Anime-Source's newest staff writer, Izeque, debuts with his spotlight preview based on the first 11 episodes of this historic-based series.


Spotlight Anime Preview
written by Izeque

"The last era in which men lived as men,
placing their lives and beliefs on a single
swing of the blade: The final years of the Shogunate."



If you could slice raindrops in half, you'd place your beliefs on your blade too.


As an era comes to an end, violence becomes common and revolution waits around the corner. In these violent times, the Hasha no Kubi (The Head of the Conqueror/The Lord's Head) appears. The Head of the Conqueror seeks conflict, and those who seek it can gain the power to rule the world. Just as this ancient artifact seeks strife, the Eternal Assassin seeks this artifact in the hopes of sealing it. At least, that's what Sunrise Studio would have you believe in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto (try saying that five times fast).

Those piercing blue eyes appear often...Wait, is he going Super Saiyan!?


Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto starts when Akizuki Yojiro arrives in Yokohama. Upon entering the city, his mysterious eyes glow and his mystifying sword pulls him towards a black-market auction. Coincidentally, a third-rate troupe of actors infiltrates the auction in search of an elusive enemy. Akizuki rushes to the auction at a godly speed. He then slices a huge chest in half with his blade which causes the room to burst into flames. The troupe of actors finally catch sight of their elusive foe as fire blazes, but amidst the chaos, their enemy escaped. Because he ruined their chance at revenge, Akizuki agrees to help the troupe, and the story of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto begins.

For some reason, Akizuki has no nipples. Go figure.


The huge cast of characters is overwhelming in the first few episodes. While trying to learn everyone's name, each character's motive and back-story is barely touched upon. At the same time, you learn almost nothing about Akizuki. When coupled with mysterious villains, the show gets confusing early. It is even more confusing if you don't know very much about Japanese history, because the show is based heavily on historical happenings in Japan. The first few episodes are the weakest point of the series, but if you persevere, you will find a wonderfully interesting series.

That's less than a quarter of the people introduced in the first three episodes.


I'm on unequal footing with the characters. I love all of the villains (especially Nakaiya Jube), who are all mostly hidden in mystery. They're certainly evil and easy for anyone to hate, but their hidden motives keeps them intriguing. For artwork designs, the cast of villains were mostly original, except for one villain who looked like Onikage from Tenchu. Unfortunately, the protagonists mostly were not. Some of their designs were partially copied and obviously derived from other videogame/anime characters. Surprisingly, there are no neutral characters. Instead of working against the show, this actually helps to draw a strong line that is crossed by multiple characters. The building conflict and tension between these two groups of characters also results from the lack of neutral characters. All of the characters work well together with amazing chemistry and balance each other out.

I don't know how they did it, but they somehow made Onikage uglier.


Also, all of the characters are at the very minimum somewhat deep. Conflicting emotions are heavily layered on top of each other in the protagonists, especially Kakunojou who spends a lot of time staring at Akizuki. Kozou's womanizing ways shed new light on his normally revenge-driven personality. Furthermore, hidden motives can be found for every character; no matter what they say, all of them are always moving towards a hidden goal. These extra traits add a lot of depth to each character. Overall, the characters are mostly likeable (except for the ones you're supposed to hate), but some aren't very original and few of them are loveable.

A woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman. Original? Maybe. Hilarious? Definitely.


Once I was settled in with the characters, I found the story rather enjoyable. There are a wide variety of twists spread throughout the story that I didn't see coming. Thankfully, the twists aren't as numerous and pointless as Saw II. Also, the balanced integration of fantasy and history are extremely well used; neither exists separately. If you're looking for comedy, this series isn't full of it, but tidbits of comedy here and there are well used. Like most action animes, this is two opposing sides (in this case, good and evil) fighting each other. Although good and evil is a bit overused, it's hard to say who is good and who is evil; nobody is neutral. Both sides are constantly moving against each other, like a huge chess game. No episodes are wasted, although some dwell too long on one point. However, the countless revelations and realized manipulations drive the series' quick pace. In the end, the story makes the series feel like its moving towards a huge clash that leaves me giddy at the end of each episode. It's like when I first played Ocarina of Time; before I was halfway through the game I was shaking with anticipation for the end. All together, this combines into the best aspect of the show.

For a man with one eye, he's got an uncanny shot.


As for music, it's definitely above average. FictionJunction YUUKA's "Kouya Ruten" (the opening theme) has mostly classical instrumentals that are rather fast paced. The vocalist's strong high-pitched voice and lyrics fit the song well. The opening theme always puts me in the mood for another episode and it gives off a unique sound that makes the series seem epic. The in-show music is even better, especially when the plays are being performed. The music also sets the mood well, especially when it comes to adding tension or making scenes more dramatic. Furthermore, the music makes you feel more in tune with the characters. Unfortunately, I felt like "Ai no Tsurugi" by TAKAKO & THE CRAZY BOYS (the ending theme) didn't fit. The lyrics are somewhat thought-provoking, but the slow song seems to take away from the show's epic feeling. I tend to skip the ending song just to get to the preview of the next episode.

What's up with that Ginyu Force Pose?


The animation is also above average, but nothing ground-breaking. During the day, the scenes are vibrant and full of color. The darks and lights are emphasized and everything is brought to life. Also, the characters are always as beautiful as the backgrounds. Sometimes I find myself touching the screen to make sure it's not real. Unfortunately, the scenes at night are just the opposite. The scenes at night are dull and sapped of any color. There seems to be no actual light or dark values in most of the night scenes, and most of the colors simply meld into a bland gray area of brightness the whole time. This saps all the depth from the shots and makes them seem like 2-D cardboard cutouts.

Even the commercial break animation is beautiful.


Thankfully, most of the night scenes are quick shots full of action, so you don't really notice the lack of depth in some of the shots. As for the action, the action scenes are excellent. They flow smoothly and are incredibly innovative. In the first five or so episodes, the series only gives you a taste, barely enough to whet your tongue. However, episode eight shows what the action can really be like; when watching episode eight, some of the action scenes are reminiscent of some of Akira Kurosawa's work (brilliantly played out, to say the least).

Two master swordsmen versus a master midget swordsman. Need I say more?


Overall, I would say Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto is an excellent series that you should at least give a try. This series started out somewhat slow, but the pace is speeding up. The characters vary like the music, but overall they help the show more than they hurt it. The story is intriguing and the action scenes are beautiful. This series has been making all the right moves so far, and it continues to improve. If you liked Rurouni Kenshin or Basilisk, be sure to check this one out.