Utawarerumono

A man is found in the forest injured and with a strange mask that can’t be taken off. He wakes up without any memories of who he is or where he comes from. The girl who found him is the granddaughter of the village healer and an apprentice healer as well, together they nurse the man back to health and give him the name Hakuoro. He soon finds himself accepted by the village and helps the people with the many issues they are facing. Before long the simple life is gone and Hakuoro is immersed in battle after battle till eventually the answers he has been looking for are found.

This series is a mix of sci-fi and action. There are people in the world with animal ears and tails, regular humans, people with angel wings, and even mecha like machines. Most of the strange otherworldly happenings and people are explained but not till the very end of the series. The series is 26 episodes in all and by the end all the questions have been answered so no need to pick up a manga to figure things out. 

Overall, I found this series to be kind of strange. I had a hard time getting into the series and had to force myself to finish it. I watched the dubbed version and though nothing is wrong with the dub I just didn’t feel any connection to any of the characters. I finished this series for two reasons; one I wanted answers about why some people had animal traits and why Hakuoro has a mask that can’t be removed, secondly, I did enjoy the action.

 The action in the series does help make this show at least watchable. There is a lot of blood, more than I expected from the animation style of the show. The style reminded me of Scrapped Princess and Inuyasha. In both series there are fights and action but the blood isn’t really present, this series though people get ripped into pieces or cut in half. So if you are into action shows this may be a series to watch but don’t expect too much. I only recommend this series if you have time to kill and have watched your entire list of top picks.