Housing Complex C: Episode 1 Review

gamerant.com:

The following contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Housing Complex C, «Optical Illusion,» now streaming on Adult Swim.

As October rolls around and things get more and more in the Halloween spirit, even the fall anime season is starting to take notice of the time of year. With its limited-run miniseries Housing Complex C, [adult swim] is releasing a show that is both the perfect size for the October zeitgeist and a worth addition to the original programming on its time-tested Toonami block.

Serving as the first of a series of original anime produced by Toonami head Jason DeMarco, Housing Complex C is a multifaceted mystery-horror produced by [adult swim] label Williams Street and anime studio Akatsuki. In the first of the limited series’ four episodes, characters are introduced and dynamics are set up for a miniseries that shows promise, if not a bit of tonal clash at times.

Housing Complex C: First Impressions

Housing Complex C thus far centers around two young girls, Yuri and Kimi, who live in a run-down housing project on a small seaside town in Japan. Just as Yuri is arriving as the daughter of a work administrator and adapting to the odd new setting, Kimi witnesses the opening of a strange, abandoned part of the complex that houses some bizarre and terrifying secrets. The series is a combination of mystery and horror, and it uses its titular setting to create an uncanny, bizarre atmosphere.

While the series plot moves in a way that keeps things interesting, the first episode of the series shifts focus and tone in a way that can be at times disarming. The subdued horror feeling recalls elements of Boogiepop Phantom, whereas the grisly, concrete setting almost lends itself towards the aesthetics of live-action J-horror like