Ookami Kakushi - Episode 5

The previous episode of Ookami Kakushi finally looked set to really get the ball rolling in terms of the mysterious goings-on in this series, with Hiro ending up as a witness to some of the insanity and bloodshed which seems to be running unbidden through his new hometown.

Of course, come the next morning there's no trace of what Hiro witnesses the night before, while his friend Kana tells him that she knows nothing of legends about a girl with a big scythe and listens to his tale only to assume that he's making the whole thing up. Little does Hiro know that Nemuru was listening in on his conversation, which probably hasn't done his future prospects too much good...


Almost equally odd to Hiro is the fact that Isuzu is absent from school, although of course we gain far more insight into the reason for this, with her brother increasingly suffering from whatever madness afflicts him while his family appear to be under threat by a group of unknown men on account on this. While the pieces of the puzzle regarding the pills we've seen Issei taking slot into place a little further, Issei himself manages to break out of the confinement of his own home and goes on the run, once again attacking Hiro before his activities gain the attention of others.

While Ookami Kakushi is certainly looking a million miles away from being any kind of classic series (I doubt it'll be placed into the same league as Higurashi either), in fairness it is at least starting to build up the pace of its plot and managing to keep things moving while also fostering enough of a much-needed sense of mystery to keep me suitably intrigued. Let's face it, this particular show would be nothing without its carefully guarded and slowly unveiled revelations in story-telling terms, so I have to give it some kudos for keeping its powder dry and not proving to be too obvious with the way it's progressing. If you like a bit of mystery from time to time, there are probably worse anime shows around to watch than Ookami Kakushi.