Flowers of Evil: Complete Collection [Blu-ray]

Having grown tired of most shows that focus strongly on gimmicks, fanservice, and other eye-catching traits that distract you without actually respecting your intelligence, I found it incredibly refreshing to stumble upon this beautiful series. It stands in stark contrast to virtually every other work of animation Japan has produced on a number of levels including the plot structure, animation, and themes, but most importantly, its soul.Based upon the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, Flowers of Evil is about a boy, Takao Kasuga, who views himself as so much more sophisticated than his peers based on his reading and thinking habits, seeing most other people as typical, pathetic wastes of time. That is, except for his idol, his "Maria", Nanako Saeki, a beautiful girl in his class. Spending his life meditating on the difficult, erotically-themed poetry present in the original "Flowers of Evil" book by Baudelaire, Kasuga finds Saeki's gym uniform at school, takes it home in a sudden showing of perversion, and discovers that he has been found out by a class bully, Sawa Nakamura. As she blackmails him and tries to get him to show his truly perverted side, Kasuga's experiences leave the viewer wondering about the nature of sexuality as well as how it relates us to others.Enough comments have been made about the thought-provoking and emotionally-rendered backgrounds and character animation, but what stands out in this series to me is its sense of place. Throughout the very first episode, long, drawn-out sequences are paired perfectly with atmospheric music and Kasuga's thoughts about life to paint a picture of a standard, boring, same-y world filled with people who can barely think for themselves. All of this culminates perfectly into the show's turning point where he is forced to question his own identity through his sexually-motivated actions and coercions. It reminded me of my own awkward adolescence, and made me think about all of my own awkward experiences in retrospect compared to who I am today.In stark contrast to most anime series about teenagers and sexuality, none of it is played for laughs. Almost every development in the series is stark, bleak, and downright unsettling to the point where you wonder if things will ever get better for the main characters. There lies the beauty of the series: it doesn't have to. All of the characters' thoughts, actions, and mannerisms collide together to create an artistically resonant look into the life of developing teenagers with their own immature views on life and relationships. You aren't supposed to "root for" anyone, but rather, watch the train wreck as it slowly gets worse until it finally collapses upon itself in a heap of sadness and reflection.If there is one thing that I would have changed with the series, though, it's the final three episodes. The series "concludes" a few times, most notably around episodes 7 and 10, but the season isn't finished until episode 13. After episode 10, the events that happen function as an epilogue to prior events as they set up for a hypothetical Season 2, filled with quick glimpses at the future of the series, if it's allowed to continue. Without a second season to follow up on, though, these episodes serve only as a reminder of the relative unpopularity of the series, and that is why I bought my own copy after watching most of it online.If you are interested even in the slightest in this series, give the first few episodes a watch on a website like Hulu, where it's streaming legally free with ads for the time being, and then buy the series if it intrigues you from there on out. This is most likely going to be one of the finest examples of anime I'll ever be able to share with my friends and I hope that it gets the attention it deserves. No matter how you feel about it, Flowers of Evil is one of the most uniquely designed anime shows in recent memory and as such, it deserves a small amount of your time at least even if you end up thinking it's downright terrible.

When my friend first talked about Aku no Hana with me, I wasn't sure how a story about three high schoolers could be at all interesting. She showed me the first episode and at once I saw what she meant. The atmosphere is incredible. The characters speak realistically. The events unfold organically, though you know something bad is coming.Aku no Hana is a controversial anime due to its unconventional rotoscoping style, which at times paints the characters in strange ways. I found however that it made the story much more vivid. I wasn't distracted by its roughness at all and appreciated the human depth it granted to the characters. Granted, I'm not a huge anime fan, though, and have only viewed a few here and there.In regards to the DVD set, I'm not thrilled, but I'm satisfied. The audio has the one original Japanese track, and there is one English subtitle track. It even subtitles the theme songs, which is cool. The exterior of the set is neat, and I like the disc art. There is nothing inside the case like a slip or pamphlet or anything; it's rather plain. The menu is very plain too; all discs play the same excerpt of Kasuga's version of the theme song, and there is a simple episode selection--that's all.Overall though, I'm happy with my purchase and ecstatic this anime got an English release. If you like wacky animes with a lot of action or comedy, this won't be for you. But if you're looking for a story that takes its events and characters seriously, try out Flowers of Evil. It's a trip.

A purely wonderful work, thoughtful in many ways. The main idea is to question who the flowers of evil are. At first glimpse, it would seem to be the young antihero and his red-haired tormentor, but is that so?When he first wrote the novel that is this work's namesake, Charles Baudelaire was complaining about what his Paris had become. A listless bourgeois bland-scape populated by "The Flowers of Evil": People that were at once so jaded and so banal. This wonderful story revisits that emotion from the point of view of the unfortunates born into the already existing world of ennui and cliche.The rotoscope animation and occasionally hyper-realistic backdrops help to convey the realism and underscore the angst of the characters. No other-worldly, super-natural, trans-substantial hype here. This is the real world. The one we impose on ourselves, and, more importantly, on our children.

It's a good adaption from the manga series, but it can be at times very slowly in some scenes. If you're looking for a typical Romantic-Comedy anime, this is not it. This is a series where people look at each other strange for long periods of time, a lot dialogue being thought out by a character rather said out loud, and situations that would seem odd or out of place if you lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere. You'll feel weird watching this series but after a while you grow comfortable as the story goes on. In the end, I would say you should check out the manga series then go on to watch the anime.

Flowers of Evil may just be the best anime ever made. In an ocean of boring, trite cliche, Flowers of Evil actually manages to achieve something that no anime even bothers with, anymore: pacing. The timing, pacing, and editing are more like a film than an anime (due to the fact that it *is* actually filmed), and the director takes his time with the shots in ways that typical anime fans are sure to hate.There are no robots, there are no heroes, and there are no anime falls. There are no whatever-dere classmates, no rocket nosebleeds, and no battle anime fight scenes. There are long stretches where no one talks.There is confusion. There are mental breakdowns. There is desperation.If you like shonen, you'll hate this. If you're an adult, though...

everything ok, as described

英語の字幕を備えた国外の商品だけれど、音声は日本語だから日本語で視聴したい人も買って大丈夫（英語の字幕は設定で消せる）。Blu-ray2枚組。1枚目に1話から9話までを、2枚目に10話から13話までを収録している。本編以外の映像特典などはない。　漫画の『惡の華』を読んでいなくても、ボードレールの『惡の華』を読んでいなくても、鑑賞に差し支えない。常識的に生きて常識的に死んでいく人生に対して反感・疑問を抱いている人に是非薦めたい。逆に、暇潰しのためだけの娯楽を望んでいる人に薦めたいと思わない。　このアニメは原作の生々しい雰囲気を上手く表現していて個人的に良いと思う。でも区切り方は残念だった。アニメの全13話は原作の第20話あたりまでの内容を描いているけれど、できれば第33話まで描いて欲しかった。いろいろと都合があると思うけれど、区切るならそこしかないと思う。

自分の持っているブルーレイレコーダーでは再生出来なかったので、パソコンで視聴しました。 マンガとは全く違うキャラクターデザインとロトスコープのお陰で最初は違和感と気持ち悪さMAXでしたが、視聴していくうちに独特の世界観に引き込まれて魅了されてしまいました。シーズン2の製作を嘱望しますが、無理でしょうね(笑)

国内版でボックスが出ていないので単品で買い集めるより圧倒的に安いです。実写パートの映像特典ないのは残念ですが本編さて見れれば良いと言う方には断然オススメ。1話ごとに英語字幕がオンになるのが少しウザいですが。内容は原作も好きですが、アニメ版もまた違った良さがあって個人的には大満足です。

あらすじ：クラスの美少女・佐伯奈々子に密かに想いを寄せる春日高男。ある日の放課後、出来心により彼女の体操着を盗んでしまうが、その様子は嫌われ者の女子・仲村佐和に目撃されていた。窮地に陥り、仲村からの無茶な要求に翻弄される中、意外なきっかけから佐伯と付き合うことになり、春日は恋心と背徳の自己矛盾に苛まれる。そんな彼に呼応するかの如く、佐伯も内に秘めた意思を徐々に示すようになる。現実社会の閉塞感に自己認識を見出せず、遣る瀬無い自我を抱える3人の中学生のアイデンティティは互いに交錯し、儚い逸脱へと向かっていく。音楽・絵コンテ独特の世界観有り最初はそんなに良くないのかと思いきやはまってしまいました。北米版字幕等の問題は有りますが十分観賞できる物だと思います。字幕等で見慣れているので全然気になりません。国内版に比べてかなりお安く購入出来て良かったと思います。

Masterpiece!!! This is a must have in your collection, The quality and sound are amazing!! Hope they release 2nd season someday.