Darkness of the Sea, Shadow of the Moon (1989)

Director: Tetsu Dezaki

Screenplay: Koichi Mizuide and Sōji Yoshikawa

Voice Cast: Mayumi Shō as Lumi Kobayakawa; Rei Sakuma as Luka Kobayakawa; Toshihiko Seki as Katsuyuki Tohma; Ryusei Nakao as Mr. Kobayakawa; Seiko Nakano as Mrs. Kobayakawa; Tesshō Genda as Doctor Kaibara

A Night of a Thousand Horror (Shows) / An 1000 Anime Crossover

"I had never heard of Darkness of the Sea... until searching for horror anime, but this three part OVA is tantalising when you begin it. It is a shoujo story, a story of young women which combines romance against horror and over-the-top melodrama, all directed by Tetsu Dezaki, Osamu Dezaki's brother who can be credited for helming They Were Eleven (1986), a great sci-fi story from a legendary female manga author Moto Hagio, but also Mad Bull 34 (1990-2), the infamous and at times difficult to watch Kazuo Koike tale about New York City cops with all the ridiculous clichés and distortions you could imagine. Darkness of the Sea... starts off over the top in its own way when twin sisters Rumi and Ruki, already in a romantic triangle over Touma, the popular boy at school, go on an all-girl's trip to the coast with their school. Tragically, during a storm, they find a secret grave mass in the caves, and with everyone baring the sisters being killed by a strange air to the underground environment..."

This was a fascinating discovery - a horror work for a female audience which however does not shy away from being lurid and has an additional melodramatic edge to its premise, of one twin sister now wishing to kill the other with her unnatural abilities, which is compelling. Tragically obscure to even see, and with fair warning, tragically without a proper ending, I would hope, if unlikely, a version of Darkness of the Sea, Shadow of the Moon can be preserved. Also, if I could snap my fingers and make a work being readapted, Darkness of the Sea... is a perfect candidate for a modern anime re-adaptation with a full ending, even if an original one, and allowing the virtues this straight-to-video production still had shine further.

For the full review, follow the blog link HERE.