Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu

I choose to watch this anime on a whim and wasn't disappointed. . At the beginning it was difficult to understand at times because it is based on a game, so the viewer is expected to have previous knowledge of the mechanics of this world. I pieced it together myself, but otherwise I recommend finding a quick summary of this universe, because it can be complicated. Story: 7/10 The story itself was pretty good. The concept for the anime was different, and though I had read it was similar to drifters and was intrigued, it was different enough to be interesting. For the first few episodes Ifound the story to be a bit slow and somewhat predictable, but if you can plough through that the story line progresses fairly well. What I really loved was the fact that as a viewer you can see that this anime came from a game. Its great to watch the characters complain about being put on mission after mission, like you would do to characters you control in a game. And I loved the previews for each episode. Art: 9/10 I loved the art for this anime! I honestly kept getting distracted from the plot and obvious violence by just how pretty it was. Don't get me wrong, the backgrounds at times were a bit iffy, especially compared to the character designs, but when there is blood liberally flying yet I'm still focused on a pretty face I'll say thats impressive. Sound: 7/10 I was a fan of the opening and closing themes, they gave the anime a good vibe. As someone who always watches both, regardless of whether I'm binging the anime (as I did) or am watching it episode by episode, these themes were decent. As for the sound during the anime, the effects were good and the 'battle' music was well chosen, adding to the suspense. Character: 8/10 As I already said, I am in love with this character design. As for the characters themselves, they were well varied and interesting. As someone who hasn't played the game (although I really want to now) or watched the other adaption, I didn't really know what to expect. The mix of personalties, while at first a bit cliche, grew on me and I loved the inclusion of a range of other characters, rather than just the main 6. Character development was pretty good too. As I've said, at the beginning this anime is rather cliche, with the two characters (Izuminokami and Mutsunokami in this case) who constantly butt heads etc. But as the story progresses so do the characters, and their backstories, while pretty sad, were also interesting to learn as you could see how their 'owners' (that will make sense) shaped the characters. Enjoyment: 9/10 I really enjoyed watching this anime! Although it was a bit predictable at times, I was drawn to the characters and their story and had to keep watching (as seen by the binge that ended at 6am). All of the elements worked well together and by the end I was very wrapped up by the characters and their emotional turmoil. I really want to play the game now, and will find a way... eventually :) Overall: 8/10 Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. For something I chose to watch offhandedly, it was a surprising success, and I can't wait for the apparent movie adaption in the future(!). While you should probably know some of the backstory behind the story, especially the mechanics of it, if you want a challenge just do what I did and wing it.

If there's one thing I'm grateful, it's that the game got adapted into the anime. I've literally enjoyed this series a lot, and now let's get on with it. Story: 7 I would say that the theme is basic, preventing time traveling alternating the history in terms of major events. Simple, right?, right. I gave this a 7 because of the characters influencing the plot throughout the series, and their "background". Sadly not a lot was the other characters got covered but that's somewhat expected for a 1 cour series if you ask me. Art: 9 Honestly, usually for any series, I'd give a 7 in terms ofanimations and whatnot because it's decent and I sure as hell can't draw. This time, however, Katsugeki Touken Ranbu was crisp and sharp, heck, frame-by-frame was good too. And the characters' art was very pretty, along with smooth animation throughout the entire time [I know what some of you are thinking about with the animation part especially "ufotable", lol]. Sound: 9 Sound? OST? Oh yes, definitely. I think the soundtracks were really suitable to the series, especially the "strings" and the flute part, befitting for a historical series. The action soundtracks were pretty awesome, fast paced and heavy. [Kept replaying the entire OST, lol] Also the ending song was pretty great done by Kalafina. Character: 7 Although there's quite the characters that appears in the series, the main focus is our Second Unit for the entire time. As briefly mentioned, only a couple of selected characters' 'past' were covered, but regardless, they stuck to what the story was focused on, which I really thought was a good thing. You could see some of the characters kind of developing (second unit) in the series, or at least towards the ending, somewhat. These pretty much got my 7. Enjoyment: 9 Personal enjoyment is definitely a 9 for me, I haven't played the game yet I kept seeing a lot of the gorgeous characters fanart without knowing anything, so I was always irked. I want to clarify it, the game is still somewhat targeted for the female fanbase so yes, there's some personal attachment to this series. As with this factor, being able to watch the anime during the entire time and getting to see the characters and their tidbits made me happy, I felt a bit closer to the franchise(?) now instead of not knowing anything before. Overall: 7 I think it's a series that's good for anyone to start, with or without playing the game. Now unfortunately, although a lot of the factors were pretty great, I do think the plot lowered it down slightly. But hey, it's still a decent series to watch if you ask me.

There are benefits on watching a show without knowing the source material: you don't create expectation. I was interested on this anime because the amazing artwork, especially Tsurumaru and Mikazuki. I know nothing of the game, the mechanics, the enemies, or anything else: to me there is only cool looking samurais fighting evil looking enemies (and lots of fujoshi artwork) Somehow my desire to see a character I personally find amazing, made me break the Three Episode Rule and when he finally appearead I just... continued watching the show with a blank expression on my face. This anime is a redundant (pretty looking) shallowness. Also... I know from thefirst episode that the sole purpose of the touken danshi is to preserve history... but they tell this to the viewer at least 7 times per episode. If you play a drinking game and take a shot everytime you hear a character saying "rekishi o mamoru" you'll be wasted in no time. Unless you are a fan of the game, skip it

Haaa.... Perhaps I'm being too generous because I'm bias, but I found this anime absolutely amazing. I personally play the game and I'm very familiar with the franchise. To those who give this anime a bad rating and are not familiar with the franchise whatsoever, that makes me sad. Touken Ranbu has never been released outside of Japan (you even need a Japanese VPN to even try playing the game) and the game is in Japanese. The audience is completely Japanese, or, they'd hope them to be. This anime is meant for the fans of Touken Ranbu, not for those who have no idea what it is.They don't explain much because they don't need to. From the start I could name every character off by heart. (Higekiri said Hizamaru's name correctly. Not accurate. 0/10) The animation was gorgeous and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. As someone who loves TouRabu, it was a treat to be able to watch it completely animated. (Also, unlike Hanamaru, not sugar coating everything. I swear, Tonbokiri... T _ T gosh that hit me hard. I can never //not// repair my swords.) While yes I agree they didn't explain much and the premise may seem boring to others, I didn't care because I knew everything beforehand. It was also interesting to see the saniwa as an actual person, since most of the fandom just depicts them as a person with a paper that says 'sa' in front of their face lol. The Saniwa is you/the player, by the way. If you're coming into this blind, I'd recommend doing a tiny bit of reading up on it before watching. It'll help a lot. There's an English wiki that many people contribute to, so that'd probably be your best bet. Try to keep an open mind as well. First review. Wahoo~?

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes