Plot Summary
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto takes place at the cusp between the Edo and Meiji eras of japanese history, when the xenophobiac isolation of the country was finally brought to an end, and groups of foreign people started to factor in japanese affairs. At this delicate time, an ancient mystic artifact called the Head of the Conqueror reappeared after being dormant for a long time. Its effect is to affect people’s minds and drive them to war and conflict, as a way to progress and shape history. This means that whoever possesses the head can guide and rule the country’s destiny, so there are many people seeking it out for themselves. A lonely mercenary named Akizuki Yojiro is included among them, but for a different reason; he is the so-called Eternal Assassin, and is mystically bound to track the head down in order to destroy it.
In Yojiro’s journeys as he wanders in search of the head, he meets various key people of the history of Japan, and many aspirants who try to stop him in order to claim the artifact. There is also a theatrical troupe which traval across the country, with a hidded agenda to exact revenge for the murder of the parents of the troupe’s leader. Interestingly, this goal has the often cross paths with Akizuki.
Review
The series takes place during the Bakumatsu era of the Edo period – and if you don’t know what that means, you are at an immediate disadvantage. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto is an historical anime in a very literal sense of the term, having historical fact as its core and support. The plot is constantly beset with historical figures and events or battles which actually took place in the regions visited during the series. In fact, the historical references quickly multiply to the point where the setting becomes absolutely sprawling, and it is perhaps difficult to identify and absorb all introduced characters and events and their significance. This would probably not be a problem for the initial intended audience of the series in Japan, as I imagine that most of the events being referenced are part of the japanese educational curriculum. For the rest of us, having a history guide or encyclopedia handy to look up names and battles would be extremely useful at clarifying the setting. Understandably enough, this need for book keeping or knack for history greatly affects the viewers’ opinion of the series. Personally I think that finding such a nicely interconnected historic fantasy anime is very rare, so I welcomed it openly.
On the other hand, the fantasy element is much less interesting. Having a severed undying head mystically affecting people and armies into making war sounds like a plot taken out of a cheesy of a war god movie. In a series with so much attention to historical truth, having such a weak hook for the characters to follow seems like a cop-out. The writers could have instead conjured an overreaching political intrigue as a menace, or something equally secretive and foreboding; the supernaturally preserved head feels shallow in comparison.
The series follows two sets of characters, each with their own agenda. One the one hand there is a young samurai nicknamed the Eternal Assassin, who chiefly follows the mystical head and downsizes those that it has managed to subvert. On the other hand there is a theatrical group who roam the country displaying their show while on the same time plotting revenge against the death of some former members of the group. These two plot threads are not initially interrelated, but they eventually meander around each other and are tied together by common agents. What is more, Akizuki’s battles are very nicely paralleled with the kabuki performances of the troupe, which offer some much-needed variance in the environment of a mostly loyal historical adaptation. The screen time is divided in such a way that the two converging plots complement each other nicely, to the benefit of the viewer.
The kabuki troupe is also where most of the character development of the series takes place. Especially two of the staff, the leader and Sotetsu-sensei (the playwright) develop greatly throughout the series. Their advancement is not sudden or explosive; instead they gain more depth as they roam the country and gain new information and character interactions. By comparison, Akizuki remains mostly stable in terms of both character and fighting technique. The rest of the cast are more or less unnoteworthy. There is also some attempt to flesh out the characters which correspond to historical figures, but they are not given much screen time, so the result is a bit cryptic; one ought to read a biography in order to properly understand their context.
At their best, the graphics are breathtaking, with very nicely choreographed battles and very detailed backdrops. Being a series set in an era of historical transition, the character designs show great amounts of variation, from traditional feudal era garments to western three-piece suits, with some fantasy elements occasionally thrown in some characters’ designs for good measure. Unfortunately, the design quality is not consistently great, and often shows obvious signs of being a rushed job. The backdrops becomes dull and unfocused, and character designs vary according to the presence of fill-in artists. The variance is not extreme, and the animation succeeds in being sharp and vibrant whenever it needs to (i.e. during action scenes), but I think that the series could have been much better with consistent art.
The sound score, on the other hand, is at least very good, with epic riffs complementing the historical backdrop, which show great variance according to the events being depicted. The OP stands out as it is very appealing and it suits the tone of the series well (the ED is less successful but not actively bad). The character voices are consistently competent, with no great surprises even though there are some nice voice actors being involved. Personally I expected more from Namikawa Daisuke (Akizuki’s voice actor), as I was impressed by his work in Beck, but Akizuki is a bit on the stoic side so we don’t get to see his talent in parlay.
It is not easy to recommend this anime series. Much of its attraction is to (japanese) history buffs, who will thoroughly enjoy the deeply embossed historical references. For the rest of us, it is a blend of history and fantasy with some nice action scenes, some kabuki eye candy, and detailed but obscure cultural information; it remains watchable, but it loses much of what would otherwise make it memorable or unique.
Stats
Type: Series
Length: 26 X 20 min
Rating
Production: 7/10
Plot: 6/10
Setting: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
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