This week, the website for the Dark Gathering anime announced season 2 is in production! The second season is going to cover the Kyoto Arc. The reason why this is so exciting is because horror anime has a very spotty record. It has the most out of any anime genre. For every Mononoke or The Summer Hikaru Died, there’s an Ao Oni the Animation and Pupa on the other side. Dark Gathering is one of the best horror anime out there, and the upcoming arc promises even more excellent scares and story.
What Makes Season 1 So Good – The Ghosts and The Cast
Dark Gathering’s first season is great because it nails the horror atmosphere. It provides good, interesting characters and a complex, fun plot at the same time. One episode features a battle between the soul of a courageous sergeant who died in battle and a sadistic torturer who murders innocent people with his axe. Another ghost brings victims down into a basement and steals their brains, tormenting them even after death. These two examples just scratch the surface of the ghost encounters and the horrors they bring.
Then you have the cast. Yayoi, the main character, is determined to get her mother back after an accident involving a horrific ghost. She has a soft spot for her friends, family, and anyone who isn’t overtly evil, but when it comes to ghosts and the spiritual world, she’s absolutely ruthless. There’s one scene where she forces a ghost to beg for its life into strict obedience. In another she orchestrates a bunch of ghosts to fight against and take each other out by themselves. And yet she’s not the most horrifying member of the main cast.
That goes to Eiko, who manipulates the last main character, Keitarou, into thinking that he enjoys his fear. Eiko loves the excitement that comes with getting scared. She wants others to feel that same excitement, which extends to an unhealthy degree. And you can tell by how her eyes turn into black voids and she develops an unhinged grin. She has a few screws loose in her head, and you never know what she’ll do next.
What Makes Season 1 So Good – The Production
In terms of pure animation – how things move – Dark Gathering is a pretty average show. There are some freeze frames and static shots. However, some fluid movement is peppered throughout the show, especially near the end. But that’s not what makes Dark Gathering’s production so good. That comes in aspects like the direction and the cinematography. In one scene a sea of fire surrounds two ghosts, while in another the scenery shifts to the horrific battlefield that the soul of the courageous sergeant spent his last moments in. There are all kinds of static shots and screen shaking whenever the ghosts shift reality. It emphasizes the horror atmosphere, so that even if the movement isn’t the best, you can still feel a sense of horror.
That’s not even mentioning the music and sound effects. In one scene when a poor ghost is ripped to shreds, her voice comes out in static screams through an old rotary phone. It’s way more chilling than hearing the scream in its purest form. One of the ghosts chants a deadly prayer to kill his victims. The relentless murmuring continues building to the point where you can barely hear anything else, both from the show and the viewer. Dark Gathering smartly uses the more limited resources it has to create something truly scary, both through its visuals and its sound.
The Implications For Future Horror Anime
Dark Gathering isn’t the only horror anime that have released in recent years. The show comes alongside the recent The Summer Hikaru Died and the Mononoke film trilogy, the latter of which is a sequel to the TV show all the way back in 2007. With the announcement of the second season, it’s clear that Japanese studios and production companies are realizing there’s a genuine audience for more horror. They’re prioritizing its production, reviving the genre and giving some of the best chills and scares in years, maybe even decades. It’s an exciting age for horror anime, and Dark Gathering season 2 is one of the harbringers of this era.
