Midnight occult civil servants

Midnight occult civil servants is an intricate and fascinating anime which was broadcast on Tokyo MX in 2019. This is an enticing animation that brings together urban legends, mythical tales, modern day bureaucracies, with an exciting layer of supernatural mysteries. The series is based on the popular manga written by Yōko Tamotsu which quickly captivated readers, leading to its adaptation as a TV series.

The story takes place in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward where the main characters, Arata Miyako, Theo Himetsuka, and Kyouichi Sakaki, work as civil servants in the Nocturnal Community Relations Division - a subdivision of the Nighttime Regional Relations Department which navigates delicate human-another relations.

Unlike your typical civil servant, these employees possess the unique task of liaising with "Anothers"; supernatural beings. Anothers, for lack of a better term, are spirits, creatures, and entities drawn from a multitude of world mythologies and urban legends that are invisible to normal human beings, and have lived alongside humans for centuries.

The newly assigned rookie, Arata Miyako, unknowingly walks straight into this complex intermingling world on his first day on the job. What sets Arata apart from his coworkers is that he possesses the "Ears of Sand"; an ability inherited from his ancestors which allows him to understand the language of Anothers. This skill is unprecedented and adds an additional layer of complexity, danger but crucial importance to his work, making him more than just an ordinary civil servant.

His partners, Theo and Kyouichi, each have unique capabilities and backstories themselves. Theo, a historian by trade and largely human-sympathetic, helps to keep the unit grounded in the human world. Sakaki has a personal animosity toward the Anothers from past trauma which often conflicts with Arata's empathy towards them. This trio of workers are a melting pot of contrasting skills and personalities which greatly enhances the overarching narratives and their individual character development.

While speaking the language of Anothers is unique to Arata, his kind-hearted nature coupled with his diligence towards his duties make him the vital bridge that human and Anothers need for harmonious coexistence. He constantly guides his department between the protection of the populace and the non-aggression of local Anothers, taking great efforts to preserve peace and minimize conflicts.

On top of managing these delicate relations, midnight occult civil servants must solve various mysteries associated with supernatural activities. Each episode hands the viewers with an engaging mystery with the protagonists creatively using the available resources, knowledge, and skills to solve them while facing an array of daunting challenges.

The urban setting and nocturnal atmosphere of Shinjuku Ward serves as the eerie backdrop to the bizarre, often chaotic incidents unraveling in the city. What appears as an ordinary metropolis in daylight transforms into an ethereal supernatural world after sunset, where the boundary between the human and the otherworldly creatures blur.

The series is an enchanting amalgamation of urban fantasy, mystery, and folklore creating a captivating series that manages to be eerie, thrilling, and educational all at once. The blend of ancient folklore and modern urban lifestyle paints a vibrant picture of coexistence of various cultures and beings. Moreover, it brilliantly delves into dilemmas around existence, cohabitation, and preservation of age-old traditions in rapidly modernizing societies.

One of the unique points of the series is its willingness to blend often conflicting elements: everyday civil bureaucracy and the fantastical realms of the supernatural; the human desire for peace and stability, yet the unavoidable chaos that ensues from the supernatural world that dwells within.

Throughout it all, Midnight occult civil servants effectively resonates a strong message of peace, coexistence, and understanding despite existing differences among various creatures. For instance, though Anothers can be seen as dangerous or disruptive, Arata's empathetic approach underlines the importance of listening, understanding, and cultivating empathy for the unknown, challenging his team and viewers to engage with Anothers not as threats, but as co-residents of their own city.

Midnight occult civil servants is an engaging urban fantasy interwoven with Japanese folklore that offers a fresh take on the genre. From supernatural mysteries to factions of civil servants dealing with eccentric otherworldly beings, the series is both a spooky supernatural ride and an introspective look at coexistence and interaction among different cultures and species.