Ikkitousen is a mixed bag in terms of what you will hear from people largely due to its heavy fanservice. Many of the reviews you will read will mention the excess of fanservice and overall it just a waste of time and is nothing but boobs and panty shots. That aspect of the series isn't hidden, it isn't a surprise, so to watch something you don't like then bash it for the thing you knew you didn't like beforehand is quite silly.
With the above being said, this series is heavy on fanservice, but know that compared to other fanservice-heavy series, the ecchi within this series
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is 95% for YOU, the fan, has near zero to do with the interaction of characters and how they perceive each other with the exception of minor throwaway characters usually a part of a 'mob'. The female fighters of Ikkitousen don't have the time to worry about the state of their clothing in the face of an enemy who has the intent to do serious harm or kill, they are professional fighters and largely behave as such. The world of Ikkitousen isn't filled with nervous nosebleeds, blushing bashful girls, typical ecchi antics and weak male leads, so if your looking for that, this is not for you. Ikkitousen is serious, deadly serious. Not like a typical shounen action series where people get beat up and sleep it off; people get seriously hurt, hospitalized, disabled, and die.
Story:
Ikkitousen is a based on the Romance of the Three kingdoms, and as such, has an extremely high overhead in terms of potentiality to understand right off the bat. Personally this is one of the most difficult anime series we've tried to fully understand and grasp. After our 3rd re-watch in 4 years we only now feel that we fully understand it enough to write a review about it. This adaptation of the Three Kingdoms is not set in a historical time period as would be expected, but is instead superimposed on a modern day Japanese kanto region with the kingdoms and lands being represented by a series of high schools. These high schools in the region are essentially treated as kingdoms and lands and their students as warriors, each with the potential to be conquered and overthrown. In this world, the souls of warriors and lords from the Three Kingdoms era are sealed within 'Sacred Beads' and the spirits of these warriors and lords heavily influence the fates and destinies of these modern day students (simply called fighters) who bear the same name. It should also be noted that there is gender switching as this is modern day school life and male and females are both equally present opposed to the warring era where nearly everyone whom the story involves is male, so a large percent of the females share fates and names of male warriors of past (if you don't already know the Three Kingdoms, this will not bother you). Because of the modern day superimposition, sometimes some points of the story may seem a bit far-fetched, but nothing out of the realm of it being an anime, but what you must keep in mind that it is supposed to be as such, being a huge reincarnation of an entire era played out with high school students. Clothes rip, a lot, leaving ample room for fanservice, but what most don't notice is that the in-world reason for this is that, although not always apparent, the fighters in the world of Ikkitousen use ki/chi with their attacks which inevitably effect clothing, and the show isn't limited by audience or rating to how much clothing will be effected (compared to something like Dragonball Z where ki effected clothing only sometimes or very little).
Story and Characters:
Ikkitousen as a whole is a compelling story about conflicting feelings and emotions and a constant struggle towards the acceptance or rejection of predetermined fates given to fighters at birth. Most of the characters know history of The Three Kingdoms and the fates they have been handed down. Most characters are decently fleshed out considering the series length and some of the main focused ones undergo quite deep development and growth. The actions of the past are inevitably heavily influential over the actions and sequence of events in the world. At times the influx of information can leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed at the story, for Ikkitousen suffers for what we like to call 'The Curse of the +/-12 ep anime'. Its scope was too wide for its duration and because of that, we feel some leniency should be allowed. You will have to try to keep up with both first and last names of each character, what school they are from out of about 7, the historical significance and relations between characters atop of present day current events. All that being said it is a comfortable challenge and one that should be embraced for it encourages your mind to watch more actively over a passive experience.
Story and Art:
As Ikkitousen is mostly about fighting and the life and fates of fighters we can't ignore that. Unsure of weather to say it was a budgetary constraint or simply how it was meant to be, but the action sequences are merely slightly above average with the art itself being quite standard of its era (early 2000s). Very few series have long drawn out fluent fight scenes and this is no exception. It definitely serves its purpose, but fights are not very long and consist of mainly several volleys before a winner is determined. It is also worthy to note that those of you who have feminist-type views, though you may not find agreement in the ample bosoms and skimpy clothing and its ease of removal, there is one thing of much importance and that is that females are not damsels; far from damsels the female members of the cast are strong, and deadly so. The females of the series are as strong as, and have the potential to be easily stronger than, any given male character at any given time. That isn't to say that simply all females are stronger than males but simply that gender has no bearing on strength in this series, and that is refreshing seeing as it can easily sway one way or the other. Much of the series you may find yourself mentally creating a ladder of sorts on how each character's strength compares to another in terms of who they fought and won or lost against vs others, and it is encouraged you do so for it creates a playing field for how future potential interactions may go and their relation to one another.
Summary and enjoyment:
Overall don't be put off by the fanservice and come to believe its just another serving of ecchi as usual. If you hate fanservice, maybe give it a skip, but if you love action, historical influences, an over-arching epic-style plot, and even gender strength equality then this all may have a heavier weight than an aversion to fanservice. We found it very enjoyable, more with each re-watch due possibly due to becoming more mature to understand it better. But do keep in mind that although far from perfect, Ikkitousen is an enjoyable first building block for a long continuing saga that has great promise to flesh out and improve upon in its 3 sequels.
Mar 30, 2014
Ikkitousen
(Anime)
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Ikkitousen is a mixed bag in terms of what you will hear from people largely due to its heavy fanservice. Many of the reviews you will read will mention the excess of fanservice and overall it just a waste of time and is nothing but boobs and panty shots. That aspect of the series isn't hidden, it isn't a surprise, so to watch something you don't like then bash it for the thing you knew you didn't like beforehand is quite silly.
With the above being said, this series is heavy on fanservice, but know that compared to other fanservice-heavy series, the ecchi within this series ... |
