Ranked #1208

Shikabane Hime: Kuro

I'm not sure why they decided to make Kuro into a second season, rather than just episodes 14-25 of Aka. Then again, who am I to doubt the genius of those who decided to make a story about sexy, gun-wielding, zombie chicks. For those who haven't watched Aka, go watch it. Those who have will find that not much has changed. There is a lot more ecchi/fanservice, because we obviously didn't get enough of our necrophilia fixation in season one. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate ecchi humour just as much as the next guy, but I can't help but feel they're sending the wrong kind of message to younger audiences.

Story: 6
I think my score is rather generous for a script I could have written in 7th grade. I mean I'm just at a loss because of how simple and illogical the story is. Certain characters gain sudden god-like powers that are often unexplained, and then defeat the villains. Oori and friends also discover a "shocking' conspiracy that puts even Area 51 to shame. I know its unfair to ask logic from a show based on the living dead, but we deserve better.

Art: 7
Was this show broadcasted in HD? Honestly, I couldn't tell. The animation was average at best, so those who have been spoiled by high-end animations will find it irritating. However, I thought the fights were fairly well drawn. It could be just my imagination, but I thought the animation was slightly improved from Aka.

Sound: 9
This is my favourite part of Kuro; the entire reason I decided to stick with this show. The OP and ED really gets you in the mood for watching undead babes open a jar of ass-kick on zombies (no sarcasm here). The sound of Makina's double uzis is just music to my ears, even during the 500th time they play it.

Character: 7
While its good to have dynamic characters and lots of conflict between them, its not so good when they act in such illogical ways that you can't help but give your screen the finger. It also makes little sense to give a huge amount of depth to certain supporting characters, but almost none to some of the more important ones. They wasted too much time in Aka in developing the characters, and its come back to bite em in the crotch this time around.

Enjoyment: 8
I'll try my best to keep my Yamagami Itsuki fantasies to myself, but I do feel the need to point out Makina's wardrobe malfunction. It is painfully obvious in the OP that she is not wearing any underwear, I mean how much more work would it take to draw in some clothing down there?
Despite its shortcomings I feel that many of you will enjoy Kuro, as I have. Temper your expectations and you will find this show a great way to waste 13 hours of your precious life. read more

Shikabane Hime is kickass. The art is great, the animation is pretty awesome, and the story is well thought-out and structured.

The thing I love best, BEST, BEEEEEEEEST about this is:

Being a female, the fanservice can get extremely tiring in anime sometimes. Shikabane Hime is one of the few anime I've ever seen where the female characters kick so much ass and do it without all of the annoying fanservice. I haven't seen a single panty shot and the angled views that usually show the "goods" aren't excessive. Most of the angled shots are for the action scenes, and purely that. The only full-on fanservice I've seen in this anime has been the catgirl (whom I consider to be a joke) or entirely in the endings. (The closing theme song endings)

I love the characters. Makina especially. She has this... manly factor that radiates off of her which is rare in female anime characters. Her eyebrows are slightly thick and she's completely serious about her battles. She punches the shit out of things with a gruff voice, and isn't there to be sexy or feminine. She's there to do her job. That's what I love best about this.

Now, there is a factor that stops this from becoming one of my all-time favorites. A huge problem. The -biggest- problem, and the problem that destroys the entire second season (or the whole show) in its entirety.

Like Soul Eater, yup... that dreaded ending.

I've heard lots of things about the ending, from it being a DVD special (which actually goes back to the first season, Aka) and hopes of there possibly being another season.

If Kuro ended the way it did and there is a 3rd season, or maybe even a last episode, I will be completely fine and satisfied with it.

Otherwise? It ends completely abruptly, with many plot holes left open, so much that there -has- to be a third season to explain it all! My problem with this is, it's been over a year already and there has been no hints whatsoever of a third season.

I hear the manga is still going, and I have to check that out, but until then, my overall rating for this anime is a 9 -- disregarding the ending and pretending it had a real one, or a 2 with the ending finishing it off as a series. read more

For starters, despite how SLOW the Aka version had moved, the buildup still led me to believe that the Kuro adaption could deliver promise. I possibly came away with more questions than I did coming in, something not good for any anime by any means. The show itself combines the elements of ecchi, shounen, and of course horror things you particularly saw in the Aka version. While it's not entirely different, there are some topics I want to touch upon.
As you would of probably guessed, the story continues fresh off the Aka version. What the Kuro version tries to do is jump straight into action in predicting that the viewer already has a knowledge/grasp on what's occurring. While that's true for those who watched Aka, it's also TRUE for those who hadn't. Why is that? Because as I said, the Aka version moved SLOOOW. You could probably recap the entire Aka arc in a 5 minute introduction, to be frank.

And so, here we have the Shichisei. A last minute twist into the plot from the first season. We essentially have Makina and other supporting Shikabane Hime battle this group with aid of Ouri (who is still struggling to find himself as a monk). The traditional focus was more setup for Ouri to be the centerfold of the cast, and Shichisei Hokuto being this godlike antagonist who's power remained unchallenged. Ouri and Makina aren't exactly your typical shounen couple, segments are divided even further in Kuro where they try to understand each other and in some ways benefit from one another.

The animation in Kuro can get atrocious at times, especially towards the end. I was unimpressed by certain visuals, certain characters and their themes I did enjoy looking at. There's just no consistency with the animation, it has its ups and downs frequently.

I found the sound decent to a fault. I say that because the animation isn't anything amazing, usually when the animation is inconsistent you expect the sound to be as well. But I found the sound very tolerable, and many themes seem to fit in the manner that they should.

I'll be honest, there aren't a lot of stronghold of characters in Kuro to keep you captivated. You got your usual "chick with guns" character in Makina, and other shikabane hime with swords, blah blah blah. Way too much originality for many characters here. The only one I was rather really impressed with was the Shichisei Touya, very interesting character with some surprise elements.

In short, this anime has some real lackluster aspects. I didn't enjoy the ending, certain twist are questionable, it makes me wonder how good it could of been. It has its share of high points that are seemingly downgraded by the fact that it just isn't as good as people are led to believe. read more

Story
The concept behind the show is decent. The difference between an attachment to the world, which is what drives the Corpses, and the more fundamental concept of one's underlying Nature, was good. The constant reminder that the Shikabane Himes are not human beings was a good source of conflict in all the priests' relationships with the himes. Tthe plot never did much with these themes though. Other than one twist at the end, the story was predictable and pretty much a standard monster-fighting show.

Art
The main characters were well designed, the action was pretty good, and it managed to be creepy fairly often. Nothing amazing and I know I've heard plenty of complaints regarding the inconsistent quality, but it took nothing away from the show.

Sound
Great soundtrack. One of the best I've encountered in a while. A must have for anyone who like sad instrumental stuff.

Character
The only decent character was the Betrayer Priest, who was a terrific noble villain with the best backstory in the show. Oori was weak and whiny, even in his one climatic ordeal. The little strength he displays at the end had no build up. Makina was annoying; she was just a violent angry chick who did whatever the hell she wanted without consequences. Hokuto was an extremely 1 dimensional villain--powerful and insane. That's fine for a #2, but after 24 eps, the REAL villain really ought to be coherent.

Enjoyment
Shows like this are fun because you can watch the hero grow stronger and see how far he's come in the final showdown. Oori really never became anyone interesting though. The demonic cat and insinuations regarding his past gave me some high expectations, but it turned out to be a pretty big letdown.

Overall
The show, with its powerful themes, great soundtrack, and promising lead, gives you some big expectations that it doesn't deliver on AT ALL. If you're a guy who wants to watch cute zombie girls with big breasts jump around killing things go for it. But anyone with any kind of standards for plot and character will be disappointed. read more

I really enjoyed watching an anime like this. Great story with my emotions involved and a must watch series. The only problem I found was the ending... if you have watched the entire series you will understand that the ending of episode 12 in Shikabane Hime: kuro/ episode 25 of the full storyline was just wrong. the to be continued sign made me so happy but to find out there was no more episodes broke me. aside from that it was a great show and I really enjoyed it.

From the very beginning of the season, you can tell that they are tackling season 2 differently.

I would say that it was hard to adjust to the absence of Keisei and at times I felt that the characters of Umehara and Fresh (or Flesh) were a sad substitute.

By the end of the first episode, I was back in the game. The relationship between Makina and Ouri is fantastic and it always keep you guessing about what will happen next to those two.

There was an obvious change in artwork, looking drastically different from Aka. It was a bit distracting.

All in all, great stories, action sequences, and music! read more

Too be honest, I was expecting so much from this season as the previous season was not really interesting but I guess, I was expecting too much and I ended up disappointed!

I strongly believed that the story was made so out of proportion. Too much tragedy and too much drama which was not justify until it finishes. Most of the time I was irritated by lots of things like the story, characters, dialogues, and most importantly the ending which is very important whether a story is good or bad. Every scene had too much tragedy and drama almost like Elfren Lied. It was no longer healthy for the subconscious mind. Most of the characters did stupid things almost all time that’s why they always end up killed or beaten up. To add it up, they would always say such too cheesy or too mushy lines. It looked like they were trying so hard to be cool or heroic which didn’t work for them. And as if it wasn’t enough! The ending wasn’t justifiable at all. It doesn’t give you a closure at all. The villains revealed something and it turned out he was really the victim. That was too much of a CLICHÉ. Just because it turned out that the villains were just mere victims, that didn’t justify their actions. It even ended with the lead female and main antagonist just clashing their fists while the female lead says over dramatic lines.

I only finished this for the sole reason of finishing something that I started but not that I was anticipating the ending at all.
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