Katsuren Omoro Soushi

Katsuren Omoro Soushi, from what I can tell, seems to be an anime produced for the express purpose of providing historical context for a particular museum in the city of Uruma, Okinawa that administers the ruins of Katsuren Castle, a place with marked cultural significance for the region due to the legend of the peasant-turned-king who once lived there, Amawari, and his complicated legacy as either a heroic king or villainous rebel depending on who you ask. I can't really say what exactly drew me to this anime, but having watched it I'll say this- it is an intriguing little anime, and while it doesn't ... really rise above its station as a museum ONA, I did learn a lot, and am glad I took the little time it takes to watch it. With 258 members at the time of this writing, and no score or reviews on MAL, I think it deserves a fair and thorough analysis through a review of my own. The story is its strongest aspect, drawing directly from history and dealing fairly with the historical scholarship and debate surrounding the subject at hand. The art is fine, with a fun art direction during historical flashbacks, though it is distinctly lacking in the animation department, feeling stiff and unnatural throughout. The sound is good, meeting all standards of quality, but is otherwise unremarkable. The characters are strong in the historical sections, but weak in the modern ones, which I am neither surprised nor disappointed by. My favorites are Amawari and his bride, Momoto-Fumiagari, mostly as characters of unique cultural and anthropological interest. Overall, I had fun with this odd little experience, and was given a glimpse into a tradition and history I don't think I would have heard about otherwise, given its hyper-regional specificity and cultural context. At the end of the day, if you're a history buff like me, give it a shot!