Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Series Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Genres: Action, Supernatural
OP: [Beautiful fighter] by angela
ED: [My story] by angela
StarChild: 屍姫 赫

[ Episode 1: The Dancing Dead ]

It’s pretty awesome to see yet another Gangan series adapted into anime. That was one of the main reasons why I looked forward to Shikabane Hime: Aka, along with the intriguing premise and the main character Makina. I became further intrigued with the anime because it was already green-lighted to have a sequel even before it aired. I can’t say I know of many shows that pulled that kind of thing off. One of the last reasons why I knew I was going to watch because GAINAX was on board and given their track record…you can’t just ignore them. Just looking at the episode shows you just how high the production values are. Anyway, enough pre-show chitchat. The first episode has really impressed me. While it wasn’t constantly explosive, it didn’t have to be. The fights were very well done and the animation (which is pretty damn sweet) matches it wonderfully. The soundtrack is great stuff and there wasn’t a moment where a tune was being used in the wrong place.

On the character side of things, Shikabane Hime: Aka is looking good. The designs are really decent. Makina thus far hasn’t fallen into a preset stereotype and that is pretty different from what is usually seen. I’m quite interested in seeing how she became a Shikabane Hime and exactly what that weird scene near the end was (where it seemed like she was either dreaming on temporarily in hell). Ouri seems to be just an average guy at the moment. Well, an average guy who can hear a cat talking to him…but anyway, I’m interested in seeing just how he and Makina are going to interact and develop together as the series progresses. I’m not sure what to say about Keisei so far but he seems to be a pretty fun guy to be around. Though, his involvement with all of this Shikabane business is one that I want to see explored. The seiyuu are doing great jobs as well, particularly Akiyama Nana (Makina) who is relatively new to anime but has experience in live-action and Hazome Tatsuya (Ouri) who appears to be a newcomer. Vets such as Chiba Saeko, Horie Yui, and Fujiwara Keiji (Keisei) are also present and doing on key with their performances.

Overall, Shikabane Hime: Aka is shaping up to be one of the greats of the Fall 2008 season. It appears as if its structure will be episodic (villain-wise) but I expect that things may link together in a few episodes. I’m still in the dark as to where the story will go but it’s to be expected with only one episode out so far, though I expect to see some direction in the next two episodes or so. I wonder though, are there other Shikabane Hime around that are similar to Makina?