Zhen Hun Jie

Well this is the first Chinese anime I have watched and I have to say despite of not being used to hearing Chinese I found this anime very intriguing and I’d say any person who loves some good storyline, this feels and action packed anime is worth a shot.

Before getting deeper into the review I would like to clear some points:
1. Yes it is a Chinese anime so getting used to the voice would be difficult.
2. After the first episode the rest are on an average 11 minutes long but don’t let the episode length dissuade you, the anime offers a good quality content.

Now since it’s my ... first review I’ll be as concise as possible, I would say the story is still a diamond in making, also the plot development and the way the story has been portrayed will keep you intrigued throughout the series. Yes, the Chinese will throw you off a bit or maybe a lot but don’t give up on it because the story will compensate for it. The animation will also need some getting used to as it sometimes dwells into the 3D animation in some of the fight scenes where the CGI doesn’t gel well with the 2D animation. The action sequences might give you a little bit cringe for not being very well detailed but the overall artwork is considerably good. The opening and closing tracks are good with music tracks fitting well with the fight sequences. Also you might find the translations a bit off sometimes but despite the language barrier the story will get through.

To sum it up I’ll say keeping aside the language cringe and bit of disappointment on the animation which might be probably due to not much funding the anime is worth giving a shot as I’m sure you’d find the plot very intriguing and the character development very well done.

Finding this anime was sheer luck, took a blind call to check it out. being Chinese, the language was hard to follow but nonetheless i was hooked immediately. First time I've tried a chinese anime.

I loved the story telling, the emotions weren't too intense but quite gripping.
The animation and the music are superb.
I've found something that has great action and a really cool plot.
The characters are developed nicely and are quite relate able.
After completing it, I was craving for another season as the ending is pretty well balanced leading to such diverse plot moving on.
All in all Loved it. I'd recommend it to ... anyone looking for a great plot with action and great music.

Rakshasa street is one of many requiem cities that serve as gateways between the living and the dead, where spirits roam before they are exorcised. Each city is ruled by a Requiem General that have the ability to summon historical figures, such as generals from the 3 Kingdoms period, as powerful spirits to fight on their behalf. Rakshasa Street focuses on one such general, Cao Yan Bing, and his new trainee Xia Ling, as they defend their city from villainous organizations.

The plot is rather generic. If you've seen shounen anime, then this should all be very familiar. What Rakshasa Street excels at though is its ... arrangement. Most episodes run at just over the 10 minute mark, which is just long enough to set up a mini-conflict and an euphoric resolution. The overall narrative is not episodic, but the drama is. Each episode ends with a suspenseful vindication of the protagonists' troubles, often with Chinese pop music playing. It feels good, and I find myself rooting for them, which isn't all that common. The humor often pays homage to popular Japanese shounen fight anime, and it's delightful to catch all the references. For example, they train using manga.

But if we peel back the gimmicky construction, it really is just a typical shounen plot after all. The characters aren't particularly deep or inspiring, although the calm little brother serves as a nice contrast to the rest. Xia Ling in particular comes off as weak spirited; although she is a university graduate, she often acts like a teenage brat. Cao Yan Bing is the edgy, ill-mannered guy with poor communication skills, you know, the type that hides his "true powers". The villains are all simplistic and caricatures, one dimensional characters that symbolically represent "the bad guy". They want to wreak havoc or gain power, with limited further development. Even the spirit summoning and power levels are common in anime, like the Fate series or Shaman King, though they are by no means the first.

Rakshasa Street feels fresh, like something we haven't seen before. In this case, they've succeeded at dressing up the pig. It's a great experience, even as I analyze the main characters, since their plight is backed up by the tightly directed drama. However, when I peel back a couple layers, examining the structure and comparing the individual units against other anime, I find that it's much ado about nothing. Even as the drama pulls me in, there's a nagging feeling that it isn't that... great, or original. Perhaps, if it's watched weekly by episode in the broadcast format, instead of being marathoned, it would be much harder to pay attention to these details, and easy to be swept by the drama.