Tension, violence, tension, maiming and tension are the order of the day in the latest of the “R-15” series Madhouse has been producing for the satellite broadcaster WOWOW.
It opens with a tournament being held by Tokugawa Tadanaga, where samurai were forced to battle against one another using real swords, rather than bokken. The first two samurai are introduced, the one armed Fujiki Gennosuke and his opponent, the blind, lame, Irako Seigen. Then, as the pair position themselves in their fighting stances, we flashback seven years to their first meeting, where they lack the disabilities we have just seen.
This, like the also currently airing Mononoke, has some really great limited animation direction. It builds the stillness into the atmosphere, and there is great shot after great shot. And when it does move, it looks fluid and real. From what little I’ve seen of Takayuki Yamaguchi’s manga, a great deal of focus is placed on anatomy and musculature in particular. This is borne out in the anime, as to build tension before strikes are made, we get internal shots of swordsmen’s muscles tensing.
And now the violence. While there is a fair amount of graphic violence, it seems to be there to give a more thrill that is more visceral than just being to provide a splatter style shock. And it’s more wince inducing than a played-for-fun Hollywood action style tongue in cheek blood fest of cool. Hellsing Ultimate, I’m looking at you.
While not the best show this year, and not as good as last year’s show in this slot, the sublime Kemonozume, it’s shaping up to be another good show in a year that’s had more than the usual number of shows that are good or better.