Onimusha hits #7 on Netflix Top 10 most-watched non-English TV shows – true anime fans not impressed

The just-released Japanese anime series Onimusha has been out about five minutes (okay, six days), and it has already climbed to #7 on the Netflix Top 10 most-watched non-English TV shows chart.

Those numbers are for the week of October 30th to November 5th, which means Onimusha‘s feat is even more admirable considering the anime was only available on Netflix for four days of that period.

During that period, the 8-episode anime was watched 1.8 million times for a total of 6.8 million hours viewed.

Proving, yet again, anime on Netflix has a massive future.

If they would actually use animation studios at the top of their game, that is, and not the sub-par ones they have been paying lately. (I am talking about you, creators of The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh and now, the folks that created Onimusha).

Onimusha deserved better

Off Netflix itself, and true anime fans are also pointing this out. As no, most seem not to be impressed with either the Onimusha plot or its animation.

Users of My Anime List, for instance, are rating the 8-episode anime with a very low (even for that site) 6.61 out of 10, while IMDB users scored it only slightly higher at 7.1 out of 10.

Many of those poor ratings are likely for the choppy CGI, which short-changes the anime and the games its based on. Poor quality CGI which pops up in the action scenes especially, making much of it quite painful to watch.

And for its draggy plot.

As one reviewer commented on IMDB, with a comment I could not have said better myself:

Not a fan of the CGI used this way, I don’t mind it being used but all of these studios are being cheap with it which leads to very stiff animation. That really takes away from the art’s medium; it’s an insult to the very meaning of the word to cheap out on the art of animation in this way.

As someone who’s loved to consume animation all my life and a bit of a 3d artist it really tears me up to see studios doing this, there are so many amazing artist out there who can take steps forward in the evolution of animation utilizing CGI instead it’s used to cheapen the medium.

To do so in a story that uses Musashi as it’s main character is just insulting, a figure who’s the embodiment of perfecting a skill/craft/art.

Then again, Onimushi was animated by Sublimation.

The same studio who also animated the monstrosities Dragon’s Dogma and Shikizakura, so their amateurish animation here is understandable.

If you can stand the horribly used CGI (the beautiful art style does redeem it somewhat), and want to help the anime stay on the Netflix Top 10 most-watched non-English TV shows, Onimushi is now streaming on Netflix.

If you prefer not to support poor quality animation, skip it as, if you are a true anime fan who cares what they watch, I doubt you will leave its eight episodes feeling remotely satisfied.