Ranked #2019

Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny

Before reading the review of Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny (DD), please go watch the 1st season first as this is a direct sequel to the story of Ikkitousen.

I have to write this down before I forget again. I always question myself whenever I watch an episode of Ikkitousen. “What happen to the school staffs (you know, teachers, caretakers, principles, etc)?” I don’t ever recall seeing them in any school…let me know if you find them anywhere in the series.

Next up are some useful reference for watching this fan-service heavy anime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chibi

The entire DD basically circle around the two themes above. If you know some background history on them, you'll not be as confused.

Those who have read my review for the original Ikkitousen will have to bare with me here for a bit as I'll be repeating the same usual stuff again like "IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN CHINESE HISTORY (though rather twisted if you ask me), AND IF YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO DIG OUT SOME HEAVY FAN SERVICING ANIME, THEN THIS IS NOT FOR YOU!"

Finally, let us move on to the review of this wonder show.

Story:
Continuing from where we left off in Ikkitousen, the showdown between the Three Kingdoms has finally arrived. The story eventually lead us to a new Battle of Chibi...nothing too original, just ripped out of the real Romance of the Three Kingdom. And according to history, the Battle of Chibi is really the beginning of the Three Kingdom...not quite the same as in DD.

Art:
Great advances over the original Ikkitousen, though there's still room for improvement. Overall it wouldn't kill your eyes watching it.

Sound:
Both the OP and ED are quite catchy, no complains here. Maybe it lacks some good music in between, that's about it.

Character:
Okay….this is perhaps the one thing I really hate about Dragon Destiny (though the first season didn't do such a good job either), it is this….WHY ARE THEY MAKING HONOURABLE HISTORIC FIGURES ACT LIKE BLOOD THIRSTY MONSTERS!?!?!? I am particularly disappointed with how they portrait Sousou (aka Cao Cao) in DD. In the actual Romance of the Three Kingdom, he’s a very wise leader. Not some blood sucker who goes around killing his own men.

Also, similar to the first season, they've once again attempted to include too many characters. This results in many of them being killed right after they are introduced (I find this just plain stupid...you see this guy's name up 10 seconds ago, then you see him lying on the ground).

Enjoyment/Overall:
Again what I said about the 1st season applies to DD as well. I don't recommend Ikkitousen to people looking for fan service. It is better for you to watch hentai. Seriously, there are more than enough scenes in DD that are on par to hentai. However I do recommend this to fellows who might want to see how the story of Romance of the Three Kingdom can be turned into in a modern day Japan. Overall, I enjoyed the anime and had no regret watching it.

Now let's move on to the 3rd season. read more

Guilty pleasure is truly the only way to explain this awful, yet enjoyable train-wreak of, well, a franchise really. Certainly not a series to watch if you are unable to leave a large portion of moral proprietary at the door. Based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in this instalment, we are introduced to a slew of new characters to add to the old, with a large focus on the students of Seito.

Story - As always, any series in the Ikkitousen franchise always struggles a little with small things like plot. It does have the potential to be interesting, and they certainly do it well enough to keep me interested in spite of its many, many flaws, but there is a vast difference between something being enjoyable and something being good. This falls in the enjoyable category.

Art - So the very first thing that needs to be mentioned when looking at DD's art is the fanservice, which plays such a large part in the entire franchise that it deserves its own casting credit. Ikkitousen has fanservice and buckets of it. Its excessive, and intrusive and will ultimately be a make-or-break factor in trying to get through it. There will be exploding clothes, upskirt shots and fetishes left, right and centre. Consider yourself forewarned, although chances are if your considering watching this then you've already seen the first and know what to expect anyway.

The artwork is quite impressive, with some character designs receiving an update. Most notably is Kan'u, who instantly becomes a much more impressive character with the hidden eye. Backgrounds are mostly standard and unremarkable in a passable way.

Sound - The OP is not quite as tragic as the first series, but remains a long way from being good. The soundtrack is fitting, with appropriate scoring for slower scenes and faster paced tracks for action. There is a particular piano based piece that is particularly poignant a succeeds in heightening emotion at the appropriate times. ED is a cookie-cutter ballad.

Character - Less focus on Nanyo and more on Seito definitely works in making the series more enjoyable for me. The character interactions within the Seito group introduce something lacking in the first instalment. However, the bad guys in DD are perhaps not as one-mindedly insane, they are also not quite as effective as before.

Enjoyment and Overall - Of the series watched thus far (which includes Great Guardians), DD remains my favourite. A better balance of action and slower scenes, and a better cast. Ikkitousen DD will never be accused of being a good anime, and will certainly never win any awards for anything more than "Series with the most blatant fanservice ever to exist", but it is entertaining, which is something that can be hard to find. read more