Red Garden - Series Profile

The Story::

Kate, Rachel, Claire and Rose have absolutely nothing in common. Except that they've all been murdered. And of course, they don't know that they're dead. But when they start following the blood-red butterflies that only they can see, they meet a woman who explains their departing and instructs them to go out and become killers themselves.

The Gist::

Four high school girls - Kate, Rachel, Claire and Rose - come from very different walks of life. But then one night, the four are murdered and they are all drawn to a park by crimson butterflies. There, they meet a woman who tells them that they've died and are now living "borrowed lives". In order to continue living, they must do the woman's bidding and kill strange, monstrous creatures - man-dog hybrids - while pretending that everything is normal at school. But they soon learn that the latest victim of the rash of teen suicides is a mutual friend - Lise - and her death may be the key to their gruesome puzzle.

Producer::

Studio GONZO

Distributor::

ADV Films

Rating::

TV MA (Mature)

Genre::

Supernatural, horror, thriller, mystery/suspense

Original Release Date::

DVD 1 released on 9/18/2007

The Review::

Red Garden is a dark, intense anime that originally aired in Japan in 2006.

Based in a fictional New York City (yes... New York City), Red Garden gives you four well-developed main characters, each battling with their own dramas of being a teenage girl. Add to that the rigid school environment and the strange, unexplained rash of apparent suicides and you can begin to see how the drama might unfold.

But no... this one's not going to go the way you think. Our four lead characters have one thing in common: they are all friends with Lise and when she turns up dead (another suicide?) the girls also discover that they have little memory of the night before. Its then that they meet Lula, a funeral director who tells them that they've died but can continue to live if they'll just do her bidding and kill some seemingly possessed guys.

See? I told you this wasn't going to go the way you thought.

Red Garden is a bold and exciting new twist on traditional anime entertainment, furthering the growing idea of "American" anime (it is set in NYC after all and our heroines all have recognizable Americanized names). Produced by Studio GONZO (Hellsing), Red Garden also gives us a fresh new animation perspective by building the animation around the voice dubs rather than vice versa.

For more Red Garden (including a wicked trailer) check out the official website from ADV Films.