Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteru – First Episode Review

Episode Summary: Yuki was abandoned as a baby outside the Asahi Orphanage, and has lived there his entire 15 years.  Now entering high school, he's something of an older brother figure to the other younger children.  He also has the odd ability to sense the thoughts of certain people who he touches, a skill which has caused him a lot of strife in his life and which has turned him into a strong-willed individual. Lately, he's been having strange dreams involving a man and woman, which he can't seem to remember after he wakes up but which he feels must be important for some reason.  His sensitive nature leads him to defend a man from bullies at a bus stop later that morning, where he encounters an odd couple of people who swoop in to aid him and also seem to know his name, though they disappear soon after the encounter.  He also meets his friend Uzuki at school who seems to be troubled, and his ability causes him to inadvertently learn the extent of the Uzuki's abuse by his mother.

Uzuki, while alone in the bathroom, is possessed by a dark force which has been sending death threats to Yuki.  Uzuki succumbs to the mysterious force's influence as it speaks to him words of revenge.  In the meantime, a visit with his friend Kanata, also of the Asahi orphanage, turns dark when Yuki listens to him speak about a strange book he had with him when he arrived at the orphanage. He tells Yuki that the world is slowly moving towards its own destruction, and that everything must be reset to cleanse the world.  Yuki leaves Kanata's apartment and later receives a text from Uzuki containing nothing but the word "help." He finds Uzuki standing in the middle of a crosswalk, but when Yuki rushes out to save him Uzuki disappears and Yuki is in danger of being hit by a truck.  He's saved in the nick of time by a man with silver eyes, dressed all in black.  He feels an instant familiarity with the man which he cannot explain, though he seems to know Yuki's name and promises to protect him.

Thoughts: This show has all the most blatant markers of a weepy, melodramatic Boy Love romantic drama. All the characters are pretty, but the main character especially so - more than once he's said to be beautiful like a woman by his classmates and friends and the character design seems to play into that fact.  It's also got a setup that sounds like a heterosexual romance in a homosexual romance's clothing, in that it's suggested and almost stated within this opening episode that Yuki may have at one time actually been a woman, and that the mysterious man dressed in black was his former lover.  It's the same type of "get out of gay free card" that seems to typify certain BL titles, as if the creator can't quite bring him or herself to write a story about two men in love with each-other and needs this sort of cop-out to play up how tragic their romance is now that society will frown on their being together.  And seriously, both the opening and ending animations are crammed full of weepy-looking bishounen, an overabundance of feathers that would make the characters from X green with envy, and enough bondage gear (including handcuffs, chains and thorny vines) to keep a creative dominatrix happy for a long, long time.  This is normally the type of show that tends to give me severe eye strain from having rolled them too many times.

However, much like Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaoh, another series from the Spring season which seemed at first glance to be yet another fanservice vehicle but which was more entertaining than expected, there's something about the first episode of Uraboku that caused me to think twice about automatically panning the show. To be clear, I'm not left with the feeling that this may be the next great anime title of the ages, because the first episode still has enough melodrama and boys hugging to make it clear that yaoi fanservice is certainly welcomed here.  But there are times where one can sense that there was a bit of extra effort put into other aspects of the show and that there may be hope for the plot to travel somewhere beyond the bedroom. If the cheaper more pandering qualities could be kept somehow in check this could probably turn out to be a decent supernatural drama.

One thing that I will admit has got me intrigued is the plot, which seems exceedingly dark and opens things up for some action and a little magic. I'm not a huge fan of shows that are based around boys hugging and gazing into each-others' eyes, but I'm really not a fan of shows that are only about boys hugging and crying and what-not, so the potential for the show to incorporate some sort of supernatural mystery element, as well as some sword-and-gun-based action (if the theme song animation isn't lying to me) leaves me feeling a bit less apprehensive about watching it, despite knowing that the potential for melodrama is off the charts.  Yuki's ability to sense the dark emotions of others also is more promising a story element than I would have originally thought, especially considering how distressing and dark the visions have been just in this episode. Additionally, I'm getting the impression that this may be one of those series where the supporting characters are more worth watching than the main characters. I'm honestly more interested in learning about the two individuals who helped Yuki defeat the bullies at the bus stop (and seemed to know who he was) and Yuki's friend Kanata than I am in learning the specifics about how Yuki came to be reincarnated in a male body.

The character artwork in this show is very detailed to the point where it seems as if it would be a chore to animate.  All the characters have the wispy hair and very fine facial features common to shoujo manga and anime (including chins which could seriously poke someone's eye out), and while the detail is nice to see, the look of the characters do nothing to dispel the thought that this series is really just about pretty boys in love with each-other.  J.C. Staff also seems to have discovered what light bloom effects are, because they're used liberally throughout the episode.  While people often joke that this is part of the look that defines current generation video games, the fantasy-tinged setting and the supernatural goings-on almost make this type of filtering seem more appropriate.  In any case the look isn't offensive by any means.  On the other hand, the dark miasma that seeps forth whenever Yuki senses the emotions of others or when certain characters become consumed by their own dark feelings is a bit fakey and cheesy-looking, as if the characters just haven't bathed in a very, very long time.

I was surprised by how good the music in this episode was.  Eschewing the expected climactic orchestral score, the show seems to make some good use out of very low-key, subtle piano melodies that actually introduce and explore the expected character emotions without slamming them down the throats of the viewers.  I especially appreciated the slightly creepy theme used as Uzuki breaks down in the school bathroom.  It helps to emphasize how he's slowly overcome by the sickness in his mind and transforms into a completely different person.

This is another one of those series about which I have some major apprehensions, but there's perhaps the seed of something decent in there.  While the pseudo-homosexual storyline is almost enough to make me turn around and forget about it entirely (seriously, how about a series about actual gay characters that isn't aimed only at the fujoshi crowd?), I'd like to think that the story might stick more with its supernatural elements, which are honestly stronger anyway.  Whether that happens still remains to be seen.

Pros:

• The music is surprisingly good, helping to set a more subtle, creepy mood that I would have expected.
• The plot is fairly dark at times and there's potential for the supernatural elements to shine.

Cons:

• The potential for there to be an overabundance of melodrama here is very high.
• One of the gimmicks is that the main character was formerly a woman and thus plays into that heterosexual yaoi genre that bothers me.

Recommended? I'll have to see a couple more episodes to tell, but there's potential if the production staff doesn't go off the deep end with emphasizing the pandering content.