High-Rise Invasion is an anime series directed by Masahiro Takada and written by Touko Machida. The series is voiced by Haruka Shiraishi, Akira Sekine, Shiki Aoki and Junya Enoki, alongside other cast members. It is based on the manga series written by Tsuina Miura and illustrated by Takahiro Oba.
If you thought masked killers out to cut your head open are horrifying, then High-Rise Invasion takes that up by a notch. Kind of like Alice in Borderland, but not really, the show is every psychological thriller fan’s dream. It takes everything that we are afraid of in a tightly-wrapped 12-episode-long series, provides it break-neck pacing and also delivers on interesting characters that make this one a satisfying watch.
High-Rise Invasion follows Yuri, a high-school student who is, all of a sudden, transported to a world of skyscrapers and people in masks. And if that wasn’t horrifying enough, she can’t get a hold of her family and has no idea of what’s going on. However, she gets to know the truth quickly enough and must protect herself against crazed killers who are out to kill her.
Although the description above might sound fascinating (the show really is), it doesn’t even begin to cover the complexities of the plot. Because see, the masked killers are controlled by the masks themselves, which has software installed that takes control of the people’s minds. Additionally, they don’t really kill you in the generic term. They make you commit suicide. Don’t ask me how, because that’s a spoiler I am not willing to go into.
On top of that, Yuri and her ally Mayuko cannot reach the ground however much they might try to. They have to fight their way out of the skyscrapers which are interconnected and which are teeming with killers at every level. If that wasn’t enough, there’s another plot that consists of gods, angels and god candidates.
The story is hella interesting and makes for a fascinating watch. The original Manga, which is 21-volumes-long, has been adapted to the series perfectly and to make up for the huge amount of information that it covers, the pacing is fast. The plot and the pacing together make for a deadly combination where you get mind-boggling information that just keeps coming and slapping you across the face one after another.
The characters, too, are super interesting in High-Rise Invasion. Our protagonist Yuri herself is real and believable. Unlike other shows, she is a balance between naïve and smart and proactive and does not take too much time to get used to the world around her. Sure, she’s super confused at first, but within the first episode, she moves from confused to aware and ready. We know that she has a brother here, she arms herself to kill those who try to harm her while we also know that she isn’t particularly fond of the killing. Every other character, too, is super interesting like this and have various shades for you to pick apart as you get new information and insight.
Summing up: High-Rise Invasion
Heads explode and faces are cut open left, right and centre in High-Rise Invasion. This psychologically thrilling series is an absolute blast to watch – with its interesting and not-stupid characters, its twisty and dark storyline and its fast pacing. It’s everything that you can wish for in an anime and will keep you absolutely invested throughout its 12-episode runtime. The rules of this seriously f-ed up world are believable and real which seriously builds into the depravity of the whole situation.
Righ-Rise Invasion is streaming on Netflix.
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