Karasu wa Aruji wo Erbanai

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The story is set in an alternate world called Yamauchi, ruled by the Yatagarasu clan, who are able to transform between human and crow forms. Yukiya, a beautiful and eccentric Yatagarasu boy, is chosen to serve the young prince. While encountering various events in the conspiracy-filled imperial court, he forms a strange master-servant relationship with the young prince.

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Episode 1 and 2:

This has been a VERY strong start. Finally, an anime this season that tells a serious story withous out-of-place comedy bits. Ofc, my biggest fear was that it'd end up too dry as is often with these feudal Japan-stories. But these 2 episodes have been really interesting to watch.

We have the "battle" among the 4 wife-candidates who each represent a unique personality and have a beautiful kimono. Then we have son of a country lord who's becoming the close attendant of the, emperor? "Main lord"? Not sure what to call him, the most powerful guy anyway. That boy seems fun, he's mischievous, yet hides his abilities. And then we have some hinted relation between the boy and the lord.

I'm not usually one to care about feual Japan royalty drama, but this is really nicely presented thus far. The animation, while simple at first, is extremely clean and knows how to be vivid and expressive when necessary. The only truly cheap part are those raven-drawn waggons that are only shown from the side, like you're watching some powerpoint presentation, lol.

Speaking of which, one thing I don't get: So people can transform into three-legged ravends, right? Then what about those ravens that are drawing the transport-waggons? Are these people forced to work as ravens? Or is there a separate species of dumb giant ravens that are akin to flying horses? Weird.

Anyway, looking forward to next episode. My favorite anime of the season so far.

Episode 3:

Lots of things happening.

Tbh while the pacing is pushing forward nicely, I would have liked to see more of the bonding between Yukiya and the prince. Suddenly, a month has passed and the two are talking to each other like they're familiar with each other for years. The whole peeking in on the women was super fun, lol, actualy comedy dialogue, very well written. And then the prince sacrificing him, lol.

But again, it feels like there could have been one more scene, showing us Yukiya interacting with the female candidates. Instead, we only see him apprehended, then cut to him being outside the building.

The "horses" being regular people who were contracted for work in the crow form was scary. Imagine being forced to work as an animal and being treated like it, too.

Anyway, love how the story stays serious. Lots of conspiracy going on seemingly.

My favorite of the season except for the thigh-boy waki show.

Yep, enjoying every episode. A serious story that knows how to inject comedy without breaking immersion.

Episode 5:

That music at the end got intense, whoah.

I must say, the animation in this is so good. The artstyle looks kinda boring, making this anime less conspicuous, but when you're watching it, the animation is so subtle and nicely done.

Loved the Ravine-meeting scene, too. The presentation was superb and the writing is so classic without becoming boring. It help that Ganondorf is there, lol.

Episode 18:

Okay, that was one of the coolest twists in any anime for a long time. Suddenly, a reverse-isekaei twist :D Super cool and I hope this anime gets a 2nd season, because I totally wanna see these people interact with modern day humans :D

Episode 20 - Final:

Well, that was a nice wrap up ... for this story arc. Honestly, this whole monkey arc came outta nowhere. But the anime really needs another season now.

- I want to see the clash with modern day mankind
- I wanna see Yukiya train at that guard school
- I want to see what's happening to Koume. Honestly, I had hoped that Yukiya would ask her to marry him, like "I suspected you so unfairly, so pls let me make it up to you by being your loyal husband for the rest of my life". Or something

Good anime.

I'll have to give it a try. Is this primarily mystery or political?

Mystery. It starts out seeming very political then takes a hard turn midway.

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Originally Posted by neflight86

I'll have to give it a try. Is this primarily mystery or political?

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Political mystery, lol. But it focuses more on the mystery later on. It's definitely not "dry", if that's your fear (unless anything that's not JJK-levels' fast is "dry").

Thanks, guys. I'm always scouring for something different and interesting, and this may be it.

Just watched. Very entertaining show. Court room politics can be very interesting, though I wonder if I might get burnt out on the genre if I were to keep seeking them out...

First half was more interesting for me as it centered around the characters more and did more with them. I like that most parts of the story were indeed flipped on their head at some point, but not obnoxiously so.

The character designs were good and direction on point, but the animation couldn't always keep up and some scenes began to wobble a bit. Also, the ending of the first major arc/half felt slightly abrupt with major characters simply vanishing when their story implications had run dry. Not to focus on the negative, I enjoyed very much and hope that there might be a continuation soon. Thanks again for the recommend!