Picture this: you’re an evil spirit, one that’s spent a couple of centuries held captive by the town they’re supposed to be cursing. After a long, long wait, you finally break free from the curse, only to find that the things you were aiming to seek revenge on are long gone. So now, with rage no longer wallowing in one’s gut, what’s an evil spirit to do? If you’re the titular Dara-san of the Reiwa Era, you’d make the best of what you’ve got. And the best she’s got are a pair of siblings who are more than gleeful to hang out with her.

The latest anime from Asahi Production (Gushing Over Magical Girls), Dara-san of the Reiwa Era balances a tale of horror with a lighthearted slice-of-life comedy. Unlike the Higurashi series, the horrors have since long passed. Dara-san (Mutsumi Tamura) was once a respected shrine maiden, with her older sister (Saori Hayami) jealous of her skills. After unleashing an evil snake spirit, the sister tricks the town into thinking that Dara was responsible. As such, the town brutally murders Dara, chopping off her arms and legs and desecrating her body.

Immediately, Dara’s soul is intertwined with the snake’s, transforming her into a six-armed reptilian behemoth. She slaughters everyone, and soon finds herself locked within her surroundings. That is, until hundreds of years later, when siblings Hinata (Minami Tsuda) and Kaoru (Momoka Terasawa) free her from her spiritual chains. And when Dara-san discovers that her thirst for blood is all but naught, she finds herself with one option: just go with the flow of what the day’s got planned for her!

When the show goes back and forth between the past and present, Dara-san of the Reiwa Era surprisingly does a fine job with the tonal balance. When you see the things Dara went through thanks to her conniving sister, one can’t help but get a good case of the creeps. This anime never holds back from the gore and violence that Dara went through, to the point where some viewers may feel uncomfortable by her torturous death. However, once the show switches back to the present, you’re quickly reminded that Dara is doing pretty okay for herself now.

Well…as well as a giant inverted-nippled snake lady can be. And her new lease on life can be attributed to the siblings that freed her. The cross-dressing Hinata and the tomboy Kaoru are simply excited to have Dara as a new friend, even if the giant snake lady seems hesitant to do anything with them. But as time goes by, Dara starts appreciating these two knuckleheads in her life, as she’s given a new lease on life that allows her to forego her bloody past and embrace a brighter future. Whether it’s building toy robots, playing video games, or selling items at a local bazaar, Dara can’t help but feel some sort of joy for all the things she does with Hinata and Kaoru.

Of course, there has to be some sort of threat that’s lingering in the forest. Sometimes, that threat is the original snake monster Orochi (Hochu Otsuka), who aims to reclaim his body from Dara-san. He latches onto Kaoru’s classmate Amane (Aoi Koga), who has an inkling about what’s been attached to her soul. However, just like Dara, Orochi finds himself stuck doing fun, girly things with Amane, Kaoru, and her other friends. Worse: because of Kaoru and Hinata’s family bloodline, he’ll have a very, very hard time achieving his goal due to their spiritual strength.

In other cases, Dara-san of the Reiwa Era puts a focus on another cursed area of the forest. When this occurs, things can get horrifying fast. One scenario has a live-streamer infiltrating a cursed object, all for the sake of likes and subscriptions. But once the curse hits her, there’s no turning back, resulting in the truly grotesque sight of limbs being hacked off. When this anime wants to get gory, it does so with great strides!

But the heart of this anime is its humor, which comes in strides thanks in part to the siblings Hinata and Kaoru. The two of them are delightful goofballs, embracing a sort of stupidity that can be described as brave and carefree. Dara could kill these siblings if she wanted to, and at first, that’s exactly her plan. However, she quickly changes her tune when Dara sees just how entertaining and harmless Hinata and Kaoru are.

And it’s their interactions with the giant snake lady that make Dara-san of the Reiwa Era a must-watch! Not being one to spoil every punchline this show delivers, but whenever Hinata and Kaoru drag Dara into another situation, you’re either treated with wonderful wordplays and banter, or you’ll be given the sight of Dara being forced to take on a various amount of human roles. Even though Hinata and Kaoru still have their parents with them, Dara becomes something of a cool aunt figure that adds an extra dose of joy and excitement into the siblings’ lives. Despite the more disturbing back story elements of Dara’s past, you’ll often find yourself walking (or slithering) away with a fang-toothed grin on your face when the episode’s finished.

I’ll admit that there are some things about Dara-san of the Reiwa Era that may make it tough for everyone to sit down and enjoy. The violent scenes are unsettling, and some may be weirded out that Dara interacts with the kids completely topless in the first couple of episodes. However, if you’re able to overlook those couple of aspects, then you’ll find that Dara-san of the Reiwa Era easily offers a silly, spooky, and satisfyingly entertaining watch from start to finish.

“Dara-san of the Reiwa Era” can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-8 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.