Customer Reviews

Tokyo Majin: The Complete Series Box Set

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To confess, I'm not a big "horror anime" buff but typically enjoy series based on successful video game franchises. As such it was with a blend of expectations that I set out to review Tokyo Majin, The Complete Series.

Interestingly enough, it appears as though Funimation has actually released this previous ADV Films' property as two individual season sets and is now planning a complete series box set, which contains all 26 episodes of the show.

Released across four discs (in a double-sized clamshell case), The Complete Series consists of episodes 1-26 and comes in at a total runtime of 650 minutes. It wears an appropriate TV MA (mature, 17+) rating due to violence, gore, and supernatural imagery.

Language options are standard sub & dub with both an English dub (Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround) and original Japanese soundtrack (stereo) & the choice of English subtitled if so inclined to turn them on.

The story goes something like this: The mystical energy flow that maintains order to the world (the Dragon Stream) has been disrupted. As a direct result of this disturbance, a whole bunch incidents have erupted across Tokyo, including a surge of deaths, plagues of zombies, and six teenagers (who want nothing more than to live the simple life of students) suddenly gaining mystical powers.

It's tough to put the show into a single category; it would be foolish to downplay the supernatural/ mystical elements as they are catalyst that drives the plot but in terms of delivery and pacing, Tokyo Majin may more closely resemble an action series. In other words yes there are some moody environments throughout and attempts at depth by establishing conflicted pasts for a few of the main characters, the series is really the medium in which to showcase super-human action sequences. Teenagers who can fire glowing mystical arrows from a bow or a tough guy who can uppercut through hordes of swarming monsters is going to be good onscreen fun, bottom line.

Viewers can expect episodes loaded with gruesome creatures, flashy magical effects, and fight scenes loaded to the hilt with animation detail. For the most part, the formula works so long as you go into the show without expectations of a deep psychological thriller element. This is superhero fun against the legions of the underworld first and foremost; drama and mystery serve only to compliment the greater mission at hand.

The visuals are pretty solid throughout with just the right texturing (and gore elements) to make for some truly nasty nasties and the environmental tones are nice and gritty as well. The sound work is solid for the most part, with eerie notes working nicely into the background and slick tension-building strings when the mood calls for them. Unfortunately the hard rock anthem done by ACID at the opening and closing of each episode comes off as a bit misguided until you realize that it is the theme for the evil rock star villain later on in the prose.

In all, this is a show where the visuals and effects certainly outshine the writing but perhaps that's exactly what makes it so unique. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a little supernatural butt whipping by some everyday kids. It's also really decent of Funimation to consider their fans in deciding to release a full 26-episode box set release for little more than the individual seasons have been selling for until now.

I don't have a bunch of technical things to say about the DVD Set itself. I buy them to watch, not to critique like a science project. I watched this series on Youtube before buying the DVD Set. I try to do that to avoid purchasing a bad Anime set. I liked this story because it was not drawn out too long, and the story unfolds in an unusual style. You don't learn how they got their powers till the second episode, and it honestly works for me that way. They plunge you right into the action, and then take you along for the ride. The characters themselves are what interested me the most, because they all seem to unfold themselves as the story progresses. They're not always fearless and perfect, and they don't always save the person that needs saving --but they try. My only complaint is that there were other characters that needed more fleshing out and the ending to the show leaves it open for a future return to tell another tale. I honestly wish they would do an OVA or something to give us that conclusion but I'm not holding my breath for one.

The kids kind of reminded me of the cast of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series in that they find themselves in this world of mysticism and horror, and they do their best to deal with it. They try to protect each other and grow through the series. There are some heart wrenching moments and I think I liked that best of all. If It makes any difference to anyone, I watched the series first, then I bought the DVD.

High Schoolers, Zombies, Demons, Buddhist Monks, Evil Sorcerers, Chinese Gangbangers, Taoist Wizards, Shinto Priests, Ninja, idiot detectives, and beyond. What do they all have in common? Apparently, they all live in Tokyo. Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho Tou, released in America as Tokyo Majin, is (needless to say) an interesting anime series. No, if you've seen Bastard! then you know that, under the right circumstances, starting a show with its final episode can work very well. It's a risk, but if it works it draws in the audience like little else can, especially if you manage not to spoil your secrets in that first episode. This isn't exactly what Tokyo Majin does, but it is as close as anything I've seen. Instead of actually putting the last episode first, Tokyo Majin`s introductory episode acts almost like a summary of the entire show. The episode is impossible to follow, but it tells you everything that you're getting yourself into. My personal jury is still out as to whether or not it is effective.

Overall: 4.0 (8.5)/10

Ok, this is going to be an interesting review, because I like Tokyo Majin, but I know that the things I like about the show will be things that most people hate. So, I'm going to try to be objective, and still defend my appreciation of the show. In all honesty, I don't see a lot of people liking this show much...actually I don't see a lot of people getting past the first three episodes. That being said, I really think this is a fun show to watch, and I encourage all of you to stick it out if you think the show sounds interesting. From the first sentence of this review you can tell that Tokyo Majin mixes a lot of genres together, which is generally not effective outside of spoofs like Martian Successor Nadesice, FLCL, and Gintama. I personally think that Tokyo Majin pulls it off fairly well, although it could be better, and that it does so while maintaining a serious, and sometimes even dark tone.

Writing and Art: 7.0 (9.0)/10

The art in Tokyo Majin is beautiful. It uses a lot of very thin lines, which gives the entire show an almost gaunt appearance - this plays very well to the shows darker tone. The writing is strong, if you can follow it (more on this is the plot section).

Characters: 4.0 (7.0)/10

The show features a lot of characters, but only a few main characters. Tokyo Majin focuses on five highschool students who suddenly and mysteriously acquire special powers that they have to use to fight off demons that are invading Tokyo. However, outside of these main characters, each of whom is well developed over the series, are a whole host of secondary characters - friends, enemies, in-between, just plain weird, and people who we have no clue why they're even there, but make for an interesting backdrop to the show as a whole. There's one episode that ends with a random middle-aged man talking at the screen. Again, I love the sheer number of secondary characters - some quite well-developed, and some not developed at all (random middle-aged man). I know that a lot of people will get lost in the sheer number of characters, and decide that the show isn't worth their time. In this they're probably right, one rule of writing that I love to break is `the fewer characters the better' (to a point obviously).

World: 6.5 (8.5)/10

The world of Tokyo Majin is, obviously modern Tokyo. And a dream world, bits and pieces of medieval Japan, a few random spots in the Japanese country-side, etc. All in all the world is fairly well-developed, but not to the point that it becomes a character in and of itself.

Plot and Content: 3.0 (9.5)/10

I already gave you the basic plot of the show - magic high schoolers battle demons for the city of Tokyo. However, this is what makes it frustrating/interesting. The writers of the show don't give you the plot as such. In fact the show takes on a puzzle like aspect as the writers had viewers obscured plot points, and not in the correct order. In most shows I would call this sloppy writing, but in Tokyo Majin it is done with an elegance that makes it obviously purposeful, and I really like it. Honestly, I've had a lot of fun trying to figure out what the hell is actually going on in this show. In this way it reminds me a little bit of FLCL, except that the latter keeps the viewer actively looking for a plot where none exists. Again, I love FLCL. If you're like me, and having to focus on the show to figure out what's going on sounds like fun, then you should give it a try. If this sounds ridiculously frustrating, then you should probably avoid it. If you're worried about content, that is pretty simple - lots of violence and a little fan service. Other than the weird spinal cord breast monster thing in episode two you don't have much to worry about in the way of fan service...and that actually isn't something that I would consider fan service, but I know some people (very, very strange people) who would, so I thought I'd mention it.

Pacing: ??/10

I honestly don't know how to rate the pacing in Tokyo Majin. The action moves very quickly, but plot points are given so out of sequence that sometimes it seems to not be moving at all. I will say this, I haven't been bored with it.

Commentary: 4/10

Demons are bad, revenge is bad, dedication and willpower are good. Tokyo Majin isn't exactly filled with deep social commentary. The fun in the show comes from the puzzle of putting it together more than from the lessons learned from it.

Conclusion:

Well, there you go. I honestly don't know whether to recommend the show or not. I like it a lot, and if you like the idea of a storyline puzzle that you have to put together as the show moves along, then it's a good bet that you'll enjoy this show. I honestly don't see it appealing to a lot of people, but apparently it was popular enough to get ported over from Japan, so maybe I'm wrong.

I watched the first episode thinking it was going to be a good anime with good action that will be coming up soon, but this anime is so lame. Some episodes storyline are too slow and vague and it bounces too much to different scenes at the wrong time. The story entirely is ok, but could've been better. Don't even get me talking about the action...LAME! You don't even get to see ANY action! When you think it's going to be a good fight, the scene cuts to another fight (which you ALSO won't get to see). The story is all too original. Everybody wants to protect someone and the tough guy always seems tough at first, but then ends up sucking later on. The two main girls are annoying as well. Especially, Aoi. The whole time I was watching the anime, I kept praying she would get killed, but it looks like that's not going to happen. The only one I was able to tolerate was Tatsuma. Daigo and Sakurai are plain o' annoying and Kyouichi is alright. Don't buy this anime, if you want to see it, rent it. But trust me, don't waste your time on it.

The series just seems a clone of so many other animes out there like Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inu Yasha and others that I some points you wonder why don't I just watch some of those instead. The series like a lot of animes has a powerful supernatural enemy attacking the city and by some strange coincidence five young high school students while in the old school house become entangled in this fight and are gifted with amazing powers to fight this threat. Some of these characters attitudes may make you think of Bleach we have a young rich girl who at times appears to be extremely naive and abhors violence and who's friends with a strong willed girl martial arts athlete and also has a crush on a young high-school boy with a wisecracking mouth and a fighting attitude to go with it. The other two main characters have their stories as well but again pretty much a clone of other more enjoyable series. The set has season one about thirteen episodes and season two again thirteen episodes, the English voice cast did a decent job but I feel the Japanese voice cast put emotion in their voices during their recordings. All in All is the set worth getting?, if you like the super power fighting animes than sure but expect to feel a great deal of Deja vu while watching the show....