REVIEW: ‘Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse’ Is An Overwhelmingly Unique Experience

Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse is one of the most unique anime that’s come out in a long time. While it doesn’t include anything groundbreakingly innovative with its sci-fi fantasy mix, it does succeed in shocking viewers with each episode. This is largely due to its bizarre narrative, which, while incredibly entertaining, also holds it back at times with its extreme convolution.

Onmyo Kaiten begins when a young delinquent named Takeru Narihara (Taihi Kimura) is mysteriously transported to an odd, fantastical world. As he tries to escape monsters pursuing him, he’s saved by a girl named Tsukimiya (Maaya Uchida), whom he instantly falls for and promises he’ll always protect. The anime then quickly jumps back to the present without explaining anything, but this time he’s a teenager, and we learn that Takeru was dreaming of this scenario.

After a violent bout with some delinquents and being distracted by Tsukimiya’s pet, who’s somehow now in the real world, he falls off a street railing, seemingly dies from the fall, and wakes up back in the world he went to as a child.

Takeru is forced to familiarize himself with a strange new version of Japan called Denji Heian Kyo. Despite waking up in the historic Heian era, several elements are far from the norm. Buildings resemble their historic counterparts, but technology and vehicles have advanced far beyond even the present.

Takeru, in his quest to protect Tsukimiya, gets involved with the Onmyoji and helps them fend off the monsters known as Oni, who periodically rampage in the town. He then discovers that he not only has powers that can help him fight them, but also that when he dies, he’s able to revert back in time instantly.

Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse takes familiar tropes and makes them fun and entertaining.

The anime’s concept combines several staple tropes of the genre but portrays them in a very entertaining and attention-grabbing way. Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse opens with several mysteries, like the origin of this Heian-based world, the Oni, and Takeru’s powers, among others. Subsequent episodes succeed at providing some answers in a meaningful and reasonable way. However, as episodes progress, understanding the narrative becomes a challenge due to its several pivotal and shocking plot twists.

Onmyo Kaiten notably started with an interesting premise and concept that, while a bit chaotic, seemed solid and familiar enough to give subsequent episodes a chance. However, the narrative progression only becomes more chaotic with each subsequent episode, and the story becomes increasingly complicated and harder to follow as a result.

Several revelations, such as the Oni actually being the citizens of an alternate Heian Kyo, succeed in being engaging plot twists. Others, like the real villain being Tsukimiya, who’s actually a time traveler that set the entire anime’s events into motion to avoid her own future, and the “whittling,” a competition between a hundred Heian Kyos, are harder to justify. This is because the former examples make sense due to previous clues, and the latter feel needlessly convoluted and out of nowhere.

As more details are revealed about each character and event, the narrative becomes harder to follow. As such, recommending Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse to anyone looking for an easily digestible viewing experience would be a disservice. However, even with this, the narrative never ceases to be engaging, and no episode is ever boring. As such, it is an incredibly memorable anime and worth it for those looking for an interesting viewing experience, at the very least.

Multiple characters and events, with the time-traveling element, make things harder to follow.

Finally, aside from the unsatisfying typical shonen power of friendship element used to defeat the final villains, the anime does shockingly wrap up nicely in the last episode, and it doesn’t feel like it needs a sequel or more episodes in any way.

Outside of its narrative, the anime’s production provides a mostly great viewing experience. It boasts impeccable animation and production quality from David Production. The character designs are detailed and well-suited to the setting, and crisp, fluid motions mark the fight scenes featuring the Oni. However, it’s hard to ignore the 3D CG mechs, which, while sporting cool designs, are very uncanny. The uncanny nature doesn’t change throughout the anime, and some mecha and demon designs look notably worse than previous designs.

Despite this, the fights are still engaging and are a visual spectacle. Onmyo Kaiten Re: Birth Verse‘s soundtrack is also perhaps the best this season. Several tracks, especially those heard during fight scenes, feature a mix of Japanese instruments and modern beats and chord progressions that result in some memorable, catchy tunes.

Overall, Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse is an odd anime that’s as overwhelming as it is entertaining. The anime demands a lot of patience and attention from viewers; the viewing experience is unlike any other, but it’s not for everyone.

Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse is streaming now on Crunchyroll.