Juuni Taisen

I went into Juuni Taisen with a skeptical attitude having seen it receive poor reviews. After completing the show I beleive that too many people viewed this anime in the wrong light.

First, I would point out that if you are simply looking for a show to take the place of the Fate series then you will be disappointed. Juuni Taisen is very different from its battle royale counterparts, but I would argue it is better than most others, aside from Fate Zero.

Next I would address the most common complaint, being that the plot was too predictable. I would agree that at times the ... episodes fell into a pattern but the purpose of the show is not necessarily to surprise viewers at every turn. This is not a mindless action show designed to simply excite and surprise.

Juuni Taisen is a look at the people who are fighting in the death game and a story about who they are, why they are fighting, and what they want in the end. it is character driven in nature, and excels at attaching you to multiple characters as you learn about what makes them, and they will make of the battle. It is far from flawless with a few of the characters falling flatter than others but for what it is, I enjoyed it more and more with each episode.

Juuni Taisen is a 'Battle Royale' type of anime written by Nisio Isin of Monogatari fame. The show is about a tournament that is held every 12 years where the participants are mercenaries who are each named after the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and the winner will have a wish granted. There is also no main character in the show so the one that'll win is supposedly up in the air.

Knowing this, you'd probably expect a cool show where we get to see crazy mercenaries skewering each other for 12 episodes, which is what I expected.. Instead I got a show that feels ... like it's desperate to fill its episode count with as much philosophical monologues as possible, that aren't supported by the weight of the anime, as well as pointless character backstories and having the participants stand around and not kill each other for as long as possible.

This show does its best to avoid having a main character by just focusing on a different one in each episode and killing them off straight after showing you their backstory. The duration of these backstories range from half an episode to an episode and a half. While the battles usually come down to one hit kills in about 2 minutes. And the ones that last longer than that, are usually due to philosophical monologues the characters have while standing in one location and doing absolutely nothing. Not to mention many battles stop momentum midway for no in series reason and are handled poorly in terms of choreography.

Not only are the character backstories an intrusion and constantly breaks whatever immersion you may have in a battle happening in the present, but they're also entirely pointless since the characters identities and personalities and how they formed their current personalities have no bearing on how they die in the battle, with the exception of the Ox and Tiger participants where it happened to be relevant for once.

Also these backstories are way too long and only inform us about basic traits that we could've picked up on just by seeing their actions in the present - "this character is a drunk soldier", "this character is greedy", "this character is a pacifist" and so on and so forth. So it all feels like a waste of time in hindsight since there's not enough content in this story to justify the 12 episode count which feels bloated in the long run.

So after all that wasted time and boredom you'd think the show will at least reward us with a good ending, right? Nope, the winner of the battle turns out to be someone who'd have to be a complete moron if he'd lost since he/she had an ability that (trying not to spoil here) gave him/her an overwhelming advantage that had very few chances of losing. Not to mention that this ability was never displayed throughout the series all for the sake of a weak twist ending.

Also there's a revelation midway about what else is at stake in this tournament that is never mentioned again and the wish that the winner receives only ends up being an excuse to have more philosophical ramblings take up most of the final episode as well, instead of actually delivering on this idea. Which is extremely pathetic if you ask me.

Visually this show looks kind of ugly and cheap. while the character designs have cool body proportions and faces that aren't generic stocky crap, their accessories and costumes look ridiculous and the color mixes don't always match up that well. And though it does manage to pull off some cool looking individual scenes from time to time, the animation is clumsy as a whole and it often takes shortcuts when it comes to more complicated motions. It also suffers more than it should considering characters half the time just stand in one location and don't do much. It even has some random CGI models near the end that surprisingly weren't that bad looking, but were jarring nonetheless.

In terms of soundtrack there's some ok techno and rock tunes that don't stand out but serve their purpose and the voice acting and sound design is passable even though the former doesn't take much effort since most of the dialogue is emotionless monologues anyway.

So there you have it, a death game anime that does nearly everything wrong, brings Nisio Isin's writing ability in to question (as if it wasn't questionable already) and worth watching only for the occasional gore and the half naked women. But even if that's all you want, there are countless better titles than this in that respect alone.

It's a completely skippable show that I regret wasting my time watching, so naturally I wasted even more time reviewing it.. I don't know, don't judge me.

Imagine a battle royale anime... but the studio *really* doesn't want to animate fighting. Well, look no further than Juuni Taisen, a fighting anime where fights last on average anywhere from 3 to 10 seconds. I'm not exaggerating. There was a lot of fluff to make you *think* fights were longer, but they truly weren't. What do they fill the rest of the episode with, you ask? Flashbacks. Yes, you get to watch roughly 20 minutes of uninteresting backstory and characters moving around the map, only to have them die within literal seconds of encountering another participant. They don't even die in interesting ways. They ... just Alt + F4 out of the script. This is one of the most boring anime I've ever seen, and I don't understand why it exists.

Outside of episode 1, the art and animation are both subpar. The soundtrack is forgettable. A majority of the characters aren't likable or interesting. The character design is boring for the most part. The anime refuses to answer questions that most viewers would probably be asking. It just fails in almost every conceivable category. Most notably, it fails to deliver on it's choice of genre. The only reason I gave it a 2, was because I thought the dialogue and voice acting were fine. This anime is a complete waste of time and should be avoided, in my opinion.

So it's very premature to be criticizing this show on the actual story, but so far the BEST and WORSE aspects of this show are the same characteristics. The story and more specifically the predictability of who will win.

Unlike fate, future diaries, battle royal, (hunger games in a way), and almost every other battle royal. THERE IS NO PLOT ARMOR. We don't have a main character that "Must survive" or that everything centers around. At first you are like oh yeah Boar is the main character totally a bad ass going to win it all.....


SPOILER



But NOPE dies right in the first episode. Watching it ... now I feel like I know who wins due to a very obvious story fault, but even so I still feel like they might throw in a curve ball and knock us all away.

The downside is so far aside from Snake which their is tons of discussions about, they have all died in the order of the zodiac. This kind of defeats the purpose of not having plot armor, or not knowing who wins if you know the story they based this on. Even so I'm hoping snake is the exception and throws that idea out the window for the second half of the show.

Regardless this show is fantastic, one of the better battle royal series I've watched thus far, would defiantly recommend this to anyone.

Landonime Presents... Juuni Taisen: "That Was Awesome!"

Oh man.. Juuni Taisen. The Zodiac War. Where do I even begin?


I guess I'll start this off by saying i watched this show weekly with a friend which made it more enjoyable. There was a lot of whiskey and "Holy Shits!" on our journey through this show. It was a breath of fresh air that is for sure. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the greatest anime of all time by any means. I did like it though.

The reason this show captured me was because how out of left field it was. A show that shows the back ... story for almost an entire episode just to have them almost always be the next to get brutally murdered. If you like a sort of hunger games plot, but one that is actually decent and entertaining, then watch this. All the loops this show throws you through is hilarious. Expect what happens in the first few episodes to happen all through out. This show gives zero fucks. The way me and my friend found that out was in the earlier episodes when the Fighter of The Boar got loads of dialogue. Only to get full nelsoned by a necromancer and get brutally stabbed.

That caused me and my pal a giant "OH...FUCK" which is what this show always puts you through. This is one of those "turn your brain off" anime. Don't think too hard about it while watching it you'll probably drop it. For example in the back story leading up to the Rat Nezumi's victory. The tiger asks him if he wants to drink with her. He replies "I'm underaged." I'm over here thinking.. You're in highschool fighting a death game for a black market gambling system. I don't think society gives a fuck if you get intoxicated. Just little things like that are hilarious. You also get 1 wish if you claim victory, so who cares about the law? I don't know lol. Solid 7/10 from me. Juuni Taisen was pretty awesome. If you're bored of constant slice of life and just want a WTF experience. Watch this!

Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Juni Taisen and while care has been taken to ensure that there are no spoilers within story analysis there may still be spoilers in character analysis. You have been warned.

When 12 fierce and powerful warriors that have the names of one of the 12 Chinese constellations are chosen to fight in a contest where the prize is one wish the only result is a fierce struggle to obtain it.

Juni Taisen based on a popular light novel of the same name is an action anime that makes use of ... an interesting premise that when combined with the genre and theme makes it a potent combination. The traditional contest between fighters and struggles that ensures between them is reinforced by the interesting medium that it uses which is a contest between 12 houses all of which have different ideologies and the attitudes of each of the chosen fighters that take part in it. The first episode made a pretty good impression on me because it addressed one of the main problems that such anime’s have which it’s lack of a good origin story for its fighters which when combined with the actions of the characters adds much more depth to them.

Taking place in modern day Japan Juni Taisen focuses on the Juni Taisen a fierce competition that takes place every 12 years and pits the representatives of each of the 12 Zodiac families against each other in a large-scale battle royal that replaces conventional war between nations on the global stage. In a battle that is fierce beyond measure 12 of the best fighters from their houses would fight with everything that they have in battles that are just as contests of strength as it is of strategy and maneuvering. The prize of this battle is the ability to grant one wish and one wish only. While the overall story of the anime is the battle royal itself the series also takes great care in explaining the backstory and origins of each of the main characters a move that I thought was well done as it allowed us the viewers to understand the motivations and desires of each of them and from there invest in the ones that we like.

Dokatsu

Dokatsu voiced by veteran voice actor Tomohiro Nishimura is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this years Juni Taisen representing his house in this large-scale battle royal. A member of the House of Dogs of the 12 Zodiac families Dokatsu is an intelligent, calm and cautious person that believes in the simple belief that they should use every weapon and tactic at their disposal to eliminate their enemies and secure victory. As a result of this Dokatsu is someone that loves to break the rules and fight his way. While intelligent and fast thinking and possessing of good deduction skills Dokatsu was noted to have a certain element of arrogance about him in that he views his fellow competitors and their respective houses with disdain and venom best shown in his assessment of the other fighters when he was still in the game. His death by his miscalculation that was caused by his arrogance was somewhat ironic as a result.

Hitsujii

Hitsujii voiced by veteran voice actor Cho is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to fight in this years Juni Taisen. A member of the Zodiac’s House of the Ram Hitsujii is a cautious, quiet, patient person that matches well with the traditional attributes that a ram would have. Unlike the rest of the competitors that were chosen to take part in this contest Hitsujii is by far the oldest fighter that was chosen and as a result, is often referred to as the old man of the 12 a term that I thought was appropriate to him as a sign of respect. A veteran fighter Hitsujii can easily be defined as someone that is cautious and cunning in equal nature that when combined with his patience truly makes him a fierce warrior to contend with. While not one that prefers to strike using nefarious tactics like necromancy Hitsujii is no less lethal with his method of using powerful explosives to destroy his opponents with. Hitsujii’s ability to stay both undetected by the rest and his ability to stay one step ahead of any hunters was a great proof of his abilities.

While Hitsujii is noted to be an intelligent and patient person it's interesting to note that he also has the semblance of pride as well which often clouds his judgement on things. However, what I really admired about the character of Hitsujii is his backstory that was used to show his motivations for joining the fight and the backstory of what actually made him the man that he was. His reason for joining the fight I felt was also pretty heartwarming as well as his thoughts towards his family.

Inounoshishi

Inounoshishi voiced by veteran seiyuu Yoko Hikasa of High School DxD and Rokka no Yuusha fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to fight in this year’s competition. A member of the House of Boars of the Zodiac families Inounoshishi is an intelligent, fast thinking and cautious person by nature that is reinforced by a fierce tenacity and cunning that matches well with what a boar’s personality will be like. On the surface, Inounoshishi is a capable fighter that seems to be cordial to others and able to think beyond of simple victories and defeats that characterize the Juni Taisen but beneath that, however, it’s another story altogether. While cordial on the surface Inounoshishi is shown to be a cruel and manipulative person that’s also rather cold-hearted and willing to do all that she can to secure victory and fame for herself. Perhaps as a result of this, she also displayed a certain level of arrogance at the other Zodiac houses seeing them as obstacles to her aims. The backstory for this character I felt did an interesting job of showing the struggles that she went through as she trained to become a fighter and her gradual evolution into cruel, manipulative and intelligent person from the quiet and reluctant girl that she was then. Though by far one of the shortest-lived fighters I felt that her backstory combined with her development from that actually made her a pretty interesting character.

Nezumi

Nezumi voiced by veteran voice actor Shun Horie is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this years Juni Taisen. A member of the House of Rats of the Zodiac families Nezumi is a quiet, calm and composed person that seems to prefer solitude than working together with others. Despite that Nezumi is also shown to be intelligent and cautious in his moves willing to work together with others if their goals and ideologies remain similar to each other. While respectful and cordial towards others it can be seen that Nezumi is someone that trusts slowly and is wary of others particularly if they approached suddenly. While seemingly quiet Nezumi surprisingly can be rather talkative and perceptive at times and his analysis of the fight and its purpose was an interesting one. A prominent trait of Nezumi is his perception and his ability to understand the mood and the feelings that people near him is feeling which is a direct result of his powers. This ability I felt was an interesting one as it not only gives him an edge in combat but also able to tell if someone is trying to lie to you as well. The core ability of Nezumi, however, was by far the most interesting one but one that I felt was revealed rather late in the series. The character of Nezumi is by far the most mysterious of the fighters that took part in this years Juni Taisen.

Niwatori

Niwatori voiced by veteran seiyuu Ayane Sakura of Charlotte and Dragonar Academy fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this year’s contest. A member of the Zodiac’s House of Roosters Niwatori on the surface is a shy, quiet and kind young woman that seems out of place on the battlefields in which the Juni Taisen is taking place. Beneath the surface however, it can be seen that the surface personality of a meek young and innocent maiden only serves as a mask for Niwatori and its what lies beneath to this that is actually her true personality. Niwatori’s true personality contrasts greatly with the young innocent maiden look that she wore when around other fighters being someone that was deceptive and adept at using her looks and behavior to secure an advantage over her opponents. This last point is helped greatly by her battle outfit which is rather revealing for someone that fights on the field. While Niwatori retains the positive and cheerful attitude that she used on her mask here it can be seen that she’s not loyal to anyone but herself and see’s others as mere stepping stones in her game of finding fame. The character of Niwatori I felt was an interesting one that was one of the more developed characters of the series as her personalities contrasted greatly with each other. I felt that her seiyuu Ayane Sakura really did a great job voicing her.

Shuryuu

Shuryuu voiced by veteran seiyuu singer Saori Hayami of Yamada and the Seven witches and Owari no seraph fame is one of the main characters of the series and one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this years Juni Taisen. A member of the Zodiac’s house of the monkey Shuryuu is an enigma within the Zodiac families chosen for this contest as unlike the rest of the fighters Shuryuu is a pacifist by nature and works to end conflict and wars across countries rather than start and participate in them as the other houses do something that has earned her no small amount of disdain from the others. A kind, caring and honest person by nature Shuryuu is someone that having seen the worst excesses caused by humanity’s endless lust for war and conflict works tirelessly to promote peace and cooperation between countries which is an admirable concept. Despite knowing that the other Zodiac houses dislike her immensely Shuryuu is someone that cares deeply about ending the threat of conflict in the human world and even when faced by hostility will still try her utmost to help others which is best shown in her attempt to create an alliance between the 12 members at the start of the contest. Though mindful that she’s going to be a target of the other houses due to her actions it can be seen that Shuryuu is someone that’s also intelligent and inquisitive able to deduce someone’s beliefs and intents by interacting with them a fact that’s helped greatly by her ability to sense people’s intents and being sensitive to people’s feelings. As can be expected of someone that has the attributes of one Shuryuu was noted to be a capable planner that believes in having backup plans something that I felt was really necessary for this contest. The character of Shuryuu I felt was a well-designed one as she had a personality and ideology that contrasted greatly with the other fighters and the determination to help the other fighters despite the fact that they are all trying to kill her was admirable. Saori Hayami I felt did a fantastic job of portraying the character of Shuryuu.

Tora

Tora voiced by veteran seiyuu Hiromi Igarashi of Brave Witches and High School Fleet fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this year’s contest. A member of the Zodiac’s House of the Tiger Tora is someone that best be described as being carefree, relaxed and joyful and indeed has a very joking personality when met for the first time. Despite seemingly not taking the fight seriously Tora can become surprisingly ferocious and competitive when provoked into becoming serious and in this, we can see just how powerful her real combat skills actually are. The fact that Tora also took care to create a rather revealing outfit and act like a drunken idiot in combat in an effort to lure enemies within range of her claws I felt was an indication of her cunning as a warrior of the Tiger. The Character of Tora I felt was an interesting one, but I felt that it was her backstory and origin story that combined with her future self-was the thing that made her so as it allowed us to see the kind of person that she was like in the past and see how far she had come from her past self. Her connection with Ox and how that allowed her to find her own path in particular I felt was especially well done.

Usagi

Usagi voiced by veteran voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto of Three Gatsu no Lion and Alderamin of the sky fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were chosen to take part in this year’s contest. A member of the Zodiac’s House of Rabbits Usagi is a quiet, composed and calm person on the surface and indeed, in the beginning, his nature was such that I thought he will be peaceful like Shuryuu was. However, beneath this mask, it can be seen that Usagi is someone that is intelligent, creative and really cunning and well versed at using deception to gain an advantage over his enemies. Although all of the fighters that have been chosen to take part in this years Juni Taisen can be said to be notable in their respective strengths and personalities it can be said that Usagi’s is by far the most interesting and revolting of them all. The most notable trait of Usagi is without a doubt his rather warped sense of what friends are in that he seems to see friends just as he see’s other fighters which are that of mere pieces of a game that is the Juni Taisen that is to be used as shields and swords to beat his opponents with the least effort. While Usagi’s warped sense of what friends are was no doubt one of his prominent traits the other one is no doubt the ability that defines him as a member of the House of Rabbits which when combined with his creative use of tactics really made him a formidable foe on the battlefield for the others.

Ushii

Ushii voiced by veteran voice actor Yuuichirou Umehara of Amanchu and Girlish Number fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the fighters that were selected to take part in this year’s contest. A member of the Zodiac’s family House of the Ox Ushii even before the contest began was already well known to the world as a formidable warrior that had the ominous nickname of the Genius of slaughter. On the surface, Ushii is a calm, composed and quiet person that thanks to his vast experience at war is also wise and adept at combat and can be considered the very image of a warrior in that he’s fair and honourable preferring the direct approach. When in combat while still radiating calmness Ushii is someone that becomes serious, ruthless and determined and will fight with all his might showing no mercy and is no doubt this state that earned him such a nickname as his skill with the blade when matched with his speed make him unmatched in close combat. Though a veteran of countless battles an interesting thing about Ushii is that he will rarely make use of strategy of any kind opting to instead go for the frontal route which I felt was odd for someone with his experience. Beneath his serious nature, however, it can be seen that Ushii is someone that treats everyone that he meets with respect and kindness and is, in fact, an honourable person that believes heavily in tradition and in paying back the debts that he owes to people a side of him that was really surprising. The character of Ushii I felt was an interesting one as though he was regarded as the ultimate warrior by many he had neither the cunning and deceptiveness that was shown by the likes of Usagi or the arrogance of Inounoshishi seemingly preferring to go with calmness and strength of arms instead. The fact that he had a somewhat kinder and more honourable side to him I felt was an interesting contrast that proved that sometimes even the fiercest of warriors can have a more human side to them that no one realises.

AMV

The animation for the series I felt was pretty good especially with regards to the combat scenes that show the battles that make up the contest itself. The individual designs for each of the characters I felt were also pretty good as it gave each character a unique look that matched well with what their personality was like. Though the series was set in modern day Tokyo it notably did not feature any of the cities notable landmarks which I felt was something that they could have added in to make the combat scenes more dramatic. Music wise the series I felt had a very catchy opening theme that helped set the tone for the series being a powerful one while the ending theme also did a good job of inducing a sense of peace. Both of these were helped greatly by the visuals that the opening and ending themes make use of. In terms of voice acting, I felt that overall the voice cast did an excellent job in voicing their respective characters. In particular, I feel that Ayane Sakura, Saori Hayami, and Hiromi Igarashi deserve some particular praise as I felt that they did an excellent job in portraying their respective characters

Overall conclusion

In overall Juni Taisen, I felt was an interesting anime that had as its main strong points an interesting premise, excellent story, well-designed characters, excellent combat scenes and excellent music and voice acting. The premise of Juni Taisen itself isn’t actually anything new to the genre as we have seen the idea of a massive battle royal before such as in Akame Ga Kill and in the Fate Zero series but what makes the premise of Juni Taisen special is the fact that victories in this contest not only secure prestige and riches for the house whose representative won the battle but also affects the real-world borders that the houses control in the world as well. The idea of using such contests to determine the influence that each of the faction has on the world stage was an interesting idea as it replaced the notion of conventional war with a battle royal that pits 12 fighters against each other. The fact that each of the main characters had a well designed and developed backstory that detailed their origins and motivations for joining the Juni Taisen was also something that I enjoyed and appreciated as it added depth to them. The overall story for the series while revolving around each of the battles that were fought between the fighters was also intermingled with memories of the fighters past that was shown in between the battles that were fought between them. These past memories I felt did a really good job at not just establishing the origin stories of each of the fighters but also did well to show their development that led to them developing the personalities that they will take into the Juni Taisen itself.

In overall Juni Taisen was a series that I really enjoyed watching as it not only had an intriguing premise, but it combined this with a strong story and interesting characters and well-designed combat scenes. The decision to use the past memories as a means to show the characters development that led to the Juni Taisen was also rather notable and only served to improve their development. As a final score, I would say that Juni Taisen deserves a score of 10/10.

I’ll keep this review short because I know how much I hate to read through long reviews.

The show is simply a battle royale fought between 12 skilled fighters from 12 prestigious families, last man standing type of thing.

Who is this anime for? The show itself is first and foremost an action anime. The story is not complex or hard to follow so don’t expect any deep meaning from the plot. The animation is on point and will satisfy those who love slick battle scenes. If you like to just sit back and enjoy an easy to digest action anime then this one might be worth ... a peek

Personally I don’t see why so many people gave this a low rating because to me it was a fun watch through and through. The action kept me entertained and the story kept me engaged from start to finish; that said, I think the ending could have been better.

A lot of people are calling this show predictable but I really don’t see where they got that from, throughout the whole thing I couldn’t have told you who was going to win. The show doesn’t follow any particular character, instead choosing to focus on a different character each episode. You get to learn about each fighter’s histories, aspirations, and the path that brought them into the tournament. Each character is different and original and they all have their own unique skills and abilities.

It doesn’t take the path of good and evil, everyone has blood on their hands and most have redeemable qualities, so it’s up to you to make up your mind on what you think of them.

If they did a sequel I’d definitely put it on my plan to watch list.

Junni Taisen is the definition of "generically unique." The story is okay. The art is okay. The sound is okay. The characters are okay. There are some worthy moments, but there are also some terribly-made episodes (like the animation is SUPER bad for one episode).

I recommend this for viewers who want something NEW, however. A deathmatch is nothing new, but its the ambiance of Junni Taisen that's different. Firstly, the story is told without a main character. The attention latches you in with a mystery aspect concerning many of the characters, but these are held out just as long as they need to be. ... The characters have pretty unique designs too, but don't expect anything too deep.

Unlike many shows, Junni Taisen actually ends and everything is answers, which is rare. Was it satisfying, not really, but it was complete.

Junni Taisen is for the enjoyment. Do not think too much and consume the fight scenes.

Holy crap, this might be the worst anime.

The plot is weak, the fights are.... I'd say lackluster but they are over so fast. There is just no flow to this anime. The only halfway redeeming quality is the female competitors go around half naked, but it's not enough to hold your attention.

If you like story, don't waste your time. If you like character development, don't waste your time. If you like epic, mindless battles, don't waste your time.

This anime has nothing to offer except to eat some of your life.

I'm supposed to write a longer review, but there is nothing more that can be ... said without spoiling some plot. Avoid Juuni Taisen. I keep waiting for that "cool episode" or the grand battle, but it's lame on top of lame.

On one hand the “Why do we spend any time getting to know, or explore the backstories of characters who are just gonna die?” complaint will be popular. Also there’s very little world building or explanation. Conversely this show didn’t promise any of that. And it delivered on what it was selling. The characters are unique and diverse, but at the same time characters based on the zodiac (be it Eastern and/or Western) isn’t all that unique or creative. It leaves the whole series feeling rushed, like someone ordered a quick rip off of Akame Ga Kill and they came up with this. I don’t ... want to compare it to other ”battle royale deathmatch” anime, but both AgK and MGRP had better stories and characters than this. But it has great action scenes and the stories are entertaining. And, like MGRP it delivers what it promises. It’s worth the watch if you’re the kind of person who craves action, violence, gore and on screen character death.
Everybody clap your hands!

The Zodiacs, a Chinese representation of animal sign for every year that gives ones luck, personalty and out look and next year 2018 would be the year of the Dog and it's gonna kill us by biting, Woof, Woof! Ok, so in a city of half a million people somewhere in China (trust me such ghost city does exist) all been removed to give way to the 12th Zodiac Tournament which takes place every 12 years. Where 12 of the deadliest mercenary warriors (at least that's what it says) with the names and attributes of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals are pitted against ... each other, the prize, one wish that could change their lives...or at least that's the plot..............but....................:

Good 7, Story: Killing me softly

..........That's not the whole case in this anime, good as it is since it was suppose to be a survival of the fittest, for a while it did deliver some sort of excitement of seeing them duke out with each other, that's the good part, but when one realizes as to how the characters die one by one, one would get the sense that the winner was already decided from the start. Now don't get me wrong , it has a good plot at least in paper, but as it goes on, the fighting and how the character dies becomes less of a priority and the focus was on the backstories of the characters, in a way it does provide some touching moment about some of the characters like Niwa Tori's and Kanae Aira's backstory, where you'll sympathize with them as to the horrors that they have undergone, but all that get's wash down as how evil they become. It's like giving you something nice only to be shock of the strings attached.

Poor 3, Art: Killing by Disgust

There goes them Japaneses' over-elaborate sense of crime of fashion, the character illustration were everything were just too ill-fitted, so let's go over them:

Toshiko Inō/Boar- In the start of the tournament we see her dressed for success , so why the heck was she wearing an office attire when she could have wore her outfit when she's killing some mrecs at the start of the first episode?

Michio Tsukui/Dog- Was he suppose to look like a dog or a werewolf? Cu'z his outfit was just too shabby to even be a hitman, he basically can pass as an mountain man who would kill anybody who stray in his territory.

Ryōka Niwa/Rooster/Chicken- So, as a chicken , what's up with that pitch fork that she never get;s to used?????Also, she's suppose to look like a chicken and not a club stripper who dresses up like a parrot. Also, the character should have been a man not some chicken shit girl who kills deceptively.

Misaki Yūki (Sharyu)/Monkey- Ok, she a mix of someone who is suppose to go hiking because of her backpack, green fatigue jacket and hiking shoes and someone who is going to an AKB48 audition with her zettai ryoki, head phone and bloomers, also her tied down hair and glasses add's to her dorkyness.

Sumihiko Tsujiie/Ram/Sheep- They should have use the younger version of him, his outfit makes him look like someone who should be in the 1880's era in Japan.

Yoshimi Sōma/Horse- All that muscle and meat should belong to the Bull.

Takeyasu Tsumita/Snake- Well he's dressed for the occasion, I give him that, but he should be handling a freeze gun and not a flame thrower.

Nagayuki Tsumita/Dragon- All white, seriously?????Also he ought be carry a flame thrower and not Capt Cold's freeze gun.

Usagi/Rabbit- Face-palm, major crime of fashion, he's like a gay stripper with that big puffy tail , rabbit ears and high heels.

Kanae Aira/Tiger- Ok, so were there any beaches or a pool party going on around the setting that she has to be in a bikini????? Major face-palm, major not dressed for the occasion............ though she does look hot in it. It would have been better if she opted for her Karate Gi than that bikini.

Eiji Kashii/Ox- Long hair, slim body, GAAAAAAYYYYYYYY, also that matador outfit????Sheees, he should be in the Bull Ring duking it with a wild bull, also he should have been the one to have the horse's meat and muscle and use his strrups as his killing weapon and not that Calvary saber.

Tsugiyoshi Sumino (Nezumi)/Rat- His attire makes him look like a member of the Power Rangers, which is too dorky and his hair was just too disgusting that he needs to see a hair stylist.

Duedeculpe- Is there a circus around here, cu'z that where he should be? Or maybe he's pimp, either way he's a major crime of fashion.

I really don't understand why in their back stories them characters were dressed for that occasion and not in this occasion .

Good 7, Sound: Killing me with joy

The score was for the opening and closing theme, cu's it suited that anime well, and that's that.

Poor 3, Characters: Killing the chef

Ok, so, I did mention something about being misplaced, also there is big plot hole as to how they got there special abilities which makes us wonder as how they got it in the first place , so let's discuss each of them:

Duedeculpe- The moderator of the Juuni taisen/ Wish granter who has the ability to grant any wish for the victor, so is he a man with influence or a demon? That is the question,given that he can grant such wish like magic and at the same time works like a mafia boss who makes money on the competition.

Tsugiyoshi Sumino (Nezumi)/Rat- He's the Killing All or Killing by Swarm or wtf kind of killing method he does, but the fact is he hardly kill anyone at all , the death of Ox was with consent and with his "Hundred Paths" shit kinda make him a cheater, which is the only way he won, but in the end the wish he choose was to forget the tournament was just too lame . Also him being the obvious winner serves as one reason for my score.

Eiji Kashii/Ox-The Killing Systematically guy, does he do that, cu's it doesn't look that way, cu'z he doesn't show any interest in joining the monkey's peace proposal, also, at the first couple of episode we see him just stab and slash anyone he sees , so where is the systematically there? Looks more like he's killing randomly, his killing should have gone to the rabbit cu'z he is the one who kills systematically.

Kanae Aira/Tiger- The Killing in a Drunken Rage kind of a girl, she started as a High School girl who is into martial arts who becomes crazy and drowns her sorrow with allota alcohol, so her being this Killing in a Drunken Rage, is not enough to describe her as a whole, she should have been the Killing Psychotically While in a Drunken Rage one ,cu'z in her backstory we did see her running amuck while killing were she see herself no longer a human but an animal and that is where the psychotically part belongs.

Usagi/Rabbit-The psychotic homo, ok so he's the Killing Psychotically guy, but let's not forget even psycho kills systematically so he should have been the Killing Systematically guy and not the Ox.

Nagayuki Tsumita/Dragon and Takeyasu Tsumita/Snake- They are like oil and water that original creator Nisio Isin tries to mix, ok so they both Kill for Money, but they both have a double standard in fact they are a double standard in everyway , they love money and yet we see them threw it away, they're both part of some cult that has different views and worshiped different patron deity and yet they function as criminal organization. So basically each twin can be any side of the coin, which is why for them to the Killing For Money twins doesn't suit them, Killing Deceptively is what they should be since they're very deceptive not only to others but to each other as well, as seen when the snake get to be killed by the Rabbit the dragon doesn't seem to mind, in fact he even feels relived to see his twin bro dead. also, it was unfair that the snake has to die first, his role should have been utilize further since he has to be the 7th person to die.

Yoshimi Sōma/Horse- So the man who is the Killing Silently is a pussy, disappointing that he has already lost his nerve the moment he encounters the Ox. Shit, all that muscle and speed , not to mention all the things he has undergone to have all that ability only went to waste. Killing His Time , is what he should be.

Sumihiko Tsujiie/Ram/Sheep- This Killing Deceptively old man, shouldn't even be in the tournament , unless the Original Creator uses a younger version of him. His Killing Deceptively doesn't quite make him , since he was more if a bomb and trap guy, so Killing Silently should have been his title, also his Killing Deceptively isn't limited to him, cu'z even the boar, chicken and them twins also kill deceptively.

Misaki Yūki (Sharyu)/Monkey- Ok, she a pacifist and a peace maker who prefers to Kill Peacefully, frankly her character was an oxymoron, cu'z how can she have such title as Killing Peacefully when she hates to see people dying, also, why would she be a merc when it's very obvious that she specializes in negotiations rather than warfare, she prefer to use her kung fu skills than with a weapon such as a gun or a knife.... Frankly the best way to describe her character in general was that she is like a knife in a gunfight or a dove in a flock of raptors, so really she should have the title Killing by Nagging. Also, the part where we see her setting explosive should have been done by the Sheep since he like things that goes BOOM.

Ryōka Niwa/Rooster/Chicken- Her Killing by Pecking was just sooooo lame , he should have had the rat's Killing All , since she, like them twins, was also as deceptive as them, as seen in her backstory and as we see she does kill all even her own side.

Michio Tsukui/Dog- As much as I hate to say it , his Killing by Biting suit him well, since dogs do carry rabies.


Toshiko Inō/Boar- For her to be this Killing Bounty fully is an understatement, since she has the ability to convince somebody to kill for her ,so she should have been the Killing by Mongering, since she did used some kind of hypnosis to make her sister kill everyone she knows, then again too bad she's the first to die, if we can call it that.

Good 7, Enjoyment: Killing by excitement

It was exciting when you haven't figure out the order of death, which is good, but as you find out the order, you'll be a bit disgusted , since the one you expect to put up a good fight didn't happen, the one we expect to win didn't happen cu'z there is reverse order of death, soooooooo....

Poor 3, Overall: Everybody Clap Your Hands

..........Was poorly executed, too predictable, and a plothole as to how those contestant got such ability were never mentioned.......season 2???????? Maybe.

Before I start this off, please know that this review is entirely based on my own enjoyment of the anime, and so it's heavily biased. I suppose reviews are usually like that, so even if you just wanna read reviews if you personally disliked the anime, you might enjoy seeing a different viewpoint.

But now let's get to the actual review. If you plan to watch it and don't want spoilers, don't read past this, though. Cause I'm gonna take this apart a little, and there's gonna be some little spoilers.

At first, I wasn't gonna watch Juuni Taisen. It was in the "New episode"-section whenever I ... went to my streaming site of choice, and I didn't really notice it. That was until my friend, a sworn lover of Battle Royale anime texted me some screenshots, telling me to watch it as soon as possible.

So me, bored and having wanted to pick up another seasonal anime just said "ok, sure" and I went to said steaming site of choice and checked out the first episode. I'm not a big fan of Battle Royale stuff, usually. It's cool in wrestling, but in anime? Eh, I had yet to find something I enjoyed.

I definetely enjoyed Juuni Taisen.

Story - 7/10
A lot of people call this show "predictable", and they're not wrong. If you know the chinese zodiac, or know the story of "the Zodiac Race", you'll know who'll win the anime. Hell, if you watch the ending or even pay attention, you know who'll win. And after two episodes, the old "Backstory equals Death"-cliche kind of makes it easy to know who'll die, too, so if you want to be surprised about who dies... Yeah, this probably isn't for you.
So why did I still give it seven points, even though the story was predictable and the deaths were mostly unpredictable? Well, the backstories were interesting, the reason the "Juuni Taisen" was held was kinda cool, and it was exciting to wonder about who would kill the victim the of the week, how they'd die, etc.
Towards the end of the show, there's even a little plot twist I genuinely didn't expect. I can see how the last episode made people get mad, by the way, but I found it bittersweet, and I like the idea of the winner's wish having been just that.

The reason it's still only seven of ten, is the fact that sometimes the flashbacks slowed down the flow, alongside some minor stuff, but it's still pretty good in my opinion.

Art - 8/10
Art and animation are definetely pretty well done. There's a lot of CGI, but to my surprise, it wasn't bad. Sure, sometimes, it was a bit weird on some characters in particular, but the action scenes definetely were made really dynamic at times because of it. The art style itself is pretty nice, making the characters look colorful and expressive. I also find a lot of the designs very attractive, which is a plus, if you're a shipper like me.
Backgrounds were fitting too, usually the city the tournament was set in, a lot of battlefields in the flashbacks, sometimes more domestic stuff. The characters fit in them well, and interacted with them a fair bit.
The way the "camera" moved helped making the shots more interesting too. All in all, the art was good, and I liked it a lot.

Sound - 9/10
The music, OP and ED included, was honestly really good. Especially the opening is something I listen to on a regular basis now (and the art in it is real good). The OST is all in all enjoyable, not forcing you to pay special attention to it, just setting the mood for the scenes. I can't even say a lot about it, it genuinely just was a good soundtrack. But I'm also known for not knowing music, so this is particularly subjective.
The voice actors did a great job as well, having just the right amount of ham for some of the characters. I can't really think of any character who didn't have a fitting voice, so kudos.

Characters - 8/10
Gotta admit: The reason I didn't rate this higher is because my favorite character didn't get any backstory, and I'm salty about it. But they still were a colorful bunch, and I loved them.
The girls, while all sexy and most of them wearing revealing stuff, each had their own personality without being reduced to a single character trait and being only there for the fanservice. The guys were equally fun, having a range of different body types and age ranges. A lot of them were "edgy" (especially Usagi), but that made them more enjoyable to me, because it's the type of edginess that makes something more fun. I liked the weird outfits everyone was wearing to look more like their zodiac sign (Tiger's fake ears, striped bikini and boots and tail-collar thingie, Boar's little hair-buns looking like pig ears and her tusk-earrings, Dog's dog ears and fur-cloak, Rabbit's.. everything), and the overall designs.
Their powers also were really cool, even if some of them lacked proper explanations on how the hell that would work. So.. yeah. I liked those characters.

Enjoyment - 10/10
With all the edginess, the gore and the crazy action, I found myself really enjoying this show. I'm a bit of a gore-hound already, and Juuni Taisen just really indulged me, giving me rolling hands, impaled torsos and a bulking abomination of reassambled flesh.
It wasn't a perfect show, but just something you could watch and enjoy the crazy violence and weird plot twists from time to time. I honestly had a lot of fun, even if there's shows I like more.
It was, what it promised to be, a colorful, crazy gorefest. And I'm glad I watched it.

Overall - 8/10
As I said, it's not the best show ever. It's got its flaws, it's predictable (if you don't like that) and it was edgy, but it was just really, really fun. I get why people wouldn't like it, or why they'd drop it, but it's a fun watch.

And this marks the end of my super subjective, really biased and kinda messy review. If anyone who hasn't watched this read this until now, and found themselves thinking "Wow, that sounds kinda fun, I might check it out", I'd tell them to give it a try. Maybe they'd decide to drop it after a few episodes, or get mad at the sorta cop-out at the end, but.. yeah.

Juuni Taisen definetely made my autumn a little more fun. I'm glad my friend made me watch it.

Ah Juuni Taisen, Incredibly a Nishio Ishin work, but I rather not enter in that area because, between all his works, this Anime lacks plenty of the twists he does on his stories, and I don't mean head tilts entirely. So what exactly is Juuni Taisen? I'll try not to write any Spoilers on this review, but you are warned.

The story of this anime goes around 12 War Assassins that are gathered to participate on a "Battle Royale" fest, the last man standing will have the power to have a wish. But Juuni Taisen is not exactly what you think it might be, take it ... this way: Juuni Taisen is NOT an action anime, at first I thought that Juuni Taisen would succeed if the fights were good despise not having story at all, sadly the fights were just a predictable slaughter fest to get rid of characters in order to have a winner. The true purpose of this anime, the one I found, were found in the very end, the wish. If you are the winner of the Juuni Taisen you get a wish, but what wish will you choose? Wealth?, Safety? World's Peace? "Not even 100 wishes could end a man's ambition" is an interesting quote I found at the end of this anime. Story: 4/10

The animation were smooth in the first episode, but each week the animation went downhill to the point of having CGi Models for the last fights, and it didn't just look bad, but pretty out of place after that amazing first episode and the animation that were set on it. Still some fights are quite good enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Art: 6/10

The OP sequence is quite catchy, there were some interesting fighting generic soundtrack included on this Anime as well as the sound effects, nothing really impressive, but it is quite enough. Sound: 5/10

This anime consist on the formula of setting death flags each time a character's back ground story is told, so there isn't a significant development to almost any character on this anime, except for the winner. Gladly I liked how it won and how much it struggled to get its wish. This end up being an interesting way to fill the lack of character development that this anime generated, it was interesting enough to redeem (Just a bit) this anime. Characters: 6/10

I won't lie, I did like this anime, even if it were predictable, it was enjoyable enough, specially towards the end. Sadly it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It could have been better, specially if it didn't have such stupid and pathetic way to kill off characters after showing up their background stories. At the end I discovered the true purpose of this anime, which wasn't a Battle Royale, but the wish, which was meant for the viewer to think about it, to elaborate what it is to have a wish to fulfill. What will it be? will it be enough? Is it right? That's up to you. Enjoyment 7/10

Overall 5,6 (6)/10: So Juuni Taisen isn't entirely a bad Anime, but it isn't that great either, it has its highs and its lows, This anime could have been a masterpiece if it were polished on a different way rather than being predictable.

There's nothing complicated about 12 super warriors in a battle royale. And it's not like this one is exactly ground-breaking. The universe is not well fleshed out and a lot of the plot is pretty predictable. Death flags everywhere.

I still enjoyed the show, the fight animations look great and though it's not difficult to predict who's gonna win, it's still fun to guess.

What's nice is that each character gets their own episode, fleshing out their back story so we can get an idea of what sort of background each of the warriors comes from. Each character is memorable in their own right and none ... of them are completely unlikable.

There's two main criticisms of this anime: the first is that it's really predictable. But I would say that the predictable nature was established as a given for the series from episode 1. Ultimately the show isn't about who dies, but how they lived and how they died. It's about the journey rather than the destination. Not that the show is all that deep, but it's not entirely brainless.

The second criticism is the ending. A lot of people disagree with the winner's choices and while I don't want to spoil too much, the show does reach a satisfying conclusion. "Wtf I wouldn't have wished for that" is not a valid criticism because they haven't lived the life of any of these characters. Ultimately, all of the warriors are human, with human desires (well except rabbit) and human weaknesses despite their ridiculous weapons and powers.

I've only finished three episodes so far and I can already say that this show has had a lot of potential, but, just as a lot of others have said, began to fade away very quickly. As a writer, I tend to be fair and unbiased when it comes to subjects such as what I enjoy and don't, and also tend to not let my personal interests get in the way of what I think is the score of the show. So, after three episodes, I am going to give my own score of what I think of it so far.

The art is pretty unique. ... It has a 3D aspect to it, but sways more with the 2D character style in terms of movement. The environment is interactive with how each of the characters react with different situations, and every character has a specific interest in what type of environment they wish to be a part of. What I like most about the environment is that each character is assigned to what they feel is most comfortable, such as the Monkey and Rat hiding within the sewer to keep themselves safe, while the others scour above to look for their next victim.

But the show isn't all about the environment and artwork and how good they are. It also has its downsides. This show, already, goes way too fast. And don't get me wrong, I don't mean timewise—characters that someone seems fond of always gets killed off early, such as the Dog. I loved that character the moment I saw him. I knew he would be strong, but when the anime kills him off so early, it makes me disappointed that I won't get to see someone I enjoy watching prevail instead of some other phony character.

That is what I want to talk about next: perspective and the enjoyment of characters. This anime doesn't give us the fulfillment of having one character and being in that perspective. Instead, with every episode, it switches around and causes mass confusion. Of course, it provides us with backstory of everyone, but it never sticks with one character, so we don't get to see how they develop emotionally. I think the closest we got to having a change in emotional view of the battle was the Chicken before she died. But, sadly, that was it. I think it was misleading to start out with Boar and have her killed off, because it made me very confused as to why they would kill a main character.

So overall, after talking about what I had previewed in my mind and what I wanted to express, I would give this show just a 6 for now. It's enjoyable, but not very good.

This is one of those shows I loved so much that I started plotting how a Western live-adaptation would go about it.

-The story, whilst nothing TOO creative, still adds a nice little spin on the 'Battle Royal' genre by making all the characters resemble the Chinese Zodiac animals. The show usually eliminates one contender per episode which is fine BUT it kinda tells you at the start of the episode who it's going to be by giving you all their backstory (not ALWAYS the case but just have it in mind). This personally doesn't ruin it for me as it's still as much of a ... surprise as the start of the episode and the journey of the episode is definitely still interesting enough to watch. The ending also very satisfying and not one of those cop-out shows that are becoming all too familiar these days - the 'winner' is surprising and the 'prize' is also cool.

- Art and sound nothing special what you would expect from shows now a days (which is actually pretty high quality).

- Each character definitely has their own distinct personality and has an interesting backstory to watch. The show begins with presenting you a supposed protagonist in the 1st episode and then completely pulls the rug out from under you which was a nice surprise and something I hadn't seen before in an anime. You can start to root for one character to win but for me personally I just had characters I didn't want to win. The backstory for the twin characters does drag on for too long (goes over two episodes) and kinda takes you outta the story for a bit but a minor failing.

TLDR: Basically an anime Hunger Games with very interesting characters.

Although I've seen my fair share of anime, Juuni Taisen will forever be memorable.

Likes:

1) The backstorys are unique and explore complex themes. Even though they usually only span one episode, viewers are left with a well painted picture of each protagonist, which sheds light on both internal and external conflicts we see today. The pacifist's story was especially clever and touches on the idea of empathy being the missing link in modern day politics. The twin's story explains why charity fails to solve the underlying causes of human suffering (our own corrupted values). And tiger's story touches on moral subjectivity ... but more importantly, what it means to hold fundamental principles and WHY we hold those beliefs.

2) The ending was fantastic. Rat's dilemma really makes us consider what our purpose in life is and what we truly want. Most people go through life seeking their dreams and aspirations without truly understanding what those aspirations are. Rat's internal conflict and eventual decision, especially pertinent as he is a high schooler, highlights the problems of modern day education (being a "cog in the social machine"): brilliant.

Dislikes:

1) Fight's could have been longer and better choreographed. I was oftentimes dissapointed by the overwhelming character buildup and underlwhelming death scene.

Overall, Juuni Taisen is able to fit a great deal of content into a 12 episode series. The story takes a common premise but like the Fate series, is able to incorporate insightful philosophies while keeping the episodes interesting. The series is easily a 7.

BTW
I don't have a problem with main characters dying. I'm a fan of the Game of Thrones style. Those who aren't: beware.

This anime is loosely based on the Zodiac Race. Is it worth your time? Definitely. Are you looking for a traditional Battle Royal anime? Then this is not for you.

Story:
The plot is what you will expect from a battle royal anime, but this time the focus is less on who is going to die, and more of a brief study of the aspirations and mindset each participating character has in this event. In that regard, it's also less about the battles themselves and more about the history and hubris of the characters; and in what way would it lead to their fate. If you ... are aware of the Zodiac Race, or have seen the first two episodes, then you would know immediately in what order each character will die. Juuni Taisen also heavily utilises tropes of irony and poetry.

Animation:
The combat scenes are well animated, despite not being the main focus. And the animation on a whole is consistent. There is one particular episode where the quality dipped lower than what's usual for this anime, but it wasn't to the point where the anime suffered. Computer generated animation was used in place of the more common 2D hand-drawn animation in that episode, but it was done in a way that it didn't matter.


The art for the characters are well-done as well. Each character has their own distinctive look and are easily recognisable from each other. They also have their own special way of walking and running, which helps sell each of their personalities. The background art doesn't stand out, and works how it was intended.

As for the sound direction, there aren't any particular standout soundtracks. There is only one piano track which stood apart from the rest. Otherwise, the opening and ending are standard fare.

Overall, you will find enjoyment out of this series if you have more interest in learning the history of the characters and wondering how they'll die, rather than musing about who will die.

It isn’t often that I pick up anime on the spot, but, as you probably could guess, I did so with Juuni Taisen. I just remember myself looking through the currently airing anime, saw a fairly simple premise, and thought I’d give something a shot I normally wouldn’t. I am glad I did so, actually.



Story:
If you have any clue as to what a “Battle royale” is, you’ll have a decent grasp of how the story of Juuni Taisen is set up. Twelve warriors, each representing an animal from the Chinese zodiac, battling to the death trying to get a single wish granted. Simple, isn’t it? ... In fact, this story is almost too barren at points.

Whilst the story manages to keep focused on the war itself, the part we came to see, it then sacrifices world-building. How can this war be arranged? Who set it up? How did they erase an entire city’s worth of citizens? Things like this are basically just left in the air, and whilst I can understand leaving some things unexplained, these questions bugged me throughout the whole anime, and I was constantly hoping to get explanations eventually, only to then get a very minor scene at about midway, and that’s it. You could say they knew what they needed to focus on, but it’s not like the story structure of this anime was even that complicated.



Characters:
So, you might be wondering, where did they focus on, if not the story? The battles? Well, even that isn’t the case, actually. Instead, Juuni Taisen decided to build on our twelve warriors a bit, by essentially giving everyone a single episode where they were the spotlight, flashbacks and all. Just saying that out loud doesn’t sound that bad, right? At least they treated everyone equally, you may think.

Well, it is true that pretty much all of the characters got an equal amount of background, they basically shot themselves in the foot at the same time. If it wasn’t obvious already, I can tell you that a single episode is not enough time to get the viewer to care about any given character. Especially when a lot of the runtime of every episode was just those flashbacks, which weren’t even that creative. So, to sum this up, they developed every character, but then in turn didn’t develop anybody enough. Parallels the phrase “Jack of all trades but master of none” quite well.



Animation and sound:
It’s unfortunate how much potential Juuni Taisen had, only to then end up rather disappointing in the end. By that I meant that the first episode especially had above average animation-quality, and some great choreography to boot. The animation wasn’t really ever as impressive as back then, and by episode 9 I can only assume the budget got so abysmal that they had to resort to CG animation. I’m not kidding. For just one episode, the scenes in present time were in CG, whilst the flashback-scenes of the episode had just really poor regular animation. It wasn’t as bad afterward, sure, but the score for the animation overall suffered heavily due to that one episode.

So, when one comes to watch a battle royale story, it’s understandable that they would like some action, or at least mind-games, correct? Seems like the people creating Juuni Taisen didn’t quite get that memo, however. Yes, ironically enough, this battle royale anime actually has very bare-bones action. And no, this is not a battle royale that isn’t supposed to have action, it’s meant to be a brawl. So it certainly started disappointing me when I saw how short every fight of the show was. That, and only a couple characters got an actual satisfying death, and a select few of the people who didn’t, felt almost rushed or unfinished.

In terms of sound, I don’t have much to say. There aren’t any tracks that were that memorable, although I do remember it being passable overall. The opening song, Rapture by Panorama Panama Town, was a delightful surprise that I’m listening to right now as I’m writing this, in fact. The ending was also decent, although definitely not on the same level.



Enjoyment:
So far, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought the first paragraph was from a completely different review, but maybe it all starts to make sense here. Despite falling short of even good on basically every category, Juuni Taisen pulled through in one aspect; Its concept.

Not every anime has to strife to be amazing, and I feel like the author of Juuni Taisen definitely got that. The story was so simplistic that it didn’t need to do anything outstanding or unique. The animation didn’t need to be breathtaking, the characters didn’t need to be developed too much other that giving the viewers an opportunity to differentiate each of them. If anything, the character-designs were so unique already that they didn’t even need to go much beyond that. If you look at Juuni Taisen as what it is instead of what it could’ve been, it isn’t disappointing in the slightest. If anything, it delivered its promise, and its simple premise got me interested, kept me hooked, and ended the story with me having a smile on my face the whole time. A job well done.



Conclusion:
Fate/Zero was a battle roayle anime that excelled at creating memorable characters with varied ideals and ambitions, and pinned those ideals against each other beautifully. And despite having insufferable main characters, Mirai Nikki succeeded as a battle royale with giving a unique set of powers for each contestant. Juuni Taisen, however, was a good battle royale anime by being just that. It didn’t do anything exceptionally well, if anything it was disappointing in a lot of ways, but Juuni Taisen’s fun-factor and simplicity are the things that made it enjoyable as a watch.

If you’re a fan of battle roayles like me, then definitely give Juuni Taisen a shot. If not, then I say it’s up to your own discretion. It’s not something I’d go out of my way to recommend to people, but to those that are curious, I say go right ahead. Take it as what it is and you’ll definitely get your wish granted.


Final score: 7

So, Juuni Taisen, eh? It was on my watch-list while I was watching the Summer anime of 2017, and now that I have watched it, what do I think of it? To be straightforward about it, this anime was probably my greatest disappointment in 2017. I’m usually not surprised if an anime is really bad, since I usually read the reviews and check its rating before I watch it. I did the same this time, but somewhere deep inside my heart, I was hoping that there might be at least one decent element to this anime. Perhaps the action scenes, perhaps the opening song, or ... perhaps a certain character that stands out? That wasn’t the case at all. I was let down by every aspect of Juuni Taisen.

I took an interest in Juuni Taisen because of its creator, Nisio Isin. He was also the author of the much acclaimed Monogatari series. The Monogatari series follows an excellent narrative and is able to indulge it’s viewers in the story, while Juuni Taisen focuses more on its characters. The plot of Juuni Taisen is pretty simple- it’s a battle royal among 12 warriors who have individual fighting styles that define them, and are each designated as one of the zodiac signs from the Chinese zodiac. Sounds familiar? Yes, the it’s similar to the Fate Series. But, that doesn’t matter as there are several anime with a battle royal theme. No complications until this part, but the problem starts from the first episode. It’s simply too predictable, unlike what a battle royal should be. The story is not compelling enough to persuade you keep watching, but even in case you decide to watch the rest, you’ll realize that it’s predictable for the entire 12 episodes. The plot had a lot of potential but it was poorly executed.

If you like blood, gore and psychotic bloodthirsty characters hunting down people all over a city, then maybe this anime is for you. For me though, it just didn’t work. Since I am talking about the predictability of this anime, let me just give you an example of how predictable it is- they pretty much show the order in which the cast dies in the opening video itself. I am a fan of anime openings with subtle clues about the story and plot, and one anime that does this beautifully would be Your Lie In April, but Juuni Taisen is just stupid. I mean there’s a thing called subtlety! You just don’t go ahead and put the order in which the characters die on the opening song! Get it together, guys.

As I have mentioned before, the show focuses on its characters, and despite that I could not find myself attached to the characters at all. Every character is provided with a backstory, and whenever the recounting of a particular character’s backstory begins, it means the said character is going to meet an untimely death sooner or later. The only character I felt myself feeling sorry for was Tora (Tiger), and even that was just a marginal emotion. The characters die in the most ridiculous ways. After all the talk of how skilled and experienced they are, they do the stupidest mistakes and poof, they’re gone. The worst character would be Usagi (Rabbit), since he is not even given a backstory like the others. The character of Usagi is just a sorry excuse for a psychotic, bloodthirsty killer they needed for the advancement of the story. For an anime that relies on its characters to make up the story, Juuni Taisen does a poor job at character development.

What can I say about the animation? Animated by studio Graphinica, the animation is awful too. The animators are so lazy that none of the battle sequences have been properly animated and this is supposed to be a battle royal. The trifling number of sword exchanges that have been animated are just a bunch of stills that are put together. As for the sound- wait there were sound effects? What? If there were, they were so appalling that I did not even notice them. Both the opening and ending songs fail to make an impact. I felt that they were just monotonous and boring.

So, would I recommend watching Juuni Taisen? Well if you’re someone who likes to watch unoriginal, thoughtless action that shows blood and gore and wouldn’t mind the predictability, then go ahead. I was greatly disappointed by this anime, and I hope I never come across something like this again. It’s just a waste of time for me and any person who likes to watch decent content. Sure, it had great potential, but potential in theory doesn’t matter if the creators have already failed to exploit that potential and made a sorry excuse for an anime.