Review after 11 episodes of "Kengan Ashura"
The opinion was written a bit quickly, but I tried to speak from the heart.
Damn, I like to be wrong sometimes! Especially in the context of some titles, and especially when I'm disappointed in the plus. Although in total, I flog myself a bit too much in this case, because I wasn't complaining about the anime itself, but about its animation and CGI after short fragments. In this case, I do not change my mind, "Kengan Ashura" is still such an ugly duckling, but there are some technically good scenes, although there are less of them than in the case of Netflix season 1 "Baki". However, this is an IMO an irrelevant detail to the advantages that this anime offers. I mean the characters, the atmosphere, the script, the absurd and varied fights and one of my favorite narrators who we could also hear in "Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor". Fumihiko Tachiki is a voice actor we know, among others from "One Piece", where he played Akain, "Bleach" as Zaraki Kenpachi, NGE, where he played Ikari Gendo, Sloth from FMA: B, Hasegawa Taizou from "Gintama", and Youpi from "Hunter x Hunter 2011". The guy is absolutely insane with his epic voice and is perfect for such a full-blown series of pure testosterone. Something like Akio Ootsuka (Thorkell "Vinland Saga", Yujiro Hanma "Baki" from Netflix, Skull Knight "Berserk", Bryan Hawk "Hajime no Ippo", Uvogin "Hunter x Hunter 2011") but different. Is it better? I don't want to judge, but just as well. Besides, there is also a ship action in "Kengan Ashura", like in season 1 of "Kaiji" ... Coincidence? : D
THIS IS WHERE THE SPOILERS START, SO DO NOT READ FURTHER AS YOU DON'T WANT TO BROKE YOUR WATCHING EXPERIENCE.
When my friend Mariusz told me several times, most recently 10 days ago, that "Kengan Ashura" is a better (or maybe even much better, I don't remember - would you like to add more in the comments?) Title about martial arts than "Baki", I doubted it. Not because the anime is comedy, but the reason is different. Keisuke Itagaki writes his flagship title as a parody, but a lot of techniques, plots etc. it has its source in fact. Of course, he turned it all up a dozen times to the level of extreme absurdity, but there is a grain of truth in it. Kengan Ashura is a similar story - almost pure fantasy, but with a little more truth. Due to the fact that Yabako Sandrovich (author of the script, Daromeo is responsible for the drawings) focuses almost exclusively on martial arts, and not hypnosis, inserting knives, bombs and other weapons into his body and the like, the series can be treated a bit more seriously. Admittedly, in episode 11, there was a contestant who did impossible things with his hair, but while writing these words, I asked Google about interesting facts about them. Quote: "It turns out that a single strand of hair can bear a weight of about 100 g, some sources say that even up to 250 g (thin and weak only 20-40 g). In such a situation, a person with about 100,000 hair could hypothetically keep up to 10 tons (!) on the rope woven from them. " I don't know about the skills of the Kure family and the main character, but I once read that the human brain places blockages that prevent you from using 100% of your body's capacity. I don't know if I'm doing well, but this is because otherwise we could hurt ourselves or overuse our bodies, which would shorten our lives or end up dying prematurely.
As for the technical aspects, my rating hasn't changed much since the previous post on this anime. The animation improves a bit for the Hunger Games, but it's not an amazing leap forward. They move more dynamically, the line slightly improves, the CGI is of better quality and that's it. The level rises to the level of "Baki", maybe it is a bit better, but slightly if anything. Generally, there is no tragedy, and once you get used to it, the line and animation have their own charm. In terms of music, in my opinion, it is worse, because there is a missing piece that would remain in my memory. In the case of the above-mentioned anime, there were at least a few such songs, but on the other hand, I have no reason to complain. It fits the action, has its own atmosphere. The opening theme is better, but I like less than any of the three "Baki".
The plot is not overly complicated, but it doesn't have to be. It's a martial arts anime, not a psychological seinen or drama. It's good enough, and it flows great through the next episodes. Initially, it may not feel like it, but somewhere around the middle of the day, I regretted that I did not watch it during my vacation or longer off and I have to limit myself to one or two episodes. The Hunger Games announced by the President of the Kengan Association is probably the best tournament I have seen in any anime, and I barely watched a few episodes. I feel like the second season in this regard will blow my brain in a positive sense. There is also no unnecessary talk, dialogues and characters are well written. They have their own character and distinctive appearance. There are a few weirdos here, like the long-haired man I mentioned a few paragraphs above and warriors who are more suited to gay brothels but have their charm. Especially the guy who is so excited by the main character that he is much more likely to show his erection than Hisoka from HxH. Plus, the female characters are even better. They are very pretty and feminine and many men will surely like them. My chosen ones are the one who says "ara ara" in a charming way, the President's daughter, who acts as a commentator for the tournament and a girl in love with the protagonist, who ... confesses her love in a very nice way xD.
Besides, there is a pretty good corporate thread that exposes their cruelty and ruthless attitude towards people. This is not the level of the "Blade Runner", of course, but we are talking about an ordinary fairy tale. Bloody fact, with the deaths of some characters and intended for older viewers, but still cartoons. No matter how much you have done for the corporation, you are merely a resource that is treated well as long as you keep winning. If you fail one time, they treat you like shit.
When I watch the whole thing, I will definitely write a full-fledged review of "Kengan Ashura" because it is worth it!