To be continued: Kaiba 1
Watching the debut episode of Kaiba, I found it hard to shake recollections of the works of children’s author Roald Dahl. Many of his books are undeniably childish, but they boast an organic, grotesque quality too. Often Dahl’s premises are colourful and funny, but his characters can be ghastly, horrific monsters, vividly evil. It’s quite fascinating to me how perhaps the most beloved children’s author of all-time was able to craft his scary, disturbing stories within the genre of kids literature to such great acclaim. This Dahlian edge slices through Kaiba too, in that its simplistic design could fool many into thinking this is a children’s cartoon, yet the moral quality of its inhabitants is, at best, ambiguous. Considering this sugar-coated depiction of depravity, Kaiba sets out to be as deliciously subversive as Dahl; gleefully dragging us into a nightmare realm of fear and violation by betraying our aesthetic assumptions.
3 comments
i agree with the Dahl connection whole-heartedly particularly in james and the giant peach(with the way the aunts treated james in particular) also the witches and matilda
it also reminded me of the american classic movie Heavy Metal. The characters take journeys into mysterious lands where they never can be sure who is there to help or hurt them
Ahh, glad to know I’m not alone with the Dahl connection
I’ve seen Heavy Metal too, ages ago though. I remember something about a green orb, lots of naked bodies and being very weirded out. I might have to revisit it sometime!
yes there are lots of naked bodies, and a magical green orb, and it does indeed cause weirdness in most if not all viewers, but thats what kaiba did for me
no not the nudity, nor the green orb(there might be one, I haven’t seen past episode 1), but the weirdness. There’s something very unsettling about watching an anime that looks like it was drawn by a group of 8 year olds that touches on how memories make us human or inhuman
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