For high schooler Kei—and for at least forty-six others—immortality comes as the nastiest surprise ever. Sadly for Kei, such a feat doesn't make him a superhero. In the eyes of both the general public and governments, he's a rare specimen who needs to be hunted down and handed over to scientists to be experimented on for life—a demi-human who must die a thousand deaths for the benefit of humanity.
Visual Effects
Polygon's janky-cool CGI that somehow works for body horror
Acting
Hochu Otsuka's Satō: unhinged grandpa energy you can't look away from
Sound
Those wet crunching regeneration noises—chef's kiss of disgust
Director
Hiroyuki Seshita
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Polygon Pictures' first feature after the Knights of Sidonia series, and they reused the same cel-shaded CGI pipeline that critics either love or want to fight in a parking lot.
Ajin arrived right as Japan was debating revised security bills—Satō's gleeful domestic terrorism reads way differently knowing 2015's political climate. The manga author later said he 'accidentally predicted some stuff.'
JP
