Tactics

Tactics is, summed up in two words, nothing special. A pretty average anime with a generic "monster of the week" plot with a loose overacing story that is connected by only a few episodes, lacking memorable characters, what characters there are being pretty bland, and ending as a fair piece of work that, while certainly viewers wouldn't actively want to forget, is pretty easily forgettable nonetheless.

Story: 6 (Fair)

The story revolves around Kantarou, a demon exorcist living in what is presumed to be Meiji-era Japan. He has an unusual ability to see and speak to demons and often communicates with them in order to discover the ... truth behind hauntings and possessions. All his life he has always wanted a goblin, a very powerful type of demon that often serves as companions and servants to humans. After following a trail of rumors he finally finds the sealed away Haruko, a demon so powerful they call him the demon eater. After breaking the seal, Haruko joins Kantarou and his friend Yoko (not to be confused by that other Yoko, sadly enough), a shape-shifting ktisune demon; a young girl named Suzu also tags along as she deeply admires Haruko. Other darker forces from Haruko's past may also be stalking him as well.

Although that may sound like an interesting premise, the plot mostly hold together only when necessary, and the series is for the most part just a series of loosely connected episodes about the adventures of Kintarou and Haruko as they investigate one demonic haunting to the next. If you think this sounds eerily like Inuyasha, that's because it is, and a few people have claimed that Tactics is just a blatant rip-off, with Kintarou filling in the role o Miroku, Haruko that of Inuyasha, Yoko combining Kagome and Sango with Shippou's kitsune traits, Suzu filling in for Shippou sans the magic, and the dark forces that stalk Haruko can easily be mistaken for Naraku and Kagura. Take it as you will, but at least the shorter length of Tactics allows for a more successful, filler-free formula than Inuyasha.

Art: 6 (fair)

The art style is rather bland and indistinctive from other anime of the same vintage. Locales are as vivid only as they need to be, and leaves little in terms of memorable impression.

Character: 6 (Fair)

Once again, the characters fail to make any memorable impressions, largely being stock and carrying on as viewers would expect. Perhaps, ironically enough, most memorable in how they behave like Inuyasha's cast in this regard.

Enjoyment: 6 (Fair)

Perhaps a bland series, but not a bad one either. If no better anime is on, it's certainly worth watching, and is fairly entertaining. There are some twists and turns (including one right out of M. Night Shaymalan's playbook, and an earlier one straight out of Silent Hill) that are just enough to keep the viewer engaged.

Which brings the total score to:

6: Fair

Tactics is one of those anime series that used to have mid-level popularity, and I always wanted the opportunity to watch it. Now, two decades from its release, I can honestly say that it did NOT live up to the hype.

Its underwhelming punch has less to do with its age and more with its execution. First, it's episodic, so don't expect a running plot until maybe episode 14. Which, episodic can be charming if done well, but...many of the episodes seemed to be done just because they could, and didn't leave much of an impact on me. Some episodes were predictable, and I grew ... more and more tired the longer I watched it. Still, I wanted to see it through to completion, which was why I kept going to the end. (And surprise, surprise: there's not a satisfying ending to be found. I won't say loose ends aren't tied, but there's a lot more ends just flailing in the wind.) If you can last until episode 14, you'll be treated with reoccurring characters, some deus ex machina moments, one episode with pretty decent psychological horror elements, and a cute scene or two from the main cast. Maybe, if you squint hard enough and tilt to the left, you won't notice how the plot drags in the latter half, and how the big, bad surprise ends up crunching in your mouth like rotten blueberries on a summer evening.

Then there's the characters. I was originally going to criticize Kantarou harsher, because god, his treatments of his summons ranges anywhere from callously flippant to borderline abusive. But Kantarou is, while incredibly selfish, pragmatic in ways that don't really stand out until you get to know him a bit better (albeit with contorted reasoning). You'll just have to suffer until you get there. Then there's Haruka, who does go through phases of character development in the story. He's who you'll probably want to cling onto to keep your sanity while watching this.

...Then there's the other two, the messenger pigeon and the girl who serves absolutely no purpose except until plot calls for it. Of all the characters, Sugino and Muu were probably the most enjoyable. They were meant to be comic relief, and they did their job brilliantly. But they were still lovable in all the ways that counted. They, along with Haruka, bring the best out of the show.

Last, for an anime that has been compared with various other BL series, there really isn't much in the way of fanservice. There IS something sprinkled here and there, but there's just as many moments where the characters become tangled with other affairs, some of them questionable by today's standards. If I was watching because of that, I'd be sorely disappointed.

Conclusion: Tactics was probably an anime that would have performed decently in the 00s. Standing on its own two feet, though, it pales in comparison with some of its older and younger peers even in the same genre. This is largely due to its incomplete plot, its predictable episodes, and its flat characters. Most likely, you might be interested in the premise and start watching it, but it'll tax you until you drop it somewhere in the middle. It is for that reason I struggle to recommend this series.

Well i really had hoped for an quite over the top story near the end , and more charach, development and /or more char. in general. The demon slaying job gets somewhat repetitive and like everyday anime ( after 2000) its too much censored at some good action scenes, Not that i ecxpeted much from the main person but more from the guardian.Sometimes it really got on my nerve that the guardian din't developed further powers and such, animation was looking alright but thats it.

At its best, this anime must have been an interesting concept, beautiful art and animation, and compelling to watch. However, I'm sorry to say that this anime has not aged very well. It first aired in 2004 and the overall quality of anime that is currently being produced will only continue to outshine Tactics. I noticed that the later the year is, the lower the rating gets for this show. It is not an anime that could pass the test of time, however if you are ok with watching something like that, then I think it's interesting enough to at least look into.

It begins with ... a boy named Kantarou who can see spirits and do spiritual magic stuff that seeks to find a powerful "oni-eating Tengu". That's the general synopsis that you'll read but that is basically only the first episode. After that, the anime turns into an episodic series that has Kantarou and the "oni-eating Tengu", Haruka, running around helping people with yokai problems and sealing away the demons that are causing a problem. There is a slight story line near the ending of the anime, but it wasn't all that interesting or memorable.

I really love anime about yokai so I was excited to watch Tactics. At first, I enjoyed it but it did not capture my attention enough to make me binge it. It took me 5 years from start to finish, and I think that says a lot about the show. Tactics is very episodic, which is completely fine for me, but the characters were not interesting enough for an episodic type anime. To be completely honest, they felt like very downgraded Rurouni Kenshin characters, that anime aired 8 years before Tactics did (I know that they're both manga adaptations but still). The characters in Tactics weren't exactly developed, but they weren't exactly one dimensional either. They were just sort of lukewarm, if that makes any sense.

The art style was fine, I liked it, it wasn't amazing or unique or anything but it was good. The animation was ok, again, it was not really special. The art was a kind of typical anime look but I really liked the setting of the anime, how most characters wore traditional Japanese clothing like yukata. The character designs really fit that look and setting, that was probably the best part about the art.

Soundtrack was forgettable. The opening was at least interesting compared to the generic anime opening songs but that doesn't make it inherently good or bad, just different. I personally didn't really like it and skipped over it. One thing though is that one of the reoccurring characters had a really distorted audio quality whenever she talked, which made me really cringe at the sound. It almost hurt my ears, but for some reason all the other character's voices were fine.

Overall, it was mildly enjoyable but not at all gripping and it became an anime to watch when there was nothing else. It did take me a long time to finish it because of this. Unless you're really into anime with yokai or enjoy mid 2000's anime shows, it's not really worth your time.

I want to be clear that it isn't a bad anime, it's just a decently entertaining anime that did not age well. It started out as an 8 for me, but as the years passed, I put it down to a 6. I rated it by how much I enjoyed it, especially since it is hard to give this anime a solid review due to how much has changed since Tactics has been out.

"So that's why you brought me here"
---Kantaro

"Are we just destined for failure now"
---Kantaro

A talkier version of Kolchak the Nightstalker ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolchak:_The_Night_Stalker ) set in Japan.

It's damn close to a xerox, With minor changes, the gruff editor becomes a cute girl (who wears a miniskirt 50 years before they are invented). The older woman who is the pennypincher becomes a cute girl fox spirit. The cop frenemy becomes the Oni Frenemy, and the plucky intern who got the job through nepotism, becomes the bratty tag along girl from a wealthy family. Lastly the Crime reporter who writes about the supernatural and never makes a ... deadline, becomes the supernatural researcher who can never make a deadline.

Toss in bland and boring art, a lot of violins in the background with various creepy music, and you have tactics a poor mans version of a TV show from the 70s.

If you do like this kind of thing I'd go with supernatural its format is better, and the seasonal arcs are much better done. If you like episodic horror just about anything from American Television has done it better, more ways and in greater quantity. The only reason to go with this is if you must see badly done yokai.