Koihime†Musou

An anime adaptation of the eroge “Koihime Musou” which in turn is loosely based on the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” novel, it takes a more novel and surprising approach than we are used to for anime series that are based on eroge. Already quite different is the fact all of the famous characters from “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” are female in “Koihime Musou”.

But instead of having a male lead character that all the female characters fawn over and desire to be with, the “Koihime Musou” anime forgoes this classical harem and omits the male lead character from the eroge. The anime focuses more ... on Kan'u Unchou and the many other girls she encounters and befriends on her journey to bring peace throughout the war torn and crime infested lands.

A nice change from the many harem series out there and with its all-female cast “Koihime Musou” pulls the card of comedy and suggested shouju-ai or yuri relationships. Though most of the yuri related scenes are either humoristic in nature or pure fanservice, at no time are serious bonds or relationships really thoroughly explored save for the bond of sisterhood that forms between Kan'u and Chouhi.
From the yuri related scenes, Kan'u is the appealing victim of most, whether she's being teased by Chouun, embarrassed by Chouhi or openly pursued by Sousou. As the series progresses, the viewer can't help but wonder who will try to go after Kan'u next or which yuri joke will befall her.

That being said, “Koihime Musou” still focuses mainly on the humour and situations the characters find themselves in. While there is a certain amount of action it's primarily used for the overarching plot of Kan'u trying to bring more peace to the people and as such does not play a pivotal role.
“Koihime Musou” is really all about cute girls sharing laughs on their journey together.

As such, the series is also mostly episodic with each episode telling a tale of how Kan'u and her travelling party befriend someone new, defeat a foe encountered on their path or have other adventures. This goes from working at a restaurant to participating in a martial arts contest, an eating contest, fighting bandits, solving a kidnapping case,...

Next to Kan'u, the series revolves mainly around her companions Chouhi, Koumei, as well as Sei and Bachou when they are present in her party. I had hoped Ryofu would play a bigger part but alas she was only featured briefly.
Although Sei is featured in many episodes, during the latter half she strays from Kan'u's party and appears less which is a shame since her character's interaction with Kan'u is always a hoot.

Except for some of the main characters like Chouhi, Koumei and Bachou, most of the girls do not especially have any meaningful character evolution and as such they seem to remain rather superficial characters since there's little chance to really delve into their pasts or personae. But given the nature of the series, a relaxing comedy rife filled with attractive girls, this isn't really bothersome.

The final episodes sees Ryuubi, the only male character appear, but although he seems to be able to seduce Kan'u at first he ends up earning her wrath and quickly flees. Perhaps this can be seen as some sort of hint that Kan'u ends up choosing the life where she can travel and live with her female companions where no man's love is welcome or needed? Who knows... but in the spirit and atmosphere of the series, this leads to a very fitting conclusion.


Animation throughout “Koihime Musou” is quite good and many episodes feature scenes that represent the characters in a cute chibi form, the same as in the episodes' ending sequence. All of the female characters are portrayed with unique hairstyles and lavishly decorated and coloured outfits. The cast is physically diverse, from tall, long haired beauties with (very) large bosoms to smaller, flat chested girls. No doubt to cater the different tastes of the audience.
Since the series focuses on the girls, they receive the best animation and detail treatment, usually a feast for the eyes!


The soundtrack is average, it supports the series nicely and the more upbeat opening song and cute ending track are an indication the series is all about watching cute girls and having lots of laughs without being about anything too serious or dramatic.


If you're looking for a nice comedy rife with cute maidens that also offers a zest of shouju-ai/yuri, then this series may certainly be a worthwhile viewing experience!

Koihime Musou is a very light anime that doesn't requires the viewer to analyze much. At first, due to the way the characters act, the colors applied to the anime, and the different songs and sound effects that you get to hear, you think this anime is very childish and that it's directed to kids. However, this anime contains a lot of lesbian-like comments, jokes, scenes, and dialogues; at some point, if the director/writer would've wanted, this anime could even have turned into a hentai.

The story is very naive: a black-haired, martial artist teenager girl sets out on a journey to defeat all the bandits ... she encounters and rid the world of evil, while having a younger girl tag along with her due to some circumstances. On the way of fulfilling their journey, they meet new fighters, some being rivals in some way and some being very friendly, and even tagging along with them.

Line art and animation is very good. I, personally, didn't like the colors applied since they seemed too childish and gave the impression that "everything's great and happy!", making the anime sillier than it already was with the story.

All the audio-related stuff regarding this anime was just alright, including voice acting. It was as good as needed in order for the series to run smoothly.

The way most of the characters act are somewhat based on the characters of the original Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (if you've seen Ikkitousen or read the novel, you might understand the characters of this series better). In Koihime Musou, however, they ALL act extremely childish (warning: they might get to your nerves, eventually). Also, all of the characters are female, except for the bandits and a couple of servants. It's funny how the bandits all look the same, yet every time they encounter each other (the main character and the bandits) it's as if they've never met before. Another thing is, why in God's name does each character have 3 or 4 names? Simplify things and help the viewer a little bit! To finish up with the characters, all of them used spears, except for maybe one or two sword-users; there are hundreds of weapons where to choose from, vary them a little!

The only reason i'd tell you to watch this anime is if you like watching lesbian-like situations going on between the characters; in other words, if you're an ecchi fan. If you don't like it, don't waste time and watch something else.

Although i have only watch the first episode of Koihime Musou, this anime shows good potential to be an excellent anime to watch. The characters are well animated, and the story seems interesting and full of potential. I realize this is made after a hentai game, which make this anime more intrigung, but i have yet to see anything about the game as of yet. Koihime Musou will surely be full of action and humor but the bottom line is if your looking for something new to watch, this will very likely be worth your time.
Yea, i realize that i'm repeating myself ... a little, but just WATCH IT & ENJOY.

Koihime Musou is unexpectedly more of a comedy anime. I was expecting something a bit more serious and action-packed but it turns out to be a funnier version of Ikkitousen with less service and less action. If you like girls and comedy then this is a title you shouldn't miss.

The story is a joke. It's based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and it was supposed to be about a girl on a journey to find a way to change the chaotic, war-torn world. They just took things from there and then made a comedy, service anime with some respectable action here and there. ... It's like that but that's why it's funny so it's alright on my book.

The art is one of the best points, good animation with very good character designs, well mostly very good character designs because I wasn't satisfied with all of them. This anime could have been a lot better if the greatness of the action animation scenes is constant.

The sounds are fine. The music is s'orayt, not something you'd really want to hear a lot but it's alright, and I believe that all the voices of the characters are good.

The characters, well, all of the girls have awesome points like being beautiful, having god-like skills or just being really funny. I liked most of the girls and that's the problem, I only liked most. Some were just lame, extra-like or annoyingly uninteresting. There's also this tiring trio of weak bad guys, which usually have roles of bandits. The trio appear a lot in the show and they're different people in each episode, meaning they haven't met with the main characters before.

The story is not so good, The art is nice, the sounds are alright, the characters are funny and I enjoyed it a lot. It has a lot of flaws but it's still good comedy.

Koihime†Musou was an enjoyable to watch, but only for its comedy element.

The story is loosely based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but it's pretty loose. The anime itself is mostly episodic scenes where Kanu travels across the land, defeating bandits and saving the day. Along the way, she meets and befriends fellow female warriors, all who are scantily-dressed and could kick ass very easily. Together, they visit villages and towns, repelling bandit and evil armies from destroying the peace.

The art and sound were decent. Nothing bad, but nothing that shined either.

Characters are your generic anime heroines with strengths and weaknesses. Kanu is the average, ... balanced protagonist, while her chibi-friend Chouhi is brave, but immature. Then there's Chouun, who I think is homosexual, but that aside, she's the humor of the party.

Overall, Koihime†Musou was enjoyable to watch, especially the latter half of the episodes, as more characters become involved in the episodic stories. The comedy was especially hilarious, although beware (or rejoice, depending on your tastes) most are in the form of sexual jokes and misunderstandings.

I recommend watching Koihime†Musou if you're seeking for some lighthearted, action, comedy anime.

Okay, this is a review of the entire anime series. The other one was inaccurate.

Story - 1/10

Story doesn't make any sense at all. First, it should of started in the Yellow Turban Rebellion so we can atleast have a brief introduction of the characters. Second, I absolutely HATE, and yes, REALLY HATE, the settings of the story. I want to see Sun Jian (Sonken Bundai) in this, yet Sonsaku has to rule already. The HELL? The story should of started from there, and atleast, to Hu Lao Gate. It should of ended where Dong Zhuo turned out to have escaped, and Fan Chou was killed ... instead. Kazuto should also appear in this anime somehow. The next part should be atleast Cao Cao (Sousou) invading Yuan Shao (Enshou) @ Guan Du.

Art - 10/10

Although this anime lacks a good story, I love the artwork the creators did. Though, they could of done better.

Sound - 9/10.

I LOVE THE OP! Flower of Bravery is probably the best song I ever heard! I added it to my iPod.

Character - 2/10

WHAT DO I HAVE TO SAY HERE?!?!?!?! EHEM, I DO NOT LIKE GAN NING (KANNEI) AS A COMMANDER!!! WHAT THE HELL? WHY DID YOU MADE GAN NING A SUPERIOR TO HER SUPURIOR LU MENG (RYOMOU)?!??! ARE YOU GUYS OBVIOUSLY EFFING RETARDED? JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sorry, for my rage. I got so ANGRY when I saw a few of the characters OOC... UGH, I hate that! Although I like Cao Cao and Wen Chou (Bunshuu), WHY THE HELL IS YUAN SHAO (EN SHOU) ENEMIES WITH CAO CAO!?!?!? Shouldn't they be childhood effing FRIENDS???!?! UGH, then that ugly PIG, Lu Xun (Rikuson)... I WAS EXPECTING TO SEE LU XUN A SEXY ASS SMOKEY HAIRED, LAVA TRIMMED, HOT SUITED PYROMANIAC, BUT WHAT DO I SEE? SOME FAT ASS WOMAN WITH BIG ASS BOOBS!!! WHAT THE HELL!?!?!??!?!

Okay, I'm DONE reviewing the characters, LETS CONTINUE BEFORE I SPITE MORE RAGE AT THE LACK OF EFFING CHA- OH NOW THAT BRINGED ME TO THAT!!!!

Where the HELL is Guan Ping? Guan Suo? Guan Xing? CAO PI!?!?! I wanted to see MORE CHARACTERS, but do I? NO! I only see THE ORIGINAL ONES!!

BAKADA!!!

Enjoyment - 8/10

Although most of the other parts were crap (COUGHCHARACTERSCOUGH), I really enjoyed watching it. The comedy made me continuously laughing and some parts were extremely funny due to this. Ahh, I love how Ecchi animes make a smile come to my face :)

So? Overall Score?

I would give it a 10/10, but if they had imporved the characters and story, I'd rate it higher. So I rate it 3 for that particular reason. Although, the enjoyment is wonderful to watch, so if you want to watch the anime to find Cao Cao having some nice hot fun with her wife, Lady Bian, Cao Ren fingering her panties, Gan Ning getting slapped HARD in the back by Lu Meng? ... Don't watch it.

Comedy? DO WATCH. It's FUNNY!

For Anime loving sakes? Watch it.

Koihime†Musou is an adaptation of an H-game based on a gender-swapped Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You know, the epic Chinese tale set at the end of the second century AD. With just that much information, you've probably already made an initial judgment of the series. So if you're not a fan of ero-games turned anime or the idea of historical generals re imagined as jailbait, Koihime won't do enough to convert you to the genre. If you read the description and thought, "fanservice, lesbians, and ass-kicking!" rejoice! For this anime delivers on those promises.

Koihime†Musou knows what kind of show it is and it makes ... the effort to please its target audience rather than try to stretch itself to appeal to everyone. Above all, this means that it looks incredible. Character designs are a colorful mix of greens, pinks, light blues, and yellows. The outfits worn are elegant, sexy, and highly detailed, even during combat sequences. The fight scenes, also are surpassing in quality, with a level of fluidity in movement that shows the animators took pride in their work. Intended to be eye candy, Koihime is a great big bar of chocolate. Of course, that level of quality can't be maintained through the entire episode, so the animation will at times switch to super-deformed designs with simplistic backgrounds. These SD sequences, however, are used to great effect in the comedy portions of the show and are thus easily forgiven.

The comedy of Koihime is another of its strengths. The show is able to handle both playfully silly situations, such as Chouhi's overly energetic antics, and the more risqué banter of characters familiar with physical intimacy, which find frequent fodder in Kan'u and Chouhi's pact of sisterhood or Kan'u's virginity. The writers also know how to use a joke multiple times but still recognize when to stop before it has worn out its welcome. The bit about Kan'u being known as the "beautiful bandit hunter", for instance, is used frequently in the first few episodes, but stops appearing before it becomes tiresome.

Since the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is such a widely known and adapted work, the characters don't require the same kind of exposition as if this were an original franchise. The show does provide a little backstory for some of the more notable figures and a couple episodes are devoted to character development, but those familiar with the original material or some of its derivatives will easily be able to pick out a good number of the characters based on a few traits or whom they associate with. Indeed, the difficulty in this situation becomes how to make these personalities stand out from the numerous other variations while remaining true to the spirit of the individual. Koihime†Musou requires maybe a little leniency on faithfulness, but this is acceptable when the reduction in enmity between the historical players creates the more interesting interactions that make the show enjoyable.

The plot of this anime may be its weakest point. While the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a sweeping epic of war and political intrigue, Koihime is an episodic adventure. Characters will join with Kan'u on her meandering journey for a few episodes, and then part ways, perhaps returning again later. There is a small spattering of intrigue, but aside from the nonspecific threat of bandits roaming the countryside, nothing really approaches an overarching story. Not that there's anything wrong with that; many shows try to be something grander than they are meant to be and turn out less because of that, so Koihime†Musou avoiding that pitfall is a good thing. There are a small handful of episodes that hold messages about trying one's best and the importance of friendship, but these are mostly the episodes in which Kan'u meets the characters that stay with her for longer parts of the series, so the moral isn't overbearing. The final couple episodes do get a little more serious than most of the rest of the series, but even if that were a bad thing, it is easily justified by the final battle (which features two highly recognizable badass moments) and a very entertaining plot twist.

Koihime†Musou is not a deep series, and it is better for not trying to be. It is a comfort food, like marshmallows. Big, fluffy marshmallows.

I decided to pick up Koihime Musou since I enjoy fantasy adventure series, and it looked like it might also fit in with the part of me that enjoys ecchi comedies as well. But it was definitely not what I was looking for.

After watching the first 5 episodes, I found myself trying to find other things to do on my lunch breaks, and I only watched the next 5 out of what felt like an obligation to get though what I was hoping to be a lull in the series.

Characters:
I think one of the drawing factors of the anime was the variety of characters, each ... of whom seemed to have their own type of weapon of specialty. I was hoping for an equally varied group of personalities, but I felt like they all had a lot of the same basic characteristics: a sense of justice, no blood family left, desire to be great, jealousy, trying to compensate for insecurity. I suppose the set of characteristics can make the characters quite real, but I'd like a little more in the mix. Also, aside from Kan'u there is almost no deep development of the characters based on events that transpired before the present.

Story:
The story really disappointed me. Everyone's on a mission to rid the world of all bandits, yet it seems all they do is scare away or run off a group of bandits from a city, and then leave it. Leaving the inhabitants of the city to now fend for themselves again with further enraged bandits. Furthermore, the characters seem to have almost no interest in joining together for their common goal. Someone will inevitably leave or abandon the group for whatever reason they feel. After a little while, the story begins to feel repetitive. Stumble across people in need. Help them solve their problem. Drive away the evil. Repeat.

Drama:
With a cast of all female main characters, I was hoping for a bit more drama to the series. I feel like there was more drama between characters in KissXSis (which, I by no means consider to have a deep story). It can be argued that there are never guys present, so that sort of sexual or relational drama would naturally be absent, but there certainly seems to be an attempt at drama through the insinuations of various lesbian relationships. Even so, all these relationships seem to be either very one-sided, or so consensual that there's no tension in the relationship at all. The times that any kind of relationship is alluded to, it is made to be a joke, either on behalf of, or at the expense or an uninterested, or unknowing character. None of the main characters seem to express any desire to be in a relationship with anyone else, be it purely physical, long-term or just to bide the time.

Overall I feel like the show:
* lacked the continuous action to really be an action series
* lacked a solid story or goal to be a decent adventure
* failed to provide reasonable drama or relationships between characters.

just not my cup of tea.

After the first two episodes, I felt like I had to force myself to continue watching.

The story isn't very entertaining. It's just a journey of a couple of female warriors. You'd expect some battles but no. There are a few but those are really badly animated. One person swings a lance (too slow to be realistic) and another flies away. This reminded me of the fact that this anime was originally a visual novel.

The dialogue can sometimes be funny but the humor is usually too obvious. A few episodes ended with everyone laughing. That just seems so unrealistic and the thing they're laughing about isn't ... even that funny.

The art isn't bad but like I said above, the animation can be a bit off. The ecchi scenes, which I thought would be most of this series, didn't even feel ecchi.

This definitely isn't one of the better animes but still most of the episodes weren't boring to watch.

Based on the concept it's Visual Novel game, the storyline was slightly waves off compare to the Visual Novel's to lower the content. (As the Visual Novel is rated 18+ (PC) and 15+ (PS2))

Still, it contain quite a handful of iichi stuff and some erotic scenes in yuri terms. Still it kept some original parallel concept on the 'Three Kingdoms Novel' - E.g. in the original Three Kingdom, Sou Sou (Cao Cao) has a vision/dream of 'collecting' the most beautiful women from around the Han world to himself, while the Visual Novel version also has the same vision/dream, but in a 'different' manner as ... she is a she.

Nether the less, the storyline are straight forward and direct. I would say that the production team did some good job to try to maintain some of the 'essence' while covering the others. It is entertaining and enjoyable.

Koihime Musou relies on the same principles as Fate Stay Nite (not sticking to their erotic game roots) and Ikki Tousen (taking China's "3 Kingdom Romance" era and replacing everybody with cute girls and panty shots). I saw this series and the OVA that came after it; and stopped watching ever since.

I personally don't know what's up with the Japanese animu industry and their inability to stick to their roots or follow the original material word by word. It's probably no different than what the Western entertainment industry does all the time; making "much needed changes" from the original in order to be more politically ... correct and make more money. (I heard the news about Hunger Games, but I'm not mad because this is 20## and not 19##.)

It would probably help keep the show from becoming yet more "otaku-pandering garbage" if it featured the reliable male lead in the spotlight (like that guy from the eroge). Or if it was just no-holds-barred, full-blown adult anime.

But you know... If the above paragraph was the case, I wouldn't give it such a horrible overall rating. So yeah.

I recently checked out "Koihime Musou," and I gotta say, it's pretty interesting. So, it's based on a game that's, uh, let's say, not exactly PG-rated. But here's the twist: all the characters from that game, who are originally from the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" novel, are now ladies.

The main story revolves around this gal named Kan'u Unchou and her crew of fellow females. They're on a mission to bring some peace to a world that's basically tearing itself apart with war.

Now, what sets this anime apart from your typical harem show is that there's no dude at the center of attention. It's all ... about the ladies and their interactions with each other. Sure, there are some scenes that hint at romantic stuff between them, but it's mostly played for laughs or, you know, fan service.

Each episode kinda stands on its own, telling a little story without relying too much on the overarching plot. Animation-wise, it's solid, and the characters are vibrant and well-designed. Soundtrack? It's alright, does the job.

So, if you're into a breezy, funny series with a bunch of cute gals, "Koihime Musou" might just be your cup of tea. Give it a shot!

Overall I was very disappointed at Koihime Musou

The plot wasn't very interesting because it didn't have one/ show that it had one. This was my number 1 expectation because I'm a big fan of koei games. The jokes were good but it didn't quite catch the attention of the viewers.

The artwork was fine but it was hidden by the bad quality. It was a little hard to understand what was going on and to read the subs.

Character Development needed work.

If I were to relate it to another anime I'd say it's kind of like Pokemon Kanto. The characters just travel all around the country for ... adventure in preparation for the next gym battle, except that this show doesn't have "gym battles" (main plot).