×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 6 months old before posting.

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Kengan Ashura Season 1 Part 1 Anime Series Review


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
TheSleepyMonkey



Joined: 11 Jul 2022
Posts: 960
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 11:54 am Reply with quote
What the hell did I just read?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 2154
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 11:55 am Reply with quote
I’m no fan of this franchise, but it’s weird how the review acts like this isn’t a popular and well liked series in Japan. The manga has been running for over a decade!

That said, the animation does indeed look ugly as sin.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Glordit



Joined: 11 Sep 2020
Posts: 692
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 12:52 pm Reply with quote
The manga is really popular, and they wouldn't make multiple anime and then continue the manga after the initial one ended.

I like Kengan, there's at least more actual fighting movement and action than Baki or Shuumatsu no Valkyrie. The CG actually works in its favour.

Quote:
Doesn't understand what makes martial arts series interesting, visuals that can't even be inconsistently terrible, characters are awful, and only a few of them are awful in a fun way.


I think they went into this looking for something serious. Almost everyone is working for someone of a varying degree of evil and are just going their jobs as combatants. It's not meant to really make you think, it's a battle royal show with ridiculous characters.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4633
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 1:27 pm Reply with quote
Couldn’t disagree more. With bad fighting anime like God of High School out there, Kengan gets the characters across really well. The idea is that the situation is crazy, since our POV character is an outsider looking in. The only thing I can really spot you on is the CG, which is probably why Baki vs Kengan is using the former’s animators.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
D.E.D.E



Joined: 15 Mar 2014
Posts: 112
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 1:32 pm Reply with quote
What the hell was this review?? It’s genuinely insane how someone can completely miss the mark on this series this badly.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Todd_Harry08



Joined: 24 Sep 2019
Posts: 208
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 2:39 pm Reply with quote
the most raw anime that no ones can handle to watch lol
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
sjk9000



Joined: 11 Feb 2020
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 2:51 pm Reply with quote
I like the manga, but I've only skimmed the anime. I can't really comment on whether I agree with the review or not.

That said, describing Kengan Ashura as "Baki but not as gay" is probably the funniest damn review of the series I can imagine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1591
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 3:26 pm Reply with quote
This review has to be a joke. It's five years behind schedule, it's using representative key art that's far from the show's best or its most iconic, and above all else it's probably the most spiteful review I've seen since Carl Kimlinger did Panty & Stocking. Two thumbs down from me.

Last edited by Takkun4343 on Sat Jun 01, 2024 7:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
#Droneku



Joined: 28 May 2022
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 6:29 pm Reply with quote
Bring up the "Baki is Queer" discourse disqualify you to take this series in his own terms.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ryanvamp



Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 421
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 9:08 pm Reply with quote
As you can see from the info bellow my name, I've been here for a LOOOONG time. This is not a burner account to say something inflammatory to feel better for ten seconds because someone bashed my favorite show.

Kengan Ashura is far from a masterpiece. It is, however, pretty entertaining and harmless. It doesn't try yo be anything else than what it actually is nor is it saying money is the ultimate goal a person should pursue (quite the contrary, imo).

So believe me when I say: this is one of the worst reviews I've ever read on this site. I don't know what show the reviewer watched but it seems to me his text was more about his/her biases and worldview than the actual content of the series.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Cryten



Joined: 19 Jan 2019
Posts: 1163
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 9:30 pm Reply with quote
So a lot of you have demonstrated that Ashura has lasting appeal and some popularity. I wonder about the other criticisms about the anime adaptation. Namely that there was little characterisation for opponents and their martial arts, nor world building attached to their style of martial arts (IE martial arts reflecting character traits). Is this a valid criticism of the anime (not the manga)? If not what would you say in responce to the criticism?

Also would you disagree with the assesment that it goes for edgy writing? How do you find the feel of the anime? Do you find the characters likeable?

The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the anime visuals are a mess, or the very least conflicting.

I would note that the reviewer agreed that the series can be mindless fun.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24225
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 9:35 pm Reply with quote
I haven't seen a single frame of Kengan Ashura nor read a single word of its source material so I have no dog in this fight. But when I read something like:

Quote:
...nor think that any hypothetical viewer would enjoy it...


...I know I'm in the presence of somebody who probably shouldn't be reviewing anything.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4633
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 9:56 pm Reply with quote
Cryten wrote:
So a lot of you have demonstrated that Ashura has lasting appeal and some popularity. I wonder about the other criticisms about the anime adaptation. Namely that there was little characterisation for opponents and their martial arts, nor world building attached to their style of martial arts (IE martial arts reflecting character traits). Is this a valid criticism of the anime (not the manga)? If not what would you say in responce to the criticism?

Also would you disagree with the assesment that it goes for edgy writing? How do you find the feel of the anime? Do you find the characters likeable?

The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the anime visuals are a mess, or the very least conflicting.

I would note that the reviewer agreed that the series can be mindless fun.


The one thing Kengan does really well (That for example, God of High School completely whiffed) is it does a lot with the characters. Motivations, flashbacks, etc. You get to know these people and why they’re fighting.

And it’s not edgy. It’s absurd, but purposefully so. This reviewer was wrong on pretty much every point.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Jabootu



Joined: 17 Jan 2024
Posts: 281
PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 7:59 am Reply with quote
I must not be a hypothetical viewer, because I enjoyed Kengen greatly. It's the exact kind of trash I enjoy. I generally don't go for Netflix's relentlessly grimdark anime, although partly because I generally don't like sci-fi anime. However, shows about dudes beating the hell out of one another scratches an itch. And for what it's worth, I don't think it's particularly worse than Baki. Now Record of Ragnarok, OK, that one I thought was unwatchable. I assume they finally reviewed this because they will soon be releasing a Baki vs Kengen series. Also, Netflix recently added another similar show, Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf that falls directly into that Baki / Kengen arena.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1261
PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 8:24 am Reply with quote
Jabootu wrote:
Also, Netflix recently added another similar show, Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf that falls directly into that Baki / Kengen arena.

...whoa, how did I miss this? Netflix funded a Garouden anime? Between Baki and Kengan here, I remember thinking "Ha ha wouldn't it be funny if Netflix got Garouden too"...I guess it's a bit obvious, given Baki's artist worked on a manga version...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group