"One does not judge an anime by its rating as mere numbers can not justify a show" - Sun Tzu lol
This is basically of Ghost of Tsushima : the Anime, not even Joking. When I was searching I was very surprised to find an anime that also takes place in Tsushima around the same war. This Historical Fiction anime is underrated both in rating and in popularity. I honestly don't care about ratings but the score for this one is absolutely ridiculous. There are worse shows which are higher. I was expecting it to be bad but it actually turned out pretty good.
Story (8.5/10) : The story takes place in 1274, during the First Mongol invasion of Tsushima. A group of exiles land on the Island of Tsushima and join forces with the princess of the Island in the war against the Mongols. Every episode has a lot of action and didn't feel boring at any time. It's a small Japanese army against a Ton of mongols so they have to be smart on their approach. There are betrayals, alliances, tactics and people actually dying. It portrays the cruelties and the grievances of war. The Ending for this one was pretty good and kinda realistic if u think about it.
Characters (8/10): There are lots of characters in this anime yet somehow they fit them all in the span of 12 eps. The best character is undoubtedly the main character Jinzaburou Kuchii who was a former General for the shogunate (not a spoiler). He is smart, perceptive and a badass. It's fun watching him whether he's building a strategy or just slashing through a Horde! Then there's the Princess who invited them in who's also a Tsundere, The Exiles which include a Ronin, A Big ogrey man, A Sly Thief, A Tree climber etc. There are various other clans too.
I always like shows where the bad guys are NOT portrayed as Douchebags but as individuals who also have goals. This is one of them. For Eg, there's Uriyanedei a Fat Mongol General or smt who appears to be a cool guy who isn't exactly 'evil' but happens to be on the opposite side. Also shocked seeing a bad guy getting protected by plot armor twice (you don't get to see that often)
Visuals (7/10) : The biggest complaints are the visuals. While it's on par, it has this wierd filter that's on at all times. It gives a Medieval look but also looks wierd. Although u'll get used to it after a couple of eps. The artstyle is actually pretty good especially for the female characters. The animation is OK. It's evident that it's kinda low budget. But they tried something new with the filter and didn't use as much CG as u'd think in a show about wars so props for that.
Sound and Music (8/10) : This was a chance to use traditional music but instead they went to Orchestral-ish music which isn't bad. The Op and Ed are both Decent. The Voice acting is good. Especially on Jin. Also the Mongols speak Japanese lol.
Enjoyment (9/10): Like I said it wasn't boring at any time, each episode has an awesome ending and the actual ending while it was sad it was also kinda satisfying.
Overall: It's a fun watch. Even though it's a Historical Fiction, it has quite a lot of accuracy too like the Mongols have beefy blades and they use Tubular Hand Cannons. Both the Japanese and Mongol Armor look authentic for that era. Although Mongol Archers aren't portrayed as skilled Archers, they kinda do but not really lol. The show has its ups and downs but not as bad as the rating claims. If u liked Ghost Of Tsushima or even Drifters, u need to watch this. Wish there was more of it.
I was gonna give a 8 but I think I'll bump it up to 9/10 since it's very underrated.
