First Impression: Togainu no Chi

Finally, the show I have been waiting for this season! I am reading the manga and have enjoy every moment of it so far, especially the doujinshi *chuckles* So yeah, because of that fact, I'm going to be overly critical with the anime because I know how the story goes already. If the studios fucked up, then I'll know for sure.

Speaking of studios, this is the only anime that is produced by A-1 Pictures Inc. this season so I expect really good stuff here. A-1 Pictures Inc. has never disappoint me so far so I hope they won't start with this one. A-1 Pictures collaborate with Aniplex and Picture Magic. I am kinda worried though when I found out that Naoyuki Konno is the director for this show. I was worried that this might turned out like Dance in the Vampire Bund *shudders*

(c) 8055

One of the many reason why I like Togainu no Chi is because how bloody and bad ass the series is. There will always be fights, and killing, and such. It is definitely my type of anime.

Togainu no Chi takes place in after the third world war or something and Japan was divided into two parts, the north and the south. Those on top just made matter worst. They are hungry for power and money and doesn't really care to unite the country again. At Toshima (used to be known as Tokyo), Vischio has taken over the ruling. They created a game called Igura where they used tag as prizes. You must pummeled your opponent until he's dead and collect his tag. If he isn't dead the "cleaner" will take care of that matter. The small tags can be exchanged for drugs or other necessity. The five special tag will determined you as a winner which mean you have to defeat Il-re, the famous King of Toshima.

It was good that I read the manga first hand though because the anime jump straight into the action and it seems like they are getting into the details how Akira ended up in Toshima with a mission to kill Il-re. Basically he was framed by the police for a crime he didn't do. But it is not like he has much of a choice. Its either torture in prison, or fight for survival in Toshima. The purpose of defeating Il-re is to get to Vischio and annihilate the drug company.

Akira sure is lucky to meet Shiki in his first night at Toshima. Otherwise he would have been dead fighting the drug induced assholes. Shiki brings carnage to the show y'all!

I love how bloody this show is ^^
(c) sena

In the manga, I always like Akira and Gunji the most. Two very contradict characters. Akira is the quiet type kind of guy who lets his action speaks louder than his words. He's a good hand-to-hand fighter which is why he was sent to Toshima. Akira who have never known fear before practically pissed in his pantsu when he met Shiki for the first time. LOL, the anime totally changed my mind about Shiki. I like him before but not to this extend. Shiki is the dude who always clad in black and carries a katana around. He kinda works for Vischio and the upper up by distributing drugs or something (can't really remember) but he's a good guy. Keisuke is Akira's friend from back home. He's a wuss and obviously gay for Akira. He is pretty annoying for a guy because he's so weak. But that will change in the future. Hmm, so far those are the only characters that worth mentioning in this episode right?

I love the fact that the anime gets the character designs right. I love how intense both Akira and Shiki eyes are because even in the manga, that part of them kinda pushed through. Kudos to the production team for getting the essence of their character right. It feels like they pop right from the pages. The animation is awesome as well. The fighting is bloody and the punches and kicking and all the slick moves are smooth and fluent. Kudos again because ultimately Togainu no Chi is all about the fights.

As for the seiyuu, I can't say that I am please with the fact that Tomokazu Sugita is doing my least favorite character of the series, Keisuke. Let me point out though that I almost didn't recognize Tomokazu because he sounded so different from what he usually does. I guess this goes to show that he has the versatility as a seiyuu. And who knows with him as Keisuke, I might end up liking the guy. If I never paid attention to Hikaru Midorikawa before, I certainly am now. I love Shiki's voice and I think this is a big break for Hikaru. I expect to hear more of his voice used for the protagonists in the future. I surprised myself when I don't recognize Akira's voice at all. He shares the same seiyuu as Gilbert Nightray in Pandora Hearts. I love Gilbert. I should have recognized his seiyuu Kousuke Toriumi. Another seiyuu that I have to put on my map.

I like the rock/metal sound of the OP music from GRANRODEO. It suits the theme of the anime, dark and gloomy. As I listened to the background music, I found myself drumming to the beat. They cleverly used percussion and made it suits the feel for any particular scenes. I already made up my mind that I'm gonna like the ED the first few seconds I heard it. It just has that certain quality that I always fall for. It is also kinda catchy. So yeah I'm quite happy with the overall sounds for this show.

Thank you A-1 Pictures Inc. for finally brought me an anime that I will follow this season. And thank goodness that I have more good feelings about this show compared to what I first thought about Dance in the Vampire Bund. Speaking of that show, doesn't Kira kinda looks like Akira a lot?

art & animation 8/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

Posted in: A-1 pictures, aniplex, first impression, hikaru midorikawa, jun fukuyama, kousuke toriumi, Togainu no Chi, tomokazu sugita