Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman

Bueno, was there a time when you're watching some show and saw something that was similar from what you've watched from other shows. Or, do you have no idea that there maybe some scene that were plagiarize, well, this anime was simply what it is, in fact the Chinese have a term for that which they call it " chop suey" literally means mix together, and this anime was a mixture of various scene and spin offs from other shows or anime all loosely combined to form a sort of "Lupin III" like thing. The plot was nice, but the execution was bad, itwas enjoyable at first but it goes downhill from episode 3 to the ending. But what I like about this anime was its retro opening theme and a few of fanservices that come along, and that as good as it gets... for me, that is. So here are my ratings for each category: Story: good #7 Like I said the story plot was good, but the execution is bad. Art: fair # 6 I did mentioned about the few fanservices that comes with the show right? But I also like Otsu's illustration both in a kimono and in a catsuit. Sound: fair #6 I don't have anything to say, but I do like this anime's opening theme, it basically combines retro with jazz. Character: poor #3 Safe to say that director, Hirofumi Ogura did utilize the characters properly, in fact the characters themselves have very chaotic roles. Overall: pathetic #1 Bueno, what can I say, this anime was a total "SNAFU," if only director Hirofumi Ogura try to make this anime as a good "Lupin III" spin off, then it would have been worth watching.

When I first read about Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman I was excited at the thought of a new show based on the works of Lupin the Third creator, Monkey Punch. Then I saw that it was based off of a Pachinko game and my expectations immediately soured. By reading a synopsis one might even think that this show would be a Lupin ripoff, what with the main character Roman also being a descendent of a known thief, however, that doesn't turn out to be the case either. Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman tells the story of a man named Roman who goes by Manjiro in order tohide his identity while working as a helper in 19th century Kyoto. Yes, that's his occupation. He helps people. As you can probably guess, this leaves both he and his sister struggling to make a living. By night, however, Roman behaves like Robin Hood and steals from the wealthy to give it to the poor (and never taking any money for himself, despite him also being very poor.) He also has a magic suit that turns him into a sentai hero and a team that aids him, made up of his sister, a priestess, a perverted old man and a German who makes zombies. If that sounds like a big jumble, well, it is. To make things more confusing, though, the story isn't even remotely concerned with him being a thief outside of the first few episodes, as the story tries it's hand at questionable political intrigue headed up by a laughable main villain. That being said, the story does actually get more interesting later on, which somewhat makes up for the inconsistent comedy of the first few episodes. There are even some fairly decent dramatic moments every now and again. All in all, the story is a very mixed bag, with a final episode that is completely out of place because of the clumsily used anachronisms on display. Still, there's more going on plot-wise than it would appear, although the standalone episodes can grate a bit. As far as the art goes, it isn't really anything special. The characters all have that distinctive Monkey Punch style, but they aren't particularly good-looking. It's obvious that the show's art was done on a small budget as it looks more like a year-round Toei show than a thirteen episode series probably should. It's not offensively bad-looking or anything, it's all just bland outside of the character designs. Still, the animation isn't terrible and the show is artistically consistent at the very least. Worth special mention, however, is Roman's sister's dog. This dog is drawn in a way that seems like the responsible artists weren't entirely sure what dogs actually looked like. Its eyes are too human and it doesn't appear to have teeth, nor does it move like a dog, which is quite creepy. Sound-wise the show fairs much better. The cast is headed up by vets like Nakai Kazuya and Kitamura Eri, who bring both Roman and his sister Koharu to life effectively. Also worth mentioning is Uchida Maaya, who does an excellent job as the courtesan Okuni. The rest of the cast is also very good, with a lot of strong performances across the board, although some Engrish singing that pops up later in the series sounds strange to say the least. The music isn't particularly memorable, either, but it gets the job done adequately enough. The character's themselves aren't particularly impressive, either. Roman is your standard hero who always wants to help and/or save every one simply because he's a friend of justice, although he does have a surprising (considering the nature of the show) bit of character development. His sister Koharu spends most of her screen-time complaining to her brother because of his lack of income and gambling, so she doesn't really do much. There's a priestess named Kanade who helps Roman out, although she doesn't really have much too her. She's mostly there to act like a ninja and get ogled by an old genre stand-by; the perverted old man. The old man, Gennai, can mostly be described as "stock", as he acts kooky and constantly stares at Koharu and Kanade. He also builds various machines, vehicles, and robots, because this is anime and it needs robots for some reason. The last member of Roman's team is a German scientist named Dr. Hans who makes zombies who also help the team out. He seems to be there simply for a weird factor and he speaks Japanese very strangely because he's foreign. The main cast is rounded out by a mysterious law enforcement agent named Magoichi, and the courtesan Okuni, who gets the most character development. She also seems a lot like a famous comic book character, whom you'll immediately think of as there are some extreme similarities between the two. Overall, the character's aren't terrible, but they aren't particularly likeable either, although at the same time, they don't grate. Despite the shows shortcomings, it's pretty watchable. You won't ever be on the edge of your seat or anything, but there are definitely worse shows to watch. I'd say that the best way to sum the show up would be, "light, yet forgettable." The show lacks a consistent tone, jumping from comedy, to drama, to action, to confusing alternate history. The climax is also pretty bewilderingly stupid, along with the main bad guy's motivation making literally no sense whatsoever. If you really like shows set in pre-Industrialized Japan with a lot of anachronistic technology, you might get some enjoyment out of Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, but your time is probably better spent elsewhere, unless you really want to hear Nakai Kazuya do something other than a tough guy or Uchida Maaya showing her impressive range.

One of the things about the Crack Fic Genre is that it can be touch and go on how successful the work is at pushing ones willing suspense of disbelief. Many times the work takes the believability issues to far and instead ends up grating on the nerves. This particular Anime though actually doesn't push to far and the stretching of believability is used well for comedic effect. This is what drew me into Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman in the first episode as well as the historical references and it remained through the entire series. They style used also fits the genre well, not to mention themusic. What really makes this series though is the characters. Each has a very distinct personality that is blown over the top and exaggerated, and yet I couldn't help but falling in love with them, not to mention they didn't grate on my nerves. I also like how despite the fact the plot has an over all comedic tone to it, underneath there is a darker theme running. The connections between the characters relationship wise is also interesting as well. One thing is for sure, I at first expected this to be a much longer series and was surprised to find out that it was as short as it was. On one side the series wasn't dragged out making it so that I got bored with the repetitiveness, but the funny thing is towards the end it got less repetitive and less formulate. In the long run it made for a fun laugh and an enjoyable ride.

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