, Onmyō Kaiten Re: Seen stunned fans with its third promotional video and a haunting visual art style, cementing its status as a summer anime spectacle. Premiering , the series blends time travel, supernatural action, and romance in a reimagined Heian-Kyō, where a troubled student’s fate becomes entangled with a mysterious woman and a vengeful ONI.
The show’s energy is amplified by dynamic musical themes—WHO-YA EXTENDED’s aggressive opening track and 9LANA’s emotive closing song—while its creative team, led by Hideya Takahashi (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), crafts a world where ancient lore meets modern stakes. A manga adaptation, launching in Morning Two last month, further expands its mythos, promising a summer that will leave audiences breathless.
They’ll tell you it’s a summer surprise
But let’s not sugarcoat it—David Production’s first original series, Onmyō Kaiten Re: Seen, is already a cultural event. You know, the kind of event that makes you wonder if the studio’s been siphoning time travel tech from the Heian-Kyō’s mystical underbelly. But here’s the kicker: this ain’t no Dragon Ball or My Hero Academia fluff. It’s a meatball of time-travel tropes, supernatural action, and romance so sappy it could make a Drama Club teacher weep.
But wait…
Let’s not pretend this isn’t a fucking big deal. David Production, the studio that once made K-On! and Hidamari Sketch, has finally decided to stop being the cheese of the anime world and go full brie—rich, complex, and dripping with irony. Their new series, Onmyō Kaiten Re: Seen, is a savage remix of Re:Zero meets Kamisama Kiss, with a side of Yuyushiki for good measure. The plot? Takeru Narehira, a problematic student from our world, gets flung into Denji Heian-Kyō, a mystical version of Kyoto where time is a sushi roll you can’t unroll. He’s reunited with Tsukimiya, a mysterious woman who appears in his dreams, only for both to be attacked by an ONI and die… only for Takeru to wake up again. Spoiler: this is not a Twilight reboot.
Let’s unpack this.
Time travel in anime is like a sake barrel—everyone’s drinking from it, but no one’s asking if the barrel’s been poisoned. Onmyō Kaiten Re: Seen throws in a sushi-grade twist: Takeru becomes an Onmyōji, a spiritual warrior, to protect Tsukimiya. But here’s the rub: the series’ creative team is a who’s who of industry heavyweights—Hideya Takahashi (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), Hayashi Mori (Cells at Work!), and Kazuaki Morita (Classroom of the Elite). Yet, as the butterfly effect of anime fandom shows, even the best scripts can’t save a plot that’s been overhyped like a miso soup at a soba bar.
The music?
A banquet for the ears. The opening theme, “Cry Out Cry Over” by WHO-YA EXTENDED, is a screaming match of energy, while the closing song, “Turn Over” by 9LANA, is the emotional punch to the gut you’d expect from a manga that’s been overcooked in the karaage pan. But here’s the irony: the series’ manga adaptation, published in Morning Two since February 6, is already a meme factory—a testament to how anime’s hunger for romance and supernatural drama can turn even a kodomo into a kamikaze.
And let’s not forget the world-building.
Denji Heian-Kyō, the “quiet capital of the divine ray,” is a dystopian utopia where time is a kintsugi—broken, but made beautiful by the cracks. Takeru’s journey from a “problematic student” to an Onmyōji is as deliciously absurd as a takoyaki at 3 AM. But here’s the coup de grâce: the series’ release date——is a meatball in the sushi of anime schedules. It’s the kind of timing that makes you wonder if the studio’s been time-traveling to craft this.
Final Thoughts
Onmyō Kaiten Re: Seen is a bold experiment in blending genres, visuals, and narrative. Whether it succeeds as a cultural phenomenon remains to be seen, but its ambition is undeniable. Dive deeper into its world and see if it resonates with your own sense of wonder.
