Anime Review: Eight clouds rising

Review Eight clouds rising Written by Warpshadow Rating good/ very good

As I have said many times before the biggest problem with the Oav format in anime is that most often watching an Oav requires additional material since it rarely manages to tell a complete story within it's framework. Eight clouds rising suffers from this to some degree but handles it much better than most Oavs I have seen.

Although his friends have different reasons for the trip Takeo Nanachi is traveling to Izumo to purify his grandfather's sword at a shrine there. While staying at a house there he meets the enigmatic shaman Kuraki Fuzuchi. Kuraki and his family are planning a special ritual that is forbidden to all outsiders so Nanachi and company are asked to leave. While on the road some they get a flat tire and Nanachi is asked to go to town to get a spare. When doing so he accidentally stumbles on the ritual which under the clan's law carries a penalty of death.

For a two episode Oav eight clouds rising manages to pack in a lot of story. Although it looks like there is more story to it there is a decent resolution which not always the case with Oavs. There are hints of shonen ai but these are subtle enough not to ruin the show if that is not your thing. The Oav is packed with references to Japanese folklore and rather complex ones at that. Overall I found Eight clouds rising to be a good Oav, better than most I have seen.