A young samurai hopeful is taking cover in the forest, tracking the bandits whose defeat at his hands will bring him one step closer to becoming the heroic swordsman he is so desperate to become, when a couple of kids step in and…confront the bandits?! Telling them to cease their brigandry and get decent jobs?!? They’re just asking for a busted face! Or maybe not: the taller one whips out some talismans and giant arms sprout from the earth to flatten the bandits! Ok, maybe these kids aren’t, well, kids after all? Turns out one is human, Jinka, though he acts more like a katawara (a youkai or monster of sorts), cursing humans and using some kind of special powers, while the other is a youko or fox spirit, Tama, who loves humans. The two are oath-sworn siblings bent on reforming the world, despite (or perhaps because of?) their opposing perspectives. Shinsuke, our cowardly swordsboy, doesn’t believe a word of it (what does it even mean, after all?) but he sticks around for the battle against the bandits—only to have his mind blown as he quickly discovers just how serious they are, and how capable, despite their otherwise jokey manner. When they meet up with the friendly katawara-hunting priests of the Dangaisyuu order, it seems they’ve found a few more allies. Then again, maybe not???
It’s here! I’ve been raving all year about this classic adventure manga series which at last is receiving an official English translation and now, an anime adaptation! I’ll admit though, I was a tad apprehensive about whether the anime could do justice to these delightful characters and the creative, dynamic art style of mangaka Satoshi Mizukami, whose other major series, Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, received a pretty dire adaptation last year. But I shouldn’t have worried: studio White Fox, of Re:Zero fame, is a strong match for this series—quite fittingly, considering that Jinka’s spirit transformation power sees him become a white fox! The animation is full of life, alternating styles at key moments to good effect—it isn’t overdone, so the series retains its primarily action-adventure feel while the humor undergirds instead of taking over the episode. The beautiful backgrounds fill in a gap in the manga, while the layouts and direction translate the action well, bringing Jinka’s talisman magic vividly to life and enhancing the whimsical sides of the characters, especially Tama and her delightful expressions. The writer behind the series composition, Jukki Hanada, usually specializes in lighter fare (Love Live!, Hitoribocchi, Sound! Euphonium, Dangers of My Heart) but is doing a great job adapting this epic tale so far, covering a considerable amount of ground in the first episode without losing the playfulness of the source material or rushing the pace. This is a good sign: the series is set to have only three cours in which to adapt the entire 100 chapters (17 volumes), but seeing how well this first episode works gives me confidence for the rest of the adaptation. Now, technicalities aside, can I just say what an absolute delight it is to finally see these wonderful characters come to life? The voice acting is spot on, as is the character acting in the animation, and the music score is perfection: fans of Uncle Iroh will perk their ears up for sure. What else can I say? I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. Now please excuse me as I must go rewatch and top up my Tama quotient for the day!
Yes, Shinsuke, you might just have done.
Sengoku Youko is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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