Table of Contents
Welcome back to Creepy Catalog’s daily horror digest! Rather than write about a horror movie today (I’ll get back to that tomorrow), I thought I’d briefly talk about a few of the new anime I’ve been watching. I wouldn’t really consider any of the shows I list below as horror, but they all have elements that are either very dark, or play on horror tropes. Read on, and stick around for daily trivia below!
New Anime Roundup
My favorite new anime this season is Takopi’s Original Sin. It’s an incredibly dark story about cycles of abuse told from the perspective of children, so it’s definitely not going to be for everyone. But, if you can handle it, Takopi’s Original Sin is a raw examination of human nature that gets deeply emotional from the first episode. The plot begins with Shizuka, an elementary school girl who is relentlessly bullied and abused by her classmate Marina. An alien from Happy Planet, whom Shizuka names Takopi, arrives on Earth with the intention of making everyone happy. Takopi doesn’t understand Shizuka’s pain (or emotions in general), and every attempt to make Shizuka happy turns into another avenue for pain. That is, until Takopi accidentally does something drastic.
My next favorite anime this season is The Summer Hikaru Died. The first episode begins (after a mysterious introduction) with two friends, Yoshiki and Hikaru, talking to each other. Something is wrong with Hikaru, and Yoshiki knows it. The premise of the show is revealed within the first few minutes of episode one, but I won’t spoil exactly how it happens. I’ll just say that it is a fantastic opening that hooked me right away. The show so far is tense and emotionally complicated, and I highly recommend that fans of dark thrillers give it a chance.
The only other new anime I’m watching right now that is close to horror is Nyaight of the Living Cat. To be completely honest, I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually do. It’s cute, but it’s kind of a one-joke show so far. The story is set in a world where one touch from a cat will turn a human into a cat. The show is presented as a play on a zombie apocalypse, but it’s cats instead of zombies. The first two episodes are okay, but I’m not sure if I’ll finish the whole series.
Birthdays
Judy Greer was born on July 20th, 1975. In horror, Judy is best known as Laurie’s daughter Karen in Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021). Other horror appearances include Good Boy (2020), Cursed (2005), and Carrie (2013).
Camille Keaton was born on this day in 1947. She starred as Jennifer Hills in the controversial I Spit on Your Grave (1978), and just over 40 years later she reprised the role in the not-so-great I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2019). Camille’s career as a scream queen also includes roles in What Have You Done to Solange (1972), Savage Vengeance (1993), Death House (2017), and many more.
Also born today, in 1993, is Alycia Debnam-Carey. Her horror projects include starring roles in Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2023) and the movie Friend Request (2016).
Filmmaker Adrian Tofei was also born on July 20th, in 1987. Adrian is best known for writing, directing, and starring in the film Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (2015). I remember seeing this movie around the time it first hit streaming on some indie-horror movie site that no longer exists. It’s extremely unsettling, and I’m glad its cult status has risen steadily over the years.
Events on This Day
On July 20th, 2018, Unfriended: Dark Web was released in theaters. I just mentioned this movie the other day when I reviewed Don’t Log Off, so it’s been on my mind recently. I enjoyed Unfriended: Dark Web when it came out, and I still revisit it from time to time. It’s the style of screenlife movie I like that doesn’t really mess around with added cinematic flair. It’s just you watching a computer screen. That makes it feel more real to me. You can rent it on Prime Video.
Dracula, starring Frank Langella as the iconic vampire, was released in theaters on this day in 1979. Before starring in the movie, Langella was nominated for a Tony Award in 1978 for playing Dracula in a Broadway play. The play was the revival of the same stage adaptation of the Dracula novel which had run in the 1920s and starred Bela Lugosi. You can rent Dracula (1979) on Prime Video.
Thanks for reading! I won’t do many digests about anime, but maybe once or twice a season if there’s something new that’s good. Horror anime seems to be a relative rarity in modern times, so I’m always open to suggestions for new stuff to watch!
