The world as we know it, even without all the magical and fantasy stuff is a pretty terrifying place to live in. I mean just look at the recent Taliban’s full-on conquest of Afghanistan, and all the suffering being inflicted on the people. Therefore, when every morning we wake up hearing such strife and death all over the world, it kind of seems like that if there was any hell it would be here on earth, right where we are living now. Similarly, taking upon this premise, to highlight what true evil looks like is a brand new anime coming out this fall called Shikizakura.
The story of Shikizakura takes place in a world, where humanity is plagued by creatures called Oni or Demons. I mean in almost every culture the demons are said to be the most malignant of creatures. The beings that hate humanity and take power from our suffering and pain, with a sole purpose in their lives to watch humankind burn. Similarly in the story, Shikizakura Demons are pretty much of the same nature, trying to possess the human souls and get a pathway into the plane where they do not belong. However, humankind must do something before the demons literally conquer the world.
Therefore, in order to protect humanity from the demons that are now rampaging all over the world, a ritual is about to commence in the land of Shikizakura a place or a dimension between the spirit world and the real world, where the ritual must take place to save the world. The story of the show revolves around a young high schooler named Kakeru Miwa, who joins the armed forces against demons and begins the quest to save Ouka Myoujin, the priestess who is meant to save the world.
Will Kakeru Succeed? Will they be able to save the world? Who is Ouka Myoujin and what are her powers? To find out about all of these interesting questions, make sure to keep your Crunchyroll subscriptions lined up because this original anime series is about to make its big debut, you guessed it! In October of 2021! The creators of the show were pretty excited with the big reveal and gave the fans a lot of hope that maybe just like last year a new fantasy genre-mixing technology with magic might be born. However, whether Shikizakura will be able to live up to its hype or not is an answer that only time will tell. Till then make sure to check out its latest teaser trailer (link attached below) and see for yourself what it is all about!