Ikkitousen (Strength of a thousand)

If you are in anyway familiar with the story the Three Kingdoms (or even the game Romance of The Three Kingdoms), then you'll get the basic plot of this anime. The only difference is, this sets place in a modern day Japanese high school. And the heroine of this story is a ditzy and stupid girl named Hakafu Sonsuke who is a reincarnation of a fighter back in the feudal era and is destined to be the "Junior Lord of Lords". With her cousin Koukin as her protector, she goes through battle after battle, totally oblivious to her destiny.

Now that you have the summary of this thing, let me review it. The anime is really good. The animation is crisp, the fighting scenes are good (albeit short) and the storyline and plot are pretty solid. Now if the anime could have had LESS panty shots I would be a happier camper. This anime takes fan service to a whole new level (think Golden Boy but more...umph). I mean there wasn't FIVE minutes within the anime without a panty shot or somehow none of the female fighters could keep on their clothing in tack. I'm a tolerate person and after the first episode I was like "bleh" with all of it. There are some pretty risqué scenes (there is an implied rape) that makes this anime borderline hentai and makes you wonder how in the world did this even air in Japan (well they do have lack censorship but geesh!). I'm pretty sure they could have done without all the partially naked females and still had a good anime.

The characters are well written. All of the characters major and minor play some part in the underlined story of The Three Kingdoms. The major characters all have their own solid character development with their history and questions about their own destinies and fate. From Gaku-chan who seems to be this big tough guy with a weakness sweets to Saji who is beyond perverted (there seems to be one in every anime series), all of the characters personalities are well established and soon you'll find yourself loving or hating them. My favorite characters would be Hakufu's Geoi mother who's obsessed with younger men, and Kokouton who although a minor character, still has his moments. His obsession for martial arts basics and the fact that he's kind of stupid just adds on to his motarded charm (if there is such a thing).

Though the anime could be considered a martial arts one, it doesn't one 100% focus on it which is a good thing. This 13 episode series could easily be someone's favorite with all of its different characteristics.

*** and a half stars