Ikki Tousen

Legendary Fighter

Review by Matthew Anderson

13 Episode TV Series

Company: Geneon

Running Time: 120 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: R (Violence, nudity, language and adult situations)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Hakufu Sonasku is not your average teenage girl. First of all, she has a huge pair of knockers, and an ass that just won't quit. She also has some serious rage issues, picking fights with any guy stupid enough to cross her path.

Because of her aggressive nature, her mother sends her to Nanyo Academy, one of the hardest and most violent training halls in Japan. There she will face some of the toughest and most powerful fighters in the world. Each battle she fights brings her closer to her goal at being the best fighter of all time.

She also has to be very careful. The mysterious Enjutsu, leader of a powerful clique, has his own plans for Hakufu. It involves something with the ancient power of the "sacred beads" that every student has. These beads have the power to unleash a fierce power with in Hakufu, a power that can destroy the world or conquer it.

Too bad that Hakufu is total airhead, and completely unaware of the evil lurking in the shadows. She might have a fighting chance.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: This is one sharp looking transfer. There are no pixels, wrinkles, or blemishes anywhere to be found. This is the benefit of digital based animation. Many of the technical errors of the past are gone.

AUDIO: Both the English and Japanese 2.0 are pretty evenly matched. The Japanese has a little more treble than it's English counterpart. There is a fuller soundstage on the English track, but it's softer than the Japanese.

EDITS: The only edits noted were the use of the clean open and close.

EXTRAS: The non-credit opening, a small art gallery, and an easter egg make up the extras. To access the hidden extra, keep hitting the enter button after you have selected to play the non-credit opening. If the opening starts, you missed it.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: There isn't a lot of depth here. Like a B-Grade action movie, there is a lot of titillation, serious ass kicking, and pretty standard "good vs. evil" shtick. In this case, it isn't the story that draws you in, it's the visuals. If you are a fan of "Street Fighter" or big busted battle babes, then look no further.

ACTING: The acting is pretty typical for this kind of title. It's not bad, but it doesn't blow you away either. It's obvious that both the Japanese and English casts are having fun, so they don't take themselves seriously.

FAN SERVICE: Well, Ikki Tousen is nothing but fan service. They cram in more panty shots per minute than most shows do during their entire run. You get to see every major female character almost naked at some point.

FINAL EXAM

"Ikki Tousen" is pure gratuitous entertainment. There is no deep plot, epic battles, or social commentary. It's all hard core fighting, big tits, trash talking, and panty shots. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

In case you were wondering, this isn't a straight adaptation of the manga "Battle Vixens" released by TOKYOPOP. While many elements from the first book do appear in these four episodes, they don't necessarily appear in the same place.

Another thing the anime does different is spell out all the secondary plot points. From the mysteries of the sacred beads, to the source of Hakafu's blood lust, all is revealed in these four episodes. Like Gungrave, the writers seem to be getting the plot out of the way so they can make way for more booty kicking.

Speaking of booties, the fanservice is absolutely wonderful! Everything that makes fan service what it is (bouncing bust lines, panty shots, bathtub scenes) is represented in full, living Technicolor! The only bad thing is, there isn't any full frontal nudity! Ikki Tousen teases you with so many "almost there" shots, you will swear you saw something, even though you didn't.

There really isn't much more to say about Ikki Tousen. The animation is well done, the fight scenes are cool, and the fan service is wonderful. The writing is pretty straight forward, with no real surprises. If you are concerned about things like plot and character development, this anime is not for you. If you want to see hot chicks beat the snot out of porn-star looking guys, then go grab yourself a copy. Just don't loose your sacred beads when you watch it.

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