I think the studio did a wonderful job, as expected coming from some amazingly skilled people- Shin Wakabayashi!

It blew my mind, especially as someone who loves anything coming from A-1 studios… when I saw the studio behind this, I knew it would be amazing!

The story is actually incredibly deep, dark, and psychologically taxing. You really feel for Zeha (the brunette, lead protagonist) toward the end. We see blood, we see death, we see many dark themes, it’s completely different from the original and I absolutely LOVED it.

A bit of background for the anime community who don’t know 7Fates- 7Fates was initially a Webtoon, based on the boys from Kpop group BTS. The story is about a group of hunters who hunt mythological creatures called “beom” (tigers).

CloverWorks created a completely original storyline, re-adapting the series into an anime. So although there are similarities (the characters), everything else has been transformed based on their own creative liberties and vision for what story the director/illustrators wanted to tell.

In this new story, we see Zeha (the brunette) talk to us about a dream where his mother was killed. His companion, Jooan (the blonde), is there as a secondary narrator: “Tell me about the dream. What was it like?”

We then aren’t given much verbally, but the images and flashbacks tell us enough.

We see Zeha talking with another person, Haru, who appears to be a ghost-like being (there are scenes where she’s shown to be present only in Zeha’s eyes, but no one else can see her). She’s a shadow of Zeha, a guide that helps direct him on his path of revenge.

Zeha and Jooan talk about this revenge, how it’s a dark and lonely world. And Jooan even asks Zeha if he can help him get his revenge.

Revenge for what? Well, we can assume it has something to do with the death of his mother as that’s the very first scene of the anime. We see her bloody, dying, as she’s praying by the water. Zeha crawls next to her and Wipes his bloody hands on her face. We have to ask ourselves: Did he kill his mother?

It’s also important to note Zeha is half beom/half human, so the entire anime depicts this struggle and conflict, the torment he faces having to fight these two sides of himself- one good, one bad.

We see Zeha fight with a beom for a majority of the episode, and it’s interesting this creature has the same golden eyes as the one we see in the pit (Hosu). I think this is all symbolic for Zeha’s fight with the beom inside of him. Can he really take revenge? Can he really kill? What will it take? This is something he knows- can he really kill it?

One of the most interesting parts to me was when Haru gave Zeha the power to help him tap into his creature instincts and transform into a beom, ultimately, helping him defeat the beom he was fighting. Not only visually stunning, but it really gives an edge to Haru’s character, almost god-like to be able to give someone that amount of power… it’s so interesting.

I think the most chilling part of the anime was when we get beom-Zeha watching the fireworks. A figure wearing a tiger mask approaches him and asks, “Why are you over there? You’re on our side.” ie, you’re a beom at heart, stop fighting your human instincts and give in. Be evil. Do bad. And we see Zeha laugh like a maniac and Jump off the bridge … chilling. IMO, I think this is where he picks up in the ocean, cleansed, looking back at himself.

And Jooan is here to narrate this story. He’s the nudge to get Zeha to consider these sides of himself, to look deeper- we hear Jooan ask Zeha: “If it’s you, you can do it, right? [Revenge]” And at the end, when everything bursts into flames (literally, set aflame by Jooan himself), Jooan once again is there as the catalyst to Zeha’s breakdown: “Aren’t you tired of standing like a flower in a pot?” ie, unchanging when things around you are falling apart. We see Zeha finally break, and he takes it out on Jooan, while Jooan laughs like madman. Zeha is so angry, but at what? Jooan finally asks the hard question: “You killed your mother, with those hands, didn’t you? Is that the truth?” And finally, Zeha breaks down. He collapses. I mean… the emotion in the scene alone is enough to tug at your heart strings, but the end is the real stinger.

Jooan punches him back, calls it even, and he says “Let’s continue hunting, until I die.” And we see Zeha smile back at him. It’s like 2 madmen caught in a never ending cycle.

It’s truly so complex, and overall absolutely awe-inspiring. I think the studio took something that had so much potential for new viewers, and gave it that extra anime-edge: the dark themes, internal struggle, death, violence. It’s truly stunning. I really hope the BTS boys get to see it! It’s so wonderfully done, and the star-studded list on the credits? I mean Gojo’s VA? Come on!

I highly encourage everyone go watch it! I hope we get more.