Vote for the Hidden Gem of Anime - May 2024

Tatakae!! Ramenman [Fight!! Ramenman]
Set in a land where several martial arts styles collide, including (but not limited to) Chinese Kung Fu, Japanese Karate, and South Korean Taekwondo. Yet amongst these Shaolin-trained fighters and men powerful enough to cut the face of a mountain, Victory Ramenman is said to be the strongest of them all. At a young age, he witnessed his father Somenman being murdered by members of the Cobra Gang (who are still running rampant to this day). Found and taken in by the wise old Chen Sou-Mei, Ramenman trains for 12 years under his master and learns the great Essential Battle Dragon (闘龍極意書, To Ryuu Gokui Sho) style of Choujin Martial arts. Now, with his young sidekick Shao-Mai, Ramenman travels the land seeking vengeance for his father, fighting several villains along the way.

The Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors
"During the blood-soaked feudal wars of Japan, the Awa clan faced certain extinction from a rival clan backed by demonic forces. Their clan's salvation becomes a curse when the family dog brings back the head of the enemy warlord but insists upon marrying the lord's daughter! This unnatural union bears fruit, but they are killed; and their eight unborn pups reincarnate as the eight Dog Warriors - The Hakkenden. The eight reincarnated souls travel their separate paths of violence and retribution, but slowly they come together as a formidable group representing the eight virtues of the bushido to slay the demons and redeem their clan!"

Souten Kouro [Beyond the Heavens]
Souten Kouro's story is based loosely on the events taking place in Three Kingdoms period of China during the life of the last Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao (155 – March 15, 220), who also serves as the main character.

The Three Kingdoms period has been a popular theme in Japanese manga for decades, but Souten Kouro differs greatly from most of the others on several points. One significant difference is its highly positive portrayal of its main character, Cao Cao, who is traditionally the antagonist in not only Japanese manga, but also most novel versions of the Three Kingdoms period, including the original 14th century version, Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. Another significant difference from others is that the storyline primarily uses the original historical account of the era, Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, as a reference rather than the aforementioned Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. By this, the traditional hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei, takes on relatively less importance within the story and is portrayed in a less positive light. Yet, several aspects of the story are in fact based on the novel version, including the employment of its original characters such as Diao Chan, as well as anachronistic weapons such as Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Zhang Fei's Viper Blade.

A consistent theme throughout the story is Cao Cao's perpetual desire to break China and its people away from its old systems and ways of thinking and initiate a focus on pragmatism over empty ideals. This often puts him at odds with the prevalent customs and notions of Confucianism and those that support them.