Tougen Anki – Episode 1

What’s it about? Ichinose Shiki is a troubled teenager who got expelled from high school and doesn’t have a great relationship with his adopted father.  That all changed when it’s revealed that his father was a part of the Momotarou clan who are known for hunting down the descendants of Oni (ogre).  He saved Shiki from his own clan and was eventually killed by his former colleague, which activated Shiki’s bloodline and went on a rampage.  Shiki vowed to avenge his father’s death and joined a school of fellow Oni in order to become stronger.  

Forget about the plot for a second and let’s talk about the animation.  I’ll be frank, the fighting sequences alone were amazing and probably the only reason our readers should check out this series — at least for a few episodes.  The red and black colors used during the climatic battle really enhanced the hellish atmosphere the series is trying to convey.  The fight scenes also utilized Shiki’s obsession with guns by incorporating it into his blood powers, which resulted in eerily detailed weapons that remained consistent during his fight.  Honestly, I can gush about the fight scenes all day, but unfortunately, I have a job to do and must write about the rest of the episode.  

So what’s the verdict? Tougen Anki follows the typical playbook seen in any shounen series.  There’s a bratty teenager who has a turbulent relationship with his parental figure and a secret organization that’s chasing after him, etc.  It’s such an unoriginal set up, which normally would be fine if the execution can be done properly.  This series doesn’t seem to be interested in getting the viewers interested in Shiki’s motivations and speedruns through his backstory just to get to the action scenes.  To be honest, I mentally checked out during the first half of this premiere because Shiki was such a foul-mouthed and unlikable protagonist.  

The story doesn’t bother explaining why Shiki is acting out and why he resents his adoptive father.  Are they struggling financially? Why was Shiki expelled from school? All Shiki and his father did was yell at each other.  Nothing about the premiere made me invested in any of the characters and I didn’t like the obligatory exposition from Shiki’s dad.  Even Shiki’s apology towards his father at the end felt so empty and boring.  It doesn’t help that Shiki embodies my least favorite kind of shounen protagonists: loudmouths who make grand speeches and somehow inspire everyone around them.  

If it wasn’t for the action scenes, the series could’ve been written off as another low-tier shounen anime.  It didn’t even try to do anything unique, but in hindsight, I suppose that’s a good thing since I’m still suffering from my heartbreak about how Jujutsu Kaisen turned out.  Personally, I just feel burnt out with any shounen series promising to do something different, especially when it comes to female characters, but then not delivering on anything substantial.  What frustrates me is that I do have a special place in my heart for shounen anime since I grew up enjoying it so much as a kid. I want the genre to evolve and become something compelling rather than producing the usual standard seen in the anime industry.  

I hope somebody does a compilation video on all the eventual fight scenes on youtube since I don’t feel particularly want to watch this any further.  If you enjoy the usual offerings that shounen anime has to offer then I recommend you check this out and let me know how it turns out.