18if: The Complete Series

A cross-platform gaming franchise inspired this bizarre anime series in which each episode is rendered by a different animation director, often in varying styles, serving up dazzling protean visuals and enigmatic storylines. The premise is that traumatized females across Japan have "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome," and have fallen into inexplicable comas. But in their dreams they reign as "witches," all-powerful women who can invade the dreams of others or—in extreme cases—actually affect the outside world. Haruto, a boy who can travel through "the red door" (aka, into dreams), and scientist Katsumi (who has the avatar of a smart-aleck cat) investigate individual witches in cases that don't give up their riddles easily (one about a teen "idol" singer who avenges her exploitation by her old business cohorts also indulges in some kinky S&M imagery). Concluding segments take the material into biblical territory, while also featuring the oldest "surprise" ending in fiction. Presenting all 13 episodes from 2017 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-MA, extras include a commentary episode with the English-dub cast, who amusingly recall their own recurring dreams. Recommended. (C. Cassady)