No spoilers :)

Influence follows the lives of three girls–Yuri, Maho and Satoko. Yuri and Satoko have been friends since childhood but they were estranged after Yuri’s parents forbade her from visiting Satoko. At that tender age, Yuri was unable to help Satoko who was being sexually abused by her grandfather.

In high school, Yuri meets Maho, a girl who is ostracized for her wealth and her “difference” from other girls.

To protect each other from abuse, the three girls commit a string of murders and such is the story related by Yuri to the author Oikawa Tomomi, tto get this story written and shared with the world. But wait, there’s more.

Influence is true to the title and talks about the "influence," the effect which these hideous events have had on these three girls. Right when the viewers begin to wonder “why do these girls keep murdering the assailant everytime,” the title reminds us the answer. That these girls have been shaped and moulded by their pasts, their mindset has been influenced by the experiences where nobody stood up for them.

“I want children to be in a world where they can trust adults.”

—Totsuka Yuri, Influence (Ep. 5)

Influence tells a story of an unconventional friendship born out of gruesome circumstances but one which can withstand any storm for the other.

Beautiful flowers do bloom out on strong roots but Yuri, Maho and Satoko have had to rely on themselves to spread roots, but eventually they bloom with a strange wild grace (and the occasional homicidal tendencies).

With a well-paced storyline and unexpected plot twists that make sense, Influence is a wild journey which I loved to be part of. 8.5/10» An awesome show which impressed me. (My rating scale is on my profile :)