Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyouji, Abe no Seimei. However, he lost his sixth sense that enables him to see supernatural beings, which is very important for an onmyouji. Thus, he is left with no choice but to try and pick a different career. But one day, a strange mononoke appears, which he names Mokkun, who shows him his true potential powers after fighting a demon. With the assistance of Mokkun, his quest to become the greatest onmyouji begins.
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Takai
-INTRODUCTION- My love for ancient Japan and Japanese mythology got me into yet another great anime. Onmyouji is even in the title; obviously, I couldn't go past it. -STORY- 10/10 "If that is your wish, then I will break my heart for the sake of that wish, and I will lend you my strength. This is why I am by your side." The story is set in Heian period of ancient Japan. It follows Abe no Masahiro (Abe no Seimei's grandson), a young onmyouji in training. Accompanied by his guardian and partner Guren, a powerful shikigami, Masahiro faces off against different mononoke that disturb the peace of the city.The anime is divided into two main stories, which are the adaptation of the first two arcs of the original light novel. The transition between the arcs, however, is done very smoothly, and there is no obvious 'break' point -- the story flows naturally throughout the entire twenty six episodes.
Though some may see it as a comedy at first glance, Shounen Onmyouji gradually develops into a serious drama with gentle romantic subplot that touches upon some of the very important points -- like understanding and acceptance of others, forgiveness, and the search for one's true place in the world. There is also enough comic relief, provided very cleverly and only at appropriate times, to give the partially light-hearted atmosphere and to help the story stay serious without crossing the line and becoming depressing.
While the anime only covers the first two arcs of the novel and obviously doesn't show the entire story, it definitely does not look cut off or unfinished. There is room for discussion after the final episode, but an overall feeling of completeness is present.
-CHARACTERS- 9/10
Shounen Onmyouji has a very diverse line-up of unique characters. Each of them has individuality and different ideals, and neither of them are stereotypical or boring. Their interactions with each other, as well as their inner struggles, are interesting to observe. They are all portrayed very realistically in their behavior; it's easy to relate to them and to see that all beings feel sorrow and happiness equally, be they human, youkai, or shikigami.
Most of the story is focused around Masahiro and Guren, as well as their bond with each other. Masahiro is constantly troubled with being compared to his grandfather, and strives to work his hardest to become a better or at least an equal onmyouji, so that people would see him as an individual named Masahiro and not just "Seimei's grandson". I was very impressed with Masahiro and his determination, and how far he was willing to push himself in order to achieve that place where he can belong while being himself.
The second main character is Guren, Masahiro's guardian who accompanies him everywhere. Although he will not easily admit it, Guren is very attached to Masahiro and is grateful for the 'light' that he brought to his heart. While appearing to be carefree in nature and acting rather silly most of the time (even taking on a form of a small white mononoke when his true powers are not needed), Guren is in a constant battle with himself and his tragic past. He is very strict with himself and takes a lot of responsibility for his actions, which makes it difficult for him to forgive himself and move on.
The two of them depend greatly on each other's support and their bond gets deeper as the series progresses. Masahiro helps to set Guren free from the burden of his past, while Guren always supports Masahiro on his way to becoming a successful onmyouji. Their story, their friendship is very heartwarming and touching.
The reason I had to take a point off is that even though there are many interesting characters, some of them remain in the shadows or only show up for a couple minutes in the entire series. I am talking specifically about the twelve shikigami. Some of them were explored in greater detail, but most of them were just 'there' and left me wondering about many things, especially their reasons for serving Seimei and staying loyal to him for so long. I understand that the anime only shows the first bit of the full story, but as a full-fledged complete TV series with no sequel in sight, they should have either given brief background information on each of the shikigami, or not have shown some of them at all. I was especially upset about the two shikigami (I can only logically guess that they were shikigami) appearing in the final episode, whose names were not even mentioned.
-ART/ANIMATION- 10/10
The art style is very different from the original novel illustrations, but that does not make it any less beautiful. I loved all the character designs, of both human and non-human characters. The contrast between Guren's mononoke and shikigami form was very distinct: Mokkun is small, cute, and childish, while Touda looks strong and mature, with a god-like aura around him; this portrayed his personality well. I especially liked the clothes designs for the twelve shikigami; it made them stand out among all the other characters. The little youkai that Masahiro kept interacting with were adorable and very expressive.
The opening animation was exceptionally well done, especially the scenes of shikigami introductions, as well as the scene where Masahiro and Guren reach out to take each other's hand during the line "I will not let go of that hand again" -- it was coordinated perfectly with the song. I also liked the idea of using colored illustrations from the novels as the insert images during the half-episode break points. Overall, the art and animation section gets full marks from me, for memorable designs and originality.
-SOUND- 10/10
The music accompaniment was perfect for this anime. The sad scenes, the happy scenes, the scenes of relief, the feeling and the overall effect were enhanced with background sound. I especially loved the opening song; it went very well with the animation, and the lyrics were suitable for the story. Using Masahiro's character song as the final ending was a nice choice as well.
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Shounen Onmyouji is apparently one of those stories that somehow adapt from a shoujo novel/manga into a shounen anime, at least according to some informational sites. I am not familiar with the light novel, but this anime is very difficult to categorize because it has a lot of elements from both shoujo and shounen.
alienninjasaiyan
Shounen Onmyouji is a 26-episode series from Studio DEEN, the noted creators of many great anime features. However, Shounen Onmyouji proves to be the exception to the norm, and if you read this review, you'll know why. First off, the story. The anime is set in the Heian period (794-1185) of ancient Japan. The Abe clan, long known as the most powerful spirit masters in the land, now have a new successor: Abe no Masahiro, a young boy who's destined to follow in the footsteps of his legendary grandfather, Abe no Seimei. But Masahiro wants to be more than just Seimei's grandson; he wants to makea name for himself. Aided by the ayakashi (meaning 'beast' or 'creature') Mokkun, who is in actuality the Summoned Spirit Toda/Guren, Masahiro fights monsters and demons by night, gaining experience and saving people.
The character design of the anime is very good. Obviously, the character designers have done extensive research. The costumes worn by the characters are true to the spirit of the Heian, a period second only to the modern in terms of experimentation in fashion. The male characters'layered outfits, the female characters' lined layers of robes-all of these have clearly been painstakingly reproduced. Even the hair of the women has been created true to reality: in ancient times, long tresses were considered a sign of beauty. Fans of blue or pink hair will be disappointed completely.
That said, the rest of the anime fails miserably in its task. The conceptualisation is weak, the storyline is flaccid and hasty, and the whole series smacks of inattention.
The first few episodes excite. One expects great things from the young Masahiro as he shows obvious traits common to all great anime heroes. Like Ichigo, he has a moralistic streak that leaves him incapable of ruthlessness. Like Naruto, he has an irrepressible urge to prove himself. But as the series progresses, one finds his character softening, dissolving into something like a shoujo idol. The reasons for this softening are principally the addition of another (and completely useless) character, that of Princess Akiko.
Akiko's fault doesn't just lie there; she comes across as a complete damsel in distress-that, too, in the Western style. She doesn't contribute a single thing to the whole story (except perhaps as the hero's girl), yet the directors have given their love relationship a prime place. Six episodes are spent just preparing for this relationship. The whole scene then smacks of a bad B-grade romance, and whatever interest remains in the series slowly drains away.
The only thing one finds passably watchable in this series are the various gods or Summoned Spirits who are also main characters. They have blue and green hair in multitudes and wear clothes that would've been banned in Heian Japan, but that's what we like about them. Their interaction with the members of the Abe household, whom they are indentured to, as well as their all-too-human concern about the succession, make them likable characters. Even Toda, though some may find him mushy, comes across as a fine character, a model even for future characters.
The music is good, nicely enough crafted to hold attention and maybe-just maybe-to hit that download button under the link on that music download site. The opening track, Kaori Hikita's 'Egao no Wake' comes across as a nice song with nice, energetic beats and fluid vocals. Of the ending tracks, one likes Saori Kiuji's 'Yakusoku'. Though sung in a highly nasal tone of voice, the song's arrangement fits perfectly with an old tale or an ancient hero-chronicle.
Thus, overall, Shounen Onmyouji is not something I'd recommend everyone to watch. If you're starved for anime, or haven't seen it in a long while, then you can try it out. If you're a history buff, or need an idea of how people lived in the past, then this series is a definite must-watch. But to the general anime fan, I'd recommend something other than this.
ten6cha
The story is entertaining, with the drama elements and some attempts at humour. There's the typical ayakashi hunting episodes, and cute relationships that develop between the characters. The series has the potential to be better, but in the end tends to disappoint on that end, and just screams for a second season. The character developments are alright, but I'd say the most developed was Mokkun (my fave) which was the principal point of interest to the whole series. The songs weren't all that great, but somewhat tolerable inmy opinion.
Overall, it's a fairly good episode to enjoy on a rainy day, so to speak.
Bishounen_Hunter
There's a pretty simple formula for knowing whether you will like this show or not. If you like shows like Inuyahsa or Tactics, then you will like Shounen Onmyouji. If you don't, well.....follow the train of though, here. So for me this show was 50/50 because I loved Tactics but I wasn't that crazy about Inuyasha. This show may not have Shikon Shards or a magical well to jump through but it basically takes place in the same era as Inuyahsa and there is a lot of talk about demons and demonic auras, miasma and also all the other aspects of Japanese mysticism andthere are a lot of great characters, all of which I loved! However, the downside [at least for me] is that it possesses the same kind of story flow like Inuyahsa which is too slow and too broad to fully capture without dedicating a lot of time and a lot of episodes to a near-infinite, ongoing manga.
~Art
I love the art style of this show. It may look standard but that's what I like about it. The characters and objects have a simple yet handsome look to them and are well-balanced and proportionate [you know what I mean, some anime makes their characters and objects too long or too thick?] The lines aren't too bold or heavy and the shading is regular if not, understated. It the whole aesthetic is neither too childish nor overly sophisticated but rather just clean look which is pleasing to the eye. sometimes the color range seems pretty limited and you can notice their repetition throughout several scenes...but I'm willing to overlook that.
CGI is used very well in this series for all the right scenes and special f/x making all the fight scenes very exciting and the use of their super-powers seem vivid and brilliant.
~Audio
OK this time the English voice actors did not impress me. First off, Masahiro [the main guy, shounen onmyouji] is voiced by a woman [I'm pretty sure, they probably just tweaked it a little bit with some special sound F/X] she does an OK job as a teen-aged boy but no offense to her, but I would have preferred for it to have been a real boy, maybe like the guy who did DNAngel [Kevin Corn, who can do no wrong in my eyes]. Sometimes when Masahiro gets awkward the voice is too tough to listen to. It sounds like Pat, that character from SNL back in the day.
The person who plays Masahiro's love interest, Princess Akiko, her voice kinda grates on my nerves too, she kind of sounds like a total airhead from the valley sometimes [think: Hilary Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air] and it just lacks that level of delicacy and refinement to play a Japanese princess.
And I totally dislike the fact that Mokkun's voice is female! The fact that Gurren is very much male and has such a masculine voice makes me irritated even more when he transforms in to that ferret/rabbit demon Mokkun with a female's voice. To me, it's like they are two very separate characters. They should have left Gurren's voice intact so that at least there exists a unifying element to remind us that they the same character. And since these 3 characters are main characters, they get a lot of airtime....and that's annoying!
As far as the music is concerned, both the OP and ED are forgettable. I mean they were nice to listen to for a while, like the first 3 episodes, but then I just skipped past that. It's nothing you would find yourself singing along with or wanting to buy the soundtrack.
~Story
The story...well, I wouldn't call it weak, but the plot momentum is pretty slow and it's very straightforward. The story is about a young exorcist monk named Masahiro who has an above average knack for seeing paranormal entities and therefore is able to combat and expel demons. He wants to be better than his grandfather who is supposedly "all that and a bag of chips" at least according to all the townspeople. Why I find the show similar to Tactics is probably because a large portion of the series is delivered in episodic fashion. Masahiro [Like Kentarou from Tactics] is an onmyouji and along with his little ferret-mononoke sidekick, Mokkun, they basically goes around town vanquishing demons and such for the better part of 15 or so episodes all the while. Also like in Tactics, the protagonist's companion in this case, Mokkun/Gurren is harboring some burdensome and tragic secret from his past.
However this anime's biggest flaw is the same flaw that hit Inuyasha. The manga is bigger and much more developed than the anime could ever hope to accomplish. The characters took too long to develop within the limited 26 episodes, I don't even think all 12 Shikigami even made an appearance and of those that did, a lot of them had ill-defined personalities. Oh, and the budding romance between the two principal characters? Forgeddaboutit! The same thing happened with Inuyahsa and Kagome, it fizzled.
This is one of those shows where you do not even have to read the manga, much less know of it's existence, to see that the pace isn't right for a 26 episode series. Well I guess for the two arcs that they were able to show the story was alright. It's pretty cut and dry though and they do try to add a little spice by throwing in a couple of “plot twists” and “tragic revelations” but for the most part, even those were pretty predictable and added little depth to the story. That said, it's still a pretty good story and a fun anime to watch, there are bits of comedy throughout and since it does not run on pointlessly forever like Inuyahsa did, this show is a lot more tolerable.
~Characters
I'm not going to even lie about the fact that it's the “bishounen factor” that led me to select this title....same reason I watched Tactics, I mean who doesn't like demon-hunting, spirit-vanquishing bishounen! And there are loads of them, large enough for any number of fun, slashable pairing configurations! Most of them are Spirit Warriors – Shikigami – that assist Masahiro, eventho technically their allegiance is to his grandfather.
My favorite by far is Gurren, who is the alter-ego to that mongoose-looking mononoke, Mokkun. Gurren is a rather tall and striking looking character with a very deep tan, fire-red shaggy hair and goldish colored eyes. Most of the bishounen have the same kind of facial shape and structure and so they are all very good-looking but Gurren stands out to be probably due to his coloring. Many people may also like him because he is the Shikigami that controls fire which has a lot of cool F/X!
Another character I really liked was Rikugou because he is one of those characters that say very little and is not very emotional [I love those types of characters]. He is very trusting and very faithful he just silently follows Masahiro or his grandfather [Seimei] around with little questioning or complaints. He also has a very nice design, he is very tall and narrow-waisted with long brown hair going to the backs of his knees. He frequently wears a cloak and carries a lance or trident which I think is cool.
But like I said there are a lot of characters and each one of them have a unique look to them and is very attractive...even the Seimei in his young form and mountain goddess [Takao] are pretty hot looking.
~Verdict
It's an OK anime to watch for what it is, the characters are gorgeous but the story [at least as far as the anime is concerned] is a bit anti-climactic. The only point to watching this anime is to serve as a prelude to reading the manga...which I won't.
Tasolth
Shounen Onmyouji is an interesting piece of work. Comprised lot of flashy effects, spirits, demons, the underworld, and gods. Lots of plot twists as well. The story centers around Masahiro no Abe, a young boy of only 13 years old. Yet everyone expects great things of him due to being the grandson and pronounced heir to Seimei no Abe, an extremely powerful Onmyouji (priest) of ancient Japan. Masahiro quickly runs into a number of other characters including his new partner Mokkun. Together they begin to work out problems with marauding demons and other spiritual creatures. The plot eventually unfolds around them but by that time if youare not enjoying the series it can be somewhat painful to keep watching. This is my first gripe.
The art is pretty standard fare nothing too special. Some of the effects off of the spells are pretty cool.
The sound is nothing too memorable. The OP is pretty catchy, and even good, whereas the ED is completely forgettable and somewhat annoying. In scene BG music didn't interfere but It really didn't catch my attention either, mostly forgettable.
The characters are what kept the show afloat for me. Masahiro starts out as a boy that really is not sure of himself and it shows on the people around him. Masahiro is not lacking in power, just confidence and to a lesser degree understanding of those around him, which gets him into a bit of a predicament as the story unfolds. The supporting characters that are explained are given a fair amount of depth, especially Seimei who is a lighthearted somewhat melodramatic grandfather in times of peace, but becomes deathly serious when he needs to be. Other supporting characters dismiss Masahiro as a lost cause, but gradually begin to believe in him as things unfold.
Overall I started to get bored with the first definable arc about half way through and almost lost interest. Luckily I kept going and the second arc picked up the pace quite a bit, and the enjoyment factor went up.
This is an interesting anime for fans of magic or spirits and demons. If you really enjoy stories of feudal japan than this would be something special for you.
I score this as a rough 8.5
Love stories of feudal Japan + demons? Make it 9 or 9.5 easily.
aikojazz
I always love stories with ayakashi and supernatural genre.. I finally finish watching it after several years of on-hold since I last watched Animax and I'm really satisfied. This anime was quite old, released 8-9 years ago. It's so good, however I'm kinda upset not many people know this show!! Set in Heian period, Shounen Onmyouji is about Abe no Masahiro, the third grandson of the notable onmyouji Abe no Seimei. So, the title is very straightforward and self-explanatory. The anime is adapted from the light novels, but only covers 2 arcs. This decision is good, we have enough time for character introduction, development, andalso for the story to flow in a comfortable pace. (I wish they will continue this series though... )
Introduction and first episodes are done very well, pulling me in straight away. The arcs may be quite simple and plain for some, but because of its straightforwardness and flow I like it. I watch anime for fun and refreshing purpose, so this is what I'm looking for. It has slight romance, but considering the main character is only 13 years old and it's more of shounen show, hints of romance is good enough ^^.
Masahiro has earned his spot as one of my favorite anime main characters. He is strong, but not overpowered like crazy. He is pretty good looking also. He is witty, willing to learn and hardworking, also have ambition to surpass his grandfather as onmyouji. Despite this, he still acts like his age, and that's what makes me love this boy. His interaction with Mokkun / Guren / Touda is very lovable. How he approaches problems and interacts with his grandfather, family, other ayakashi.. it's innocent and pure, yet it charms my heart.
There are range of different characters too. I wish there will be more episodes to get to know the 12 Shinsou too.. They are interesting but some of them just appear for a few seconds :(
For anime released in 2006, I can consider it a gorgeous anime. Animation is quite smooth, action scenes and effects are done well. Don't let the opening video hinder you from watching though.. (even though that's what prevents me from giving it 10/10). I like the character design, it is memorable and the 12 Shinsou (shikigami) look cool. The original artwork (shown in the middle of every episode, usually before / after commercial break) is very beautiful and artsy. Well there is simplification for anime version but the characters still has the same, recognizable features with the original design.
Sound wise... Egao no Wake is very catchy and memorable, I find myself hum to it every now and then. The OST are good and suits the theme of the show. I even hunted for the main theme of Shonen Onmyouji because it's so epic sounding. The ending is not really what I like but it's ok.
Seiyuus are wow. I really love Masahiro's voice, even though the seiyuu is a female, she voiced him as a young boy very well. His expressions, feelings and everything. Mokkun, Seimei, the 12 Shinsou and other characters I also have no problems with their voices, they fit the characters.
I really enjoy watching this show. It tugs my heart, makes me laugh even though I had a bad day, also cry during the sad scenes. The medium pace and the storytelling, interactions makes you feel for the characters. I'm glad the English subtitled version I watch are very tidy and informative as well, so it increases my enjoyment.
If you are looking for something exciting, funny and not so complicated show about yokai and Japanese Heian era, you can watch this.
Story 7/10
Character 9/10
Art 9/10
Sound 8/10
Enjoyment 9/10
Overall 8/10
mrm_anime01
The series, set in the Heian era, Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyōji, Abe no Seimei. Seimei, who passed his teachings on to his grandson, Masahiro who has lost his sixth sense and the ability to see spirits. Masahiro constantly feels resentful for being in his grandfather's shadow. Even so, one day, Masahiro meets a fox-like creature which he names Mokkun (もっくん ?) who shows him his true potential powers after fighting a demon. Mokkun is actually Tōda (騰蛇 ?), see Teng (mythology), who prefers to be called Guren. He is one of the twelve shikigami called the Shinshō (神将 ?), whohas pledged his loyalty to Seimei and is helping Masahiro to surpass his grandfather.
Masahiro's dream to surpass his grandfather may not be realised easily as not only does he have to convince the other Shinshō that he is Seimei's true successor, he must also increase his power in order to stop demons coming from China, the other parts of Japan and the Underworld as well as rival onmyōji's who want to destroy Japan.
DBayoty
It's a cool supernatural-historical anime...plus there are some major twists in cliffhangers in the story. The protagonist portrays what typical real life boys are, so I sort of liked his arrogant yet kind attitude. But over all, it's an enjoyable anime, a little short though for my tastes but ground breaking and pule racing in some episodes. I only hoped it could have been scarier, but at least the handsome spirits and the long haired hot guys (I have a fetish for long haired anime guys, haha) makes up for it.
special-secret
Right.... this anime is my all time favorite! Have seen this anime over 8 times and will watch it over and over again in the future without getting bored of it. I will try my best to not contain any spoilers since I want you guys to watch it ^_^ Story 10: I would not say that the story is "common" as it's taken place at quite some time to the point that i don't know when it is haha. It's about a 13 years old boy, Abe no Masahiro, that is the grandson of the mighty 'Abe no Seimei' (an onmyouji that were looked up bymany at the time) but does not have any Kenki power (power to see spirits, ayakashi or mononoke) but one day he meets a creature which later on he found out it is one of Seimei's shikigami, one of the 12 Shinshou(a crossover of a god and a spirit or something ~_~). Afterward he start to have the Kenki power and starts to solve problems that has been happening over the village which involves spirits/ayakashi or some kind. Through these events, he gains the approval of Seimei's other shinshous and shows how he is able to become the successor of Seimei. A minor romance is also showed in this anime but main story is on how Masahiro shows his skills.The rest is for you to discover when you watch the anime :D
Art 10:
No complains whatsoever. Every aspect of this anime is great in terms of the artwork. Details given and even though it is a historical anime, there are quite nice clothing on the Shishous ^_^. Masahiro could also be called good looking too (in terms of anime :p)
Sound 10:
Love the opening and ending of the anime. Have them in my Ipod and been there for over 5 years i think or more..... listen to them all the time without getting bored of them. The ending changes half way through the series but it is still the same song, just that it changed from the start of the song to the second half of it. There are also the character songs that you might want to go onto sites to listen to, some are really good as well ^_^.... The seiyuus for the characters in this anime just fit them perfectly. (talk more about this in the Character next part)
Character 10:
No characters in here are annoying or worthless in this anime (unlike most animes out there where there are at least one character that you want to punch in the face... or think that they are a baggage of the main character or something) There are bad guys in this anime but if they are not in it then there's nothing to watch right??.... anyway.... each character is interesting in terms of their personality and their looks especially the Shinshous. Back to their voices, they have the right seiyuus for their voice, the voices suits their characters like Masahiro with Kaida Yuki, love it when he says all the spells
layelle
Okay! First review, so please be kind. Overall I loved this anime! It was amazing and I wish there were more than 26 episodes. I first started watching the dubbed version because I generally prefer them over subs (please no haters, everyone has the right to voice their own oppinion). But after around 4 episodes I couldnt take it anymore!!! The dub version is horrible, so I switched to subs and it was much better. Anyway... Story: The story was good, I enjoyed it a lot. There were some things I didnt care for but overall I enjoyed it. It made me laugh, cry and everything in between. Art:The art was amazing! I will not watch an anime unless the art is good ( yeah Im picky). Thanks to the wonderful artists that created this anime!
Sound: I enjoyed the music for the most part. It wasnt anything special, but I liked listening to it.
Characters: I loved the characters!!!! Especially the relationship between Mokkun (Guren) and Masahiro. It was their relationship and how they interacted is why I gave this anime a 10. Of course all the other characters were nice, and I liked how towards the end you got to see some emotion out of Rikugou.
I finished this anime in two days, I just wish they hadnt ended it after the second arc. It would have been nice to see how things unfolded after the ending of the second arc. But I will for sure read the manga!
I highly reccomend this anime to anybody!
DaraSilverDragon
My personal score is a bit skewed here, as I'm REALLY into the supernatural in general, and Onmyoudo in particular, so take this from that perspective - if you don't really go nuts for that kind of stuff, I'd say this show is more objectively closer to the 6 - 7 range. If paper talismans, a broad representation of traditional youkai and ayakashi, and buddhist mantra with hand signs get your blood pumping though, I think you'll definitely agree with me on a solid 8 for this one. Honestly? If you liked Kekkaishi, you'll like this. If you liked Kekkaishi but thought you'd have liked it betterif it was set in a historically accurate Heian-jidai japan instead of the modern day, then... well, hello Studio Deen, thank you for reading this review.
...and if you happen to be one of the five or so OTHER people who might have thought of and enjoyed that concept, then enjoy your instant 10/10 because this show is slavishly devoted to the mannerisms, clothing, and political structure of the Heian period of japan without letting that distract from the plot. It actually reminds me strongly of how Rurouni Kenshin handled the Meiji reconstruction era, putting in the care and detail that made the setting come alive, but always keeping focus on the story at hand.
The action is handled about as well as other shounen anime from the early and mid 2000's - dynamic, but predominantly power beam spam consisting of colored photoshop filters following a hand-drawn mask - Inuyasha comes to mind (for more reasons than that, but still). I will say it's a bit more competently directed than its brethren though, as many of the actual full-phrase spells actually have relevant-seeming effects ("Hidden warriors, formidable soldiers, assemble and take formation against the enemy" always creates a barrage of orderly spirit projectiles, for instance).
The character writing is a bit tropey, but it's in that kindof adorable way that old anime could get away with because it wasn't as worn thin back then. The MC is a sweet self-sacrificing Neutral Good type, his grandpa is the wise old Crouching Moron not-so-Hidden Badass, and we're in yet another universe where any capacity for competence or basic self-preservation is apparently carried on the Y chromosome for some reason *coughlazywritingcough*. All that said though, like I mentioned before, the flaws are just so much more forgivable in that unique early-2000s aesthetic where we can all remember back to things like Escaflowne and go 'yeah, not everything has to be Ulysses - this is fine'.
An enjoyable ride overall, catering to a highly specific audience that will absolutely ADORE it when they find it. Ending annoyed me a bit, but only a bit. You'll see.
