People who have been keeping up with my MAL probably noticed that I already dropped Himitsu off my list, after mentioning nothing but praises for the show in my one and only blog post for it.

With the first four episodes of Himitsu, I was spellbound. For the first time in my life I thought I was seeing the world through Shimizu Reiko’s eyes. But then for some reason, the magic the show had on me gradually worn off, and after 6 episodes, I feel like I’m just dragging myself to watch the succeeding ones (and hence I didn’t get past episode 7 any more). I can’t pinpoint exactly what drove me away from this show. Perhaps it’s Aoki, the angsty siscon to whose thought patterns we are made to conform to with each episode, or the chief who remains as monotonic as ever (Tomokazu Seki was such a waste on him). Issa-sa had this very sentiment right after episode 3; I only felt it after 6 episodes.

The distracting background music might also be to blame, as it doesn’t quite hit the right notes in each and every episode. I feel like pulling my hair (worse than the picture of Maki above) and exclaim “UGH” each time I hear it. The BGM seems to be trying too hard to become oh so mysterious, like a lion rearing its head screaming “I am mysterious, hear me RAWR!”, inevitably leading to failure of depicting this mystery which it so intended to in the first place. Hanners also expresses a similar sentiment regarding Himitsu’s music, but my RAEG for it seems to be a lot worse

Background music, in my opinion, is supposed to enhance the mood of the show and portray other subtleties which mere words can’t convey. When used effectively, this music, which serves as the embodiment of the mood and emotions in a particular scene, can pierce through the depths of your heart like no words can. I felt this power with the music of Kure-nai and Kaiba (where this one BGM piece is subtly indicative of a [forthcoming] tear-jerker moment and never fails to make me cry), also in the jdrama ROOKIES (where the mix of the GAR action and music makes the experience all the more goosebumps-inducingly Q_Q spectacular), in Toshokan Sensou (quirky, serious or dramatic, you name it and TS will have a fitting BGM for it), as well as Naruto and One Piece (oh manly friendships). Himitsu must be one of the first few animes I watched which I strongly feel would be better off without background music or audio dialogues even. That said, I love the ending song of this anime. Each time I listen to it, I feel like I’m being sent into a world of melancholic introspection. THAT is the kind of music this show needs.

Anime adaptations are supposed to give life to the mere ‘still images’ (or text, in the case of novels) on paper. But from the way things are, these still images of Shimizu Reiko’s manga portray far more emotions and depth than any Himitsu anime episode I’ve seen. I know for a fact that comparing the manga and anime of Himitsu in terms of subtlety would be unfair given the inherent subtleties of the manga as opposed to the medium of anime, but I just can’t help but feel that the advantages the anime has (ability to portray characters with voices, elicit emotions through music) was not effectively utilized. As if that’s not enough, the anime just had to exaggerate the BL undertones in the series, particularly in episode 1 with the gay portrayal of Aoki and Maki’s first meeting. While that made yaoi fans titillate with glee, many people were probably driven away by it. Geez really, that was really uncalled for. (Refer to the above pic)

Most of the complaints I heard about Himitsu are related to Aoki, and of course, once you dislike the main character (who’s the main driving force of the series and just about all the cases), it’ll be tad difficult to get into the show. It’s a slippery slope~ I read the Himitsu manga a few days back, and juxtaposed the manga-Aoki and the anime-Aoki, and found that aside from the non-siscon Aoki of the manga (a different guy solved the case of the BL president), they’re pretty much the same. The same lost sheep Aoki who spends most of his time on-screen solving cases while questioning his own sense of morality, exploring the depths of people’s memories, as well as his own. Let’s just say manga-Aoki (and manga-Maki) wins in my book for moving me to tears with each chapter, especially chapter 3 where Nanako supposedly dies (BIG FAT SPOILER!!). Maki’s past was already revealed as early as chapter 2, and I found this early revelation to have worked well for the series. The anime has been prolonging this revelation for so long that I’ve come to see anime-Maki as nothing much but a monotonic character. Props to the anime for making him look more gay too. In a way I guess the anime’s pacing made it lose that certain “Oomph!” factor the manga had, at least for me.

I also read the Kinuko arc of the manga, covered by episodes 5-6 in the anime, which people found to be the saving grace of the anime adaptation. While the Kinuko arc proved to be a refreshing change compared to the previous lackluster and more subpar Himitsu episodes, I still found it lacking. After watching episode 6 I immediately felt like ranting about Kinuko, and how I hated her for the crimes she did. It was still not justifiable, despite how one might reason out that her traumatic experience of being abused by her father drove her to become a ruthless murderer. But then that wasn’t really the point of this arc; the message it wants to convey is that there’s more to people’s memories than just painful and bitter ones which people like Kinuko have. One can see wonderful memories in the minds of people who are able to see the beauty of life, like Hirai’s dog, who saw nothing else but happiness and love, in the company of his master. The anime did get this message through, albeit less subtle (as always), but I found the manga version to be all the more powerful. The manga was able to deliver that message with so much more depth, with less words, less sounds, a less-intrusive and distracting Aoki too. It simply provided a vivid imagery, pictures which paint more than a thousand words.

With all that said, I’m saying goodbye to the Himitsu anime. For good. Despite all the rants I mentioned here, I know for a fact that people will still be able to find this a good watch and find that Himitsu magic, the way psgels does, for example. Perhaps I’m just being jaded, or I’m becoming a Shimizu Reiko elitist of some sort, though undeniably, almost all her works will be a real pain in the ass to adapt into anime because of their complexities and depth.

If you were turned off by the anime, even for reasons apart from mine, I recommend you go check out the manga and let the power of Shimizu Reiko move you instead. See her magic at work as you read her works.Similar Posts:

• Himitsu ~The Siscon and BL Revelations~
• Shugo Chara 2nd Season, Yay or Nay?
• Thoughts on Kamichama Karin and other ‘ponderings’
• The Ab(d)ominable Butler of Bizarre Tantei Labyrinth
• The Bunny-Bushido On RAW Anime Watching/Blogging

I can only blame the Spring anime bonanza for the lack of attention Himitsu is getting from both fansubbers and bloggers alike. Seriously, if thought-provoking shows with mystery and drama elements are your cup of tea, Himitsu is something you should not let pass. Wabi Sabi of Iwa ni Hana has already said much about the beauty of Shimizu Reiko’s works, and Himitsu is no exception to that. Oh and please, don’t let that silly ’siscon’ and ‘BL’ I placed in the title scare you away, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what this show has to offer. And no I’m not trying to emphasize that you’ll find more siscon and BL stuff here, this show is way deeper than that. It deals with these taboo loves as real moral issues (as was shown in episodes 2-3).

In a nutshell, Himitsu is what I’d call a more emotionally-riveting, sci-fi CSI, with a similar crime-solving premise in each episode segment. Here, we also have a forensic investigation unit, who, in addition to examining physical forensic evidences, has the capability to view the victim’s memories with the power of MRI (Memory Reproduction Imaging). Now you might think the investigators have it all too easy because they are able to pry through the victims’ minds, but it’s not that simple. First of all, the MRI is not perfect; with its limitation of providing only the image representation of the victim’s memory, the investigators would still have to rely on their own senses to map this imagery with the actual thoughts of the victim. And as we all know, the human mind is extremely complicated, especially with the presence of emotions which makes it an ever volatile subject, adding yet another level of complexity to all this.

Inside the mind of a siscon.

The majority of bloggers seem to concur that this show is similar to the Hollywood sci-fi flick Minority Report, but I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here and pinpoint the major difference between these two. While MR and Himitsu both share the premise of sci-fi crime-solving, especially the investigation process with the use of imagery, they differ in terms of theme and focus. Minority Report revolved around the theme of free will vs. determinism, where much of the spotlight was given to the criminal (or soon-to-be criminal). Himitsu, on the other hand, puts the victims into the limelight, as we get to see what’s inside their minds — their struggles, conflicting emotions, and ultimately, their secrets, as hinted by the title itself. Neither the criminal nor the crime per se is the highlight of Himitsu; but rather, the emotions at play.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. This is GxB btw.

Surprisingly (or not), no one has made comparisons between Himitsu and the movie The Final Cut, which I believe bears quite a similarity with Himitsu. In the world of Final Cut, advancement in technology has also made extraction of memories possible, but it’s through these artificial “Zoe” implants which only the wealthy ones can afford. With these implants placed in children at birth, their memories are recorded, which can be edited later on after their death, to retain only the good ones. Both The Final Cut and Himitsu focus on people’s secrets, though in the former one, these memories are portrayed to be manipulable, while the latter regards memories as read-only entities which no one can ever alter. In Himitsu, it is shown that everything we think and do becomes a permanent part of our being, including of course, the deepest dark secrets we have. While The Final Cut dealt with the moral implications of being able to manipulate people’s memories, Himitsu dealt with the issue of prying into the minds of people, whether it’s right for the investigators to find out the very secrets of the victims. Himitsu, in this sense, proves to be realistic despite being a sci-fi anime.

Oh the struggle of wanting to rid ourselves of forbidden thoughts and feelings.

With the past four episodes, I found myself glued to my seat the entire time — gaze affixed on the show, immersed in the world of Himitsu — as though I was one with the investigators in their journey inside the minds of the victims. Now that I think about it, we, as audience, are actually in the same shoes as these investigators who witness the wonders of the MRI, as we get to see not only the innermost thoughts of the victims, but also the thoughts of the other characters in the show (we’ve seen much of Aoki, and I believe we’ll see more of the Director later on). In the same way the characters use their senses do deduce the thoughts of the victims, questioning their conscience and moral sense in the process, I found myself doing the same thing – asking the very questions these characters are asking. It’s that compelling and thought-provoking.

This is one of the rare few DEAD SERIOUS shows I’ve watched which make me end up feeling good afterwards, as I am filled with a renewed sense of morality and humanity with each episode. What’s great about Himitsu is that despite the moral issues it tackles, it doesn’t dictate what people should do, nor does it vindicate the sins of people or our society as a whole. It allows you to reflect on the moral issues presented, all for the sake of shaping up our character for the better

P.S. Those who diss this show for looking gay are gay. T__TSimilar Posts:

• Himitsu ~The Rantful Revelations~
• And The Library War Pimping Continues…!
• Claymore - 01 Claymore~Big Sword
• Deep Frying Kure-nai 9: The Great Kuhouin and Kurenai Revelations
• The Bunny-Bushido On RAW Anime Watching/Blogging