The Tougen Anki anime is here, and surprisingly, it’s one of the hot new age shounen manga that I didn’t read, mostly because the start was WAY too generic for me. That being said, I did watch the first two episodes of the anime. I’m not impressed, but I’m also not disappointed. It’s a mixed bag.
Meet Shiki, the biggest Naruto clone ever
So the stubborn, aggressive, all-in-your-face shounen protagonist trope is first on the list. I just described the main character, btw, and his name is Shiki. He’s your usual insufferable brat that Tsuyoshi adopted. Tsuyoshi’s the name of his adopted father. Their relationship is complicated, mostly because of the two factions that exist in this world.
The two (warring) factions in question are the Momotarou and the Oni, who kill each other on a regular basis. Tsuyoshi is a Momotarou, and his adopted son, our titular protag, is an Oni. The first guys use some shadow magic powers to fight while the Oni control their blood to fight.
Shiki is also a gun nut, something you don’t see in Japan, or manga, very often. We see that from the very beginning of episode one. He also tells Tsuyoshi he’s not his real dad right at the start as well, truly speedrunning the shounen introduction story. The pace is quicker than The Flash at full speed, but it’s not the worst thing ever. It’s not every enjoyable, either, though.
The pacing is trying to win a race
After the heart-wrenching (not really) talk between father and adopted son, we have a very SMALL TIME FRAME where Tsuyoshi leaves and Shiki immediately gets attacked by someone from the Momotaru organisation. The Tougen Anki anime has 0 time to wait, you can’t explore the character or the world at all, you have to MOVE THE PLOT FORWARD AT ALL COSTS, ALL AT BREAKNECK PACE.
Anyhow, these two get in a little scuffle, and then the dad returns to save his son from his ex-commrade, because, of course, who else could it be?
I kid you not, in one episode, we get:
- Small backstory of how Tsuyoshi adopts Shiki as a kid
- Talk between Shiki and Tsuyoshi where Shiki tells him, “You’re not my real dad.”
- The enemy attacks
- The dad dies to save his son
- The son awakens his crazy powers due to seeing his dad die, and goes berserk
- The mentor character shows up to save the protagonist from the general public
What the actual hell? I don’t remember the manga going at such a pace? Or maybe it did, and the author just wanted to get ALL OF THE SHOUNEN STARTER TROPES out of the way to get the story going. Which is fine, I don’t mind it, as long as either:
a) The animation and the fights are crazy, everything else is just padding to get to that
b) The story and the world are super interesting, so skipping over the setup can be forgiven
c) It’s all done in a very subversive and unique way, so you don’t feel like you’re on a rollercoaster of exposition
None of these apply to the Tougen Anki anime, unfortunately.
The fights and the animation are pretty unique
One thing I will admit about the Tougen Anki anime, the fights are pretty unique, at least in terms of animation. Studio Hibari mixes CGI and 2D shots to present a really fun approach to the action, which is kinetic, visually complex and pretty explosive (which is funny cus our main dude uses his Oni blood to make weapons, like rocket launchers). I hope he uses more rocket launchers.
To be fair, it’s not Godlike CGI level like Beastars or Trigun: Stampede, but it’s far above your average CGI anime. Going back to Shiki, he’s an Oni, as said before, and they use their blood to fight. Since Shiki is a gun nut, once he goes berserk, he instinctively forms all sorts of guns and uses them to rain hell down on his enemies. And it’s freaking awesome, he mixes long-range and close range moves to keep his enemies on their toes at all times.
Now, in the Tougen Anki anime episode 2, we see how he controls his powers, which basically lets him stay conscious but he only formed one gun on his arm. So, there’s a LONG ROAD ahead of him being able to materialise multiple guns, like he does in berserk mode. Still, his fighting style will definitely be fun to observe, especially if he figures out unique ways to apply the wide arrange of guns he can form.
We meet the rest of the Tougen Anki characters in episode 2, but we don’t see their powers. We see how his sensei with the umbrella fights, and he also looks cool as hell in battle. So, my hopes are high.
Should you watch Tougen Anki?
Listen, if you’re a shounen fan, you’re already watching Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise (which is such a dumb name, btw). If you’re not a shounen fan, these first two episodes absolutely won’t do anything to hook you in. It’s so by the books and rushed and all over the place that it feels like taking a rollercoaster ride while you’re super drunk.
Not the best experience, definitely not for your average anime fan, but for your average shounen fan? This is going to hit like crack, so at least the author knew his audience while making the manga, which is why he’s speedrunning the set-up part of the story.
Where to watch Tougen Anki?
You can watch the Tougen Anki anime on Netflix and Crunchyroll, and probably other places. Also, to not get confused, the manga is Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood. Looking up that won’t get you anywhere. No idea why they made a different name for the anime.
If you need more anime reviews and recommendations, look here. If you need some manga recommendations, then go here.
