I nearly dropped this show around ep.4, because it was looking like a one-way trip to depression. A race of Flesh-Eaters live among humans and do what their name implies. They have poor control over themselves. Get too excited, drunk or horny and you'll turn into a monster that bites adult humans in half. Also, there's a human organisation of martial artists, who use a sword style called Kifuuken to kill the Flesh-Eaters wherever they find them.

A Flesh-Eater (Yuka) falls in love with a Kifuuken (Toshihiko). Will this end well? It seemed unlikely. Will they ever tell each other their secret identities? Will doing so mean a bloodbath? Kifuuken can become ugly and sinister around Yuka anyway. This show's full of death, decapitation, limbs getting severed, etc. Yuka and Toshihiko's relationship is portrayed with unexpected realism, including mistakes, misunderstandings and relationship no-nos. They felt like adults I could believe in and relate to, despite the circumstances and the art style. This in itself could be uncomfortable.

The art's mental even for Masaaki Yuasa. Do a google image search for "Kemonozume" and then be aware that the animation makes it look ten times worse. It's like children's scribbles that have been fluidly and boldly animated. There's a monkey that looks like a sink plunger with limbs. I don't think I ever fully acclimatised.

The show improves, though. I became aware of a story direction that might avoid misery and betrayal. There's a lighter episode with Yuka's birthday, martial arts paralysis and a giant detective. (He's like the monsters from Attack on Titan, but with an unexpected personality.) These miserable gits aren't their own worst enemies after all, because someone even worse is out there. He preys on Flesh-Eaters. He's worse than the rest of this nightmare world put together, which is a strong statement. There's a jolly old guy who's also the vilest son-of-a-bitch in the world. He livens up the show no end and you'd probably smash your television if he didn't get his just deserts. The things he talks other characters into doing... yeesh.

"And when they came, we immediately confined them! Dismembered them! Cut off their arms! And took the claws! Cut off their claws and they die on the spot."

This show is crazed and scary, but intriguing. You won't see anything else like it. Masaaki Yuasa has always been a director to watch. Here, he's exploring shades of grey and moral complexities in a story about: (a) uncontrollable man-eating monsters, (b) love, sex, desire and relationships. And also, occasionally, (c) infidelity and prostitutes. Those two women getting catty with each other in ep.7 are hilarious. I probably couldn't recommend this to most people, but wow.