, it follows Gentouga Keitarou who is trying to readjust to society after being cursed by a spirit. He meets a young girl named Houzuki Yayoi, the cousin of his childhood friend Houzuki Eiko. Yayoi is a genius psychic, hell-bent on finding an evil spirit she named “The Spectre”, who was behind her mother’s disappearance. She drags Keitarouinto her terrifying world of grotesque supernatural adventures. While overviewing the Summer 2023 catalog, my initial thoughts after watching the trailer were that of uncertainty. The question was if this anime could be genuinely scary or just another cringy edge fest. Luckily Dark Gathering succeeds with flying colors in being a horrifying, creepy, and suspenseful show. While the initial episodes have an episodic structure it quickly develops into interesting story arcs as Yayoi discovers that the creation of The Spectre seems to be more sinister than initially believed. The anime tackles very heavy and taboo themes, with very little if any censorship to accompany them. The horror and tension are intense, and greatly executed, mainly due to two reasons. First, the haunted locations the characters visit. Many of these locations you could connect to real-life ones, locations holding some dark unknown past of many decades ago, showing the heights of cruelty possible by human beings. For example, in one side-mission, the characters travel to an abandoned building that in the past was connected to a sex-trafficking ring and now is haunted by the spirits of its victims. The supernatural encounters and the horror they unveil never feel too try hard edgy, but instead genuinely creepy in how the spirits, many of them being tortured souls, show their wrath towards the living. Second, I greatly enjoyed the ghost-hunting combat. A tool the characters use are dolls that act as damage proxies, they transfer damage the evil spirits deal to them to said dolls. The dolls are a great plot device since they greatly increase the sense of urgency, a reality check to you the viewer, that without these dolls and Yayoi’s knowledge, you would have an easier time surviving the Shibuya Incident compared to some of the spirits they encounter. While the cast is small, they each fit their role within the story well. Yayoi carries the show's narrative and is the most competent among the trio. Keitarou slowly becomes more heroic during the supernatural adventures and Eiko’s love of scary encounters grows. The production is good, the character designs are cartoony, and the animation is consistently good. The designs of some of the spirits are downright horrific and scary, even scarier in the manga. The sound design is top notch and the soundtrack succeeds in aiding its creepy vibe. The slice-of-life moments are similar to that of Higurashi, where everything is more colorful and goofy, but once it gets serious the art gets more intense. Overall this anime is amazing, I desperately need a 2nd season. It takes some time for it to cook, but once it does, you are hooked and can’t stop watching. If you like good horror anime I would recommend Higurashi and Shiki as well.
Smilomaniac
12/24/2023, 10:54 AM
Imagine you caught Sadako from the Ring and used her as a pokemon against other ghosts. Also she might turn on you. Do I need to say more? This is a horror anime. The ghosts and stories are disconcerting and often disturbing. The story points used for a lot of these are genuinely dark and the imagery is quite gruesome. Is it scary or nightmare inducing? I think if you've seen your share of horror that this won't really bother you, but more inexperienced viewers might find some of the material used to even be too much. People saying there's nothing here I think are a littletoo jaded and are more likely turned off by other parts of the anime, such as the somewhat cutesy style used, which in fairness is meant to be a contrast. Every season I drop several shows, but I've kept going with Dark Gathering and watched every episode on release. A strong 8 and the next season could elevate this to a true classic, depending on how the main story goes.
KANLen09
12/24/2023, 08:35 AM
Dark Gathering: Let's play a game of hide-and-seek. But you can only do it late in the night, and please have your headphones on for the special effects...because...I'VE FOUND YOU. If there was ONE genre that I wish had stood out more in the modern day and age of copy-paste Isekai, fantasy, and reincarnation stories, we've seen one show too many, and it's the horror genre. But then again, horror is a genre that not many authors nor creators can get it right, much less from the one sole afficionado of a famed mangaka that brought us much of the genre's fame: the illusive Junji Ito.Sure, we have series like Ryukishi07's Higurashi franchise, the Junji Ito Collection (which Studio Deen's Winter 2018 adaptation is not what was expected of the level of the acclaimed horror mangaka's stories), Mieruko-chan (which is more comedy than horror), and the never-ending Theatre of Darkness: Yami Shibai series. But other than the last "true" horror show being MAPPA's Winter 2020 adaptation of mangaka Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro (partly because of its gore), there hasn't been a TRUE horror or supernatural show that TRULY makes you feel like you're feeling scared and shitless. That is until now, with mangaka Kenichi Kondo's Dark Gathering, for which I'm surprised that the series being serialized in Shueisha's Jump Square (Kemono Jihen, Yuukoku no Moriarty, to name a few) since March 2019, isn't as popular as it should be. With this show, the horror and supernatural genres can finally go hand-in-hand to deliver what I feel is one of the most "true"-feeling modern-age horror shows that you can pick up and it'll NOT relent on you putting it down. A young man with a cursed right hand who has a natural predisposition to attract ghosts to himself. This is the story of Keitarou Gentoga, an innocent-looking boy of a college sophomore who freezes at the sight of ghosts, with an incident with one ghastly experience causing his right hand to be cursed (which forces said sophomore to wear gloves). Keitarou's clearly had enough tolerance for experiencing the supernatural, so much so that he wants to go back to his typical life. A suggestion from a girl to help alleviate his problems from being a shut-in, and he decides to become a tutor to help suppress his emotions. Little does he know that by helping to tutor the person that the girl perceives as her cousin, Keitarou was the bait that was waiting for a catalyst to reactivate his fear of the supernatural and occult and simultaneously...be a helper? OK...reluctant to join, but Keitarou's already at the point of no return, and he assists on said girl's and her cousin's matters. Keitarou has one more student: Ai Kamiyo, the energetic girl who appears to be just a clumsy one whose misfortune always ends up involving people around her. However, just like Yayoi, take a look at her eyes: Ai has star-patterned pupils, which is a sign that she has been marked by a malevolent god as his bride, who's always in constant protection to prevent her from being tainted. So, she's also connected to the occult in some way. That girl that Keitarou is very acquainted with is his childhood friend, Eiko Hozuki. Remember the traumatic event that the former went through when he was young? Both he and she were inflicted by the same ordeal as the former, also having experienced the spirituality that resulted in both childhood friends being cursed by an unknown spirit to have nerve endings grow from their bodies: Keitarou on his right hand and Eiko on her left hand. As childhood friends go, Eiko is clearly in love with Keitarou...but don't expect her one-sided crush to be wholesome. Instead, Eiko wears a rather agonizing Yandere expression on her sleeve to the point of a dark, twisted obsession, being immensely overprotective of Keitarou to the point that she has committed things like wiretapping, placing hidden cameras and tracking devices to stalk and monitor his vitals without his knowledge (though in some of the ghostly cases, this proves vital to his survival). This leads to the fact that, while said yandere girlfriend has a strong foundation in computer science at school, which produces excellent grades, she opted to study folklore so that she could better understand his struggles with the occult. But while both childhood friends appear human, Eiko does not have a spiritual sense as much as Keitaro, especially when in comparison to her cousin Yayoi. From the outset, you can tell that her eye pupils are in the shape of skulls, and that's because she had developed polycoria (two pupils in the same eye) in both eyes for some unknown reason. This enables her to see ghosts clearly, which she once saw as hazy figures. But her reason for engaging in the occult and supernatural is a story that's bigger than life: She witnessed her mother's ghost being abducted by an embryo of ghostly origins (called the Spectre of Death) and has made it her goal to get her mother back by capturing ghosts to defeat the perpetrator. Moreover, her sharp, superhuman instinct has always kept both Keitarou and Eiko safe, though she may not be right all the time, to which she uses her intelligence to outwit the many ghastly episodes going into the Dark and Gathering ghosts for her objective. The plot of Dark Gathering, in its simplest form: think of it as like playing Pokémon (the 3rd Gen games) and going straight to Lavender Town, to the Pokémon Tower, where Pokémon are laid to rest, fighting both ghost Pokémon and the spirits that linger around. That's the basis for Yayoi's goal and objective, with the help of both Keitarou and Eiko, to wander around the fictional "7 Wonders" locations to locate the strong ghosts (called Graduates) and seal them in a doll of her choosing that must be big enough to sustain the damage received from its user. If that's not enough, Yayoi's room is a doll's haven full of the council of captured spirits and being tamed for their use, which also acts as a central HQ hub of sorts for the artifacts of stronger spirits that they cannot handle alone, and worse still, be the tool for their enemies to build the Spectre of Death. It's a clear race against time to collect as many Graduates all across Japan for a sizable battle against the perpetrators in alliance with the Spectre of Death, as many low-key jumpscares as you'll get while watching the show. For a full horror experience, I recommend watching Dark Gathering around midnight (which airs in Japan at 1 in the morning) and having your headphones ready to feel the sizable amp in ghastly quality. Over the course of six months since Summer, the kids' arm of OLM's Team Masuda (responsible for the Beyblade series) has done a respectful job of adapting the manga with most of its horror themes kept intact. Although Tonikaku Kawaii a.k.a ToniKawa director Hiroshi Ikehata may not be the best representative to understand the dark, violent, and gritty nature of the original source material, he at least did his directorial role right, and this should count on the overall execution of the anime, which has grown from good to being great IMO. Also, the OST should be commended for giving off the horror vibes; it literally brings chills to your bones from head to toe. luz's OP song is very good, and it fits Dark Gathering to a T, while Eiko's VA HanaKana gets 2 ED songs to her name, though I'd lean more to the 1st Cour's ED song. It's going to be pretty tough to beat Dark Gathering as a very lean horror supernatural series, because this is now my new favourite horror supernatural show that will stand the test of time until the next rival comes, which will be in a very long time to come. I feel both ecstatic and scared at the same time, and nowhere other than Dark Gathering will you get a tantalizing horror experience as modern as this.

Dark Gathering ダークギャザリング

2023 summer | Episodes: 25 | Score: 7.8 (51222)

Updated every Mondays at 01:05 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: HIDIVE | Anime Digital Network | Bahamut Anime Crazy | Muse Asia

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Shimazaki, Nobunaga

Shimada, Aino

Hanazawa, Kana

Sasahara, Yuu

News

Reviews

ominoussage
01/02/2025, 08:17 AM
An interesting adventure-like horror anime you shouldn't miss. Started with a simple plot but later gets deep and adds more interesting characters into the mix which makes you want to keep watching. The horror doesn't just come from the ghost stores or urban legends; there's also your common disturbing news like crimes, dark and spooky places and of course, the gory animation. The setting changes quite often too which is different from most anime shows nowadays which is really nice. The main characters have a well-connected dynamic that further makes sense from their developments throughout the story and they all have their own unique characteristics thatmakes them special and likeable. They all work together to solve the issue and support each other which is really nice. The enemies are actually powerful and the concept of having a chance of beating them from knowing information and following procedures makes you want to keep wondering how things will turn out and keep on watching. The OP and ED is really good, too. It adapts based on what's already been shown to the viewers which is spoiler-free and I think should be the standard for anime shows. Music and SFX is well done. Not a single moment where the BGM sounded off. The one thing that keeps me from rating it a 10 is the animation. It's certainly good enough to make an anime, but the story is so great that I think it deserves some more detail and effort. The character designs are already good, just wished it had better animation. Overall, 9/10. Besides the plot, If you don't mind seeing some disturbing stories and scary stuff, watch this anime.
AniSabii
08/02/2024, 10:21 PM
I loved it! The story was solid enough to make me bookmark the manga to read for later. I prefer korean mangas too and rarely want to read a Japanese manga, but this one was different. It took me a long time to get past the first episode, but once I did I was hooked. The main reason being was Yayoi, but Ill get to that later. I'm a big thriller, suspense, and horror type of guy when it comes to anime. Especially when it comes to very good ones like dark gathering because its like finding a needle in a haystack. It took meawhile to get past the first episode because of a biased towards Yayoi. I just couldnt take the anime serious at first because she was this young animated girl. Ironically enough though Yayoi ended up being my favorite character in the show because she got that dog in her. Its not really much else to say the art was amazing and the soundtrack was cool too for a suspense, thriller, and horror vibe. If my girl was into this type of genre I would definitely watch this with her no problem. Dont expect no high school of the dead fan service type deal lol but truth be told this anime does completely fine without it. No disrespect to the people who put this anime together at all though just a hobby for me. I know how it is to create things and havent it judged harshly just got to keep creating for the love of the craft. Story: 8 Art:8 Soundtrack: 8 Characters: 9 Rewatch Value: 8 (Idk why, but in the summer I love watching suspense/thriller anime) X/Twitter: AniSabii (I follow anybody back thats into anime)
Eravern
06/21/2024, 03:22 PM
If you are looking for horror, this is kinda mediocre, there was one very chilling aspect, that gets ruined by playing it off as a joke in ep 5, some parts are downright just FNAF jumpscares, a lot of the more disturbing themes seem too much to have a big effect, a lot of edge. If you are looking for a Shounen, this is also kinda bad, very repetitive fetch quest-like structure, characters have pretty good motivation for what they are doing and are all morally gray, exept for the MC who seems to be the pure of heart kind. The characters are fine, classic apathetic character,pretty tame sadist yandere and easily scared MC, villains are villanous.
morgue-oni
06/16/2024, 09:00 AM
Dark Gathering If you’re a horror fan, you’ll enjoy it - if you’re a horror snob, well, why are you even watching a horror anime? I personally, feel catered to. Plot: 8/10 Horror is a genre that anime notoriously struggles with, and often fails at. Which is why I appreciate shows like Dark Gathering that don’t take themselves too seriously and don’t commit too hard to trying to be ‘serious’ or ‘scary’. This show hits horror and it hits supernatural, just not in the way that you’d traditionally expect. Did it scare me? No. Do I expect any horror anime to scare me? No, not really.As a fan of horror generally, did I enjoy this show? Yes. The plot is motivated consistently through each character’s individual goals and desires, all of which make sense and stay consistent - an aspect that many anime shows tend to fail on. It helps keep the show interesting, the viewer engaged and most importantly; it drives the plot forward. The format of each episode can get a bit repetitive but I don’t necessarily think that’s the hallmark of a bad anime (many shows do this and succeed, think JoJos, Death Parade, Cowboy Bebop). Despite horror not being this, or really any, anime's strong point - there were a couple of episodes that I found to be genuinely disturbing and quite uncomfortable to watch - mainly around the 14th to 18th episodes. So major horror fans should enjoy those episodes especially. Characters: 8.5/10 I love the characters in this show, I don’t think they’re overly simple or complex - they fit the overall theme of the show perfectly. Even supporting characters that we’re introduced to are interesting and their plot points don’t take over from the main overarching plot, they add to it. This show has birthed one of my new favourite characters in Yayoi, and I even like the main character despite some of his flaws. However, the one thing that stops the characters from being a 10/10 for me was when we learn that one character is a ‘tsundere’, it doesn’t add anything in my opinion and didn’t feel natural or like it was valuable to the show. It felt like it was just thrown in there for the sake of it - or for the sake of helping to patch over some plot points in the future, which is slightly lazy writing. Animation/Design: 10/10 I knew I would like this animation and character design, it caters to exactly the type of aesthetic I enjoy - darker and grittier, with ‘’standard’’ scenes also. However, I didn’t expect to love the design so much. Especially Yayoi, who may actually be one of my all-time favourites now. Her design is especially interesting due to the contrast from the other two main characters, and she often looks a little ‘strange’ or out of place, which adds so much to the atmosphere and enhances the overall vibe of the show in my opinion! But, maybe I’m glazing a little. I enjoy how the spirits don’t end up conforming to one set theme and they all look pretty individual; it keeps things interesting to look at. In a show like the how the supernatural look is almost imperative and I’d say they did extremely well with the designs in this show. Overall: objectively, 8/10, subjectively for me: 10/10 I love this show, it feels like it truly caters to me. I found myself slowing down on watching the episodes just because I didn’t want it to be over so soon. Don’t listen to the horror snobs in the comments who refuse to enjoy anything - give this show a chance.
Afifputraadriza1
05/02/2024, 03:25 PM
ITS A HORROR POKEMON 💀🔥🔥 Personally Dark Gathering Is Just Another Level Of Horror, Different Than Others,Out Of The Box, And The MOST IMPORTANT Thing Is, ITS POKEMON BASED That Can Kill Its Own Owner 🤣🤣 Soft Spoiler ALERT But Seriously The Storyline Is Just Peak, Not Generic Entry Level That Just Want To Avenge Or Redeem Something, Starting With Just Want To Defeat A Ghost That Kidnapping Her Mother, Into A Fakking God/DeityAnd Yeah You Will Be Thinking To Defeat A God By Gathering Other Semi God Level Ghost Or I Can Say Evil Pokemon 🤣🤣 But I Bet, The Story Is Unpredictable, Character Development Is Just Good Too And The Greatest Thing Is Every Semi God Ghost Has Its Own Flashback And ITS Server Really Well Really RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO SEEK ABOUT GHOST AND ADRENALIN OF ACTION, BEY YOU WILL ADDICTED
PixelB
04/13/2024, 12:31 AM
How many horror anime are even out there? Rarely is there any actual horror anime that gets released, and when they do, it's not particularly executed on a high level. Higurashi? Both adaptations are pretty mid and the source material...meh. Corpse party? Just edgy shock value. I'm basically out of any other ideas. And no, "horror" anime doesn't count. Horror evokes fear. Dread. Stuff like Mieroku-chan, Tokyo Ghoul, etc doesn't even count. They might be good shows, but it's more supernatural than horror. After all, horror is the fear of the unknown and being unable to fight back. The aforementioned shows do feature supernatural anomalies, butthere are defined methods of fighting back and the show is the clash between humans and the supernatural. Think of stuff like xxxHolic, Ghost Hunt, or even Toire no Hanako-san. Sure, there might be ghosts and supernatural involved, but when the characters have abilities to easily kill them, it's not horror, is it? So it's safe to say that while Dark Gathering features some of that supernatural flair where characters are fighting and killing ghosts and spirits, it also embraces the horror aspect and tries to evoke fear in the readers and viewers. And it's clever about it too, expressing the contrasting themes of horror and a bit of shounen through characters. Yayoi embodies the battle-shounen aspect of the show. She has methods of restraining, controlling, and killing spirits and ghosts. While she faces fear and ghosts with unbelievable abilities, she doesn't falter despite life-threatening circumstances. She makes use of ghosts she previously captured to challenge higher-level ones. It's because this show still embraces that horror, fear, and helplessness against the unknown that the show stands out and in fact, tries something new. Keitaro and Eiko embody the theme of fear. While Yayoi is out there fighting the enemy, Keitaro and Eiko are for the most part, completely helpless against the supernatural, They have to confront enemies that can kill or permanently cripple them in mere moments while having to devise a way to deal with them or get out alive. Rather than capturing or killing, surviving seems to be the most compelling objective. And it's definitely what makes the show that good. Yayoi is a character that isn't supposed to feel too much fear or have too much weakness, but by introducing characters that are quite helpless, you can certainly experience the horror they experience firsthand through their perspectives. Speaking of the horror encounters, it is reminiscent of something like Jojo's Bizzare Adventure when it comes to abilities. Each ghost has abilities, a unique nature, and different strengths similar to what a Stand would have. Only by dealing with strong enemy abilities with knowledge, wits, and speed will you be victorious. It is possible to overthrow or beat opponents with seemingly invincible abilities with the right strategy. Combined with the horror aspect in the form of Eiko and Keitaro freaking out with every encounter, it does pay homage to the horror genre while still maintaining that battle-shounen vibe that it tries to hone in on. And it's a damn good thing that it did. While this show is a bit spooky at points and there are creepy things that happen, the animation just isn't there. The soundtrack is nice at times, but the choreography and storyboarding are just not meant to evoke too much horror. The problem with horror in animation is how much time it takes to perfect. You need tons of detail, pacing, storyboarding, the right ambiance, and sound quality to achieve an effective horror show. This takes a lot of money, time, and creativity. With something like Demon Slayer, you can kind of just throw money and the product will be good since it's just hyper-detailed fights. What about animating horror? It's pretty damn hard. Games like Ao Oni which have animated graphics have you control the character so it evokes a sense of horror much more easily than just a show. And live-action shows are even easier. You just hyper-realistically CGI scary things and put it in the dark chasing someone and you're already halfway done. So, Dark Gathering makes do with what it can and I applaud for it.
happa_hana
03/25/2024, 01:44 AM
thank goodness headphones exist or else the bone chilling wouldn't be as impactful - just how the artist intended. I was prepared knowing that Dark Gathering (DG) is pretty horror-filled but oh my god i was not 'prepared' prepared for DG at all - if viewers can just be patient and push through the first cour of the anime (which isn't too difficult to do imo, the episodes are all pretty intriguing enough to sit through) - shit just hits the ceiling man - DG is NOT for the faint heart or stomach. The horror is absolutely macabre enough to twist your brain chemistry buti think it really does succeed in fueling the feeling of you wanting to continue despite the terror this anime will put you through (in the end we are all nourishing a yandere in us) here's a breakdown in numbers: story - 11/10 - at 1st it feel like it might be light-hearted territory of typical horror but OH BOY the jump it does is enough to sit at a distance & watch in case your heart freezes over, some of the most grotesque stuff is waiting for you at the juicy centers of the story where the plot thickens and has you on edge soundtrack - 11/10 - NAILED It is the best way to put it - the soundtrack absolutely elevates the creeps & acts as an essential part of the storytelling & action rather than just filling in for"epic music" - even listening to the OST album solo at night w some good headphones on will have your heart racing - like you're inviting the unknown into your space - spooky af but the souondtrack makes this anime such an S-rank winner! characters - 7.5/10 - the exception being Yayoi - 11/10 - she's just amazing! i have no words i absolutely love her & her VA. Kei & Eiko are also pretty good but i also think that they are pretty set-in-stone characters who are pretty solid enough w incremental character growths happening. however, they don't steal the fun of the show - they are imp characters that add to the action & structure & are good side-characters (than main) to Yaoyi. There's also Ai who i think has potential - she's been mostly at the back for the entirety of S1 so i hope she is treated well w the tragedy that she is burdened w on the 2nd season.
pionappies_
03/08/2024, 06:27 AM
If you like anime that contains ghosts in it, I think this anime is suitable for you. At first I didn't have high expectations for this anime, at first I often saw it on my TikTok home page. I thought this was just a normal horror anime with the MC being a strange little kid. But for some reason I suddenly wanted to watch this anime. And it turns out I really enjoyed it, each episode was not boring at all. The gore is also good and the graphics don't seem too different from the manga. I hope to watch anime like this again, or do youhave any suggestions??
whyamihere101
02/20/2024, 03:43 PM
Came for the yandere, stayed for the plot. Basically, the anime is about spirits. They're invisible to normal people, but our main characters can either see or sense them. They defeat spirits and add them to their collection to use and defend/battle against other spirits. The little girl, Yayoi, is a genius with an IQ of 160 (literally), who can see but not sense spirits. Keitaro, the black-haired mc, can sense spirits (but not see them), and gets dragged into the spirit battling life by Yayoi and Eiko. Eiko's the yandere girl, who has a... hidden, twisted side. Let's keep it at that. But her loveand obsession for Keitaro is cute and amazing. And the anime got balanced comedy. Superb. Be aware though, this anime might not seem disturbing at first, but once you watch it, it definitely has some quite dark moments that go further than mere murder, so if you get uncomfortable easy, maybe skip those parts. All in all this is one of the best 24-ep animes I've seen, hoping for a S2.
vulcavtuber
01/27/2024, 05:13 PM
A very interesting folk-legend inspired horror show broken up by a mediocre slice of life. Definitely keep in mind that this is a fairly comedic show with some very serious bits. Slowly, the show matured more with the characters knowledge and that was something that made it more enjoyable. The attention to little details from the ghost stories when showing the spirits themselves was a very nice touch leaving me eager to know what parts of each urban legend were going to be true. Some of the urban legends were very interesting and unsettling, something some horror comedy animes fail to do. Biggest gripe would bethe MC, Keitarou's, unnecessary recaps of the show. Multiple times he would just break down the entire backstory in an overexplained way taking me out of it - we just watched and learned all of this but for some reason he feels the need to keep telling us and not in a "previously on..." kind of way. Just straight up reflecting on his life for seemingly no reason. Idk.
undamoth
01/25/2024, 04:52 AM
Horror and anime just seem to be an elusive puzzle that is still on the process of perfecting. The Japanese animation medium just seem to have a hard time getting that perfect blend to make a show effective in inciting the dread, disgust, terror, and sheer feeling of discomfort that any good horror wear on their sleeves. It was a different matter to manga for so many things go right on that medium. Translated to the screen however, with numerous changes needed to elicit the same effect and more often than not, it was just worse with unfitting color schemes, off-note pacing, and unfavorable sounddirection just to give an example. It takes a lot of effort to make one get terrified of drawings. Now, is 2023's Dark Gathering the elixir to cure the issues of horror anime? Well, not quite to be honest since it still is a horror-comedy in its heart but when the horror stuff comes in, it goes hard, and boy it goes hard. Dark Gathering is about a trio consisting of two adults and a little kid who goes around the cities of Japan hunting down spirits and getting on all sorts of supernatural conflicts. Sounds generic right? It could've been easily a run-off-the-mill ripoff of Supernatural, Gegege no Kitaro, or Yuyu Hakusho but somehow, it does not feel like any of the spirit-busting shows I've known. It is much, much closer to Higurashi than Yokai-Watch and most surprisingly, this show feels like a spiritual successor to Shadow Star Narutaru, which was a fucked-up show that deconstructed the beloved long-running Pokemon. Yes: Dark Gathering is an amalgamation of Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hostel. So much reference, yes, cause underneath its numerous arsenal of inspirations, Dark Gathering feels somewhat unique... and that's why I love it. Namely because of how they do the spirit busting, which unfortunately would go on spoiler territory. Just note that the show is named very appropriately. My favorite aspect of the show was its hardcore horror elements which were surprisingly haunting, disturbing, and shockingly gory in comparison to what the show feels in its first few episodes. The show is VIOLENT. Like don't be fooled with its colorful presentation and at times shonen-like aesthetics during uneventful bits for there are matters discussed and experienced in the show that was way beyond what is initially promised by its synopsis. The psychological horror lands well during the story segments but it does not shy away from getting visceral during the hauntings. The characters I thought were serviceable at first but then things happen in the show that just elevated them quite nicely. Well, aside from the suspension of belief that a middleschooler can do exorcism feats like a brat-sized John Wick, the show managed to make viewers feel the codependent dynamics of the main trio. The main dude is a determined scaredy-cat, the main badass is the aforementioned kid wonder, but the most memorable one is definitely the driver Eiko who was just as unhinged or moreso than the ghosts in the show. One needs to see this chic to believe it. She is terrifying as a person irl. Speaking of which: The ghosts. Oh man... the ghosts in the show are not your typical lame-ass spooky-dorky stalkers who just possess and blow wind on your faces. No... the ghosts in this show will wreck your shit up and I am pretty sure most people will not survive these terrifying forces of nature. These ghosts can bend reality, has their own domain expansion, rip you apart not unlike those from cartel videos, and boy do the supernatural battles get so hype. Not only that, the tension was quite strong from midway beyond, with high stakes, fucked-up villains, and plotlines that just keeps outdoing the episodes prior. The show did horror well, complimented with its animation, sound effects, and atmosphere, the latter which I revere to be one of the most important aspect horror shows must have. Now lemme complain a bit. I love the show and after it ended, the void came on me... just how good shows must be able to do. However, I do know that the show will not be for everyone. For starters, the violence and utter craziness of most of the stories were nauseating to think about. This is not a show for pee wee little boys and girls. There are R-rated stuff in here that is conceptually worse than most gore movies I've ever watched. The show is not a slowburn, it is in-your-face brutal like Made in Abyss. This is a ghost show that just straight up has the nihilism of those German fairy tales. Likewise, there are genuine discomfort on how some of the resolutions came to be and the protagonists have done a lot of ethically questionable stuff as the show went on. Also, I will riot if season 2 wont come out. Me and my dog too.Also, the main protagonist Yayoi looks ridiculous but I adore her personally despite her superhuman feats. The OP feels like a mid2000 Jrock loveletter and the accompanying visuals werent far off either. The ED was ok. What stood out however are the effects for the spooky stuff. When bones get crushed, they sound like it. When someone screams, boy does it feel like someone was being murdered thru the mic, and when meat gets torn... yeah... you get it. In short, it does sound effects extremely well. The animation was mostly above average, however packed with sakuga moments during some of its supernatural battles and some during the nastier side of things. It could've used less colors though. In summary, Dark Gathering is way too hardcore for what it looks like. There's genuine terror and the protagonists undergo numerous developments during their affairs, with long-lasting effects on their psychological states and body. The ghost-busting is fun as hell, the characters grew on me, plot was hype, and has some of the most fucked up ghost stories I've come across in anime. Watch it binged. Definitely watch it at night. But really... don't watch this with kids. Unless you want to torment them for a lifetime
denkisoda
01/01/2024, 02:00 PM
A refreshing horror anime! Good horror anime has become increasingly rare. Quality is lacking even for adaption of quality manga (like Junji Ito's). All impressive horror anime that I can think of are from over a decade ago, such as *Another* (2012), *Higurashi: When They Cry* (2011), and *Shiki* (2010). Early 2010s was indeed a golden era for horror! Without horror elements, this anime should be called "Dark Pokémon." The main story follows a very standard formula: battling, defeating and capturing enemies (growing the team), and ultimately challenging the final boss. Therefore, even though it spans 24 episodes, viewers won't grow weary of it after thehorror elements becoming routine. Instead, they'll focus on how the protagonists continues to battle and delve into the background stories of the enemies (some of which are quite fascinating). The beginning of the story (ep.1-9 or so) presented (seemingly) standalone exorcism episodes. They acquainted viewers with story settings, and contributed some of the best action scenes in the show. This part exudes a classic horror movie vibe hitting the right note (urban legend, jump scares, etc). Personally, I feel this part could have been more concise to quickly get into the subsequent part. But compared to other animes that keep dragging, *Dark Gathering* is already a well-paced one. After ep.10, where the anime delved into its "Pokémon" part, the creator's boundless imagination was revealed. Various attributes, personalities, and backstories of evil spirits required diverse strategies. Of course, the eerie atmosphere was still there, but the viewers' attention had been drawn to "How would the protagonists tackle the next battle?". In the latter half of the anime, I gradually grew accustomed (or a little fatigue) to the horror, but my curiosity about the story's development persisted until the very end. The anime excelled in both plot and atmosphere; but I wouldn't give it a higher score due to its less-than-satisfactory production. It's evident that the budget was limited: the characters often came across as rough, and the battle scenes frequently feature almost static key moments. Nevertheless, the fact that the anime provided such great enjoyment despite resource constraints speaks to the excellence of original manga, and the staff's good handling of horror theme. Additionally, I think choosing Hanazawa Kana as the voice actress for Houzuki Eiko was spot on. The ending theme song, performed by Hanazawa was also excellent. Despite the flaws, the anime is definitely worth watching if you find recent horror animesunsatisfying!
Phobossus
12/29/2023, 01:49 PM
I like my reviews informative. Here is a rather brief summary of the factors that should help you decide whether you'll enjoy this show or not, without delving much into the story. ‣ 1. Correct expectations Most of anime horror fans have probably seen this statement at least once in their life: "Anime is not a good medium for horror." While this is true by the definition of horror we're intuitively used to from live-action series, I also think most of us are aware we don't come here to "be scared". We come to experience the eerie, dark atmosphere, watch *the characters* being frightened and putunder mental pressure as they are forced to deal with constant danger, finally there are also viewers who specifically seek the presence of violence and gore - the tools that every horror anime appears to make use of, be it excessive or not. Dark Gathering checks all the aforementioned boxes. If you've come here for those things, suffice to say you will get them. You will also get the opportunity to listen to an amazing OST by Kohta Yamamoto (best known for composing the soundtrack for Attack on Titan) that contributes to the overall atmosphere just perfectly. ‣ 2. Tolerance for comedy I don't like comedy in anime, I specifically don't like the presence of gags to 'lighten the mood' in otherwise serious shows because they're immersion breakers. If there's anything bad (in the eyes of likeminded fellows) to say about Dark Gathering it's that it has comedy. The good news is, it doesn't throw it at us randomly. Most of the time the show follows the rule of "Screen time for comedy & screen time for serious business is mutually exclusive". In addition, they do limit its amount later on, so you mostly need some patience to look the other way in the first couple of episodes - and that leads us to point three. ‣ 3. Patience Some anime are said to have checkpoints - the episode number the viewer must reach for the quality of the show to increase, sometimes significantly. For Dark Gathering, it is believed the early introduction episodes of monster-of-the-weekish nature end with E08. Personally, I call E08 the soft checkpoint and E11 the hard checkpoint. It is E11, the first multi-episode story, that successfuly sold me on the show. It is also then that I got the impression the amount of comedy was significantly reduced, the story gained a stronger direction, and my interest in the very world, its lore and its characters started increasing. This by no means indicates that early episodes provide nothing of value. They introduce us to the characters and lore, but are generally agreed to be weaker than the latter part. ‣ 4. Positive attitude towards adventure battle shonen story structure Not the notorious shonen dialogs or power of friendship, no. What I mean is just the design of the story progression. The main character strives to get stronger in order to beat a certain opponent and follows a plan with that purpose in mind. We eventually get to know major villains, we gradually learn more and more about the spirit world and its rules as we witness our main cast engage in different, increasingly more difficult spirit encounters that are themselves a mixture of puzzle solving and pokemon battles, all while staying within the frames of an eerie horror anime. --- Initially skeptical, I'm definitely glad I ended up completing Dark Gathering. I hope this instruction will help some undecided souls resolve their doubts as well.
Tora3maru
12/26/2023, 10:10 PM
Alright boys, first ever review and as someone who just capped off the final season. Idc about your tips for new writers MAL, I'm throwing down my pure unfiltered, slightly censored, thoughts. Dark Gathering starts off seeming like your typical horror anime, cowardly guy meets ghost hunter, we get monster of the week fights, and deux ex machina demon hunter barely saves the day. In terms of horror you're not going to find anything too special here, and it's probably aware of that because as you slowly delve and unravel this series, you'll slowly realise what I did, this ain't no horror anime, it's a f**kingshounen plot. Dark Gathering sets up its established horror themes but then proceeds to add monster tam- it's Pokemon, it's a horror-themed Pokemon. It'll start pretty slow but you'll eventually realise you're coming back for the horror not for the terror or suspense, but for the thrill of seeing two ghosts pit it out against each other and wondering "Oh sh** which DaGamon (I coined the term from DA-rk GA-thering MON-ster) we'll see next?". A lot of the intrigue of the series will come from Yayoi gathering S-ranked DaGamon, which she intends to pit against a big bad final boss. Oh, and they even have their own catchphrase, "Retsu Go-Suto!", wordplay with "let's go" and "ghost". Idk man, if that doesn't scream Shounen plot idk what does. Arguably it's not for everyone, and if you're looking specifically for a good horror title, this might not be it. The main reason I come back to this show is how they spotlight these DaGamon, and seeing how it blends horror elements into a Pokemon-esque series, like imagine if the process of catching Pokemon could kill you, and even after you caught them, they still wanna kill you. You'll get to see how interesting and unique each DaGamon is from the others, all have different personalities and morals, and unique backgrounds that lead to them being the S-ranked DaGamon, on top of their special attacks and abilities in action. I think the biggest scene that sold me on the series was the one scene where, mild spoiler, the fight and capture of F Tunnel Ghost, which gives that big S-rank v S-rank DaGamon fight, but the biggest "dayum" moment comes after the battle when Yayoi "catches" the ghost, its like "dayum, you sold me anime" and it also highlighted how badass Yayoi is. Oh yeah, outside of DaGamon which can be considered their own characters, there are the human characters. Uh, Yayoi is undoubtedly the highlight, this lil stoic demon-hunting girl, you'll get plenty of moments to witness her being badass, but despite her veteran demon hunting exterior, you'll see endearing elements and she can be a childish goofster too. Keitaro is ghost bait, and obviously, he starts off wanting nothing to do with them and very wimpy, but he's our foil for exposition dumps and at the very least he doesn't come off as too annoying, and he'll naturally grow the most out of the cast. Eiko just scares me, she's also voiced by Kana Hanazawa, so that confuses me, and also scares me even more, idk what else to say, oh she's Keitaro's love interest and its not bait cause they mutually express their feelings early on, but I think that scares me the most. Throwing down aesthetics, art and animation is serviceable, sakuga this is not, and being that it's not focusing on visual horror, I don't think adept horror fans will get much thrill there, but it does the job I guess, and its far from bad. Music, I can't say much about the OST but the opening is adequate parts horror-ry and upbeat enough to be shounen-esque, its something I'd find from an emo-garage-band-kid's mixtape. Hana Kana does the ending so you know those are solid hits, especially the 2nd ending, it's very soothing it almost makes me forget what kind of series its from, but very nice to wind down to. So yeah, Dark Gathering, its a solid banger, do not be fooled by the horror genre, because it is in essence more of a shounen plot, and the DaGamon are fun to watch, and seeing how it parallels Pokemon but deviates through horror elements which gives the show enough uniqueness and intrigue that separates it from anything else. Give this show a shot if it sounds like your cup of tea, I'd like to see it go well because I am heavily invested in the overarching plot, and I'd like to see a continuation.
Marinate1016
12/26/2023, 09:54 AM
Finally, after many years we have a legitimately good horror anime. Dark gathering is one of the best shows of 2023 and a must watch for anyone looking for a dark and genuinely disturbing story. When this show got announced, I was a little skeptical as anime just seems like a medium that doesn’t focus too much on horror stuff. Yea, you have Ito Junji’s stuff, but outside of that there’s “another” and a few psychological thrillers and that’s it. For a country that’s produced “The Ring” you’d think this would be a way more popular niche. Fortunately, Dark Gathering breaks the mould and is agenuinely horrifying watch in the best possible way, featuring a loveable cast, great lore and world building and some good action. Not knowing much about Japanese Yokai traditions and history, I found the series very informative as well. The cast go across Japan exploring various haunted locations and getting rid of the ghosts inhabiting them. These aren’t just some Casper cute little things they’re dealing with, but genuinely unhinged and demented spirits who do some of the most gruesome things imaginable to those unfortunate enough to visit these places. The cool part is many of these locations exist in real life and some actually do have haunted backstories which you can read up on. From ripping brain steams out, to eating internal organs, suicide and much more, this show doesn’t shy away from controversial and dark topics. As the name suggests, it embraces them and has so many legitimately disturbing scenes. I appreciate this a lot as anime just doesn’t do this much. It also manages to create an unnerving atmosphere that illicits actual fear. I’ve never been afraid before of watching an anime, this was the first time for me and I’m glad. It shows more of the emotions that can be conveyed through this medium which is cool. The cast are great. There’s 3 main characters and they all flow so well together. While Yayoi is pretty OP, Keitaro and Eiko are not and instead rely on their cunning and teamwork to take on ghosts. As the difficulty of the encounters ramps up, even Yayoi has to rely more on the other two for help and it just makes for a really cool dynamic where every character is useful and important. There’s also romance which gets taken care of rather early on, which is a massive plus for me. My only complaint on the character front is that Eiko getting kidnapped or being a damsel in distress kind of becomes a repetitive meme at a point in the story, but it is what it is. Technically, it’s a solid show. The animation is good enough, character designs are very unique and the OST heightens all the tense moments. Similar to good horror films they really know the types of songs to compliment tense and frightening moments. Hats off to the studio. I could really go on all day about Dark Gathering. It’s one of those shows that everyone who watches it loves it, but not enough people have seen it. Whether because of Hidive or the packed seasons it’s aired in, I don’t know, but if you like dark anime and want a good horror series. This is the one. Dark Gathering gets 10 dolls, out of 10.
PastUchiha98
12/25/2023, 11:17 AM
Finally a decent anime horror that actually give chills with that sort of 2000 anime style vibes 😳 The plot seems to me like a kind of Pokemon BUT with exorcism and spirits fights so yeah this can conquer almost everyone😂 Even if the art style is kinda poor (maybe due for the budget) the cast then still did a great job, especially Yayoi the basest loli of the year with her background, mental strenght and plot twist that she gave into this first season🗿 This was both unexpected and nice try so yeah, i'm in hype for the manga adaptation in my country andcan't wait for the season 2....Let's Ghost!
EdySilva
12/24/2023, 02:37 PM
Man, it's been 25 weeks of pure pleasure and insanity. I've always been a huge horror and supernatural enthusiast. Consequently, I felt like there was a lack of a genuinely macabre anime like Dark Gathering. I begged so much that my prayers were answered. I love how scary, unique and cool this anime is. I really didn't expect it to be so good and not have any bad episodes, it's crazy. He proves to you masterfully that you don't need beautiful animation to make a good anime, there were 25 episodes full of risks and increasing tensions. My Sundays will definitely never be the samewithout Dark Gathering. Now I can only hope for the announcement of the second season.
BropixWuff
12/24/2023, 11:14 AM
Dark Gathering is a Supernatural-Horror, Adventure Manga by Kondou Kenichi, who was an assistant who worked on the manga D.Gray-man. It was adapted into a 25-episode anime by OLM, housing talents that helped produce amazing shows like Summertime Rendering, OddTaxi & The Apothecary Diaries Set in modern-day Japan, it follows Gentouga Keitarou who is trying to readjust to society after being cursed by a spirit. He meets a young girl named Houzuki Yayoi, the cousin of his childhood friend Houzuki Eiko. Yayoi is a genius psychic, hell-bent on finding an evil spirit she named “The Spectre”, who was behind her mother’s disappearance. She drags Keitarouinto her terrifying world of grotesque supernatural adventures. While overviewing the Summer 2023 catalog, my initial thoughts after watching the trailer were that of uncertainty. The question was if this anime could be genuinely scary or just another cringy edge fest. Luckily Dark Gathering succeeds with flying colors in being a horrifying, creepy, and suspenseful show. While the initial episodes have an episodic structure it quickly develops into interesting story arcs as Yayoi discovers that the creation of The Spectre seems to be more sinister than initially believed. The anime tackles very heavy and taboo themes, with very little if any censorship to accompany them. The horror and tension are intense, and greatly executed, mainly due to two reasons. First, the haunted locations the characters visit. Many of these locations you could connect to real-life ones, locations holding some dark unknown past of many decades ago, showing the heights of cruelty possible by human beings. For example, in one side-mission, the characters travel to an abandoned building that in the past was connected to a sex-trafficking ring and now is haunted by the spirits of its victims. The supernatural encounters and the horror they unveil never feel too try hard edgy, but instead genuinely creepy in how the spirits, many of them being tortured souls, show their wrath towards the living. Second, I greatly enjoyed the ghost-hunting combat. A tool the characters use are dolls that act as damage proxies, they transfer damage the evil spirits deal to them to said dolls. The dolls are a great plot device since they greatly increase the sense of urgency, a reality check to you the viewer, that without these dolls and Yayoi’s knowledge, you would have an easier time surviving the Shibuya Incident compared to some of the spirits they encounter. While the cast is small, they each fit their role within the story well. Yayoi carries the show's narrative and is the most competent among the trio. Keitarou slowly becomes more heroic during the supernatural adventures and Eiko’s love of scary encounters grows. The production is good, the character designs are cartoony, and the animation is consistently good. The designs of some of the spirits are downright horrific and scary, even scarier in the manga. The sound design is top notch and the soundtrack succeeds in aiding its creepy vibe. The slice-of-life moments are similar to that of Higurashi, where everything is more colorful and goofy, but once it gets serious the art gets more intense. Overall this anime is amazing, I desperately need a 2nd season. It takes some time for it to cook, but once it does, you are hooked and can’t stop watching. If you like good horror anime I would recommend Higurashi and Shiki as well.
Smilomaniac
12/24/2023, 10:54 AM
Imagine you caught Sadako from the Ring and used her as a pokemon against other ghosts. Also she might turn on you. Do I need to say more? This is a horror anime. The ghosts and stories are disconcerting and often disturbing. The story points used for a lot of these are genuinely dark and the imagery is quite gruesome. Is it scary or nightmare inducing? I think if you've seen your share of horror that this won't really bother you, but more inexperienced viewers might find some of the material used to even be too much. People saying there's nothing here I think are a littletoo jaded and are more likely turned off by other parts of the anime, such as the somewhat cutesy style used, which in fairness is meant to be a contrast. Every season I drop several shows, but I've kept going with Dark Gathering and watched every episode on release. A strong 8 and the next season could elevate this to a true classic, depending on how the main story goes.
KANLen09
12/24/2023, 08:35 AM
Dark Gathering: Let's play a game of hide-and-seek. But you can only do it late in the night, and please have your headphones on for the special effects...because...I'VE FOUND YOU. If there was ONE genre that I wish had stood out more in the modern day and age of copy-paste Isekai, fantasy, and reincarnation stories, we've seen one show too many, and it's the horror genre. But then again, horror is a genre that not many authors nor creators can get it right, much less from the one sole afficionado of a famed mangaka that brought us much of the genre's fame: the illusive Junji Ito.Sure, we have series like Ryukishi07's Higurashi franchise, the Junji Ito Collection (which Studio Deen's Winter 2018 adaptation is not what was expected of the level of the acclaimed horror mangaka's stories), Mieruko-chan (which is more comedy than horror), and the never-ending Theatre of Darkness: Yami Shibai series. But other than the last "true" horror show being MAPPA's Winter 2020 adaptation of mangaka Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro (partly because of its gore), there hasn't been a TRUE horror or supernatural show that TRULY makes you feel like you're feeling scared and shitless. That is until now, with mangaka Kenichi Kondo's Dark Gathering, for which I'm surprised that the series being serialized in Shueisha's Jump Square (Kemono Jihen, Yuukoku no Moriarty, to name a few) since March 2019, isn't as popular as it should be. With this show, the horror and supernatural genres can finally go hand-in-hand to deliver what I feel is one of the most "true"-feeling modern-age horror shows that you can pick up and it'll NOT relent on you putting it down. A young man with a cursed right hand who has a natural predisposition to attract ghosts to himself. This is the story of Keitarou Gentoga, an innocent-looking boy of a college sophomore who freezes at the sight of ghosts, with an incident with one ghastly experience causing his right hand to be cursed (which forces said sophomore to wear gloves). Keitarou's clearly had enough tolerance for experiencing the supernatural, so much so that he wants to go back to his typical life. A suggestion from a girl to help alleviate his problems from being a shut-in, and he decides to become a tutor to help suppress his emotions. Little does he know that by helping to tutor the person that the girl perceives as her cousin, Keitarou was the bait that was waiting for a catalyst to reactivate his fear of the supernatural and occult and simultaneously...be a helper? OK...reluctant to join, but Keitarou's already at the point of no return, and he assists on said girl's and her cousin's matters. Keitarou has one more student: Ai Kamiyo, the energetic girl who appears to be just a clumsy one whose misfortune always ends up involving people around her. However, just like Yayoi, take a look at her eyes: Ai has star-patterned pupils, which is a sign that she has been marked by a malevolent god as his bride, who's always in constant protection to prevent her from being tainted. So, she's also connected to the occult in some way. That girl that Keitarou is very acquainted with is his childhood friend, Eiko Hozuki. Remember the traumatic event that the former went through when he was young? Both he and she were inflicted by the same ordeal as the former, also having experienced the spirituality that resulted in both childhood friends being cursed by an unknown spirit to have nerve endings grow from their bodies: Keitarou on his right hand and Eiko on her left hand. As childhood friends go, Eiko is clearly in love with Keitarou...but don't expect her one-sided crush to be wholesome. Instead, Eiko wears a rather agonizing Yandere expression on her sleeve to the point of a dark, twisted obsession, being immensely overprotective of Keitarou to the point that she has committed things like wiretapping, placing hidden cameras and tracking devices to stalk and monitor his vitals without his knowledge (though in some of the ghostly cases, this proves vital to his survival). This leads to the fact that, while said yandere girlfriend has a strong foundation in computer science at school, which produces excellent grades, she opted to study folklore so that she could better understand his struggles with the occult. But while both childhood friends appear human, Eiko does not have a spiritual sense as much as Keitaro, especially when in comparison to her cousin Yayoi. From the outset, you can tell that her eye pupils are in the shape of skulls, and that's because she had developed polycoria (two pupils in the same eye) in both eyes for some unknown reason. This enables her to see ghosts clearly, which she once saw as hazy figures. But her reason for engaging in the occult and supernatural is a story that's bigger than life: She witnessed her mother's ghost being abducted by an embryo of ghostly origins (called the Spectre of Death) and has made it her goal to get her mother back by capturing ghosts to defeat the perpetrator. Moreover, her sharp, superhuman instinct has always kept both Keitarou and Eiko safe, though she may not be right all the time, to which she uses her intelligence to outwit the many ghastly episodes going into the Dark and Gathering ghosts for her objective. The plot of Dark Gathering, in its simplest form: think of it as like playing Pokémon (the 3rd Gen games) and going straight to Lavender Town, to the Pokémon Tower, where Pokémon are laid to rest, fighting both ghost Pokémon and the spirits that linger around. That's the basis for Yayoi's goal and objective, with the help of both Keitarou and Eiko, to wander around the fictional "7 Wonders" locations to locate the strong ghosts (called Graduates) and seal them in a doll of her choosing that must be big enough to sustain the damage received from its user. If that's not enough, Yayoi's room is a doll's haven full of the council of captured spirits and being tamed for their use, which also acts as a central HQ hub of sorts for the artifacts of stronger spirits that they cannot handle alone, and worse still, be the tool for their enemies to build the Spectre of Death. It's a clear race against time to collect as many Graduates all across Japan for a sizable battle against the perpetrators in alliance with the Spectre of Death, as many low-key jumpscares as you'll get while watching the show. For a full horror experience, I recommend watching Dark Gathering around midnight (which airs in Japan at 1 in the morning) and having your headphones ready to feel the sizable amp in ghastly quality. Over the course of six months since Summer, the kids' arm of OLM's Team Masuda (responsible for the Beyblade series) has done a respectful job of adapting the manga with most of its horror themes kept intact. Although Tonikaku Kawaii a.k.a ToniKawa director Hiroshi Ikehata may not be the best representative to understand the dark, violent, and gritty nature of the original source material, he at least did his directorial role right, and this should count on the overall execution of the anime, which has grown from good to being great IMO. Also, the OST should be commended for giving off the horror vibes; it literally brings chills to your bones from head to toe. luz's OP song is very good, and it fits Dark Gathering to a T, while Eiko's VA HanaKana gets 2 ED songs to her name, though I'd lean more to the 1st Cour's ED song. It's going to be pretty tough to beat Dark Gathering as a very lean horror supernatural series, because this is now my new favourite horror supernatural show that will stand the test of time until the next rival comes, which will be in a very long time to come. I feel both ecstatic and scared at the same time, and nowhere other than Dark Gathering will you get a tantalizing horror experience as modern as this.

Dark Gathering ダークギャザリング

North American Anime & Manga Releases for July

Summer 2023 Simulcast List [Update 7/15]

Q3 2023 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 9/4]

Summer 2023 Preview

PV Collection for Mar 20 - 26

'Dark Gathering' Unveils Main Cast, Additional Staff, First Promo, Summer 2023 Premiere

Manga 'Dark Gathering' Gets TV Anime in 2023

Dark Gathering ダークギャザリング

North American Anime & Manga Releases for July

Summer 2023 Simulcast List [Update 7/15]

Q3 2023 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 9/4]

Summer 2023 Preview

PV Collection for Mar 20 - 26

'Dark Gathering' Unveils Main Cast, Additional Staff, First Promo, Summer 2023 Premiere

Manga 'Dark Gathering' Gets TV Anime in 2023