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- BirthdayMay 28, 1994
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Sep 11, 2022
(NOTE: Bare in mind that I am writing this review based on my knowledge about Tekken and also based on the fact that you, the viewer, are aware of the source material's lore.)
A great anime that is quite accurate to the lore of Tekken and its CGI animation displaying a great fluidity of character movements and fighting scenes. That's all you need to know to actually enjoy this anime. But maybe I should add something else to the mix...
First of all, I'm an avid Tekken fan. Played ever since the first title came for the Playstation 1, played all series ever since until the latest
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one, Tekken 7. So I may be nitpicking some elements that this anime lacks compared its original source material. Also, I'll be spoiling some moments here and there, so if you haven't watched the anime or even heard about Tekken... BE WARNED!
Tekken Bloodline feels like a breath of fresh air when it comes down to videogame-based anime. Most of them either lack lore accuracy, constrained by a very limited animation budget, faces suboptimal voice acting... basically the anime version of movie-based videogames and/or videogame-based movies. But Tekken Bloodline has none of that. I'll explain more detailed down below.
Story: 8/10
Tekken Bloodline takes place after the events of Tekken 2 and into the story of Tekken 3. Young martial arts prodigy Jin Kazama is in Yakushima training with his mother, Jun Kazama, in the Kazama-Style Martial Arts. One faithful day, a powerful entity known as 'Ogre' invades the Kazamas' home and seemingly kills Jun while Jin behind unconscious. After waking up, Jin now has to take his mother's last wish: to train unter the tutelage of his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima. Heihachi is the leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu, a megacorporation that sells weapons and military equipment to all over the world. Whoever controlls the Zaibatsu controls the fate of the world, as its leader can declare war on any nation it wants.
Heihachi then trains Jin in the Mishima-Style Martial Arts, wanting to teach his grandson on the more offense-oriented style of this family's martial arts and unlearning the more defense-oriented style of the Kazama arts. Throughout the years, Jin trains under Heihachi and becomes a powerful fighter. The main focus of the story is Jin's revenge on Ogre for killing his mother. Knowing his grandson's quest for revenge, Heihachi declares a new worldwide fighting tournament known as the King of Iron Fist. Turns out that Ogre is an entity that is attracted to strong fighting spirits and tends to absorb them, therefore the tournment was a perfect way to lure him out. However, Heihachi also has a motive to encounter Ogre, though it is kept secret to everyone, even Jin himself: he wants Ogre's blood sample in order to transfuse with the blood of his own to achieve immortality.
The story, in a nutshell, is a vengeance tale of Jin wanting to avenge his mother's death at the hands of Ogre. Seems simple enough and does follow the lore of the original source material. Throughout the story, we get a glimpse of the devil gene that Jin inherited from his father, Kazuya Mishima, whom Heihachi defeated years ago and seemingly killed him. I gave the overall story an 8 because it follows Tekken 3's storyline quite well. Jun's fight with Ogre is well crafted, Jin's training sequence with Heihachi gives us background scenes that we really needed, and the final battle against Ogre was pretty good (not perfect).
My only complaint is how Jin got the devil gene from his father. In the original lore, there are two fundamental aspects: while being pregnant with his son, Jun had to battle the devil gene, a half that was seperated from Kazuya, so that it would not insert itself into his son's body; and in the intro sequence to Tekken 3 game, there's a scene where the devil gene inserted itself into Jin's grown up body, giving him a tattoo on his left arm. However, in this show, when Jin is a young teen, he posesses no tattoo, but a scene later after growing up, we see him with the tattoo on his left arm, which indicates that he now carries the devil gene. But the show never explains how he got that tattoo nor showcased any scene or flashback to the moment the devil gene possessed his body. We are only given an explanation by Heihachi that Jin inherited the devil gene from his father, that's it. So there was no battle against the devil entity neither by Jun nor Jin, as it just suddently appeared in the young man's organism.
Characters: 6/10
The character section could've been improved so much, as Tekken has a rich cast of characters that has grown exponentially since its first release in 1994.
The main focus is Jin, obviously. We also have good secondary characters that are actually well accurate to the games in terms of personality like Jun, Heihachi, Hwoarang, Xiaoyu, Nina, Paul, King and Leroy. These are the characters that are well presented in the show and are more focused on. However, I wished to see and know even more about them. Especially Nina and Paul, we know so little about them other than Paul was Kazuya's rival in the last tournament and Nina is an assassin that wants to... well, we never know exactly her true intentions actually. Also Julia is in the show, but her only motivation is to recuperate a pendant from his mother stolen by Heihachi. If you're a Julia fan, then get ready to be disappointed as she is barely present, even though it seems that they want to present her as someone influential to the whole show.
If you know about Tekken characters, then you may be surprised by the mention of Leroy. Turns out the writers took some liberties on adding characters from other Tekken games post-Tekken 3. In only one scene, we get presented to the whole roster of fighters in the tournament. You have, accurately to lore, characters from Tekken 3 like Lei, Anna and Yoshimitsu. But then you have characters like Steve Fox, Craig Marduk, Feng Wei that debuted in Tekkens 4 and 5, and characters like Wang Jinrei and Marshall Law that appeared in past Tekken games but not in Tekken 3. Besides Leroy, all these characters mentioned are just cameos, but that immediately presents a plot point to the story of the show: the relationship between the secondary characters and the cameo characters. For example, in the show Paul stated that he was trained by Marshall Law and was a good friend of his. Law was participating in this tournament (in the show, not canon-wise) as we saw him on that fighter roster introduction scene. But there was NO interaction between both of them, as if Law was never present. The same goes for Nina, who in the original games had a (deadly) rivalry with her sister Anna, and here in the show we never see them together, and hell, Nina never even mentioned Anna throughout the whole show. So what is the point on introducing certain characters in the show as cameos that are really influential to some of the secondary cast if they never interact with each other? I guess only for the sake of nostalgia, but nostalgia only works when it's done properly and not greatly rushed.
The "original nine" of Tekken Bloodline (Jin, Heihachi, Hwoarang, Xiaoyu, Paul, Nina, Leroy, Julia and King) are the only ones given character development, but even then some are just wasted (like Paul, King and Julia).
Also, the show could've benefited with other great characters from Tekken 3 that were absent here like Bryan Fury and Eddie Gordo, but only if they were introduced and developed properly.
Music: 5/10
The soundtrack is... mediocre. Just mediocre. The intro music leaves much to be desired, and it doesn't really fit a fighting anime of this caliber. The soundtrack throughout the whole anime range from good to boring. They could've benefit so much here if they actually used... oh I don't know... maybe the soundtracks FROM THE ORIGINAL GAMES? The Tekken games have such awesome soundtracks, some of the best of any fighting game! Why couldn't the studio obtain some licensing to use these OSTs? Or worse, maybe they COULD'VE used the videogames' soundtracks but chose not to because... reasons. Very disappointing.
Animation: 7/10
To be honest, I'm really glad that the studio went for a 3D CGI animation in this one. Don't get me wrong, I am always more inclined towards 2D animation, but there it actually works using the CGI one. This show really tried to recreate the moves that were present in the original games, including the original character movesets and combos! It displays that the writers had done their homework and wanted to make the fights as faithful as possible to the Tekken games. For this, CGI animation was a need, because, in all honestly, 2D animation might've not worked this way, since Tekken's moves and combos are so fluid that 2D animation could not truly encapsulate.
My only complaint is, just like the majority of complaints towards 3D CGI, the character models and normal movements (without fighting). Save from a few exceptions like Heihachi, Leroy and Ogre (whose models are well presented), most of the characters' presentations are not all eye pleasing. Like Jin in his devil form, for example, was underwhealming and did not feature that haunting and even scary look that he carried in Tekken 5. Another example, Paul's eyes are kinda badly shaped, like he has some sad eyes. That's just to name a few, but this did not destroy the experience for me.
Overall enjoyment: 7/10
Overall, I liked this anime. It's not your typical 90's anime show or OVA that uses a fighting game IP to create a story that barely looks or even feels like the original games (I'm looking at you Samurai Shodown, Street Fighter Alpha, Art of Fighting and Night Warriors). An it certainly is a MASSIVE improvement upon the crappy Tekken The Motion Picture. It is, in fact, a good story that is faithful to its source material, that tries to recreate everything you love about Tekken with the exception of the soundtrack and some character storylines. For only 6 episodes I know it's short and this show could've really been expanded more, but for what we got I think was a good enjoyment. I believe that Tekken fans will feel satisfied with this one, while newcomers to Tekken and its lore will find this anime a bit confusing in most aspects because I feel this anime is more inclined towards fans of the series rather than trying to appeal to the wider audience. Even so, Tekken fans like myself find this series with plenty of room for improvement. I hope if there's a ever a season 2 of Tekken Bloodline that we get to see the storyline of Tekken 4, which has, in my opinion, the darkest but deepest story of all Tekken games.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 2, 2022
Shenmue the Animation is every bit as faithful to the original two videogames that is based on. With that being said, it shares both its greats and its flaws.
A brief disclaimer: I've played the first two Shenmue games, the first one on emulator because I never owned a Dreamcast. Then I played the HD versions on PS4 and then I did NOT buy Shenmue III as when I knew how the story progressed and ended it instantly turned me off. But that's a thing for another time and place.
The creator of the series, Yu Suzuki, was visioned by many in the videogame community as a
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God, a great man that never got the recognition it deserved. His way of non-linear storytelling that clearly affected the videogames play-style left a mark on the industry, to a point where his legacy could've been on par with the likes of Hideo Kojima (that is, until Shenmue III came where people began to question Suzuki's credibility in storytelling).
Now on to the anime itself. When I first saw the story trailer for the series, I was really excited. The story looked faithfull to the videogames it was based on, the animation looked amazing, the voice acting was not terrible, and it left a kind of spark of hope that Shenmue's story could actually see its beginning and, especially, its true ending. Then I realised that Suzuki-san was the producer... and the story was focused entirely on the first two games... and there will only be 13 episodes. Things did not look... too hopeful for me. For those who don't know, the second game ended on a rather sour note, which left a handful of gamers in almost 20 years crying in agony for a continuation of the story. Experiencing the whole thing in anime version would either re-open the wound or make the experience more delightful and nostalgic for the better reasons.
Then I saw the anime and... I actually enjoyed it! It was fun, it had great action scenes, a simple but effective plot, good character interactions, and a great moral story. It also contains many nods to the source material but they were actually made better and more watchable with better dialogue than the unintentionally laughable ones on the games.
The main premise of Shenmue is that vengeance can blind you in many ways. It can dehumanise you, cause you to never think ahead of acting, make you hurt people both physically and mentally (including yourself). And that is what the main character, Ryo Hazuki, is facing. The death of his father by the hands of Lan Di triggers Ryo into finding his father's murder and finish him as revenge. This causes Ryo to search his hometown in Japan for clues and answers to where Lan Di is, and eventually leads him to travel to Hong Kong to meet with a man who is the next target for Lan Di's quest. Meeting with this man will reveal Lan Di's position, where Ryo will finally confront his father's killer.
However, Ryo's travellings will cause him to meet with several people, most notably martial artists, who will guide on his quest by providing him teachings on the martial arts realm. That includes not only learning new moves, but also teaching some life-living philosophy to Ryo to restrain him from his vengeance goal. Eventually, Ryo comes to realisation that it is not exactly vengeance that he wants... but rather seeking the truth and clear his father's name as the killer of Lan Di's father.
What I like about Ryo is that he is, in fact, a flawed character. He is an 18 year old boy who is brash, impulsive, prefers to take action into his own hands, doesn't think before getting into a fight. But he is kind-hearted, helps those in need, doesn't take anyone for granted, and even aids people into rethinking their choices. He is a strong fighter, taught by his father's martial arts in the Hazuki-style Jiu Jitsu, but can get into trouble which causes him to be punished by his actions. You'll see several scenes of Ryo getting knocked-out because of his brash-like mistakes. But those are moments of reflection for him, and as result, much thanks to new friends he comes across in his journey, becomes a better person. That's what I like about him: he learns from each moment, but he is not prone into getting into trouble. He is what I like to call a good-natured flawed character, which many viewers can relate to.
Besides Ryo, my favourite character has to be Joy. She is a 18 year old woman from Hong Kong that is known for her rebelious attitude and riding her tradebike red motorcycle. She is the first one to help Ryo after his arrival on Hong Kong and even provided some accommodation for him. While most people he meets aid him in some way (most not at first sight), I feel like Joy was the one that was always there for him when he need the most help, even if Ryo would constantely reject it. Not only she's beautiful but she also kicks ass and has a no-bullsh** attitude. And what I like about her is that she is kind of like Ryo: brash and impulsive. Therefore, not perfect and not a Mary Sue. She does get into trouble, like when she infiltrated a gang's mansion in Hong Kong to try and save Ryo, but it backfired on her part. The difference, however, is that Joy has more experience in survival than Ryo as she has lost her family when she was child. She is more free-spirited than him and while most people on Hong Kong give Ryo advice based on martial arts philosophy, Joy gives him advice on city life and living carefree without thinking much about the whole vengeance plot. Still, she helps him on his quest to find the man that would track him to Lan Di.
The fight scenes are amazing: the fluidity of the moves are great, the choreography is very good, and you can actually feel the impact of the hits.
Sound-wise, not much to tell here other than the fact that they actually included the original theme song of Shenmue on the series! And the opening song has the correct feel for the series as whole, with a mix of Japanese and Chinese instrumental sound with the beat of an action-packed yet philosophically driven story we are about to witness.
Now onto the bad stuff. As much as I find this anime to correct some flaws from the games, most notably the dialogue, it does carry some flaws from the source material. The first one being the unnecessary teachings that Ryo has to go just to find one man. It does progress his way of thinking and seeing his true motivations as a martial artist, but I feel like it went on too much. The second being the ending (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVENT PLAYED THE VIDEOGAMES!). Ryo finally has one more showdown with Lan Di and gets curbstomped again, not even managing to lay a finger on Lan Di even after all of those teachings throughout Hong Kong.
Also, throughout the whole series we see several scenes of one girl in a village called Bailu. If you played the games, you exactly who she is. But I won't spoil it for you as she is an integral part of the series, though what I'm about to say doesn't feel like it. Ryo also has dreams and visions about this girl. So it was destined that they would meet one day. And so they do...in the final episode on the last few minutes. And then the show ends on a rather bittersweet note, kinda like the second game (who could've guest it?). You may think that that felt rushed, and my answer is "yes, indeed". At least in the second game it had a bit more content during Ryo's visit to Bailu, but here it was like a last minute inclusion. I know that they had to fullfill the 13-episode story, but I wouldn't mind changing some parts of the original games' story to fit the narrative better. Give it one or two more episodes to include some backstory to this girl's main component in the story and the whole premise of why Ryo was destined to arrive there at that point and time. But a man can dream.
All in all, I think Shenmue is a faithfull adapation of the source material, and, at some point, even makes it better than the games storywise. The animation is gorgeous, the fight scenes are well acted and impactful, character motivations are simple yet morally responsive. I really enjoyed Shenmue for the biggest part. I would rank it higher if they didn't go for that ending. But maybe we will see more if a new season is announced. And please, for the love that all is high and mighty, lets hope they won't make the story too faithfull to Shenmue III's. And if they do, let's pray that Suzuki-san can actually come up with an ending that doesn't involve waiting another 20 years for a new videogame.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 2, 2022
The anime version of ULTRAMAN is back! Not only bigger (by team numbers) but also... smaller. Six episodes for a whole new season. Yeah, I was already skeptical about this one, even if I was hyped up after seeing the trailers.
Let me just first clarify that I am not the biggest Ultraman follower out there. The more background I have with the series is the Heisei era (Tiga, Dyna, Nexus, Cosmos, etc.) and not so much about the Showa era, which is where this anime adapation (and the manga) works as a remake and sequel to the original Ultraman from the 1960's. With this
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in mind, I actually enjoyed a lot of the first season of ULTRAMAN from 2019. As much as people criticise the use of 3D animation in anime, this is a rare example of 3D anime done right! Especially during the fight scenes, which featured some of the most eye-pleasing 3D actions scenes I have ever seen in anime. The story from the first season was not bad, but was not that great either. It wasn't meant to achieve awards or anything storywise. But one thing it was for sure: enjoyable and entertaining.
Does the second season favour in these aspects? No, not really. Story is a mess, character development focuses on just one particular character, and the overall enjoyment felt lacklustre compared, at least, with the first season. Let me explain why theme by theme:
Story: 5/10
This is where the second season of ULTRAMAN falls flat. The story takes place after the events of the first season: Shinjiro is trying to conjugate his personal life with his heroic life, Dan Moroboshi is still the stoic and no-bullsh** man working in the SSSP, and Hokuto is nowhere to be found except on the last 3 episodes - which is the second half of the anime based on how small it is. Then out of the sudden, a massive disappearance of people in Tokyo and in other parts of the world is happening and no one knows what, where and why this was happening. It is up to the Ultramen to solve this mystery.
At first glace you think "ah, it's another alien enemy who is kidnapping all life on Earth just to pursue his own goals of conquer". If that's what you thought right from the first episode, then my friend you just won the million dolar prize. The main villain, named Pedant, is basically the Thanos of this story. And when I say Thanos I mean literally: wipes out half the people of the Earth so that he can be its true ruler; and if no one agrees with him and/or confronts him, he'll just wipe out all life on the planet.
An important aspect of this story is the introduction of another alien race called the "Wadoran", led by their princess Maya. From what we know, Maya's race feeds upon the lifeforce of planetery beings for survival, and, of course, that includes humans. But Maya is forced into doing Pedant's bidding as he threatens the extermination of her kind by...killing her? So if she dies, her kind dies with her? What about the lifeforce they feed upon other planets? Would Pedant kill every single life-being and the Wadoran would die? It is never fully explored and explained, very broad. I wish we could learn more about the story of the Wadoran and why Maya was forced to join forces with Pedant in the first place.
Then the end of the story is underwhealming. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but you can probably tell that there's going to be a final fight between the Ultramen and Pedant. And the final fight is a joke, the build up to this alien guy as a strong, fearsome and undefeatable fighter is not compensated at the end in my opinion. So overall, the story is basic, clichéd (not that is necessaringly a bad thing) but with some details all over the place - especially with the Wadoran race they introduced here. With six episodes you could so much, but even so I felt a lot of void in these episodes in terms of exposure and execution.
Art: 8/10
Many will disagree with me on this one, but I really dig the CGI of this anime. Sure it's not perfect, but when it comes to 3D anime, the company did a good job on making the special effects on both seasons. Just like in the past season, the fight scenes animation is fantastic and fluid, unlike most CGI anime out there.
Sound: 8/10
It makes me wonder: did the first season ever had an intro music? If it did, I forgot about it because I never recall having one in the first place. But here in the second season, the opening song NOILION is pretty catchy and the more you hear it the more you fall in love with. The rest of the soundtrack has a mix of electronic and rock music which does fit the mood on each scene.
Character: 6/10
Another low point of this anime: the character development. As you might've seen in the trailers, we have two new full Ultramen members joining the team: Jack and Taro. Jack already made an appearance on the first season as an informant of the SSSP, but here he acquires a suit which turns him into Ultraman Jack. However, we know little of his character motivations and background, as it is never explored in this season. On the other hand, Taro receives the biggest screentime of the entire show - almost to a point I might even call this the Taro show. He is the only one given proper character introduction and development, though the explanation of how he acquired his flame powers is barely explained. It is also hinted that his girlfriend, Izumi, had a similar kind of power, as well as able to speak telepathically to Taro. But, just like many aspects of the show, it is never further explored.
What about the other Ultramen? Shinjiro (Ultraman), who supposedly is the main protagonist, is pushed back as a background character and has only his heroic moment in the final episode. Moroboshi (Ultraseven) is the same as ever - the calm, stoic and badass swordsman that strikes fear in the hearts of aliens - and has more heroic moments here than Shinjiro. Seiji Hokuto (Ultraman Ace) only appears after episode 3 and is still the happy-go-lucky "senpai notice me" boy that looks up to Shinjiro and he has only one cool scene fighting an alien monster inside Pedant's ship. And Shin Hayata, Shinjiro's father and the original Ultraman, has a suit upgrade and he's more cooler than ever, especially when fighting alongside the Ultramen. So I guess Taro and Shin are the only exceptions on the underwhelming character development of this show.
Also, remember Bemular from the first season? The mysterious and polarising God-like figure to the Ultramen that we barely knew anything about him? Well, don't except much of him in this season. He only appears twice, the first time only for a a few seconds alongside Hokuto, and the second time in the final episode where he, at the most desperate time, decides to show up and help Shinjiro and his father fight the main bad guy. Also, apparently he can ressurrect Ultramen from Ultra-limbo or something.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I would be lying if I said I didn't like this season at all, because, still, I did find some enjoyment as much as it lacked compared to the first season. I wasn't exactly sitting at the edge of my seat thinking about what would happen next in a very exciting way. From from what it is, it is average and fair. The one thing that kept me going was knowing more about Taro and the action scenes. Everything else was just a big "MEH".
Overall: 6/10
If you ask me, I would recommend this anime only to those who enjoyed the first season of ULTRAMAN and to Ultraman fans in general - especially fans of the Showa era. They did justice to the remade version of Taro and fans of the original 60'/70's shows will definately enjoy his moments. But to everyone else, I do not recommend it. There are better action-packed animes out there that deserve more attention than this second season of ULTRAMAN. To those people, I recommend watching the first season, you may enjoy it. Then you can give this one a chance if you want, but trust me you won't miss much if you don't. Overall, 6 out 10 is a fair score by me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 25, 2017
First of all, I recomend everyone to read the manga "Hana no Keiji" before getting into this anime. Thing is that, like a reviewer on this anime here said, it is difficult for many to get into this anime. Reading the manga first will allow you to further understand the concept of this anime. With that said, let me express my review on Gifuu Doudou.
Story: 6/10
It was told that Uesugi Kenshin had illegitimate son. The great Shoguns Hideyoshi, Nobunaga and Ieyasu knew of this, but, however, prefer not to spill the news to everyone. The story centers on two legendary Sengoku warriors, Naoe Kanetsugu and
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Maeda Keiji, and their battles through the Warring Kingdoms era. Kanetsugu was a great general serving Uesugi Kenshin and Keiji was an unrivaled samurai with amazing swordsmanship skills. So basically both of them attained a high rank among the Sengoku Period and the story is about how they've attained such positions. Now, truth being told, the pace is slow. But really slow. It's more talk than action to be precise. The whole series are basically flashbacks of the two warriors. And there's a lot of talking here and talking there, so for those who prefer more action packed anime, then this might dissapoint you. However, in my case, I didn't mind because, like I said, I've read the prequel manga and I clearly like the setting in here because I knew exactly what happened before. However, yes there should've been less talk and more action. Also, Hana no Keiji had some great comedy moments. This anime tries sometimes but just fails in this aspect.
Art 6/10
The art is pretty good for its standards. However, the manga Hana no Keiji had better artwork and this anime fails to catch the epicness of its design. It's not as bad as the Fist of The Blue Sky anime adaptation, but I expected more to be honest. I could give it a 5 but I gave it a 6 because the character designs remind me a lot of Fist of The North Star (the manga's art was made by Tetsuo Hara, the sama mangaka of FOTNS).
Sound: 8/10
The soundtrack is great. It goes from a relaxing japanese melody and then you hear some epic battle music when the action comes. The opening "Samurai Rock" is really catchy.
Character: 7/10
I have a mixed opinion about this one, but I gave it a 7. Having read Hana no Keiji, I knew who Maeda Keiji was and how epic he was, but this anime did not show enough character development of Kanetsugu. He's just the typical good guy in the flashbacks and nothing changed much in his present self. Keiji too had almost none character development here in this anime, but if you read the prequel manga, you'll understand how epic Maeda Keiji is. The rest of the roster is forgetable, the anime only focuses more on these two warriors.
Enjoyment: 7/10
Despite its flaws, this anime is still MANLY! I mean those character designs, masculine attitudes, manly tears, dramatic stories, epic confrontations in the past... It's just MANLY! Like I said, the pace is slow and that's why I give this a 7.
Overall: 7/10
Like I said, the pace is slow and that's why I give this a 7. Please read the "Hana No Keiji" manga first before watching this anime, otherwise you'll watch 2 or 3 episodes and you'll become bored out of your minds. But if you like manly anime with tall muscular men, with drama and manly tears, then give it a go.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 25, 2017
Such an underrated manga. To be honest, I'm not actually fond of samurais or even knew anything about the Warring Kingdoms era (Sengoku era) in Japan. However, this manga actually taught me many things about how the Sengoku Era in Japan was, plus, it has good comedy and manliness!
The story focuses on the life of the legendary Maeda Keiji, our main protagonist. He's a tall, handsome and muscular man with a carefreeing and sometimes childish attitude. However, he is a respected warrior as his strength and mastery in swordsmanship is unequaled. This is the story about the Sengoku Period where factions from all
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over Japan enter in combat to claim their lands, notably the confrontation between the troops of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi to claim the right to become the Supreme Shogun. The tale of Keiji is how he lived during this confrontation era. The story goes from drama to comedy, action to manly tears, all you can expect in MANLINESS!
Its illustration and art are familiar, right? It looks like Fist of The North Star for some reason? You've guessed it! Its art was designed by the same artist as FOTNS, the one and only Tetsuo Hara. That being said, you can expect some quality desgins for every character you can expect. Maeda Keiji's design, is an exact replica of Kenshiro. I'd like to call it "Samurai Kenshiro". He's got a giant horse that only him is suitable to ride, just like on FOTNS Kokuoh is a massive horse that only Raoh is suitable and worthy to ride him (yes Kenshiro became his owner after Raoh's death). Sukemon, Keiji's friend, looks exactly like Rei. So basically it's like reading FOTNS but in the Warring Kingdoms era setting, instead of the Post-Apocalyptic era found in Fist.
Actually there are a lot of mangas and animes based on the Warring Kingdoms era (Vagabond, Kenshin, etc) but I think everyone should give this manga a go. Imagine how Kenshiro with FOTNS took a personality change and became a samurai, and then you got Keiji!
However, the whole manga still hasn't got an english release, only fan scanlations you can find on the internet and they're still not finished scanning the whole manga yet. This review is only until the last english translated part I've read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 24, 2017
Kinnikuman Nii-sei, most known as Ultimate Muscle in the West, is the follow-up sequel to the Yudetamago's classic Kinnikuman. Manly and action packed like its predecessor, however it still lacks the originality and epicness of the first series in my opinion. This series was the only "Kinnikuman" trademark anime that was released outside Japan towards the majority of the West (Latin America and France had the original Kinnikuman TV series running) so many of the viewers were unaware that there was an original Kinnikuman series that aired years before Ultimate Muscle. The original manga was released in 1979 (TV series in 1983) and this sequel
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was released in 1998 (TV series in 2002). This sequel does not cover the full manga but it still covers the majority of it, so I'll be focusing on the TV series rather than the manga counterpart.
Story: 7/10
Story is enjoyable. Not great nor bad, but enjoyable. A mixture of comedy, action and some bloody scenes (also featuring MANLY MEN). The story focuses on Kid Muscle (Mantaro Kinniku in the original japanese), the son of the king of Planet Kinniku the legendary King Muscle (the original Kinnikuman) and its progression on becoming a strong fighter to defeat the invasion of the D.M.P, an evil Chojin (Superhuman) group that invades Earth. Since the previous heroes of the original Kinnikuman were too old and weak to enter the battlefield once again, a group of new super-heroes was created to combat the D.M.P, entitled the "New Generation". Kid Muscle starts as a clumsy and idiotic man, just like his father before him, but, like him, progresses from being a foolish man towards a powerful hero. I feel like I was watching a reboot from the original Kinnikuman, because the setting had the resemblance of the Chojin Olympics (over-the-top wrestling matches) and the fate of Earth lies in this event. It was good because it brought a sense of nostalgia but I think they could've changed the environment a bit. But this is coming from me who watched the original series before going into Ultimate Muscle, so for the majority of you may think this doesn't happen in your minds. Now, like I said, the TV series does not cover the full manga. The last chapters of its manga counterpart were more dark toned than the ones the anime covered.
Art: 8/10
The art is very good for its time, the character movements are fluid and dynamic, shows us a great sense of action. Definately an improvement over the original Kinnikuman series, but we're comparing an anime that aired in the 80's and one that aired in the 00's, so it's a bit unfair. The manga counterpart's art improves upon its predecessors' aswell.
Sound: 6/10
Soundtrack is okay, not memorable. The japanese opening theme is really good but the rest of the soundtrack is forgetable. The voice acting is great nonetheless. However, the english dub is horrible, I recommend to watch it in its original dub. Even the english version of the opening is nothing compared to the original one.
Character: 6/10
In my original Kinnikuman's review in MAL, I stated that one of the series' best feature is its character development. However, the same I cannot say about Ultimate Muscle. The original series focused on Kinnikuman, yes, but his allies (Robin Mask, Terryman, Ramenman, Warsman, etc) had great screen time and character development, and we felt that Kinnikuman was not the only protagonist around there but the entire Super-Hero roster. In Ultimate Muscle, Kid Muscle is the main focus. The "New Generation" roster, mainly Terry The Kid, Kevin Mask, Seiuchin and Gazelman (the first two being the sons of the legendary Terryman and Robin Mask from the previous series) have little screen time so we don't actually connect ourselves to them like we did with the old roster's members. The villains are forgetable, some cool and others just...meh. Now, in Kid Muscle's case, he is clumsy and careless (like father like son in the first times), but a lot more pervert than his old man. Kid Muscle looks exactly like his father King Muscle when he was his age, except for the short piece of hair. Heck, the majority of the characters that returned from the original series, for those who watched the original series first, just brings a sense of nostlagia. I did like the fact that they brought back Alexandria Meat to be Kid's advisor, just like how he did to his father.
The one character that I believe that was the only one that got its deserved attention and screentime was Ashuraman, also from the previous series. We can see his struggle to decide wether he's a good chojin or an evil shojin.
Enjoyment: 7/10
I enjoy this anime, even with its flaws. I just like action packed anime, plus I like wrestling, comedy, action and manliness so Ultimate Muscle is just the type of anime for me just like the original Kinnikuman.
Overall: 7/10
A 7 is fair by be. Try and watch the series for yourself and experience the manliness of wrestling over-the-top fights that you've never seen before.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 11, 2017
Ah Kinnikuman. One of the pioneers of modern Shonen anime. It makes me sad that series like these are barely recognisable outside Japan, and mainstream anime like nowadays don't captive me as much as 80's animes (Hokuto no Ken, Kinnikuman, City Hunter, Otokojuku, etc). At least the sequel Kinnikuman Nisei, also known in the west as Ultimate Muscle, gained more attention. So without further ado, let me give my opinion on the classic Kinnikuman.
Story: 8/10
The story is simple. Suguru Kinniku, known as Kinnikuman (Muscleman in english) is the son of the king and queen of Planet Kinniku, and heir to the throne. When he
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was a baby, his father mistook him for a pig when there was a real pig right beside him and threw him of a spaceship and Suguru landed on Earth. So Suguru wanted to become a superhero more than anything, and he wants to protect Earth from evil monster attacks, but he is so clumsy and stupid that he can't do anything right. He then gains a kid sidekick named Meat, who also hails from Planet Kinniku. Meat is his advisor and though he tries to help Suguru through his life and training, he is also subjected to his clumsiness and most times loses his temper. The story then progresses from being a parody to the superhero genre towards a more serious over the top wrestling genre. Here is where the series starts to lose its comedic tone to become an epic, manly and action filled anime. Through the episodes, Kinnikuman becomes even better and stronger thanks to his intense training and wrestling matches against bizarre but tough enemies. He evolves from being a joke superhero to be a respected hero that definately fits to be the heir of Planet Kinniku. This series is also known for the "power of friendship", whick means that thanks to the support from your friends, there is nothing that will stop you.
Art: 6/10
The art is pretty much dated. This is an anime that came in 1983 (the manga came in 1979) so its art was good for its time, but now if we see it, it's not so great. But I love all the goofiness around its anime so a 6 it's fair.
Sound: 8/10
Soundtrack is epic! It has that 80's vibe that never gets old. However, the sound effects are pretty old and repetitive, but that's what you should expect from an 80's anime.
Character: 8/10
This series is very good thanks to its character development. Kinnikuman evolves from being a clumsy and childish superhero wannabe to a strong, dedicated, respected and manly fighter. The same goes for Terryman that goes from being a superhero that only fights for greed towards a friendly and respected warrior, and becomes Suguru's most trusted friend alongside Meat. Robin Mask also overwent a great transformation on his personality, from being a ruthless villain who seemed to only wanting to destroy others towards a highly respected fighter that fights with honor and later became Kinnikuman's ally.
Enjoyment: 8/10
The series is action packed, filled with manly scenes with also great comedy. The first episodes are kind of episodic being Kinnikuman's attempt to fight alien monsters but to not avail and are only for comedy purposes, but during the progression of the anime, we see a more serious fighting anime with epic over the top action, and even some manly tears.
Overall: 8/10
I really like Kinnikuman. This series is really known in Japan, but it's a shame that outside of Asia it's barely recognisable. I really think that this anime should need a remake with the current animation nowadays. Perhaps maybe it would attract more viewers thanks to the power of the internet (like Crunchyroll, etc). I wish they could do to Kinnikuman the same they did with Tiger Mask W. Sure there's Ultimate Muscle that is more recent than the original series, but Kinnikuman I think is even better with more memorable scenes, epic fights, comedy and, of course, manliness!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 11, 2017
I'm a huge fan of Hokuto No Ken. I simply love all the action, drama and manliness involved in the series and Kenshiro is definately my favorite anime character ever. While I loved the first HNK series, this second season is pretty lackluster storywise.
Story: 6/10
Basically, years after Raoh's death, Bat and Lin, now full grown adults (except Lin, because she still looks like she has a child's mind) create the "Hokuto Army" which battles the foes that serve the "Gento Emperor". The appearance of Falco is a good addition for the character roster of HNK, and I really liked his Gento Ko-Ken fighting style. So
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Ken defeats Falco and all ends good, right? Wrong.
Now comes the real deal, which is the bad aspect I have to say about this season's story. It's a mess. I mean...one of Falco's chief commands, Tigah I think, steals Lin and transports her to the Island of Shura, a demonic island that only the strong survive, ruled by three generals (Rasho). Now here's the question... Why did he take Lin there? For any reason? It was never explained and when they got there, Tigah is immediately killed and the native Shuras kidnap Lin. So the whole story now is Ken trying to rescue Lin, beating the hell out of anyone who gets in his way. But the whole "Hokuto Souke" family story in my opinion ruined the story for me. I actually prefered the first series story, because I always liked the mysterious never-known background of Hokuto Shinken. But that's not all! There's a cutscene in the second series which shows that Raoh told Ken he had an older brother. Wait...what? So Ken always knew he had an older brother? Then why was he so shocked when he saw Kaioh for the first time? Shouldn't he knew already who Kaioh was? This filler scene just ruined the story for me. But this is my opinion only. It was pretty inconsistent and a bit boring, but I didn't mind too much so I kept watching despite these flaws, since I just love animes that has lots of fighting.
Art: 8/10
It still has the 80's anime type of art, but it improved upon the first series. More of Ken's fighting moves are shown and none are copied animations of the same moves like the first season.
Sound: 8/10
The soundtrack is one of the main reasons that made HNK epic! The soundtrack of this season is amazing and I absolutely love the intro song (TOUGH BOY TOUGH BOY!). The reason why I don't give it a 10 it's because of the punching/kicking sound effects, which are all the same, but I don't mind at all.
Character: 6/10
This is also one of the weakest aspects of this series. Though I simply love Kenshiro's stoic attitude, I really hoped there was more development in his character. Turns out that we only get to know that he has an older biological brother named Hyoh. The whole new characters entering the roster with these backgrounds just changed the story, for better or worse. Then we found out that Raoh has an older brother, Kaioh, which is basically a Raoh clone but more "evil" and "twisted". I didn't like Kaioh as much as I liked other villains like Raoh and Souther because what Kaioh always does is wound himself so that he can he "can forget love". It was just...meh, not a great development whatsoever. And he does this because he couldn't save his mother, who happened to save a baby Kenshiro. But wait... I thought Kenshiro was adopted by Ryuken to train under Hokuto Shinken and neither Raoh nor Toki knew him. According to the original series' filler, Toki and Raoh were adopted by Ryuken to train under the art, but Ken was never shown, only a few years later when he was a teen.
Enjoyment: 7/10
Like I said, I love animes with great action, manliness with some drama background. This series is fun to watch if you like martial arts fights with some over the top action and manly tears. Great fight scenes include Kenshiro Vs Falco and Kenshiro Vs Han.
Overall: 7/10
The second series has its flaws, and one or two may not be redeemed. But that depends on your taste. I think HNK2, while not on the level of HNK 1, is still good to watch with great action scenes, drama and manliness. Also, it's only 43 episodes long compared to the 100 episode length of HNK 1.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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