If there’s one thing that this anime does exactly right, it’s worldbuilding. Kabane’s backwater village where he gets treated like dirt, the cramped house Shiki lived in and the shed where his uncle conducted experiments, as well as the lonely mountain where Akira and his brother were trapped with the yuki-onna all radiate an aura of sadness and pain that starkly contrasts with the detective agency that serves as their new home. With Inugami (and his pest of a housemate, Mihai), they have the freedom to act like kids and express themselves in any way they choose. We particularly like the “cubby” bedrooms that Shiki and Akira have decorated to reflect their own interests, as well as the adorable homemade chore chart tacked up on the wall. It feels like a place where people actually live instead of just a backdrop made as an afterthought.

The city itself also thrums with life, from the vain face-stealing kemono in the shopping district to the carefully detailed shops in the background to the police that Inari the kitsune has wrapped around her little finger. It’s a perfect setting for all sorts of fascinating phenomena to occur!

For some reason, though, all of these wonderful little pieces don’t fit together to make a satisfying whole. We know that many people love this anime, and we honestly wish that we could love it as much as they do, but the storylines themselves just feel hollow most of the time because the characters aren’t thought through all the way. Kon’s hunger for validation would’ve been more palpable if Inari was a better-developed villain, Shiki’s relationship with his newfound sister could’ve held more emotional weight if she hadn’t turned into a joke character by the very next episode, and Akira’s struggle to prove to his brother that he’s capable of independence would’ve made more sense if he was ever actually useful in a fight.

But the worst offender of all is Kabane himself, who has no emotions and doesn’t even get to search for his parents like he said he wanted to. He doesn’t act much like the main character of a shounen series, instead just fighting and flatly reacting to things going on around him. This lack of polish makes Kemono Jihen a slog to get through sometimes, even though we’re actively trying to get invested in the plot.