If you were immortal, would you try to take over the world?

Immortal humans known as “Ajin” were discovered 17 years ago in Africa. They were classified as a threat to mankind, as they might utilize their powers for evil. Whenever a new Ajin surfaces they are taken into custody immediately. How are you ever suppose to know if you’re one of these Ajin? Well it’s painfully obvious that all you have to do is die and if you come back to life, you’re an Ajin.

Now no one is ever really in life threatening situations to figure out whether there are immortal or not. We find out that Ajin are immortal because of their amazing regenerative properties but they can only regenerate once they die. That means minor injuries or broken bones won’t heal immediately. They don’t necessarily “bleed blood” but instead it’s more of a black essence that pours out and activates their regenerative ability. You might be thinking, “So what if they can’t die? That doesn’t mean they can take over the world.” Well I would agree with you there except there is another ability that they possess that makes them dangerous. Remember that black essence I mentioned earlier? Ajin can manipulate it into a puppet that isn’t visible to normal humans. Not only are Ajin immortal but when you see them doing inhuman things without lifting a finger, any one would be terrified.

Ajin follows an ordinary school boy studying hard to become a doctor in the future but could not really give damn about anyone else, Kei Nagai. One day he’s walking home and his life gets flipped upside down by an oncoming truck. Bystanders are staring in shock at the accident and even some of Kei’s classmates are nearby. As Kei regains consciousness he realizes what has happened and witnesses, unknown to him, the black essence. No one is more terrified than Kei is as he glances over and sees his classmates recording everything. What comes next is expected for a newly found Ajin as Kei’s identity is revealed to every news station in the area. His face becomes plastered all over town and nowhere is safe for him.

What really turns this series on its head is the anti-protagonist Satou. Satou introduces himself as someone who has been around the block a few times living as an Ajin. He finds Kei and attempts to “recruit” him to help start a revolution for Ajin everywhere. What Kei doesn’t know is that Satou is a snake and is using kinds words to manipulate him into be coming an underling. One elaborate scheme after another, Satou gets the opportunity to broadcast a message all over Japan about his fellow Ajin joining together to become part of something bigger. Remember when I said Satou was a snake? Well he’s a lot worse than that when he can convince a handful of Ajin to do his bidding. Satou is probably one of the best bad guys I’ve seen in recent years. He’s full of violence and his personality is just overall enjoyable to watch. One of my favorite things he does is compare his actions to that of a video game he plays in his spare time.

You’ve probably already guessed the plot based on the title and if you’ve read this far. It’s made very clear that the arc becomes Kei vs the world, to Satou vs. the world, to Kei vs Satou. There are other good supporting characters that help this story reach it’s end. They piece everything together very well. There is a good balance between story telling and a mystery/suspense factor. The suspense is what really catches you and reels you in for more.

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Now we get to why most people would shy away from or straight up avoid this anime altogether, the CG animation. I don’t have many issues with it myself but there are some who just want to take CG animation and throw in the dumpster, cough-Blackatron-cough. I think Ajin in particular wasn’t the best in terms of animation but I got through it just fine because of everything else that I thought was great. The story, the characters, and again the suspense that ties it all together. If you don’t hate CG and enjoy a good supernatural vibe with a great bad guy, give this show a shot. It’s offered on Netflix with two seasons and a three episode test is perfect for Ajin. If you’re not hooked or interested after that, you can come back and yell at me in the comments below.