Spring 2024 Anime: Touken Ranbu Kai -Kyoden Moyuru Honnouji-

Synopsis

It is the year 2205, and the Historical Revisionists are on their way to change the course of history. The ones who can prevent the past from being altered are the Saniwa, whose powers grant human forms to spirits residing within famous swords of Japanese history, allowing them to fight and protect the flow of time as touken danshi. Among these touken danshi are those who once belonged to the fearsome warlord Oda Nobunaga, and with their fellow comrades, they are assigned to prevent the disruption of a certain historical event: the Honnouji incident in 1582, where their former master met his end.

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Shayna Agasthya (The Indonesian Anime Times)

After Doga Kobo’s lighthearted slice-of-life Hanamaru and Ufotable’s visually stunning action Katsugeki, media mix franchise Touken Ranbu releases its third animated series produced by Domerica (The World Ends with You, Romantic Killer). Unlike its predecessors, Kai marks Touken Ranbu’s first attempt at creating an adaptation from a pre-existing adaptation, instead of taking inspiration directly from the original Touken Ranbu web browser game. Kyoden Moyuru Honnouji is the title of the first work in Touken Ranbu’s stage play series, which becomes the foundation of the general storyline for Kai. The director and scriptwriter for the stage plays, Kenichi Suemitsu, is also responsible for Kai’s series composition and script. As a big fan of Touken Ranbu’s stage plays, with Kyoden being my favorite, it is hard not to keep my hopes ridiculously high for Kai. 

(For clarity purposes, from here on in this article Kai will be used to refer to the anime, while Kyoden will be used to refer to the stage play the anime is based on.)

Kai begins its first episode with the sight of a burning Honnouji temple and the bloody aftermath of the battle surrounding it, later revealed to be a glimpse of a dream from one of the touken danshi, Souza Samonji. All the dialogues up to this scene are almost exact reprises of the original stage play, and I might have screamed internally when I heard the very memorable line from the beginning of the play: “[That] dream again…?” 

The opening sequence is where my excitement dwindled a little bit. It is a common joke among fans to call Touken Ranbu (the web browser game) a “slideshow game”, due to its very simplistic battle animation being reminiscent of item animations in PowerPoint, but I find it funny that they would replicate this ‘slideshow’ style for an animated series’ opening sequence. That is if they really intended to do so. Opting for a ballad to open the series also somewhat feels like a call back to the game’s slow-paced opening. 

The first episode offers a glimpse of the touken danshi characteristics without making it feel overwhelming. With the more senior Yamanbagiri Kunihiro taking newcomer Fudou Yukimitsu on a tour around the citadel, viewers are also introduced to the general setting of the series and the duty of the touken danshi, both on the battlefield and at the citadel.

The majority of this episode is dedicated to showcasing the daily life of the touken danshi and the relationships between them, including the history involving their sword forms. I will always appreciate how Touken Ranbu and its adaptations always take their time to explain the historical events through dialogues between the characters. The retellings are not overly complicated to follow along, and it is also utilized as a tool to elaborate the personalities of the touken danshi even further. 

What surprised me the most from this episode is the appearance of the Saniwa, the master of the touken danshi, who takes their presence in quite an unusual form. This Saniwa is different from the Saniwa in Kyoden, so this adds to the fresh perspective Kai serves to both casual watchers and fans of Touken Ranbu, especially those who keep up with the stage plays. The last three minutes of the episode also present scenes that might be intriguing to clueless watchers, but will most likely leave you emotional if you have enough knowledge of the stage play’s plot. 

Included in those three minutes is the ending sequence, which is heavily influenced by the stage play. Kai’s ending sequence contains more actual animation compared to the opening, and the ending theme is sung by the twelve characters who are also the main cast of Kyoden. It starts with the scene of Mikazuki Munechika with his back facing the audience, holding a bangasa (umbrella made from oil paper) with his name written in calligraphy style as he descends the wooden stairs onto a stage with wooden floor panels. The stage is a replica of the common stage setting in Touken Ranbu’s stage plays, with the name calligraphy bangasa being its signature item. Silhouettes of the characters are shown slashing enemies that look like blurry shadows of a projection on a screen, and the Saniwa even makes an appearance as they sit on the red chair resembling the audience seat in a theater. 

So far, Kai does not seem to closely follow the exact plot of Kyoden, making its own creative interpretations while also keeping its source of inspiration from the original play. The characteristics of the touken danshi don’t seem to deviate too far from their game counterparts, and they are gradually introduced as their dialogues reveal more of their history. The soundtracks set the mood nicely for the intense battlefield and are pleasant to listen to in more relaxed scenes. I personally love the shiny and vibrant colors used in the art style that doesn’t look off even in the gloomier tones during battle scenes. The intricate details of the hair and clothes of some of the characters are also drawn nicely even in non-closeup shots.

Overall, Kai’s first episode is better than my previous expectations and my hopes are still high for what the series has in the future for us.

 Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailers

The Indonesian Anime Times