Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun

Hakkenden is a seriously underrated fantasy series that has extremely vivid, beautifully animated characters with distinctive designs and storylines. I was personally drawn by how every character had such an extensive backstory and how all the characters were woven together in a charming, intriguing way through the main protagonists. There's a good balance between magical elements as well as emotional, romantic, and comedic moments. The main plotline does tend to stray, but the individuality of each sideplot is fascinating enough that the series continues at a good pace. Again, the art is possibly this show's greatest strength--there's a stunning use of color in both thecharacter designs and the settings, and the style is smooth and consistent throughout both seasons of the show. There's a little bit of everything within this story, with almost all types of characters touched upon.

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun is an historical and supernatural anime that revolves around the story of 18 years old Inuzuka Shino, Inukawa Sousuke, and Murasame. Inuzuka Shino was supposed to be dead 5 years ago without the help of Saitome Riou. Riou 'implanted' Murasame in Shino's body to have a second chance in life but the price was that Shino will never die and will always be trapped in a 13 years old body of his. Inukawa Sousuke was also revived but had to live in a consequences of having half of his soul was gone and have the ability of transforming to a dognamed Yoshiro. Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun is a masterpiece in its own league, having the perfect collaboration within the characters like Sousuke being a big brother to Shino, Riou's superiority to Shino, and many more; and also the perfect layout of unfolding and revealing mysteries such as Ao being Sousuke's shadow, Murasame's true form, Riou's claim of its his duty to give his blood to Shino, and all the bead holders' last names have "Inu" in them and have the same situations on how they had the beads. Unlike in supernatural animes, Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun has a unique point of master-demons relationships. For example, Murasame and other demons are very vengeful to the people who harmed their masters, very dangerous when they sensed someone threatening their masters' safety, and very obedient to their masters. An example of this was Murasame devouring Shouichi when Shouichi shot Shino at his neck, causing Shino to be dead; Yatsufusa's obedience towards Rio, Hibiki's over protectiveness towards Ayane, Yukihime's possessiveness towards Inuyama Dousetsu and the casual relationship between the Five Foxes and Osaki Kaname. Also, the element of transforming a human to a demon without going berserk and claiming to be "good demons" like Inuta Kobungo and Inukai Genpachi. What Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun fun to watch is the relationship of the characters to each other and the personality of each, which made a good balancing in the anime. In other animes, portraying the relationship of the characters in details can sometimes makes the story draggging and boring but in this case, it was different. It had a flavor of a good balance of relationships without inserting some dramatic events. The protagonist's, Shino's, growth can be seen as well. At that start of the series, Shino will always be seen in Sousuke's side but later on, Shino hanging out to the other characters and meet other people like Kouhaku, and also the realization of the world, like Shino's statement to Kouhaku: “I didn’t understand that there are people who didn’t fear death, but instead falter at that thought of living.” Overall, Hakkende: Touhou Hakken Ibun is strongly recommended for the people who are carving in a different ride of supernatural animes. There are no girls pairing up to these beautiful boys but these boys are pairing up each other themselves (xD); Shino's clingy attitude towards Sousuke and Genpachi's love to Shino. Of course, there's an exception, Hamaji's and Kaname's love to each other (Kaname said himself that he wants to marry Hamaji when she is old enough to marry) “I told you that I’m afraid of dying, but I think being left all alone in this world is much more painful than death. However, if only there’d be someone by my side to hold my hand, then I’m sure I’d neither fear the thought of life nor death.” -Shino Inuzuka

Hakkenden draws you in through its artwork, elements of fantasy, and its moments of mystery. It was an enjoyable anime that kept me watching every week but it did not have me dying to watch it. The storyline is definitely unique, however there is an absence of a central plot or it tends to stray from it. What kept me interested were the characters and their background stories. With the introduction of each character, there are minor plots that keep you interested, however it is usually resolved within the following episode. The storyline tends to feel like a collection of stories that are somewhat connected toa central plot however it feels mostly disconnected. The characters are my reason for scoring this anime as an 8. Shino, the protagonist, is very childish however he has a sensitive and caring side that makes him very enjoyable. Sosuke, his childhood friend, maintains a calm and loyal attitude and is seen accompanying Shino mostly everywhere. He provides a balance to Shino, who would otherwise be a typical bratty protagonist. Hamaji is another childhood friend, but her presence in the story is not a prominent halfway through. She appear to be immature and demanding but later displays a level of maturity far greater than most of the characters, even the adult ones. She is a refreshing character, who although lacks a background story of her own, adds a silly and realistic feel to the story. She is a main character but acts mainly as supporting. These characters and the rest as they are introduced actually add to the story. Not only are their personalities in great variety and incredibly different from one another, but their stories are what truly make this series a great one. The artwork is definitely done incredibly well. It is one of the first things that drew me in. The characters all have defining features that are immediately noticeable and match the multitude of personalities presented. The background is captured beautifully. Each district, each of the places that the characters visits are almost like a painted work of art. The artwork is the defining beauty of this series. Hakkenden is a very good series if you don’t mind the lack of a central plot. Don’t fret though because it does keep you interested if you get into it. It does tend to leave you wondering what it all leads into, hopefully we will see a central plot in the second season.

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