Kengan Ashura

First things first:
1- Watch the anime then read the manga, otherwise you gonna be disappointed
2- RIP Xamã
3- My english its not very good
Review:
I can define Kengan Ashura quoting comrade Dyatlov "not great, not terrible"
Is a good anime, if you like fights, violence, simple plot, metal sound track, good animation, ..., yeah you will have a good time watching.
But...
If you pay a close attention to some interactions /reactions in some scenes, you gonna noticed that it kinda miss something, and the answer is YES, they cut a few characters interactions that make few scenes actually make sense. "...And does it matters for the main plot?" No. ... "So why are you complaining?"
Because What make this a good anime/manga are the interactions of the main plot with the secondary characters, their fight styles, motivations, why they fight, why they became strong, why they follow that path.
"Yeah but who cares for them, they are there to be defeated for the main character"
It could be the case, IF it was not a TOURNAMENT, and that demands a lot of fights and each fight needs that the audience (us) cares about the fighters in order to cheers or hate one of them, otherwise it just be a waste of time screen.
"Dude they show some flashbacks during the fights"
Yes but eventually it doesn't work anymore, the audience [us] are not fool. In the manga the editor probably see that coming and ask for some minor interactions [beach chapter], here the direction/producer decide to ignore that, making some flashbacks become dull at certain point.
Score:
For me the first season was ok, i enjoy the fight scenes and the 3d doesn't make my eyes bleed [i am a 3d artist, so my point of view of 3d animation its kinda different from the regular audience]
This anime deserves a 7.75 but they cut the XAMÃ, so i'll give solid 7,0

I enjoyed the choregraphy in the fights. I had mixed opinions about the voice acting, but hearing Speedwagon's voice was a plus. Seeing the flashbacks in 2D still frames was an interesting choice, and I liked that.

I'd heavily suggest reading the manga, it has more developement and gives the characters more depth than the anime did. The anime only has so much time, but they cut off parts that I felt were essential to what made the manga such a masterpiece.

Those cut pieces like Yamashita's other son that gets a wake up call from Ohma, the lovely redhead-Rin, lots of flashbacks that added ... flavor to the characters that made them more dimensional. By cutting so many pieces out, this entire tourneyment arc feels a bit shallow.

Should you watch it? I'd have to say no, and suggest the manga.

Many people will go over as to how the CGI looks bad blah blah and so on, but we gotta take 1 thing in account. The studio that animated this one was a studio so unknown, it's only got other 3 anime produced, so their proficiency is clearly either bad or unknown. But that doesn't mean i didn't enjoy the CGI! The CGI did a great job handling the fight scenes and coreography, with a smooth flow and correct anatomy arrangement!
What really bothered me A LOT within this anime was the fact that, in order to squeeze out most of the story in 12 episodes, ... they came as far as to skip not only crucial development moments for Yamashita and Ohma, world-building scenes but as well skip entire fights! (as seen that they didn't show Kaburagi's fight). Sometimes even deleting characters to fit the budget (as they erased Yamashita's assistant existence). Even though the CGI is quite bad rendered it doesn't make the art style any worse. The high constrasted colors, exclusive flashback panels that look like they were straight out of a Comic Book and opening has shown us the intensity the anime is bringing us.
The soundtrack is pretty great not gonna lie, the opening is a banger, the tournament themes are good to listen and has introduced me to very cool japanese metal bands and i really didn't expect to find a japanese Trap group to have the ending space.
The voice acting fits quite well, but I really expected Nogi's voice to be deeper, but that's just me. Also, I love Ohma voice acting, it fits him perfectly.
Overall, it's a good watch, but not the one the manga deserved. The animation could be better to match the flow the manga had, and i definetly want the anime to remade by an actual animation company that's not a "pay cheap get cheaper results".

I will never be a huge fan of the mix between CGI and drawnscenes. I made it through it when i watched kingdom and i made it through with this one. But it is a huge negative in my eyes.

Theres alot of history explained that i didn't care much for. I found myself skipping most the explanations surrounding who someone was and why. There were just too many of those, i like the way AoT does it, with static screen with the info if you want to read it.

Overall found myself skipping everything before and after the fights.

Fights are cool tho!

First 5 eps ... are great the rest are very filler heavy.

Story-
7/10
The story is simple and interesting Kengan Ashura provides an interesting tale of bloodsport to fix business disputes among busiess tycoons. It's your usual high stakes fighting anime, but the animation is flawless and they do a decent job of fleshing out the characters. They aren't the mindless meat puppets that just fight to spill blood. The pacing is on par with the story that is being told. We see a number of matches being fought and also a decent exposition of the plot, without it feeling rushed.

Art-
6/10
The art style in the anime is truly is something that many hate as they use 3D ... models which a lot of people don't like, but it's good enough as far as I'm concerned. It isn't the smoothest thing, but it gets the job done just fine. What I really liked about the animation is the fact that they got most of the martial arts moves right and captured their essence pretty well. They showed combat where it was time to show combat. This is in contrast to Baki where combat is mostly just one-sided beatdowns. This anime actually shows the struggle behind combat and even the most overpowered character in the anime actually has to fight instead of just walking up to a guy and crushing them like a can of soda. People are all human in this anime complete with their weaknesses which are accurate from a martial arts perspective albeit dramatised. The violence is also pretty exciting and how it actually is when it comes to martial arts instead of the cult-like Baki violence full of shock content. The violence in this anime can get brutal and there are deaths and severe injuries as well, but they're few and not focused upon too much. They're more like the natural course of events in a fight to the death. All in all, I'd say that the animations in this anime are quite accurate, exciting, and enjoyable.



Character-
8/10
The characters in this anime are another story entirely. It is full of people with amazing physiques to start off. Even the extras look simply scrumptious, the characters do have their own backstories to them which do have humane content to them. Some of them make mistakes or go adrift from their paths, others are simply born evil, there are those who have great ambitions, then there are those who fight for the sake of others, and finally, there are those who want to prove a point to themselves and to the world. At a few points, it feels like they're just spamming you with character backgrounds to increase air time without having to animate a whole lot, especially since the backstories are often just still frames with sounds. But it all works out in the end. The anime also has a pattern of giving you backstories to certain characters just to make them lose in the end, probably to stoke your empathy on the broken hopes and dreams. Apart from that, even the secondary characters have quite some content to them than simply existing. In contrast to Baki the Grappler, there is much more by the way of content as far as characters are concerned. In fact, the characters and their struggles in the fights and the changing tide of the fight itself is pretty much what adds to the excitement of the Anime.

Overall- 8/10

I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy mixed martial arts anime or if you like watching weirdly powerful characters fight to the death It simply portrays the elements to martial arts and combat quite accurately and the only other anime I've seen which does it better would be Hajime no Ippo.

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Review ENGLISH / PORTUGUÊS-BR
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If you expect me to make comparisons to the manga, you're wrong. You can skip this analysis.

Well, as I said, I will only talk about the anime itself.

Kengan Ashura is an anime done in CGI and as incredible as it seems, as much as I am used to good old 2D (traditional anime design), the CGI of this work seemed to me very fluid.

This anime does not waste time, it is simple and objective in its presentation. It does not roll like most animes and one of the things I liked is that the beating happens all the time without mercy or ... pity, with a lot of blood and violence. The rating is not +18 xD.

Despite being a story centered and focusing his episodes on pure fighting, Kengan Ashura manages to amuse you with the absurd amount of characters (mostly fighters) and their unique personalities. You can also mix and work humor and drama effectively, being serious only when you really need to be.

It is not a magnificent anime, but it pleases me enough and enough that I continue to follow, entertaining and suffering from the bloody struggles and personal stories of its iconic fighters.

You can watch that at least you will have fun!

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Review em PORTUGUÊS
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Se você espera que eu vá fazer comparações com o mangá, você está enganado. Pode pular está análise.

Bom, como já disse, falarei apenas do anime em si.

Kengan Ashura é um anime feito em CGI e por incrível que pareça, por mais que esteja acostumado com o bom e velho 2D (desenho de animes tradicionais), o CGI dessa obra me pareceu bem fluída.

Este anime não perde tempo, ele é simples e objetivo em sua apresentação. Ele não enrola como a maioria dos animes e uma das coisas que gostei é que a porradaria ocorre toda hora sem dó e nem piedade, com muito sangue e violência. Não atoa a classificação é +18 xD.

Apesar de ser uma história centrada e focar seus episódios em pura luta, Kengan Ashura consegue te divertir com a quantidade absurda de personagens (a maioria lutadores) e suas personalidades únicas. Consegue também mesclar e trabalhar o humor e o drama de forma eficaz, sendo sério somente quando realmente o precisa ser.

Não é um anime magnífico, mas agrada bastante e o suficiente para que eu continue acompanhando, me entretendo e sofrendo com as lutas sanguinárias e as histórias pessoais de seus lutadores icônicos.

Pode assistir que ao menos você irá se divertir!

i rarely write any reviews , but if im writing now that means this show was awesome . tbh i was actually not sure if this was good . oh boy was i wrong . whoever is complaining about the show just because of the cgi then they need to see this from a different perspective . infact i thought the cgi went really well with the fight scenes .

art style - 10/10

the art style was amazing in this show , the detail-ness even for a scene that was less important was amazing to watch . infact the art style contributes majorly to the fights ... .

animation - 8/10

now this is where many people bash the show for using cgi . i thought as many were complaining about the cgi this would be a total letdown but expect for the first episode i dont feel like i was letdown by any scenes in the anime . infact i came to a conclusion that the fight scenes were way better with the cgi

story - 9/10

the story was amazing . if you love hand-to-hand combat then i cant find any reason not to watch . if you have seen baki series , kenichi the mightiest disciple you would love this . compared to baki and kenichi the fights are bit realistic in this . different martial arts like JKD , JIUJITSU , MMA , WRESTLING , JAPANESE MARTIAL ARTS are used in this . the fight scenes are candies to the eye . the fights are sometimes predictable but that wont stop you from enjoying it .

characters - 9/10

characters from all over the world represent themselves in show , that is what makes this "fighting" anime amazing to watch . as there are fighters from all over the world you get to see different forms of martial arts . all characters are unique in their own way


sound - 10/10

the sound effects were amazing . one of the best op and ed i have seen . the fight sounds complimented really well for the action making it complete


enjoyment - 10/10

i show dont binge shows if i dont find it enjoyable , i binged this show in 2 days . is there any need to say more

overall - 9/10

this show was pleasing to the eye . the fight scenes were smooth and amazing

*This review is for Parts 1 & 2

Kengan Ashura is a very interesting show. Often overshadowed by its fellow Netflix ONA, Baki, it is not given nearly the amount of recognition it deserves. I've also always felt like a lot of people are on the fence about watching this show, so to those of you wondering whether or not to watch it, I come with a review to sate your curiosity!!

Visuals:
One big turn off for a lot of people is the CGI used in this show, but if I'm being honest... It was actually kind of good??? Now, don't get me wrong, I will always ... prefer hand-drawn animation to CGI when it comes to animation, but the CGI used in this show, in my opinion, is leagues better than the absolute crap that is used in shows like Berserk (2016). Plus, a lot of the times the CGI actually made the fight scenes look better. It also helped that I really liked the art style of the show as well, because while it was nothing too amazing, it was still pretty nice to look at.

Story:
The story, while nothing too unique or new, was still pretty compelling to me, and I actually felt motivated enough after finishing the anime to go read the manga. It's your typical setup for a tournament arc, except with a slight twist. I don't really have much else to say story-wise concerning this show.

Music:
The one metric that everyone seems to judge anime OSTs by is if they have at least one song good enough for you to choose to listen to outside of the show, and unfortunately, Kengan Ashura's OST does not. The opening is alright at best, and mediocre at worst, and I didn't even bother listening to the ending. But the OST isn't really that bad, even if I may be making it sound that way, it's just mediocre.

Characters:
The characters are all likeable enough, but I wouldn't expect a ton of character development for the side characters, because the anime does cut a few corners when it comes to adapting the manga. One of the high points of the show, however, is the characters interacting with each other. The way all the characters bounce off of each other can lead to both some hilarious and some epic moments.

Final Thoughts: While this show does not have the same mass appeal of Baki, I still enjoyed it quite a bit, and I highly recommend you go check it out. While not a great anime, it was certainly a decent one I enjoyed mightily, and you may too. And to anyone who didn't like the show, I recommend reading the manga, because many consider it to be one of the best martial arts manga out there.

Final Score: 6 (Bordering On 7)

this shit fire not gonna cap
badass streetfighter
good character
hidden power well i already said fuck it


THE MAIN CHARACTER IS OHMA TOKITA IS A TYPE DUDE THAT WANTS FIGHT AND A ROUGH VEGETA
PERSONALITE A LITTLE.HE HAS A STYLE THATS CALLED NICKO STYLE ITS FROM HIS BIG BROTHER NICKO TOKITA BUT HE DIES FROM A FIGHT.

U KNOW I WONT SAY SHIT JUST WATCH LIKE 3 EPISODES AND IF U DONT LIKE IT FUCK IT
...
FUCK IT LETS TALK ABOUT THE SIDE CHARACTER HIS NAME KAZUO YAMASHITA HE THE BOSS OF TOKITA HE IS FUNNY AND HE LIKE IS FATHER TO OHMA TOKITA.KAZUO YAMASHITA HAS A SON THAT IS WEIRD OR SOME SHIT JUST WATCH IT
THERES 2 PARTS AND BOTH OF THEM HAS 12 EPISODES SO U WATCHING 24.

I don't know why I enjoy this anime so much but I just do. The 3D is weird at first but when you get into the action it really shines and makes it just feel better. I have no idea why but I actually care about each side character and the fights are exciting between the different characters. So far, it seems like the story is lacking but the fights make it worth it. I also like that they don't have powers but instead have been honing their bodies for years for a certain "power" kinda hard to explain but you'll see. If you want ... an anime to occasionally watch I think you should give kengan ashura a shot.

After discovering the anime through it's opening "KING AND ASHLEY" by My First Story, I gave it a shot and it did not disappoint.
The story simplistic, yet great takes a unique stance on Japan and its societal aspects as well as doing a great job on maintaining realism while adding some elements of fiction such as implementing realistic scenarios in their fights while hyperbolizing a few techniques, fighting styles, and adding unique abilities to a handful of characters.

The art is pretty bad as it utilizes cgi, but not to the extent of berserk 2018 is palpable, shifting between 2d to cgi.
The soundtrack is ... great, using music from various artists with a variety of rock music and pop though I only liked a few songs.

The characters are great as each of them gets their backstory and gives us a reason why they fight though, they take good chunks of episode time when they fight. They also receive great character development as the story progresses especially Ohma and Cosmo as they become better characters when they find stronger reasons to fight than just win and become the strongest.

Overall, It was a great show but after reading the manga, I find it hard to look back and rewatch the series when there's a noticeable difference when the overall stories , art, and characters between the original and adaptation when the adaptation omits certain characters and have worse art than the manga

The animation of Kengan Ashura has something peculiar about it. The creators opted to switch between 2D animation and CG during fight scenes. However, this description is misleading because in most dialogue scenes, they still use the CG animation. I would have preferred if they had chosen one or the other. Nevertheless, the CG animation during fight scenes made them appear more realistic, and for the crazy moves they wanted to showcase, it was the best option. Not only due to the budget but also for the viewer, as it made the movement of the fight more visible. In 2D animation, the action is usually ... too fast, and the frames can look distorted. This can result in less impact on each hit. While I still prefer 2D animation if done correctly, I appreciated the style chosen for Kengan Ashura. In comparison to recent seasons of Baki, which don't use CG animation as often, Kengan Ashura's fight scenes had more movement on each hit. Another significant factor that makes the fight scenes smoother and more satisfying is that you can actually see the dodges and punches that connect, something that is often lost with 2D animation because it is so quick.

This series hasn't taken any big swings yet, but it's a fun ride complimented by some excellent CGI animation to really make its fight scenes pop. I don't think the visuals work as well when they're not in motion, and some of the character designs look better in 2D, but I can't argue with their choice to go this way for the anime. It just makes it stronger. That being said, there's not a whole lot of buy-in to the characters yet, and though the tournament is moving by quickly (an improvement over many of similar anime like Baki, IMO, as is the wide diversity ... of fighters and styles on display), the gravity of the whole thing still feels light beyond the basic "who will survive?" element, since we're not very clear on what leadership of the Kengan Association actually entails or why it's so essential for so many. Still, for a series that goes full steam ahead, it knows what it's doing and much of that can wait.

When I first came across Kengan Ashura on Netflix, I saw the trailer and wasn't interested in watching it due to the CGI. After watching Baki on Netflix which I hated (you can find my review on MAL). I didn't feel like wasting more time on a senseless and violent action anime. It was later recommended by an anime YouTuber that I feel has good recommendations and I have mutual interests with, so I decided to give it a shot.

The CGI was a bit of a downfall but not as low as I thought it would be. The CGI rigs seemed to help the animators ... with the action sequences. The white powder puff of smoke with each hit seemed and the exaggerated reaction of the fighters for attacks was cheesy in 3D. Would I rather prefer it to be in traditional anime style? Absolutely, the reaction shots of the side characters during the fights are traditional animation and they look really good. The show does possess the aptitude to do great animation, as they showcase in the flashback and exposition scenes of characters that have different animation styles and are done very well. I just feel that in regards to action anime, traditional animation just feels right and the impact of every attack is almost tangible.

The show is based on a practice held for hundreds of years known as the Kengan Tournament, where big corporation find a fighter to champion their company and go up against others champions, where they battle over business disputes or for exclusive rights to do business in certain areas, wager their entire company, net worth, etc, on top of which the representative of the companies can have personal wagers against each other like stocks and so on.

The story then leads to senseless and brutal violence but, the simple premise coupled with likable characters in Kazuo Yamashita, Lihito, etc is able to hold the series together and make it watchable. Kengan Ashura does overuse a lot of action anime tropes and not the good ones, like the crazy guys who fight to kill because they just do, the crazy fighter chicks who are interested in mating with the main character. It manages to still be funny and the characters are memorable, although that might be due to Ohma calling everyone by their full name.

The show alludes to the main characters having some character development in-store. They are interesting enough to get invested in.

Final verdict, Kengan Ashura is just a big dump of action anime tropes made with bearable CGI but, has enough energy and heart to not only be watched but enjoyed.

Caprico Honest Mediocre Review.
Specimen:
Kangan Ashura
Studio: Larx Entertainment
(Anime Only)
The series relies on the use of computer-generated animation the majority of the time while still using some of the traditional hand-drawn animation although on a less frequent scale and for art. At first, it starts choppy not to mention reuse of the same animation. However, as you continue to watch the series you see improvement in the company animation so.

As for the general series, it's a show with some flaws which can be improved. One is not the biggest flaw of the series is the use of exposition. In every episode, there is ... always a major abundance of exposition either used by the characters themselves for other characters or the story to help the audience better understand what's going on rather than allowing them to figure it out themselves.

Another area where he needs some improvement is its characters. Some characters don't seem that very interesting. This is caused mostly by the character's motives. The primary motive for the most interesting characters which are the competitors is common to be the strongest and their reason behind. Yet the majority fall under either being the pitiful, noble, or questionable.
Finally, my last area of improvement for the show is the constant rising of tension. It's appropriate for a competition to have a rise in tension with the adrenaline, emotions, and stakes coming into play; especially when it involves money and business However in this series, the tension is hindered. If you take into account the mere exposure effect which implies you are exposed to something constantly then eventually you mentally and physically become used to it and is no longer stimulating and powerful enough as it used to be when you were first exposed to it. That is where the series is hurt because of its constant rise of tension with a new bad guy or a dramatic revelation in the middle of the fight. Because the tension is always rising it just doesn't excite you anymore and thus you rely on something else to enjoy as the series continues. Luckily those issues do improve as the show continues but they're still there so it's a good show to see especially if you're a fan of martial arts; as there is plenty of violence and hand to hand combat. For the conclusion of my review, I give this series a 7.5/10 due to its entertainment.
But if you do enjoy seeing a bunch of steroid freaks, brutally smashing and kicking the ever-loving shit out of each other with nothing but their skills, ripped body and strength then this shows is right for you.

Watching Kengan Ashura right after having watched Baki was definitely a mistake. I thought both shows were in the same vein, turned out I was wrong.

Kengan Ashura approaches the world of underground fights in a very different manner and hearing people comparing the two shows at this point does nothing but cringe my brains out my nostrils, very graphic yes, but not as surprisingly graphic as Kengan Ashura was.

We first get introduced to Ohma, a very silent and unfriendly dude, fueled with excitement over every opportunity to throw hands he gets, as we get more familiar with his strange attitude, we slowly unravel more about ... his past, un-cohesive fragments that let us peek closely at what sort of man he really is. On the other side of the coin, there is Yamashita Kazou, an old Japanese salaryman, so fed up with his life, the non-ending bills and debt is catching up to his last nerves, with no way out, he gets involved in this gruesome underworld fighting scene with a promise for a better and more stable life.

What really put Kengan Ashura above Baki narratively was the plot itself, there is a lot of politics to what seems like just a sublime fist fight. Global corporations are at stake and influence is constantly shaping up to be the decider of fates here. It throws itself under a curve ball but comes off as a full-powered continental crossing canon shot, full of promise and rights to come.

Looking at this first season alone, not much can be praised, but it's one of that stories that lays itself a strong foundation and builds upon it in time. So many intriguing characters make their debut and a lot of rivalries are set up from the get-go.

Overall: 7.3/10.

Big guys and awesome fights. What more can you want.

The fight scenes are interesting, not always fast and not always slow. This anime does a good job at pacing itself. The back stories of each fighter can be a bit much but it does draw out more of a understanding of why they are here. This can give us as viewers more reason to invest in some of the fighters even if they lose. The multiple and unique styles so many characters have is a wonderful addition. This really gives this martial art/action anime its flare.

The story is interesting, brings the reason why the fighters ... gather even if its feels a bit forced.

This anime receives a thumbs up for me. And on to S2 I go.

First the stuff i didn't like-This has to have some of the worst writing and characters. It was really damn cringe .In episode 4 some creeper comes out and says something like " I can't wait to get over beating you so i can spill my seed". And the characters just all said generic tropy shit like they all knew they were trying out for a movie. The fighting was actually pretty good. I just don't like 3-d. it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing to me. EVERY damn thing has to be explained to you like you are an idiot. It was as bad as ... in Inuyasha when every one saw the 1000th wind scar. Except here they explain about breathing, why you need to do it to stay up, pro wrestling superiority, and the basics of human movement.

As for how the characters looked. For a 3-d animation i thought they actually looked pretty good. Some looked really goofy but for the most part... yeah good job. The fighting and choreography was really good. I was kind of disappointed that the story and dialogue was so bad.

The music i thought had some of the best opening and outro OST. Even the the fight music was pretty good. Sometimes though it would play sad music during a scene that seemed comedic and stupid to me so i would be confused how i was supposed to feel.

If you asked how to rate this on just fighting and music id say 6.5. if you asked me to rate it on character dialogue and story id say a 3. It was just hard to watch when it wasn't the main man on screen. ( What was with fight against Rick Sanchez's long lost son at the beginning? AHHAHHHa that shit had me rolling. "my pinch strength separates me from humanity!"

"Kengan Ashura" had promise but is let down by poor CGI animation. The visuals often feel stiff and unnatural, making the fight scenes less engaging. Instead of the fluidity expected from a martial arts series, the animation appears cheap and rushed.

Character designs lack consistency, which harms immersion. The reliance on CGI dulls key moments, making them feel more like a video game than a compelling narrative.

Pacing is also off, with awkward transitions and lackluster choreography that fails to build tension. While the premise is intriguing, the execution falls flat. Overall, "Kengan Ashura" is a missed opportunity, failing to deliver the intensity and excitement fans were ... hoping for. If you're reading this I'd recommend you go watch "Baki" instead.

1/10

This is a fighting anime so there isn't much to expect story wise, except the fights of course. As always there is a use of a lot of bs during the fights. For example, making up, in the middle of the match, a new technique that nobody knew about before, was ever hinted, so the chosen party can win. But this isn't uncommon in the shonen genre, but having to use this everytime isn't a good display of writing skills from the author.

But, if it was only that, this could have been a 6. The reason for this low score another: stupid nationalism shoved from ... the author. Caricature of african american people. Caricature of international nations, except Japan, which is perfect. Especially jarring how they ridcule everything of value of other nations while simple stuff of Japan gets spotlighted. Incarnation of a technique looking like missile, incarnation of a god, all these beaten by contracting the muscle and anti-riot police, of course. The first death, of course, from another nation. Japanese fighter uses kayoken from nowhere and then kills the priest that loved his sister.

The thing is that i know this is a Japanese opera but there was absolutely no reason to bring those themes in any way to the story. Stay racist Japan, as always.