18if is a Surreal but Inconsistent Dream World Mystery

​What happens when you cross elements of dark fantasy, mystery, supernatural, and give it all a healthy serving of the David Lynch treatment? The latest series from Gonzo and Funimation, 18if, centers around a young boy named Haruto who inexplicably is trapped inside a dream world. With the help of an anthropomorphic cat (he swears he's not really a cat) and a mysterious girl who only Haruto can see, Haruto is tasked with outsmarting or defeating the enigmatic witches in control of the dream world.

From the get-go, this series is a bit hard to follow. The first episode drops a lot of questions on the viewer and isn't poised to answer them any time soon. The animation quality isn't the best either, making the surreal and vivid world look a bit less fantastic and a bit more like your standard fantasy setting with some bonus clocks thrown in. Don't get me wrong, the aesthetic is great. The colors and the design of the setpieces are really fantastic, I just feel that the animation itself could use some work. That said, every episode is directed by a different person, so we may see some changes in the future.

---SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE AND TWO BELOW---

So let's talk about plot inconsistency. The dream world is an interesting state of existence, where apparently some people are trapped and others aren't. For example, Haruto himself can't wake up. When he does at the end of the first episode, he's just in another layer of the dream. The cat guy (Kanzaki, a scientist in the real world) seems to be able to come and go as he pleases, and is even able to communicate with Haruto while he himself is awake in his human form. A major reveal early in the first episode is that if someone dies in the dream world, they die in real life. Haruto and Kanzaki both proceed to die in this episode and come back out without a scratch. The second episode, however, revolves around people who are being murdered in their dreams by one of the witches. So, which is it? Only time will tell, I guess.

---END OF SPOILERS---

All-in-all, I'm intrigued by the series. Each episode has its own self-contained narrative which is tied together by the overall narrative of Haruto's struggle to escape. I think there are some interesting stories here, and there's a lot of room for more, but the show is far from perfect. I would say give the first episode a shot and make the decision for yourself. If nothing else, the opening theme (by TeddyLoid) is pretty cool.

​-Justin

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