The Sins of the Fathers...

Kudos to Nakamura Kenji for directing BAKENEKO Arc in Ayakashi. The visual as well as the audio are so breathtaking! The graphic is certainly the work of art. I really adore the seiyuu of The Medicine Seller by Takahiro Sakurai. He is definitely a very talented and gifted seiyuu to date.

The Plot:
The story took place during Edo Period. A samurai family was planning to have a wedding ceremony for the daughter. However, as they were to celebrate the wedding, the daughter was massacred miserably. According to a traveling medicine-seller (Takahiro Sakurai), it was the work of a Bakeneko or Goblin Cat. As if predicted by his words, the other family members began to be killed, one by one.

The Medicine Seller agreed to destroy the Bakeneko, as he had the means, however to do so, he must know the monster's real form as well as the truth behind the reason for its appearance and killings. That was when the family's dark secrets begin to surface....

The Spoiler:
Twenty-five years ago, a girl on her wedding day was kidnapped by the former lord of the household and ended up as everybody's sex slave down in a dungeon. She died by starving herself to fatten a cat she kept as a pet, in the hope that the cat might escape from the dungeon someday.

Somehow, I felt rather disturbed by this sentiment that the sin was not directly committed by the present generation and yet, they have to endure the punishment.



The Verdict:
This is absolutely a must-watch. Try to catch it in any way you can. Try Youtube. I'm sure you will find the episodes.

[Note]
I simply adore the artwork done for this anime. Just look at the promotional poster I enclosed with this entry. Simply awesome!