Special note: Don't confuse this with the movie or you'll think this review quite inaccurate.
It has been 15 years since the war between Mazoku (evil race) and Humans. But, the peace created by the barrier set by Queen Horn, is merely a temporary one. Queen Horn's barrier has fallen, and once again, the Mazoku shall descend upon the world. Meanwhile, in Staccato, a village that allows no outsiders, a young violinist awakes to find a horn has grown atop his head. Soon, he will make a journey of discovery that will reveal the horrible truth of his identity, as the world is faced with the greatest conflict of all time. Not much of a description, I know, but I don't want to spoil anything.
Perhaps saying that this is the best show that I've ever seen, might be putting it too lightly. "Violinist of Hameln" ("Hameln No Baorin-Hiki") is a show that, despite its brilliance, never achieved the popularity it deserved. Things to expect: heavy character development, plot twists galore and healthy, heaping spoonfuls of angst. Things not to expect: fluff. You should be warned, however, that the story line is very , very, very dark (there's a few seconds of comic relief in the fourth episode, but that's about it). The animation is two-thirds really good for TV (not up to "Escaflowne"'s or "Evangelion"'s level, but...) and one third still frames. A unique decision to make on the shamefully limited budget it was provided, normally under these circumstances, a studio will simply have mediocre animation throughout. Interestingly enough, the still frame thing _works_. Something I doubt could have been pulled off by a show without substance (or quite as much dialog as this one !
has.) Oh, yeah, and the soundtrack rivals "Escaflowne"'s, too. So, if you want to see an intense fantasy drama, that doesn't pull any punches and provides a damn great story, watch "Violinist of Hameln" (and bug Studio Frustrate to get a move on with those translations.) [I'm using my sarcastic voice now] Oh, wait... maybe you'd rather watch "Pocket Monsters," instead.
