Shin Kujakuou

Shin Kujakuou is the second series based on the manga Kujakuou, but rather than a true sequel, it can be considered a reboot and can be seen without prior context. The production was handled by Madhouse in 1994 and therefore retains the aesthetic standards typical of that period. In this case we are dealing with two OVAs, featuring a single, self-contained story. The themes explored include intriguing elements tied to mysticism, Tibetan Buddhism, Nazis in search of absolute power, and monks from China and Japan who attempt to oppose the coming of the realm of darkness. It is a classic tale of good versus evil,but presented in a non-obvious way and enriched with a few well-conceived narrative twists. The OVAs were directed by Rintarou, the pseudonym of Hayashi Shigeyuki, whom some may remember for directing Genma Taisen, X/1999, and Metropolis, as well as for producing other major anime works. It is therefore no surprise that the production benefits from a solid overall vision and a presentation worthy of its reputation. At times, one may sense a certain “rushed” quality in the resolution of some events, but this can be attributed to a broad-scope narrative featuring around a dozen characters, compressed into two OVAs of approximately 50 minutes each. Where Shin Kujakuou truly shines, however, is in its animation, very much in the Madhouse style: raw, violent, and occasionally gory, yet without the excesses seen in the previous decade. That said, the first OVA is of higher quality overall, particularly in the fight scenes, while the second is more uneven, offering strong battle choreography only toward the end. A third episode would have been the icing on the cake, giving viewers more time to delve into certain dynamics and better get to know the characters, especially Onimaru, who, compared to the first Kujakuou OVA series, is shown only briefly here and without much buildup. The soundtrack complements the action scenes well, and while some tracks are more interesting than others, none truly stand out. This is an issue shared by many anime of the 1990s: after the explosion of passionate OSTs in the 1980s, it often feels as though this aspect lost some of its creative drive. Despite all its shortcomings, Shin Kujakuou remains very enjoyable and flows smoothly from start to finish. A must-watch, without hesitation. Story: 1/2 Direction: 1/2 Animation: 1.5/2 Characters: 1.5/2 Music: 1/2 Bonus points: 2/2 Final score: 8/10

A battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness where the forces of light barely win in a monumental battle for the fate of the world and as a result the forces of darkness have been sealed away. How many times in the world of anime and the world of fantasy have you heard of a plot line along those lines. Does this anime really excel about making this typical fantasy trope memorable. Sadly, No. It does however manage to tell a somewhat competent story but it often gets weighed down by it's own Buddhist mysticism and religious methodology when it shouldreally focus on being more entertaining and more engaging. At least in this anime, the enemies are Neo-Nazi's and it's a good day when we get to see Neo-Nazi's get their asses handed to them. The story of Spirit Warrior: Peacock King focuses on the character of Kujaku who lives as a Buddhist monk that tries to live a relatively care-free life until he and his friend Ashura are attacked by a bunch of demons on a bus that starts off Kujaku's around the world journey that leads him to the revelation that his purpose in this world is far greater than what he could of ever imagined. In the meantime the Neo-Nazi's are going around the world in search of an item called the Dragon Orb which holds the power of darkness and the leader of the Neo Nazis (Siegfried Von Mittgard) wants to unleash the power of the Dragon Orb in order to become the Regent of Darkness in order to continue the legacy of Adolf Hitler who is constantly referenced throughout this two part OVA. As Kujaku is discovering his past and learning what his purpose is, he encounters a group of characters that either accompany him or help him along his journey because Kujaku slowly realizes that he may have more spiritual power than he initially surmised. It's as his journey progresses the he discovers the truth about his origin, his father, an unknown twin sister and how he is going to be integral to make sure that the forces of darkness do not get unleashed into this world. This pretty much sets up the overall plot of Spirit Warrior: Peacock King. The first thing I do want to say is that the English dub for this anime is incredibly sub-par which is pretty typical for a U.S. Manga Corps release with no recognizable names for the most part in the world of animation. Your probably much better off watching this subtitled. It's not really bad per se, but it's not particularly good either. Even if the animation is not the smoothest throughout this two part OVA, I do appreciate the amount of detail they put in especially with the character designs. The designs of the monsters and the actual look of the Neo-Nazi's is incredibly detailed while the character designs of the protagonists come across as pretty bare bones basic minus the odd exception. The background art of this entire anime is absolutely breathtaking because it does take full advantage of the many settings that this anime takes place in. We get to go to places such as San Francisco, Germany, Japan, China, and even the mountains of Tibet. There is a painstakingly amount of detail put into the villains castle in Germany to the demonic castle that arises from the mountains of Tibet when the final action set piece is about to happen. The action when it does happen is incredibly solid with the main character Kujaku using a wide array of spiritual blasts and his other cohorts using a variety of really cool attacks such as marbles that can be flicked with such incredibly velocity that they act like bullets and another character uses an axe attached to a chain in order to dispatch his enemies. This is one of those violent anime that is not afraid to show a bit of blood, gore, and a little bit of nudity. The gore while may not reach to levels of what you would expect from fist of the northstar, but when dealing with a lot of Nazi imagery you can't be afraid to show a gratuitious amount of violence especially when your constantly being bombarded with a lot of nasty imagery. The anime does often get weighed down with a lot of buddhist mysticism that can come across as really cryptic which can actually slow the pace of the anime quite a lot. To be honest, I don't really think the anime really needs it. It does a good job of setting up the plot, and building up the history of why certain events have transpired but when it starts getting into talking about Buddhist mysticism I often feel like that time could be used for better character development or even more time spent with a few of the action set pieces that this anime has. For two 50 minute ova's you don't really have a lot of time to delve into character development when you need to keep the plot going a relatively steady pace. I will admit, for as disjointed as this anime can be from time to time. It does a really good job of keeping you on your toes with regards to what or who the true villain of this animated story. It's not as clear cut as what you would expect and it actually works in the anime's favor. I often feel like that when the anime decides to get on with the action and it can be entertaining it's far too short and I always felt like it can be brought up to the next level with regards to keeping the viewer engaged, but it really doesn't. The animated battles are far too underwhelming and far too inconsistent and even though it leads up to what you would expect to be an epic conclusion it falls short with the human characters not taking center stage while the spirits (gods) of the protagonist and antagonist leading the charge with regards to the final confrontation. These gods are drawn incredibly beautiful but it doesn't live up to what could be a grand battle on an epic scale. At the end of the day, the anime does end with a proper conclusion but I often feel like that despite the artistic freedom that this two part OVA had, it truly couldn't take advantage of it because it focused too much on things that couldn't really engage the viewer. Even looking at the opportunities where it could be entertaining it never lasted long enough or acted incredibly inconsistent on what it was trying to show. It is still an adventure worth looking into for the beautiful imagery not only in the backgrounds, but with the villains detailed design. It's not the most engaging piece of cinema out there, but the story is easy to follow and with two 50 minute ova's it's not too much of a time sink and you might find a few things to enjoy about it. Ultimately, it's a watching experience with a lot of missed potential but despite that there could be a few enjoyable things to take out of it.

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