At the beginning, Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls almost seems to know where it's going in terms of plot. Almost. A fascinating introduction informs us that this show will combine historical elements with fantasy and science fiction elements. Somehow, in this world of Zeppelins, DragonBall-style scouters, and bio genetic mutations, the Tokugawan Shogunate is in charge. And this re-imaged version of the Tokugawan Shogunate maintains its grip of power by utilizing attractive female super-warriors that it calls "Master Samurai". Now, this is all pretty far out there, but its also kind of cool, and after the first episode I was eager to see where they were going with it. The premise felt very promising.
The show becomes more and more complex, with naked Samurai-girls mysteriously descending from the sky, and angles relating to a government conspiracy unfolding. I don't shy away from complex stories, but its clear that they bit off more than they could chew with this one. As far as the romance goes, wait did i say romance? This isn't meant to be a sweeping love drama. It's a harem anime; you get your typical haphazard sexual tension with jealousy at first. It certainly never takes itself too seriously in this aspect, but as a result it's never particularly moving either.
The Characters in Hyakka Ryouran are, as a rule of thumb, flat. Occasionally we'll get a flashback that attempts to inform us more of that characters resolve, but these flashbacks usually aren't very exciting or interesting and mostly forced and not properly integrated into the experience. Most of the characters don't even receive this treatment, and we are instead left with stock characters pasted into the story to fulfill their purpose. Among these are the hotheaded, pampered princess, Sen Tokugawa, the super genius-tsundere Yukimura Sanada, and the male character who does absolutely nothing but act as plot-glue for the girls, Muneakira. I don't want to give away spoilers, but you will see when you start watching it. What exactly is the MC's main role?
They are not, however, without their positive qualities. Aesthetically, almost all of the characters have an interesting design (at least the female ones.) And despite being generic, the characters aren't unlikable. Characters such as Yukimura fulfill an archetype that works; and it would take a person without a heart to hate the adorable Jyuubei. Aside from that though their really is nothing redeeming or inspiring bout the characters in this show.
This show's artistic style boiled down to one word: ink. This was never meant to be a series that looks "normal" like other animation. Character outlines here are strikingly bold, but the thickness of the lines vary as if it were done with a brush stroke. Backgrounds appear to have been painted in a similar way. It never looks bad, but it's also strange to see this application of style in an anime. It appears more to be a style used in visual novels or video games. Still, it looks great when animated; screen captures do it little justice. Hyakka Ryouran's love affair with ink doesn't end with the character and background lines though. During battles, the ink blots actually splash off of the characters weapons onto the "camera." During transitional screens, the ink blots are again prevalent. In fact, even the rain is drawn boldly in black, as if it were meant to be ink. Not even the opening and ending videos are spared the splatter. This effect is really incredible in episode one, but by episode twelve, it begins to feel really stale. They did something great, but they went back to the well too often with it. This is perhaps my personal most favorite aspect of the show, no joke. It reminds me of some video games like "Okami" or Muramasa the demon Blade's visual anesthetic art style.
Now speaking of the music. I will say that the opening song is what actually drew me to this show in the first place, the opening is very catchy and a great j-pop with a mix of rock in it. I truly enjoyed the opening and it even gave that unique artistic style in the first episode, the moment i watched the opening, i was drawn to the series. As far as the music in the series it self, it was pretty mediocre. The music did improve towards the end of the series.
The animation quality is high, and the visual effects look quite good. Unfortunately, none of the battles in the show have any punch to them. They feel as though just pretty pictures of still images on screen flashing back and forth during transitioning of scenes.
I do want to say that one thing I found appealing was that the girls each have their own unique attacks which appear on the screen (written in ink of course.) I found this aspect kind of cool. I am not sure if different fansubs differ in that regards but i watched the Ryuumaru fansubs and each character, along with attacks had their own colored texts.
Final Words
Honestly, if you've read this far you've probably already decided whether or not you're going to watch this show. It's an ecchi. If you're planning to watch it, it's for the blend of comedy and the fan service even though the comedy was not that hilarious to me. I had a few chuckles here and their but thats bout it. You're going to get all of the breasts shots, tits and even ass. Lots of soft core nudity as expected with most harems. Think about (Sekirei). If moments like that are what you're after, you won't be disappointed.
Aside from that, Hyakka Ryouran doesn't have much going for it, though. Everyone should watch at least one episode just to get a sense of the unique style, since it is something different, and it's something kind of cool. Ikki tousen ( I am taking bout the 1st season of course) came to mind well watching this, but as sup bar as ikki tousen is, i would say that ikki tousen does a more improved job of integrating the story and not just heavily focusing on ecchi as a primary core element of the series. Taking into account everything, else, story, plot, character development, i am going to say pass on this one. Their are much better samurai girl anime's out their.
