魍魎の匣
Mouryou no Hako
Between August and October, 1952, a series of unusual crimes takes place in Musashino and Mitaka: the attempted murder of 14-year-old Kanako Yuzuki, Kanako's abduction from the strange research "hospital" where she was recovering, then abductions of other girls, followed by their severed limbs in custom-fitted boxes being placed in surrounding towns. News editor Morihiko Toriguchi and crime fiction writer Tatsumi Sekiguchi investigate with the help of onmyōji Akihiko Chūzenji. Meanwhile, Tōkyō police detective Shutaro Kiba searches for Kanako, despite Kanagawa police having jurisdiction; and the lawyer for the estate of Kanako's grandfather hires private investigator Reijiro Enokizu to find Kanako, as well. Their investigation uncovers bizarre truths and dark family secrets along the way. (Source: Anime News Network)
Names
| Original | 魍魎の匣 (japanese) |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Mouryou no Hako |
| English | — |
| Chinese | 魍魉之匣 (unknown · via wikidata) |
| Also known as | Moryo no Hako · Box of Goblins |
Facts
| Format | TV series · 13 ep · 23 min · 5h total |
|---|---|
| Aired | 2008-10-08 → 2008-12-31 (Autumn 2008) |
| Status | FINISHED |
| Studio | MADHOUSE |
| Source | Novel |
| Origin | Japan (Anime) |
| Genres | MysterySupernaturalThriller |
| Themes | HistoricalAchronological OrderEnsemble CastDetectivePolicePrimarily Adult CastPhilosophyRural |
Reception
| Community score | 6.94 / 10 |
|---|---|
| Bayesian score | 7.15 / 10 |
| Composite | 48.5 |
| On lists | 14,958 |
| Favourited | 152 (1.0%) |
| Completion | 66.7% |
| Drop rate | 12.4% |
| In backlog | 63.2% |
| Score spread σ | 1.86 |
Score distribution
Where it places
| Cohort | Value | Tier | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast season | Autumn 2008 | D | 43 of 77 |
| Source material | Novel | D | 109 of 170 |
| Year | 2008 | C | 115 of 231 |
| Genre | Thriller | D | 134 of 188 |
| Studio | MADHOUSE | D | 155 of 229 |
| Genre | Mystery | D | 440 of 652 |
| Era | Late 2000s | C | 568 of 1,149 |
| Genre | Supernatural | D | 775 of 1,234 |
| Season (all years) | Autumn | D | 1,073 of 1,921 |
| Length | Single-cour | D | 1,395 of 2,668 |
| Format | TV series | D | 1,882 of 3,322 |
| Origin | Japan | D | 3,767 of 7,157 |
Key staff
| Director | Ryousuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Kaneko |
|---|---|
| Series composition | Sadayuki Murai |
| Character design | CLAMP, Asako Nishida |
| Original creator | Natsuhiko Kyougoku, CLAMP |
Franchise — 魍魎の匣
Related
| Relation | Year | Title |
|---|---|---|
| side story | 2009 | Mouryou no Hako Special |
| other | 2025 | The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei: He Just Solves All the Mysteries |
AniList id 4879 · MAL id 4879 · record updated 2026-08-26