Kagewani anime is an amazing short [Review]

Kagewani
Just because Banba is wearing black doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. Pic credit: Tomovies

Everyone has heard of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, and many have attempted to prove their existence. Banba is one such person, and he isn’t alone!

Kagewani’s art style is like a motion comic mixed with watercolor and some of the best monster designs I’ve seen. Each episode is about seven minutes and tells the story well.

Only a few major questions remain unanswered, and it hints at a possible third season. Plus there’s a trend of older anime getting new content.

If you want something, you can binge-watch easily and experience serious “nope” moments. Give Kagewani a shot!

Kagewani
Don’t look behind you! Pic credit: Tomovies

What is Kagewani?

Kagewani, translated to Shadow Crocidile, is a combination of SCP, Cryptids, people doing dumb things, people doing smart things, and some of the freakiest monsters I’ve seen. And I live for horror.

That alone should tell you about how these monsters look. Season 1 starts with most of the screen time on the monsters and some of their victims.

Sometimes the characters are there purely for the horror tropes, but that doesn’t ruin anything. Our main character, Banba, studies Unidentified Mysterious Animals, or UMAs.

But he doesn’t always get there in time, and other people are looking for these UMAs. A private organization is trying to profit from them for military and pharmaceutical purposes.

Some monsters are never captured or killed; sadly, some characters are never fleshed out, which is a shame because the story is good. New UMAs are introduced in most of the episodes.

And there’s no info dumping! Instead, the viewer learns about crucial information simultaneously with the characters. It’s a beautiful setup that makes some of the classics look like child’s play.

My Kagewani is bigger than yours!

We’re introduced to two villains, one per season, but I prefer Kimura. He felt like a real person, and his relationship with Banba was complicated.

They respected each other. But the final episodes were flawed. We learn the truth about the Kagewani, but the final confrontation feels rushed.

I knew we would see the second villain, Handa, again, but he never felt like a threat. Kimura was always able to handle him, and Handa’s last words were stupid.

Handa was a stepping stone. Nothing more. Kimura always had a plan and wasn’t afraid to work.

And then there’s our wild card, Nagi. I loved learning about her past and watching her fight. But then she had to get cocky.

She had the tools to deal with Kagewani but chose to stick her primary weapon into the ground. I didn’t care if she survived.

But it’ll be interesting to see how Banba and Nagi handle the rest of the Kagewani. They’re all over the world, and we’ve only dealt with the ones in a country.

It’s been six years since Kagewani Season 2 ended. Can we get a new season now?

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