Anime: Kekkaishi

Own, Online Viewing, or Evade
This show is definitely worth Owning.

Overall Rating 8/10
The Kekkaishi are spiritual warriors, kind of like Buddhist monk fighters. They use special barriers, Kekkai, to trap and destroy ayakashi. These are spiritual creatures from Japanese folklore. Ayakashi aren’t supposed to interact with the human world and cause damage so the Kekkaishi vanquish them.

Sorry for all the terminology there… It’s an interesting action show that starts with two completing/cooperating Kekkaishi families as young kids, skips some years, and then after a few episodes or so gets to mid-teens somewhere for rest of the show. The leads Yoshimori and Tokine butt heads sometimes but find unique ways to beat strong enemies as the hone their skills throughout the show. It’s a bit unique and worth the watch.

Theme Songs 7/10
The show has a solid well-fitting opening. The endings eventually cycle between a few. They were okay.

Ending 6/10
NO spoilers, the end completed a big story arc. It left things as basically as now let’s keep on keepin’ on. It was fine, not perfect.

I would never have guessed they would actually make an anime based on the old Solomon’s Key videogame… Animated by Studio Sunrise, which means it will have cool robots… What? It doesn’t have robots? In that case it doesn’t have anything cool. Directed by Kodama Kenji who is somewhat famous for his work in City Hunter and Case Closed. He is not bad but surely has no experience in shows with story continuity, something which shows up easily in the anime.

Kekkaishi is definitely original when it comes to the basic concept of its battles. The characters are creating spiritual cubes that have all sorts of uses, and as such each battle is ten times more interesting just for the sake of watching what kind of a trick they will pull off. You see, those kekkai cubes can be used to trap monsters, to destroy anything trapped inside them (mostly monsters, lol), to be stepping stones to reach high places, then can even become walls to shield the heroes from incoming attacks. It sure felt a lot more tactical than just firing energy beams at each other. While the anime was building up on this concept and flavouring its passive or indirect attack patterns, I was really enjoying it. But then they had to ruin it all by upgrading this unique concept to a generic direct attack method and afterwards I began losing my interest.

It may feel weird the way I began with mentioning the concept and not the story or the characters, but the truth is that was the only memorable and noteworthy thing in the whole show. All the rest are mediocre shounen stuff we have seen a million times already; youths with superpowers who must protect their friends; end of story. You want more details? Fillers, long-winded flashbacks, monsters of the week, last moment saves, sudden power-ups, villains who send only one monster at a time instead of ALL OF THEM for a clean victory.

If there is something less noteworthy yet still unorthodox that I feel important enough to mention, is how the main heroine IS NOT USELESS IN BATTLE. Yes, sounds impossible to believe after the myriads of big breasted bimbos like Inoue or nagging useless old maids like Sakura, yet it is true. Tokine is of almost equal footage when it comes to be proven worthy in battle. Of course the hero, Yoshimori, still manages to surpass her with a hundred times less effort, despite the fact she is training hard all her life. And despite she clearly has the hots for him, she never does the slightest to admit it and leaves everything as nothing more than a vague platonic relationship. Oh well, we can’t expect TOO much fairness in a shounen show. After all they survive only because the villains send one monster at a time.

The production values are in all mediocre for their time. The character designs are generic, the backgrounds don’t excel in details, and the visual effects are ok 3D magical cubes and environments, and lots of pretty sparks when something blows up. The soundtrack is generic pop pieces and the voice acting is standard performance.

Eventually, what ruins the show is how it refused to evolve its unorthodox formula further and instead went back to standard shounen mediocrity. The kekkai method of fighting lost its magic after they turned it to almost simplistic energy beams, the romantic aspect never heads anywhere, the characters never stand out as special or memorable, and the whole story is three lines long to describe. There simple isn’t enough material to bother liking in here, or even enough motivation to rewatch the series. I don’t recommend this series as nothing more than a good idea that was handled poorly.

And now for some excused scorings.
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Note: This review is based on Yoroshiku fansubs which are average at best, but also are the only ones available in English. Suggest you get mkv based fansubs if such are available when you are reading this review. Of course, it might be unlikely due to this series' little popularity and length.

From the first sight they are just normal teenagers - a high school student, Yukimura Tokine, and a middle schooler, Sumimura Yoshimori. However, to protect the land of Karasumori is their lifelong job, passed down through their families for generations.

Created by Tanabe Yellow (manga) and directed by Kodoma Kenji (City Hunter, Detective Conan movies) Kekkaishi is your usual shounen action show which tries to be original by implementing the whole new fighting technique for its characters - kekkai. Unfortunately, it is exactly that idea which made Kekkaishi much more boring than it should have been. Quite frankly, luring your enemies into deadly cubes isn't the most exciting way to fight... I mean kekkaijutsu (barrier techniques) are originally for protecting stuff. It's almost as if the main characters here fight their enemies with shields. Anyway, the fact that there is almost no hand to hand combat in this show completely turned me off. Also almost the whole first half the show follows monster per week formula, though there are some episodes which give little insight in that things going to become bigger later (weird things monitor how our guys are fighting monsters and later report that info to "someone"). Unfortunately, even in the second half, when the story finally picks up its pace it doesn't get much more exciting. And of course, boring way of fighting is mostly to blame here. Thankfully the show spurts characters who aren't completely annoying, so it's not really painful to watch.

Animation: 6/10

Perfect example of new-age average animation. Character designs are bland, but moderately detailed. Backgrounds are also satisfactorily detailed, but not really eye pleasing in any way.

Sound: 5/10

Only one opening song for all 52 episodes, thank god it's pretty good. Quite a few ending songs, but only one of them is cool, others being average at best. On the other hand BGM is completely lacking. Even though shounen shows are supposed to fire you up during their fights, there is barely any noticeable music in Kekkaishi.

Also, though Saitou Rie (Ergo Proxy as Real Mayer) performs the voice of the main heroine in this show, she doesn't really stand out much. Let's hope she will get more chances to act cool characters like Real from now on. Yoshino Hiroyuki (Baccano! as Firo Prochainezo), who though experienced at voicing side characters, but new on the main ones, voices Yoshimori here, and as expected, does average job at best.

Story: 5/10

First half - monster per week gets really boring after the first ten or so episodes. And even after the big guys finally kick in, the story annoys you by quite obvious illogical mistakes. Despite having the whole army of freakin' strong demons, the main villains always only send one monster per time to attack Karasumori. Of course, by the spite of luck our main good guys manage to fend off one demon, but... I mean, if the bad guys had sent all their power from the beginning the show would have ended by the death of our good guys, because they didn't stand a chance on a full scale war. Why the hell did the bad guys let their trump cards be slaughtered one by one? What's worse the strongest monster of the bad guys never even had a chance to display its full power. Oh yeah, but the fact that this show has a real ending is commendable, though it still leaves room for a sequel. Unneeded sequel.

Character: 6/10

All of the characters are neither original, nor excel in anything. Yoshimori is your usual kind, but stupid main character. Tokine is your usual "not as strong, but is smart and trains a lot" female heroine. Supporting cast is completely stereotypical as well. At least the good thing is that none of the characters are annoying (well maybe the main character is, a little).

Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:



Value: 4/10

52 episodes, half of which are monster per week? No thanks, I can't see myself re-watching something like this. Certainly a one time watch, this show is.

1. Conclusion: There are a lot of better shounen shows around, one should only give Kekkaishi a shot after running out of the really good ones to watch (check out Rurouni Kenshin TV, Hunter x Hunter, Scryed).

Synopsis:

Five hundred years ago, a feudal lord was attacked by demons wanting to retrieve his mysterious inner power, the invincible power that can help them take over the human world. The famous mage, Tokimori Hazama, was called upon, and with his 2 students, managed to save the whole land. But they fell ill, the feudal lord was killed, his power was also buried with him at a site called Karasumori.

In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, became the kekkaishi protecting the land and the power. They use a technique called Kekkai, a form of magical barrier, used to capture and destroy Ayakashi (monsters/demons) that are drawn to this land. Any demons that come near the power will become stronger and therefore Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from intrusion of the Ayakashi.

But some of the demons form a powerful organization to take over that mysterious power. Yoshimori plans to destroy not only the demons, but also to gain the power to completely save the world from being controlled by demons. To do that, he first needs to know what the power actually is, and also strengthen his poor kekkai skills

Story:

Yes Kekkaishi is also a Shounen show like its Bleach and Naruto counter parts, and it even uses the very same formula. But instead of trying to reinvent or remake the genre, it takes that formula and perfects it from the ground up. And that is what caught me by surprise as I was expecting a typical run of the mill Shounen series.

But after episode 4 I had to swallow the assumptions I had made so early about Kekkaishi. Yoshimori only wants power in order to protect the ones he loves. Yes we have heard and seen this before however, what gives Kekkaishi the edge over the others is that it has an ending and it leaves room for continuation unlike many shounen shows that drag on and on and end on a cliff hanger or a “what the fuck” ending. The shows pace starts of really slowly, but it gains momentum as the series progresses and new characters get introduced on a regular basis keeping it fresh.

And usually when using the word Shounen boring long winded flash backs are always a must, you know those episodes were you want to take a fork and poke out your eyes. But not with Kekkaishi, the flash backs serves an important role in the show telling us the motives of the character and why he has taking the action he has. This is especially true for the bad guys in Kekkaishi, and that is also one of the facts that makes Kekkaishi stand out from the other Shounen shows, the fact that the bad guys get just as much screen time as the good guys and we get to see the reasons and motivations for there actions.

And yes like most Shounen shows Kekkaishi has fillers but they are kept to a minimum and even then, the story of these fillers always pertains to that of the main plot and don’t go totally off track like Naruto and Bleach does.

Characters:

This is where Kekkaishi really stand head and shoulders above the other Shounen shows especially the lead female in Kekkaishi “Tokine”, who isn’t you average big breasted useless in a fight Shousen bimbo. Tokine is a fresh main character who isn’t useless in a fight nor does she whine and run after the main male character in each episode.

From the start of the show there is a deep bond between Yoshimori and Tokine they clearly care for one another and it shows as Yoshimori protects Tokine from danger to make up for his past mistakes. During the early episodes we learn that Yoshimori was always the one crying and getting saved by Tokine when they were younger. But slowly the roles reverse as Yoshimori matures and comes to grips with his powers, which was a really nice touch to the characters and the overall story of Kekkaishi.

There is always a hint of romance between Yoshimori and Tokine but being a Kekkaishi seems to affect the couple from taking there relationship any further which is kind of sad, since it could have opened a whole new avenue in the show.

There is over half a dozen likeable characters in Kekkaish my two favorite characters would be Gen Shishio (Who appears later on in the show.) and Madarao a white demon dog that has served the Sumimura family since its founding. You get the feeling there is more to Madarao than meets the eye and you get to see that first hand during the course of the show.

Animation:

The animation style of Kekkaishi gives it a “fresh” feel, high quality fight scenes are typical of Shounen shows with crisp fluid animation during these fight scenes but where Kekkaishi differs is that it keeps this high quality through out the whole series. And what makes Kekkaishi even more interesting in that aspect is that, the animation is consistent throughout the series. I haven’t seen such a series that maintains its fluid animation wise since The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Sound:

Kekkaishi’s OST for the most part is an average soundtrack with a couple of memorable track through out the show. The voice acting was above average and added to the overall feel of the show but nothing really amazing. With maybe the exception of the songs used during the opening and ending credits.

Enjoyment:

It doesn’t happen much anymore these days, me being surprised by an Anime show like Kekkaishi. I think the reason behind this is that is that, most Anime shows these days follow a certain formula when it comes to plot and story. If the formula worked in one Anime title it gets reused in another and this is especially true for Shounen shows like Bleach, Naruto and Busou Renkin.

I’m not a very big Shounen fan but Kekkaishi has really caught my attention. I don’t believe the series is all that popular at the moment with western audiences. That being said it is currently the 3rd most watched show in Japan next to Naruto and Bleach, and that is saying a lot. But I am still a bit surprised Kekkaishi doesn’t have a bigger following than it currently has, but hopefully this review will rectify this.

After watching Kekkaishi it has quickly climbed to one of my all time favorite Anime shows. As I stated before Kekkaishi isn’t really a conventional Shounen series and the story is aimed more at the mature audience rather than your regular teenager. Would I recommend this to anyone? Hell yes I would and then some more, as it is a fun highly entertaining show, something that has been lacking in this seasons Anime line up.

Animation - Fun style and the slick look of kekkai keep it fresh. Fight scenes are typical shounen with high quality, fluid animation… while actually fighting. The style is a great fit for the upbeat fantasy mood, genre of the series.

Sound - OST was good, although not amazing enough that I will actively seek it out so I can listen to it every day. Voice acting was good; no voice annoyed me or seemed unsuited to the character assigned. Kaguro's seiyuu I felt added excellent malice to his character.

Story - I have not read the manga, so my viewing is from the perspective of a clean slate. Admittedly the story is derivative. Young boy gains power as he fights opponents of increasing difficulty. He only wants power in order to protect the ones he loves. Yes, we have heard it before. However, I will give the plot one major point in the its favor: It has an ending. Many shounen drag on and on as their stories and characters end up like too little butter on too much toast. Here I felt there was decent pacing, evenly trading off action for character development. Unlike like other series, I did not find myself beating my head against a wall during character development episodes. In fact, as I believe was the original intention behind such episodes in times long ago, I actually found myself caring about what happened to the characters. The plot has a sedate start which gains momentum as the series progresses. The ending leaves room for continuation, but is far from a cliff hanger.

Character - This is an area where I believe Kekkaishi shined. Characters have back stories and we get to hear them. Characters' actions are based on their experiences and this makes motivations clear. I confess, the mortality rate for those having meaningful flashbacks is incredibly high. However, at I least understand who they were and why they acted in the fashion they chose. I will also point out that this is common for the genre (Bleach and Naruto are certainly guilty). I enjoyed the main character's, Yoshimori’s, counterintuitive choice of hobby, baking. The romantic interest for Yoshimori, Tokine, was a cut above many other female characters. She was not relegated to playing healer or getting into trouble and forcing Yoshimori to save her. She is a good foil to the lazy, lackluster Yoshimori and saved him on multiple occasions.

Value - Watching this series will not make you a better person. However, if you enjoy the genre I will say this is a fine one to add to your repertoire.

Enjoyment - I really enjoyed this series over the past year. It is upbeat, easy on the eyes, and rarely bored me. I greatly preferred it over other shounen whose episodes are now counted in centuries.

The final episode of Kekkaishi has been out for a while and still no reviews, so I felt compelled to write up something. Let's get the formula out of the way:

Animation is solid, if unimpressive. Pretty much what I expect from a modern anime TV series. It has a bit more recycled animation than anything else I've watched recently, which is a big demerit. Despite the variety of bad guys fought, there is a certain sameness to them all that, when combined with the unvaried location and costumes does get tiresome.

The OP is mildly catching -- but like all things after hearing it 52 times the novelty fades a little. The various background pieces and themes never stood out in memory, which is fine by me. It means they weren't horrible. I won't be running out and trying to find the soundtrack for Kekkaishi anytime soon, however.

The story isn't breaking any new ground. Young kids, learning how to handle power and responsibility, slow introductions, a big evil shows up, stuff happens, good wins, evil loses, yay. These 52 episodes cover the Kokuborou arc and ends with very little in the way of closure -- the manga goes beyond this. I don't know if they plan on animating more of the manga.

It takes a while to establish the main arc -- there are quite a few episodes that are essentially filler. Enjoyable, certainly, but the plot and character development felt slow even by anime standards. There are some hints of a potentially interesting backstory -- what is the true history of the kekkaishi and Karasumori? -- but the anime gives viewers the tiniest of morsels to munch on. Even the supply of these dries up entirely in the final push to deal with Kokuborou.

The main characters -- Yoshimori and Tokine -- are what elevate the series from pure mediocrity and kept me watching episodes. Unfortunately, after 52 episodes I don't feel they really delivered as much as they ought to have on that front. I suppose that is primarily an artifact of the manga needing to drag out the status quo for as long as possible to maintain sales.

Not that Yoshimori or Tokine fall too far from the anime stereotype tree. Yoshimori is the kid with limitless power despite little formal training who rushes in without thinking and always wants to protect everyone and everything. Tokine is the girl (which in anime means she's either the biggest bad ass on the planet (c.f. GITS, Seirei no Moribito) or automatically weaker than every male in the series). She's slightly better than most girls in fighting anime: she doesn't spend much time whining; she takes her job seriously and acts as a moderating influence on Yoshimori. The two clearly care for one another -- and the promise of a romance at some point in the show underlies their every interaction -- but they aren't completely retarded about it. You won't find any "misunderstandings" here. You get the impression that main thing preventing a relationship is that as a kekkaishi it is hard to have time for any relationship in your life. I can respect that a lot more than the usual bullshit that anime tries to make me swallow.

There are some secondary characters but, for the most part, they are rarely utilized and mostly around for comic relief. Unfortunately, the motivations of Yoshimori's older brother -- the only secondary character who I found even slightly interesting -- remain obfuscated when the 52nd episode closes.

Kekkaishi is a fun series but it is clearly a notch below shounen juggernauts like One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach in terms of pacing and plot. You can feel that the series is trying to evolve in that direction, though. It starts out with a small coterie of characters but towards the end has swollen to dozens, the end of the series is rife with flashbacks adding "depth" to characters who frequently die immediately after their flashback, and lurking behind it all is the promise of a grand plot involving the True Story of Karasumori. All in all, these 52 episodes feel like they are just the prologue for the "real" Kekkaishi series. Imagine if Naruto had stretched out the Zabusa arc for 50 episodes and then ended and you get a feel for what Kekkaishi is like.