At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Toyohisa Shimazu is the rearguard for his retreating troops, and is critically wounded when he suddenly finds himself in a modern, gleaming white hallway. Faced with only a stoic man named Murasaki and hundreds of doors on both sides, Toyohisa is pulled into the nearest door and into a world completely unlike his own.
The strange land is populated by all manner of fantastical creatures, as well as warriors from different eras of Toyohisa's world who were thought to be dead. Quickly befriending the infamous warlord Nobunaga Oda and the ancient archer Yoichi Suketaka Nasu, Toyohisa learns of the political unrest tearing through the continent. Furthermore, they have been summoned as "Drifters" to fight against the "Ends," people who are responsible for the creation of the Orte Empire and are trying to annihilate the Drifters. As the Ends grow more powerful, so does the Empire's persecution of elves and other demihumans. It is up to Toyohisa and his group of unconventional heroes to battle in a brand-new world war to help the Empire's subjects, while challenging the Ends protecting the land to claim it for themselves.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Stark700
Drifters is the type of show that you’ll quickly realize what it is from the start. Anyone familiar with Kouta Hirano (known for his work “Hellsing”) will get a familiar vibe with the style of the series. If you fancy a fantasy story about extraordinary individuals coming together, then Drifters will be quite a treat. Adapted from the manga of the same name, Drifters initially will leave the impression of a dark fantasy tale. The first few episodes easily establishes its premise as we meet the Drifters, the main protagonists of the show. They are based on historical figures who are based from their timeline.Still, throughout the series, you’ll probably designate them more as anti-heroes by their actions. The primary cast composes of Shimazu Toyohisa, Oda Nobunaga, and Nasu Suketaka Yoichi. Thanks to a mysterious man named Murasaki, they are bought together to stand against evil. Against them are the Ends, characters who ironically weren’t evil during their timeline. At the same time, Drifters are aided by a mysterious group of magicians known as the Octobrists. Get the idea now? Drifters is essentially a dark fantasy war that brings together history’s most infamous figures into one big oddball package.
From the first few episodes, the show will test a viewer’s patience. This is because even though the show has a dark and grim atmosphere, it also tries to sell its comedy and humor. That’s right, the show adapts humor to spice up the entertainment. This can be seen as a throwback as people may not take the show seriously. However, if you can get with the momentum, then Drifters will be a pleasant surprise. Understanding the show’s lore will also enhance your enjoyment of this show. To be honest, what really can draw an audience’s interest is about the characters. Each of them possesses a rather intriguing personality and their roles in the story often spark curiosity.
Shimazu is the main protagonist and also leader of the Drifters. Shimazu is pretty much a natural leader as he is courageous with no fear. His charisma is also a characteristic that inspires others (such as elves) to follow up during the war. We can easily see that he is driven by determination by putting himself above others. The elves and dwarves respects him not just as a Drifter but also a friend. On the other hand, we have Oda Nobunaga. As a strategist, it’s no surprise that he has a brilliant mind. However, he is also a character to be wary of even by his own allies. His sarcastic personality becomes a big joke throughout the show as he brings in the most comedy. As part of the group, Yoichi can be mistaken for a trap because of his feminine appearance. However, he is a guy to be feared when facing against his bow. Later on, we also meet others that joins in their quest as the war turns into a chaotic pandemonium.
The main antagonists are the End. Perhaps the most mysterious and also recognizable would be the Black King. His ultimate goal is to destroy humanity and replace it with a new race in his vision. As leader of the Ends, we don’t find out too much about him. This is perhaps where characterization in the show suffers a bit. We get this all mighty character that operates from the shadows yet not much is known about him, even his past. Luckily, the other Ends brings in more interest such as Easy, a young woman with odds against Murasaki. Anastasia Romanov and Joan of Arc are also ironically the villains in this show, as people may recognize them as heroines from other lores. The one noticeable trait that separates the Ends and the Drifters though is power. Ends seems to possess supernatural abilities, something that the Drifters lack. While Drifters rely on their own natural talent, weapons, and technology, Ends can perform superhuman feats. For instance, Anastasia is able to freeze others while Gilles de Rais can use inhuman strength and durability. As you may guess, the show pits them in battles between the Drifters and Ends like fate. The war itself has a purpose although everyone has their own reasons for fighting. However, it’s up to the audience to decide if those are meaningful or not.
As I mentioned before, the show has a lot of comedy. Whether these may be character interactions or historical in-jokes, it’s always there. One thing that does hold the storytelling back at times is the pacing. It seems at times, the show emphasizes a bit too much on the humor at the expense of other elements. While Oda Nobuanga is a big example of this, others such as Count Saint-Germi from the Orte Empire adds more. The buildup of the story between some episodes can also feel lacking depending on preferences. And because the series is created by Kouta Hirano, you can expect some Nazi references to be introduced as well. That’s right, if you’re thinking Hitler then you’re correct. The show even has a bit of fantasy racism! On the other hand, do take in for granted when the action picks up. This show is no joke when it comes to making a spectacle of battles. When the pacing picks up, it’s where the series really shines and will make you feel that all the buildup worth the wait.
Adapted by Hoods Entertainment, the show is pretty accurate with its manga art style. This is what impresses me a lot when I first watched this series as it’s on spot, almost frame by frame for the character designs. Not to mention, both the Drifters and Ends are characterized with their badass look ranging from Shimazu’s weapons to Yoichi’s sharp eyes. Speaking of that, the show has a distinctive style of adapting its character features. This is especially recognized by the intimidating looks of Ends as they look convincingly menacing. The setting of the battles is also decorated with a dark fantasy look with ruins, ancient castles, etc. Add ultraviolence and minimal censorship and you get Drifters at its finest.
Soundtrack is also pretty noticeable throughout the show ranging from especially the theme songs. It’s stylistic and filled with creativity. While some people may call it silly, I see it more as a expressing the show’s humor and almost feels satirical. The OST and soundtrack has a hardcore instrumental tone during the battle scenes that is highly entertaining. Character voice mannerism throughout show is also noticeable even at times when the dialogues gets overly silly. Perhaps the most noticeable are those of Oda Nobunaga mainly for his commanding voice.
By the time I finished watching Drifters, I was not only impressed by the overall content but also for its ability to entertain. If you have a sense of humor, then this will definitely be worth every minute of time. If you take it too seriously though, then Drifters will probably feel more like a chore to watch. I would definitely recommend Drifters even if you’re not a fan of the author’s works. I can’t say this enough but Hirano’s ability to express his ideas are just too damn entertaining to evade.
Hochmut
Before starting my review, I would like to note that almost every character of Drifters is a historical figure, so I would highly recommend you to use Google from time to time. Drifters uses American historical figures, Japanese historical figures, French historical figures, Russian historical figures, and others. Anyways, let us start. Drifters: Battle in a Brand-new World War, Drifters, orドリフターズ, is a fantasy, alternate history Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. The manga started serialization in Shounen Gahosha magazine, Young King Ours, on April 30, 2009. It received an anime adaptation, which was announced in May, 2015 and aired between October 7,2016 and December 23, 2016. A second season has also been announced.
Toyohisa of the Shimazu clan is in the heat of the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which signaled the start of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan; the only thing he thinks about is how to behead the enemy commander and he is ready to achieve this goal by all means. Having fatally injured the enemy commander, Toyohisa is also about to die. Suddenly he finds himself in a white corridor, facing a man in strange clothes sitting at a desk in a white corridor. A moment later he is sent to a new land, where some unknown historical figures treat his wounds. Shortly after that he finds out that he, as well as his new companions, are Drifters. Why were Drifters sent to this world? Find out the answer now!
The story-line of Drifters is worthy. There are still; however, some things that should be explained, but I would not call it a problem, since a second season was announced a day, or two ago. Drifters is violent; all history anime should be like Drifters. However, I have one major complaint and I am sure that you will not like it either: humor. Being a fan of Hellsing, I was expecting a portion of Hellsingish humor, but Drifters clearly overused it: it is not funny and outdated. I mean, come on, boob jokes? Really? Why not spend more time on characters and story-line? Is it that difficult? Anyways, it is not a big problem and you will still enjoy Drifters. To be precise, that is the only problem of Drifters.
The art and music are very similar to Hellsing, so if you have already seen Hellsing Ultimate, you will recognize it immediately and will not have any problems with it. If you have not seen Hellsing Ultimate yet, it will not be a problem, either. The art style is amazing, every single detail of all characters is just beautiful. And, yes, that Japanese themed Alucard is just badass. The music, however, did not leave a huge impression on me. Of course, the voice actors did one hell of a job, but I was hoping to see something close to what was in Hellsing Ultimate. Anyway, the music used in Drifters is a mix of traditional Japanese music, jazzy beats, and rock.
The characters are very entertaining. As I have already mentioned, some of them did not receive enough development, but they will surely receive enough development in the new season. With that being said, we spend a lot time with the Japanese warriors: Shimazu Toyohisa, Oda Nobunaga, and Nasu Yoichi Suketaka. Their trio is very interesting, because they all are different. Shimazu is a warrior that only wants to behead his enemy; however, at the same time, he is also a true warrior, who will never harm a woman. Nasu is a young archer, who does not have any leader qualities; yet, he is also a fearless warrior. Oda is the most dangerous person in this group, because he is a true leader, he does not care where he is, because he is a true genius that will capture any town even with a bunch of amateurs.
Anyways, the characters are very interesting to follow. As the story-line progresses, Drifters shows us more about its characters’ background. And while some of Drifters do have regrets, they are still ready to go on and it is very exciting. However, there is also one problem I would like to mention, the comedy part. Jesus Christ, it is simply awful. I do agree that the comedy part is needed even in some gruesome anime, but it should not be overused. The problem is that you are watching a serious episode and you are trying to understand the problem; however, Drifters shows you these comedy moments disturbing you. It is simply impossible to concentrate and it is very annoying.
As for enjoyment, this anime is very enjoyable and if you are a fan of Hellsing Ultimate, you will not have any problems with it. If you have not seen Hellsing Ultimate yet, I would highly recommend you to watch it first, but it is up to you, of course. It is not a must do.
All in all, Drifters is not flawless, the comedy part ruined this masterpiece, in my opinion. Yes, it is very annoying, but you should not ignore this anime because of it, please do not do it, it is still awesome. On top of that, the most important thing is that it will receive a continuation, so you will not have to wait years predicting if it will, or will not receive a new season. Drifters is an anime I would highly recommend to every single anime fan; however, if you are a big hater of Hellsing Ultimate, I would highly recommend you to think twice before watching Drifters.
CodeBlazeFate
"FATALITY!" -Every Mortal Kombat game since 1992. *SPOILERS FOR DRIFTERS* War is hell. We know this to be true by now. This also applies to the fact about there being a lot of "sent to another world" anime adaptations. You really need to do something really unique to stand out if you're one of these shows, and while I'd like to say that SAO and Re:Zero conditioned me to think otherwise, its obvious that their additions to the concept alone (bloodthirsty video game world and reset after death respectively) were what made them stand out, even if the actual concept, for most part does the exact opposite.With this show, they decided to make it have a full-fledged war, with loads of carnage peppered throughout. The concept is very interesting, especially since the war consists of famous people from many different eras of different countries. It's sort of like the Fate/ series, except that this time, all of the combatants were based on real people instead of sprinkling mythological people into the mix. So, was this a true breath of fresh air for the genre? Did it manage to do that while being a genuinely great war story? Well, let's find out, shall we?
So, there is some kind of conflict between Easy and Murasaki (which doesn't get explained or fleshed out) that caused them to start sending people to this unidentified new world in which there are two main factions at war: Drifters (deceased war heroes), and Ends (once noble beings who have gone bad for their own reasons tying into their demise, but not all of them have their backstory shown to us). There are also humans who enslave two kinds of demi-humans: elves, and dwarves. Drifters are fighting to bring down the human governments of this world via conquest, and destroy the Ends, while the Ends are fighting to destroy the world and all inhabitants (despite the fact that their leader just wants the demi-humans to be the main inhabitants). So, what the hell happened here?
Ultimately, the first few episodes were rough. Not only were there some minor plot holes, but there is one gigantic issue that really damages this series: the tone shifts. You can have a moment in which villagers all horrifyingly stab a man to death in brutal fashion, and then seconds later, they show cracks a random joke. They do this so often, and sometimes, in the most inopportune of times, ruining some of the darker and heavier moments of the show. Sure, this means that, inevitably, a few of these end up being funny, but, for most part, they end up harming more than helping.
The series does pick up, but a few new issues really hamper this show. Every time one of the Ends is about to die or be defeated, we suddenly get their backstory in order to make the story sad, and that just doesn't work. In order for that to work, we need the characters to be more than just one-dimensional baddies before-hand, and they pull this stunt three times! Also, the finale just...ends, without any major resolution. Just, a battle ends, and here is one image of where each Drifter is at the moment, in an obvious, and quite frankly, rushed sequel-hook, particularly because some of the characters, like Scipio and Butch Cassidy, have been left by the wayside, especially Scipio with the fact that he has been left in the jungle but suddenly he's in a navy ship with a character that has only been seen for one brief moment. Hell, there are other moments that required some time to explain, like how the Drifters suddenly got human armor when their last battle (which was two episodes prior) didn't have nearly as many people killed to remotely equal the amount of armor and weapons present. Shame too, since if this concept was explored more and the story were tightened up, this would've definitely been a good first season to what looks to be an otherworldly war epic.
It's really hard to tolerate these "Drifters" early on. I mean, they were all a bunch of quarreling assholes without anything interesting about their character, and by the end of it, some of the more minor additions (like Hannibal and Scipio) were still like that. Luckily, our main trio grew. Toyo is a crazed warrior who loves decapitating enemy warriors, as long as they are male. His culture and all Japanese war cultures at the time do not like the thought of women engaged in combat. He ends up also being a bot more chivalrous towards females and children than his cohorts while understanding people more than he probably should (reminding me a lot of Ragna the Bloodedge, from the Blazblue game series) and I'll touch on that in a bit. Nobunaga is a much more brutal tactician as well as being a hardier individual than his allies. His violent streak, as a result of his culture and his multiple times being betrayed, makes for some of the best usages of military tactics I've seen in a war anime in quite some time. Yoichi ends up being more in between when it comes to his companions' traits, but with more of a tragic war past, which is shallowly explored via his commander, who ends up chatting with him once, and that's it. He's probably the least interesting of the trio, but at least, he ends up being the crux of some of the better comedy moments of the first 3 episodes.
Butch Cassidy and the other Drifters are infinitely less interesting, but he is easily the most tolerable of them (along with The Sundance Kid for how little he shows up), with him actually doing some cool stuff. Sure, Naoshi takes down some dragons in a WWII plane, but he's just there to provide some refreshing amounts of swearing, which ends up becoming excessive. There is also Count Saint-Germi (the son of Hitler) with his coup d'etat scheme, and his annoying posse (Alester and Flemi), but they are mostly there to be annoying and provide bad comedy until the count himself starts that plan with the Drifters to overthrow the human government.
The Octobrists are overall very uninteresting, except for Olmine, who is constantly made fun of for her voluptuous breasts, but has some genuinely great interactions with Toyo, as he shows her some good chivalry and allows her to use her spells to great effect in the latter half of the series. She is literally the only remotely interesting Octobrist. As for the Ends, with exception of The Black King, all of them are as plain as they come (with the slight exception of Anastasia, who is barely in this show). Then, they (except for Anestasia and Rasputin) get their backstories to explain why they are so evil and a bit about how that ties in with their powers (Only Joan of Arc does. Gilles de Rais and Hijikata doesn't get anything relating to his powers, and nobody gets their power origins outright explained) in a poor attempt at making these lame characters come off as tragic, which is really horrible given their real-life counterparts.
The Black King is an interesting figure, wanting better civilization for the demi-humans, and being able to create food as well as grow cells (to regenerate, but also to harm, as shown with the Bronze Dragon in episode 10), but even with his somewhat interesting motivations and enigmatic figure, he can't really make up for how bland his subordinates are. Easy is the one who sends the bad guys in, is moody, and that's about it aside from having a cutesy and girly room to herself. Murasaki is even more bland, though. Overall, despite a few characters that grew to be legitimately interesting and compelling, the cast is stupidly bland at best, and irritating at worst.
Hoods Drifters Studio (not to get confused with Hoods Entertainment, though they may or may not be affiliated) is brand new to this game, and they did a really good job with their first series, which is, of course, this. As if to make up for the writing quality, the action is refreshingly brutal, with loads of decapitation and blood, and no censorship anywhere. It's pretty fun seeing how much of a chaotic gore-fest the action scenes are, and they detail some of the bullet moments and impacts very well. The character models, while looking similar to Kouta Hirano's most popular work, Hellsing Ultimate, they also feel realistic and sorta unique. The only problem I have isn't with the art-stye change during most of the comedy moments, but rather with the usage of CGI for the dragons and some of the soldiers. They try to cover it up and make it work with everything, but it doesn't really help much, as it looks awkward. Luckily, that problem is barely present in the second half. Some moments in the earlier episodes are a bit off though. Still, I really hope to see this studio grow since they did such an impressive job with their first project.
I don't have such high praises for the music, sadly. Gospel of the Throttle (by Minutes 'Til Midnight), the OP of the series, doesn't fit the show as well as I wish. On its own, it's a slick piece, but I don't feel it works here. Luckily, the ED, Vermillion (by Maon Kurosaki) is a very good song, with a more epic and buildup heavy feel to it that really fits with how gruesome and heavy the show can be. The rest of the OST isn't memorable or worthwhile at all, save for one ok piece. The dub is pretty alright. No major hiccups here, but nothing spectacular in terms of performances. It's a relatively solid dub so far.
Honestly, despite how cool and refreshing the action scenes were, this show kinda left me feeling bored and annoyed every now and then, especially in the first half. I admit, the action is fun, and some moments were definitely bleak, the horrible tone-shifts really leave me dazed and confused, and completely taken out of the experience, which is horrible given that one of these moments take place immediately after the darkest moment of the show! If not for the cool action, this wouldn't have engaged me at all, especially since the first 3 episodes left me with the feeling of darkness-induced apathy. I nearly dropped it during those first 3 episodes and even then, outside of fight scenes, this show is still very boring at times. Plus, not a lot of the gags make me laugh, but at least some of them do.
Unfortunately, while this is a very gruesome action show and some of the gags get a laugh here and there, this show is a tonal mess that's hard to care about on any level that isn't related to primal, epic bloodbaths. At the very least, I hope that this series ends up bringing some notoriety for Hoods Drifters Studio. Still, this show is a bit of a disappointment. With all that said, I bid you adieu.
Valkata
Another magnificent anime has come to an end, however we will receive a SECOND SEASON. The hype is REAL. Now to start off, I am a fan of the manga, and I can tell that a lot of love has been put into the development of this anime. It didn't miss a single important event, and you can feel the love of the creators every week while watching it. Story It is a magnificent story, although I can't be certain that it is a unique one. What makes this experience incredible, is that the characters in it, are historical figures, from different eras, dating back to1500's and earlier. Every character is done with insane attention to detail, and once you start watching it, if you are not familiar with these characters, you are inclined to google them and get to know their stories, because they are so incredible to watch.
Art
The art can be described as STUNNING. I don't know what the budget is, but if every anime can have that quality it will be a godsend. Buildings, backgrounds, character designs, everything is marvelous. I can't really find nothing bad about the quality. Also you get ZERO censorship, which makes the experience even more enjoyable, as you lose track of time, while getting engulfed in the story, which has incredible pacing. There is no rushing in this adaptation.
Sound
Very good, great OP and ED. There are some instrumentals during the episodes which fit perfectly in the premise of the story. Everything through the sound of the sword to the shots of the gun is how it should be.
Character
I have already a bit for the characters, but nevertheless here are some of the figures that are in it: Toyohisa Shimazu, Oda Nobunaga, Nasu Yoichi, Saint Germi, Abe no Seimei, Rasputin, Dark King (you will find out who he is), Hijikata Toshizou, Joan of Arc, Guilles de Raimes, Anastasia Romanov, Hannibal, Scipio, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid ... just to name a few. It is an incredible watch.
Enjoyment and Overall
I have looked forward to this every week. It is truly a worthwhile anime that is for everyone who enjoys incredible visuals, historical figures, great fighting, strategies of war and most of all a satisfying story. Watch this, because you will be sorry if you don't.
SgtSalamander
Drifters is one of those anime that's a mile wide but an inch deep. Upon first inspection everything seems to be there, like a cool aesthetic, intriguing concept, and flashy fight scenes, but once you spend any time with it you realize there's no substance beyond that. Unfortunately, what nets Drifters the score it does is that the cool stuff we're presented with isn't nearly cool enough to make up for a lack of substance. If there's going to be nothing under the hood, you've got to at least go all out on impressing the viewer, but Drifters fails toutilize its otherwise badass style in a powerful and consistent enough manner to achieve this. This major flaw is made worse by the fact that this comes from the mind of Kouta Hirano, the man behind the masterpiece that is Hellsing. To see something so boilerplate from him is shocking to say the least. Drifter's isn't necessarily bad, it's just baseline. It's just ok. Beginning with the story, it's built upon a concept with a lot of potential, that historical figures throughout all time are being transported to a fantasy world at the point of death with the purpose of being pitted against one another in a war between those who would end the world and those who would change it, known respectively as the Ends and the Drifters. Unfortunately, beyond its admittedly strong first episode, there's no further development and the 'cool' factor never really gets turned up to 11. It gets funnier at points, but even the comedy often feels out of place. Things start to get kind of repetitive after a while, which is really saying something for a show that only has 12 episodes. They talk and talk and talk like they have anything to talk about, and the only time that's interesting is when they're talking military strategy and sometimes when the Black King speaks. As the story progresses, despite everything feeling kind of simple, it confuses itself along the way too. Like there's a genocidal Human empire called Orte, but there's also a genocidal empire of monsters beneath the Black King, though our main characters are engaged in a rebellion against Orte, though also fight the Black King. It doesn't really make itself hard to follow, but rather confuses itself in how to tell the story, and I don't know how it managed to trip over itself so much when what's happening is so straightforward.
The art is the strongest point of Drifters, and I feel is what they were banking the success of the whole show on. It looks very good, is animated well, and lends itself to high-octane action sequences and cool poses, but even this remains underutilized. Despite the fact that everything looks fantastic, it all kind of goes to waste because of how unimmersive, and indeed anti immersive the rest of this anime tends to be.
This brings us to the sound, which is serviceable if kind of basic. There's not really anything that special about it, and occasionally it'll slip up and take the viewer right out of the experience.
The characters, which should have been a strong point, are actually pretty damn weak, and there's unfortunately not much else to say about them. The Black King, the literal faceless villain of the show, goes through more development and feels more three dimensional than even our main characters. Overall, while some people might like this anime, it is categorically not performing to the full extent of its potential, and as a result is thoroughly mid.
Jebus_Kreist
Drifters is a definition "Mindless Entertainment" anime that just causes your brain to implode if any sort of brainpower is focused on it. A random dimension is now the site of an impending war to decide humanities fate, in that specific dimension. For unknown reasons an organization goes out of their way using magic and modern-ish technology to try and change the events unfolding in this dimension, for no real reason. They do so by specifically dragging people or indiscriminately sized 'objects' out of their home dimension near or right before their time of death/destruction, and just haphazardly dropping them around the world. Samurai swords also cutanything and everything, because Japan. I thought we were past this meme by like 2005...
Story 4/10 - Very dull, unexplained, and vacuous. Just serves as context for smashing historicaly figures together autistically without it being Copy/Pasta:Unlimited Budgetworks
Art 8/10: The only exceptionally "good" part of the show. Non-Human character designs are actually very good, and everything is well detailed and animated.
Sound 3/10: Extremely lackluster, if not just bad at times. OP/ED are completely forgettable and generic. The sound-design during the show seems to have the budget of around $10 plus a snickers bar... for the entire 12 episodes.
Characters 5/10: Main cast with the most screentime were the most boring in the show, with more gimmicks and nonsensical superhuman status than a fanfiction. Whole main cast of "Good-Guys" also seem to be competing with eachother for the role of comedy-relief without the funny.
Enjoyment 4/10: The show goes way too far out of its own way to explain things or justify being "edgy" or characters being "unpleasant. Not even in a story-related way. But with gratuitous, excessively animated, and over-exaggerated ways with extreme-closeup facial shots that are just needless. Which detracts from the enjoyment quite a bit.
Overall 4/10: It's not even "Bad" persay, but it's not something I'd recommend unless you just don't have anything else to watch.
WallahSous
If you want a concise review that isn't riddled with vague pseudo-intellectual nonsense, read this one. It's basically a crossover of many historical figures from different eras going at war with each other. They have their exact names, personalities, and have some an ability associated to some element of their lives. You'll have to google some of the historical figures to understand some of their interactions. In other cases, you'll have to guess because they're not explicitly revealed. Drawing style is like that of Hellsing. Combat animation is very fluid. Combat includes war strategies, not only direct combat. Accurate portrayal of historical figures.
AndrasNova
This anime had me excited from the very beginning. The first episode had me craving more. I was desperate to know where it was going. The characters are astoundingly unique in personality. The whole idea of the series feels refreshing to the anime that have been released. Absolutely wonderful, excited for a next season Things they could have done better were to give more insight as to what the puppeteers were doing, who were they, and why. Though to many of you, it may not be a 10, it is one to me as I found it to be nigh perfect.
MortalMelancholy
Drifters combines various well-known tropes, bringing famous historical figures into a fantasy world, and pitting them against eachother in all-out war. If you don't like war or watching heads roll, you're probably in the wrong place. The animation is amazing, the soundtrack fits perfectly, the main characters (feudal Japanese warriors) have very well developed personalities, while still staying impressively faithful to how they actually were in history, and the plot illustrates an unabridged version of early-modern Japanese warfare. Overally, the anime is unbelievably excellent (for its genre, and in production quality); I'm not too keen on the details, but the studio, "Hoods Drifters Studio" appears to havebeen put together specifically for the production of this anime.
Art:
If anything would quickly turn you away from this anime, it would probably be the art style. You'll might recognize it from Hellsing; Hirano Kouta just loves silhouettes with one glowing eye and comical polygon forms, among other things, including the characters' facial designs. Aside from that, this anime gets as bloody and gorey as you'd expect to see in war, and doesn't try to hide it.
Animation:
It can get quite chaotic, but it fits the frequent, chaotic battles, and it feels like no effort was spared in bringing these scenes to life; definitely a work of art.
Sound:
I can't express in words how I feel about this anime using a band that can ACTUALLY SPEAK ENGLISH for the OP, but it's an insanely good feeling. (Also love Kurosaki Maon) The opening and ending were just amazing, and perfectly fit this anime's romantic depiction of undisguised, hellish war.
The voice acting... Was mostly good, but it sometimes got too into a character's particular speech pattern and sounded stale (assuming you're watching the sub, and that you pay attention to speech patterns).
Outside of that, certain soundtracks might have been slightly overused, but it's not too noticeable.
Character:
Though some might be disappointed in which historical figures were used, and how influential/amazing they were, remember that it's Japanese anime, and that the creator is Japanese. I think it was the right choice to focus on the Japanese that are within the writer's realm of knowledge/expertise. It's clear that the historic figures used were meant to be faithful to the originals, and the anime includes very accurate references to their knowledge, tactics, and experiences.
Yeah, it's quite nice to see an anime that doesn't bullshit away from actual history (when using historical figures), or bullshit some sort of power that comes from their character (Okay, Drifters does bullshit some powers, but at least they're less bullshit and make decent sense).
The only real criticism I have is a lack of characterization for side characters, who are oversimplified, and the ones that aren't historical figures, who barely get any attention at all. (A bit wasteful towards the fantasy setting, I think)
Plot:
The anime starts off a bit slow as it introduces the characters, and the "humor" moments can be painful to watch, but it quickly picks up after the 2nd episode. Some people might be bored by the logistics aspect in the anime, but that IS a part of warfare, and personally, I'm glad they don't leave that out. (It's like watching someone place their trap card, instead of the trap card appearing out of nowhere)
The pacing is quite good—it doesn't try to fill/waste time or contrive stupid cliffhangers or deus ex machinas—because there's they're confident that they have enough legitimate, real plot content to keep the audience interested. There's actually a logical flow to the plot (so far, this season).
You actually need quite a bit of knowledge of Japanese history, military history, history in general, and Japanese culture to fully understand, notice and appreciate... Tons of things in things, from the characters' behavior, tactics, foreshadowing, to the flow of the plot itself. So yeah, keep that in mind and maybe have google ready.
Drakestalker
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is what the fuck I’m talking about! Yes! This is entertainment! Kouta Hirano has made many unsuccessful attempts at grabbing the attention of the mainstream audience. His first big hit was the Hellsing manga. Drifters is his new project. Warriors from all eras are summoned into this parallel world to fight. You get to see characters such as Oda Nobunaga (of course, wouldn’t be an anime with historical characters without good ol’ Nobu), Hannibal Barca, Butch Cassidy, Scipio Africanus, Joan of Arc (again, of course), Grigori Rasputin, and many others. I cannot describe how much fun this series is. It’s an action-packed thrillerfrom start to finish. The action slows down every now and again, but it never stops for a breather. The show must go on. For the most part, it’s a full throttle drunken joy ride. Ain’t nothing like some high-octane hardcore violence and gore to start the day.
If you’re just here for a recommendation, then that’s it. You’re done. Drop whatever you’re doing and go watch the show! *Schwarzenegger voice* DO IT! DO IT NAOW! Stick with me, however, if you are willing to indulge me a lengthy tangent. I would like to impress upon you exactly why this show is so fucking magnificent.
In order to illustrate the truly fantastic nature Drifters, allow me to tell you a little story. During the Rulers of the Realm 2020 Comic-Con panel, authors George R. R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss were asked about the role and importance of maps in fantasy stories. Being as jealous and resentful of Tolkien as he is, Martin targeted the late great one with one of his usual backhanded compliments. Rothfuss, on the other hand, offered a brilliant insight. In case you’re unfamiliar with him, he’s the author of The Kingkiller Chronicle book series. In short, he’s the new fashionable fantasy writer dudebro.
While I have precious little respect for him as a thinker owing to the fact that he has studiously propagandized himself with postmodern thought, it is often the case that no matter how much we try to obfuscate and corrode our conscious minds with poison and lies, our intuition will still naturally gravitate towards the truth. There’s no better example of this principle than J. K. Rowling herself. But I digress.
On the cartography point, while Martin had a dazzlingly sophisticated take that basically boiled down to “They help people know where things are.”, Rothfuss’ outlook was that the maps themselves ought to be a part of the story, of the narrative, and serve a purpose to make the plot more interesting. He contemplates why modern fantasy authors create maps for their own stories, and his contention is that, well, they do it because everyone does it. Well, why does everyone do it? Well, because Tolkien did it. Well, why did Tolkien do it? And therein lies the crux of the matter. See, while maps are helpful and to a degree required with secondary world fantasy, the reason Tolkien had a map in his story is because there literally was a map in his story. The map was a veritable part of the narrative and made the entire world feel more real, alive, and vibrant. Tolkien was not following tradition. Tolkien was merely following his own passion, and that was one of them, creating this giant visual puzzle where everything fits together in a very particular way.
The same goes for conlangs (constructed languages). A lot of people put conlangs in their fantasy stories because they’re simply following in the tradition set by Tolkien, but the late great one did not create these fantasy languages because of any kind of tradition. He created them because he was a language geek and that’s what he loved, whereas in Rothfuss’ case, while he certainly admits to needing conlangs in order to make his world realistic, he doesn’t develop them with anywhere near the same degree of sophistication, seeing as he is not a linguist, it’s not where his interest lies, and as such, he knows his conlangs could never touch his readers in the same way Quenya or Sindarin could.
By that same token, nobody ever spends any money in the Tolkien legendarium. At no point, anywhere in his books, is there ever an exchange made for currency. There is no money in The Lord of the Rings. And it wasn’t because the legendary author wanted to make some kind of Star Trek-esque point about a post-currency world, but rather because he obviously did not care. This was another one of Martin’s infamously spiteful criticisms that has transcended into top tier meme status: “What about Aragorn’s tax policy?” Who gives a shit about Aragorn’s tax policy, dude? Certainly not Tolkien. Currency and economics were transparently nothing he was interested in, ergo, rather than forcing them in because of some misguided notion of obligation, he decided to leave them out completely. Currency was just not a thing for him. Rothfuss, on the other hand, is a huge currency nerd, and so the grand scale economy in his books is intricately worked out. In other words, the genuine nature of his own interests filters into his books.
To make a long story short, his basic point is that we’re all geeks for something, be it herbology, the nature of the night sky, or even plate tectonics, and if we base our creations around things we are genuinely passionate about, they are highly likely to succeed. Whereas creations centered around things you feel compelled to include because of traditional or political reasons, or even reasons of originality, will invariably feel artificial. Why? Because they are. Much as we like making fun of people and call them stupid, people’s intuitive sense is not so easily fooled.
That’s no doubt another trap many authors fall for. They try to come up with a new thing, a new gimmick, an “original” idea, or they attempt to take old clichés, things that people are sure to love, but then subvert them in some way to make them feel new and quirky, hoping they’ll get enough traction that way to make their creations saleable. Both the Clive Owen and Charlie Hunnam King Arthur movies come to mind as examples of this. That’s the wrong approach, though. It’s not about that at all. It doesn’t matter if the idea is original or a cliché. What matters is whether or not what you’re creating is something you’re personally genuinely passionate about, and if you are, rest assured, said passion will translate to your audience. Some great examples of this are the My Hero Academia and The Misfit at Demon King Academy franchises, neither of which bring anything new to the table. They do not innovate their respective genres in any way whatsoever. They’re both about as self-indulgent as they can get. And? And they’re both immensely fun to experience because you can tell the authors had fun writing them. You can tell that neither of them came from a place of indoctrination, but rather genuine interest.
This is also the reason for the paradoxically antithetical receptions of media like the female Ghostbusters, the female James Bond, or even the female Ocean’s movies, as opposed to something like the Fate franchise. In Fate, half of the featured historical and mythological figures are women. Emperor Nero is a woman. Sir Francis Drake is a woman. King Arthur is a woman. God damn Attila the Hun is a woman. And yet, nobody complains about any kind of feminist propaganda insofar as Fate is concerned. Why? Because it’s quite transparent to the audience that it’s not a case of artificially injected propaganda. Kinoko Nasu, the creator of the Fateverse, and Takashi Takeuchi, the designer of most of the Fate cast, are transparently into drawing and telling stories about cute waifus, so they populated their universe with cute waifus. That’s all it comes down to, nothing more, nothing less. It comes from a place of passion, genuine interest, something they are actually into, rather than a place of political possession, and that’s why it has traction, why people find it compelling.
And that finally brings me back to Drifters. The isekai genre is so oversaturated at this point, with each isekai fantasy world having some variant of orcs, and goblins, and reptilians, and ogres, and what not, that they’ve all gotten depressingly derivative, plastic, and same-y. It’s hard to make them stand out anymore. I defy you to tell me the difference between the goblins of Grimgar, Granblue Fantasy, or Log Horizon. Pro tip, you can’t. As soon as you decontextualize them from the human(oid) characters of their respective worlds, they’re wholly indistinguishable. It’s exquisitely difficult to create a fantasy world in this day and age that looks recognizable, one that stands out from the slew of other Tolkien carbon copies. As I said, if I took out the main cast, you wouldn’t be able to tell any of these worlds apart. The world of Sword Art Online, Re:Zero, and Danmachi are effectively clones.
That being said, I guaran-fucking-tee you that if you were to look at the world of Drifters in a vacuum, you would definitely be able to tell that it’s the world of Drifters. If you’ve seen Hellsing Ultimate, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Hirano-sensei has a very particular aesthetic, very similar to the old Frank Miller comic books, with deep pools of shadow to accentuate the features and maturity of his characters. Hirano-sensei’s aesthetic is so recognizable, in fact, that any time another seires features a character that is designed in his style, it immediately announces itself as self-evident. Seryu Ubiquitous from Akame ga Kill! is a thoroughbred Hellsing character if I’ve ever seen one. And that is the very essence of a work that comes from a place of passion, of genuine interest.
See, Kouta Hirano-sensei is really, really, really into ultraviolence, and everything he writes is dark, ultraviolent, and brutal as all hell. He knows exactly what he likes and what he wants from his creation, and so he just goes for it with such sincerity and passion that it clearly translates. He’s not injecting these elements into his story because he calculates that’s what his audience would be into. No, he’s putting them in there because that’s what he is personally into and it’s very transparent.
That’s what makes Drifters such enormous fun and what makes it feel so unique. While Drifters is technically an isekai, it doesn’t feel like an isekai. The term isekai has been relegated to mean less and less a genre, bur rather a specific kind of show that the industry churns out over and over and over and fucking over again – more or less 12 times per season – not the case here, absolutely not.
Even the very idea of summoning heroes from different ages of the past to do battle with each other, ever since Fate, has been repeated and iterated upon a couple of times. You could even argue it has become a bit played out to some degree, but not here. Why? Because none of the depictions of historical characters are memey in any way. As I mentioned above, Oda Nobunaga is in this, because of course he is. He’s the one historical Japanese figure that has to be in every fucking anime ever. That might lead you to believe that adding him is a bad idea, because the very idea of Nobu has become stale. You would think you would have to come up with a new gimmick, right? Wrong. We talked about this before. It’s not about coming up with a new gimmick. It’s about presenting your idea, be it old or new, with enough confidence and panache as to make it magnetic. Indeed, Nobunaga and all of the other figures, as well, are depicted in such a raw and over-the-top badass manner that they feel cooler than Fonzie. They’re all designed in such a way as to be historically believable. I can really see the historical figures looking like this. Granted, maybe not acting like this, because everything in this series is so over-the-top brutal, violent, and bloodthirsty, but you take my point.
It all just feels real, and I don’t mean real as in realistic, but rather real as in it’s coming from a genuine place, from the heart, if you will, dumb and cliché as though that may sound.
The only problem this series has is the gag humor. As I said, it has a very dark and mature Frank Miller-esque art style, which is not an art style that lends itself to being distorted into One Piece-like gag faces, so the distortions have to be greatly exaggerated, and the resulting disconnect is so jarring that it will break your immersion at times. Besides, most of the gags aren’t even that funny, though my subjective opinion of the humor may be skewed. Had the presentation not been so janky, it’s perfectly conceivably I would have enjoyed them more. Still, that’s is not to say that there aren’t some absolute killer knee-slappers in here, because there are.
All in all, this is fucking gold. Watch it! Also, this show has a really cool opening song, like, really fucking cool.
RavenSkye
Despite others saying that Drifters is overrated and is given to much praise, it still doesn’t change the fact that it easily caught a lot of attention, deriving popularity, and put off a show that greatly satisfies the audience. To be honest, I find the show to be quite a long shot from being a masterpiece but it sure was entertaining in a higher level, and that alone could prove that it deserves what it has now. Let’s start with the story. One of the strength of this anime is its interesting background which, aside from using historical facts, combines a very dark theme with conceptsof fantasy that stirs up the viewers’ interest. Simply put, the plot is intriguing enough to make someone stick throughout the entire series without a thought of dropping it or even finding it to be boring. On the other hand, I have to point out that despite the eye candy story it is, it actually lacks depth. The show doesn’t really provide too much thought provoking ideas and concepts – it is just entertaining.
The characters, well, are not something to invest on, not yet. Yes, some of the characters have qualities that well suit the whole concept but somehow, almost all of them are flat characters – lacking depth and not entirely close to real. Their personalities and characteristics are greatly limited to their role – which is to fight. There isn’t much development that happened between the characters throughout the show and there isn’t much background either. Adding to that, the characters were only supporting objects to move the story.
By this point you may have already thought that Drifters was really that bad and only led to a letdown, but that’s not the case at all. Art. Drifter’s art style is equally the strongest point of this show with its entertainment/enjoyment factor. Even a single glimpse of the show is more than enough to lure you into it. If the story itself is already dark, then it’s not even half of art’s portrayal from the slightest shade of a shadow to the curvature of every evil grin. Of all other anime, the Drifters may have the most accurate embodiment of the story with its visual – if not too much. In terms of the music, I couldn’t say less that it improves the vibe of the show and very well complements with the other elements.
And now the enjoyment. This is by the most redeeming quality of the show that made it stand out – of course, with the support of the previous elements discussed. Action, action, and more action, that’s basically the surface of this anime but it’s more to it than that. The events of the show is made brilliantly as it does not only give the audience something to decide whether they like it or not but something they will eventually like. That being said, most of the action sequence were made to address a person’s best kept personality or behavior and the anime recognizes them very well. What does that supposed to mean? Well you may notice that a variety of immorality is shown, namely violence, lust, greed and others – but that’s only one way to look at it. The action sequence is also recognizably exemplar with the way everything moves from the inanimate objects to the characters.
With everything at hand, I have concluded that this anime is not overrated at all and despite its flaws, it still has something to offer and is definitely worthwhile watching. Regardless, more is expected of the show in its upcoming sequel and hopefully this time, it will carefully divert its attention to working on the characters.
nanakox21
STORY: Dialogues: Mainly strategic. Relationships: Comrades. Brotherhood. Design: There's a guy that looked like an office worker working in a cubicle. Except he had his own desk and has the power to send historical figures to another world and change it. He kind of reminds me of the grim reaper. But in his environment involves light. Yet there's a woman that represents darkness and it turns out she's responsible for the ends. The ends look like ghosts/evil spirits with dark powers. They are making history in another world and that starts with helping the elves gaining more freedom against their oppressors. CHARACTERS: Shimazu Toyohisa: Swordsman/leader, fearless and honourable -- followsthe code of war. Historically, he passed away in 1600 Battle of Sekigahara.
Oda Nobuaga: Battle Strategist, dirty-old man, and kind of reckless. Historically, he was a Warlord who passed away in 1582 by committing suicide.
Nasu No Yoichi: 19 year old archer. Youngest of 11 siblings. In the past during his era… he was forced to do various inhonourable tasks in the Genpei War, in the new world -- he's being cautious of it.
OVERALL:
Pros: One of my favourite (TOP 10) animes.
Cons: More explanation with the office worker- grim reaper guy and the darkness girl!
Theme song: Cool, catchy and the art style of the anime is different too.
Can't wait for season 2!! ♥
Agent_Redacted
Before you scroll away I want you to at least read this following sentence : "Oda Nobunaga, Jeanne dArc, Saint Germain, Rasputin, etc.. You get to see all of them together in this anime." Yep. That's right. If you have seen the fate franchise then this is pretty much the same with a little twist. So basically these historical figures die, they get isekaied into the same world where they either become one side or another ( drifter vs end ). They fight against each other in order to.. Conquer the world I guess? Yeah that's about it. Be wary that this ends as a bigasscliffhanger. Regardless, Drifters was still very fun to watch and ain't it always cool to see historical figures interacting with each other? The more history you have inside your head the better the experience from watching Drifters.
Rootz
This is the type of show for those who want to watch history crossovers ("what if King Arthur fought William Wallace?" sort of thing). I am one of those, or was. I got to say, Drifters was one of the moderatly anticipated shows of this season. But it could only go so far to prove those expectations true. --Plot-- The background plot is a clichéed "person from our world in someone else's one". The difference being, all those guys are famous bigwigs over here, all of them got their name in history, and they come from different historical times. So it could be a Western-samurai-WWII with lasers genre(okay, without lasers, for the time being). It is pretty chaotic by itself, and lots of fun, but could be more well developed. But, as it seems they are going to produce a new season, there is still hope. 6
--Art--
It sucks. I can only imagine that they did this on purpose to be this bad. But purposely or not, it still sucks. Looks like some 5 year-old's drawing (okay, good enough for a fiver). The battles get a bit better, but not that much to save this from a 5.
--Sound--
The OP and ED were captivating, I found myself singing the OP when I was unaware of it. The characters had amazing voice actors, which were emotional when they needed to (which means, almost all the time). Honorable mention to a new language created. It is a shame that the art could not hold a candle to these actors. 8
--Characters--
They are emotional. Very. Most of the time this show is a screaming hell of people trying to be understood by the loudest-is-best rule. That aside, I found myself really liking the characters, be it good or bad guys. They express emotions, are a tad bit crazy and love to pick a fight. Whatelse could we expect from a crazy show? 8
--Enjoymeny--
This could be a much better show, if not for the shallow plot (which can get better) and the crappy animation (which won't get better). I found myself expecting the show every week, hoping for it to start. Seeing the art got me a bit sad but, even so, this is yet a good show. 7
--Overall--
It gets a new season. As my expectations for the show were a bit high, and failed, this review may get a little biased towards my initial opinion of the show. But it is a good anime for all that matters. If you can deny the animation, this will be lots of fun. If you, like me, cannot, it is still fun.
gnerkus
Drifters is a fantasy, alternate history series adapted from a manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano, who’s the original creator of the Hellsing series. It is directed by Suzuki Kenichi, who’s directed such anime as Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. One can tell that the series would involve nothing short of brutal, stylized action and Drifters meets this expectation. However, it offers a lot more than that. [A different take on the ‘Isekai’ sub-genre] The Japanese word ‘isekai’ can be translated directly to mean ‘different world’ and is a sub-genre of fantasy series that involves one or many characters transported to another world, oftenthrough magical means. The plot of such series revolves around the characters’ struggles as they try to leave the world which is unfamiliar to them; a typical human reaction. From the first few scenes, Drifters is immediately identified as a fantasy show of the ‘Isekai’ sub-genre as the main characters is sent into a stock fantasy world, replete with demi-humans like elves. But the similarities end there.
There are a few stark differences between the nature of the ‘passengers’, the ones being transported, in Drifters and the ones in regular ‘Isekai’ shows. One of the easiest differences to spot is that the Drifters are historical characters unlike the more modern protagonists in regular ‘Isekai’. Another key difference are the ages and statuses of the Drifters. Where most Isekai shows involve young adults, usually high-schoolers, lacking in essential more survival experience, the Drifters are full-fledged adults and warriors who’ve survived many battles. This attribute of the Drifters (and the Ends who’re the series antagonists), leads to the most profound difference between the series and a regular ‘Isekai’: the characters do not seek to escape the different world. They seek to conquer it.
As early as the first episode, the primary Drifters, composed of Oda Nobunaga, Shimazu Toyohisa and Nasu Yoichi, begin working on plans to challenge the human Empire of Orte, the current government. On the other end, the Ends advance their army against the same Empire for the purpose of liberating all monsters in the alternate world. There is little talk of escape; instead, the Drifters utilize their knowledge and experience to transform the alternate world. Not only do they shake up the government, but they introduce warfare as they’ve experienced it. This change is made possible due to the strength of the characters.
[Stock action characters with the rare exceptions]
It’s easy to dismiss the Drifters (and Ends) as the stock, one-dimensional characters often found in action shows; the characters fill out archetypal roles and march towards their respective goals with a trail of epic battles in their wake. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it often makes for exciting shows and Drifters is no exception. Drifters does try to make its characters more interesting by giving them additional attributes with weak relations to their main skills. Toyohisa is the mindless warrior who only seeks to remove his enemy’s head at any cost but will uphold the warrior code of his time. Yoichi is the quintessential archer who’s courageous enough to fight in the open if need be. Nobunaga is the brilliant mastermind who fawns over future technology. The supporting characters and the Ends simply play out their roles with the exception of Olminu who begins as a wide-eyed junior magician from the Octobrists but grows into a brilliant support for the Drifters.
One major issue with the characters in Drifters is the screen time given some of the supporting cast and the Ends. The Ends are only seen during seen during their encounters with the Drifters and in a few brief moments. An improvement would have been to have some development of the Ends during the moments when the Drifters prepare for battle and in lieu of the comedy (which I’ll get to later). The mysterious characters of Murasaki and Easy who’re responsible for transporting the Drifters and Ends to the world are virtually invisible in the show. It’s understandable that the overall runtime for the show makes it difficult to develop most of the characters equally.
[Gritty, stylized art]
From the first scene, we’re introduced to the gritty art that fuels Drifters take on Isekai. The characters and background are done in dark, desaturated colours that are in sharp contrast to the usual colourful scenes of fantasy shows; the blood has a dark red sheen and has fluid animation. The characters look grim and constantly wear a serious look even when they’re smiling. The show doesn’t hold back on its style.
A remarkable aspect to the art of Drifters is the character design, both for the historical characters and the indigenes of the world. Their representations were accurate for the most part with a few additions. I especially liked Nobunaga’s design because of the eyepatch which made him stand out. The indigenes are designed as would characters in a medieval fantasy setting with the exception of the Octobrists, who have unique attires.
A major gripe I had with the character art is that they had similar faces and expressions. This was especially noticed in the males; they all seemed to have the same soulless eyes and menacing smile.
[Forgettable soundtrack]
The music of Drifters was a major miss for me as there weren’t any memorable soundtracks despite the numerous battle scenes. And whatever soundtracks played were often drowned out by the screaming characters. On the other hand, I enjoyed the opening theme a lot and often sang along. The ending theme wasn’t as inspirational.
[Dreadful comedy]
Drifters is a thoroughly enjoyable show and was one of my favourites for the fall season of 2016. My bias towards the fantasy genre made it a must-watch but it exceeded my expectations with its interesting characters and their lofty ambition to rule their world instead of escape it. The use of historical characters had me returning to Wikipedia with each introduction, helping me pick up a bit of Japanese history (mostly). The art was a refreshing change from the cute, fluffy and colourful art of the various ‘otome’ shows during the season. These great aspects of the show helped offset the forgettable music and the awful comedy. The comedy in Drifters starts out as horrible and often interrupted the better moments of the show. The change in art style coupled with the dry jokes were huge misses. But I soon got used to it and sometimes welcomed it as it showed another side to the characters. Perhaps it was because most of the comedy concerned Nobunaga, who was my favourite character. It was a part of the show I can’t say I completely enjoyed.
If you’re a fan of fantasy shows, I would recommend Drifters, if only for the interesting plot and art style.
ktulu007
Drifters is a science fiction, fantasy action, adventure manga written by Hirano Kouta. You may know him as the writer of Hellsing. At the tail end of 2016, an anime adaptation of Drifters aired. It was brought to us by Hoods Entertainment. A studio that I've never reviewed an anime by before. So, is Drifters a series that's worth looking into? Story: After the battle of Sekigahara, Shimazu Toyohisa finds himself in a strange, light corridor filled with doors. A spectacled man gestures and he gets pulled into one of them and directly into another world. He finds himself meeting Oda Nobunaga and Nasu Yoichi, twomen who were recorded as having died before his time. It turns out that in this world of elves, dwarves, halflings and men, certain people from our world are being sent just before their deaths by the spectacled fellow in an effort to preserve the world from beings called “Ends,” who are also comprised of famous figures from our world, and their Black King. Shimazu and his new found companions, unaware of the ends and their threat, decide to lead a rebellion to save the elves from their forced servitude by a large, human nation.
The biggest flaw with the series goes back to our old friend, tone. This is one of those series that, in one vein, has really over the top violence and humour and, in an entirely different vein, tries to tackle some serious subject matter. Notably rape. Consequently, its handling these serious subjects for all of five minutes before going back to the absurdity and never mentioning them again comes across as more than a little tasteless. Although, in all fairness, there are only a few scenes like that. The ending is also pretty unsatisfying. It's all setting up for the next series and, while it does have a degree of closure for one of the major plot threads, it doesn't even bother giving you a climactic battle with any finality. For that matter, there's very little aftermath. Certainly not enough to give us as the viewers a sense of what came from the whole thing beyond the very obvious.
On the positive side, I do like the concept of two opposing entities each scouring our history for figures they can use against one another. The series also does quite well when it's staying in its comfort zone of over the top violence mixed with humour. It also does do a good job at keeping your interest since it has a lot of interwoven plot threads.
Let's discuss a very mixed element with the series. The fluctuating complexity. We see our protagonists face the Orte Empire, a very uncomplex fascist nation. Right down to being founded by one of history's most brutal monsters. They also face the Ends, who are heavily indicated to have more going for them than the initial impression indicates. We also have the Count of Saint Germain. Initially, he appears to be the gay stereotype that seems to pop up in anime because “he's gay it's funny.” However, there are several ways in which he goes beyond that and becomes a surprisingly complex character. And the anime is full of elements that seem shallow but get built on into something more and others that are just shallow
Characters:
The characters, at this juncture, are more potentially complex than they are actually complex. There are some, our main trio of heroes and the Count, who move beyond their archetypes in some ways. There are other Drifters and several characters among the Ends with potential, usually due to some connection with our heroes, but without anything tangible yet. The characters who are neither are just universally bland. Including the Count's subordinates who are just the gay stereotypes.
Art:
This is a bit mixed mainly because there are two art styles in the series. There's the “comedic” art style, which looks lazily rushed and like the artists just didn't care. Then there's the art style they use the rest of the time and it actually does look pretty great. The action sequences are fluid and intense. The character designs are detailed, although it should be noted that, in a bout of uncreative nonsense, the elves all look very similar as do the members of certain other fantasy races. The backgrounds are very nicely detailed under the normal style and basically non-existent with the comedic.
Sound:
The acting is similar to the art in that it has two modes. There's the over the top comedic mode where everyone sounds like seven year olds shouting the lines of their school play and there's the regular mode which sounds pretty good. Nakamura Yuuichi, Uchida Naoya & Saiga Mitsuki all do very well at those points. The music was composed by Ishii Yasushi and Matsuo Hayato. Matsuo also worked on music for the first series of JoJo and Magic Knight Rayearth. All in all, it's all right.
Ho-yay:
Aside from Germain and his companions, there's a unit of muscular gay guys. Several men express attraction to Yoichi and there's one line that may hint that Anastasia has a thing for Jeanne. It's ambiguous.
Final Thoughts:
So, how does Drifters hold up when you factor in its good ideas with what it executes well, its tonal problems, its vast gaps in quality for both the art and voice acting, its inconsistent complexity and all of that? Well, I would say it's all right. Honestly, it had the potential to be really good. For that matter, it could pretty easily become something really good, but as is, the first series has quite a few issues that hold it back. If you like the concept, you can handle the dip in quality for the big comedic bits and you can forgive the occasional tonal awkwardness, you might enjoy it. For myself, I'll give it a 6/10. Next week I'll look at Karas.
jRad522
Much like a beautifully wrapped Christmas present with a swarm of angry bees inside, Drifters looks fantastic but starts to get a little problematic the second you start trying to unpack it. I will elaborate as to why below, but if you are looking for a straightforward recommendation than in my opinion the good outweighs the bad and it is at the very least an entertaining viewing experience. If you liked Hellsing or other such gory, mindless, high octane romps, you will probably enjoy this too. But if you're watching it at all critically, you might find some problems. Story: Is really pretty fun and engaging.Famous figures from history are taken at the moment before their deaths and thrust into a Tolkien-esque high fantasy world inhabited with elves, dwarves, dragons, and other fantasy staples. And also by humans who, with the exception of one group of fairly annoying individuals who seem thus-far to be a semi-monastic community of stage magicians, are apparently universally racist assholes. The "good" ones among them are called Drifters, the "bad" are called Ends, and they fight each other with a blend of dumb-fun magic and militarily tactics that is very reminiscent of playing Dynasty Warriors. And in case you were wondering, Adolph Hitler is still just as much of a dickhead in any universe in which he finds himself. And there is also a portrait of him that is TERRIFYING!
Art: Speaking of evocative visual imagery, this show has it in spades. The art design and execution is unequivocally the strongest aspect of the show. Everything is very dark and murky, and it is either washed out and lifeless or vibrant and arresting to suit the mood. The action is great and the character designs all look pretty great.
Characters: Thank God they all look great, because they are way more of a mixed bag when it comes to their characterization. The main character, Toyohisa, is a cool intense badass samurai, but he is sort of boring in the way that Superman is boring because he is pretty much invulnerable. Of the other two mains Nobunaga is actually pretty great and my favorite character on the show; he is a great blend of funny critique of Nobunaga Oda as historical figure and wacky anime guy in crazy anime world. He is clearly having a great time, which makes him fun to watch. Yoichi, the other (semi)prominent lead, is kind of just an archer who kills things with archery. Cool but vanilla.
Some of the villains are also pretty interesting in the context of the historical figures they represented. At one point I was like "yeah I guess Joan of Arc might be a little pissed about getting lit on fire." That was an entertaining tangent. The identity of the main villain will probably piss some people off a whole bunch, but I though it was a pretty neat examination of a controversial historical figure. Most I can say without unnecessary spoilers.
A lot of the side-characters are pretty annoying and problematic, particularly Tits Magee the world's lamest magician friend who is there to get molested and degraded and the swishy camp gay Count who is a backstabbing, manipulative, rapy, shitdumpster of a person which we know because he is gay.
This character in particular was the perfect example of the biggest problem about the show for me: many of the almost constant jokes fell way flat. This one also managed to fall flat and be remarkably offensive. If he had been funny I would have probably though he was fucking fabulous. He wasn't. Instead we are just left with almost direct quote that because something is inherently wrong with homosexuals as people, it makes them A.) Want to fuck each other, and B.) be awful, awful people. Not as part of a joke. Just as a statement. That was pretty icky to watch.
Overall:
All in all, this show feels OLD. The jokes feel old, the story is about olden times, the main cast is markedly older than the majority of anime casts, and the target audience appears to be people who like Tolkien but also really enjoy reading world history textbooks in their spare time (which is, I guess, kinda me). If you catch all the references to history, you might think its pretty funny at times. Otherwise you'll just think it looks good and has cool action. It does. Watch it if that's all you care about. I enjoyed it despite it pissing me off, albeit infrequently.
bingewatcher89
I thought the drifters anime was one of the best this season. It's full of action, blood, and some very intresting charecters. This anime has a very cool art style, very dark and rugged. One of this anime's flaws that reall turns people off is its humor. Sure, sometimes the jokes can be really funny, but other times, it ruins the mood. At first a scene can be really dark and badass, but then a joke is told and my enjoyment level goes down the drain. I say watch the first episode, if the humor or something else isn't for you, skipit.
PlatinuMan
Drifters is a seinen title based on the manga by Kouta Hirano. The story is set in a medieval fantasy world where both humans and demi humans (such as elves and dwarves) live. This world is soon greeted by two sets of foreigners from the real world - “Drifters” and “Ends”. Both groups are comprised of historical figures tied to war or a fight of their time. They are taken before their death by one of two mysterious people. A man named Murasaki chooses fighters for his Drifters, while a girl named Easy picks candidates for her Ends. What sets them apart are their givenroles in this story. The Ends seek out the destruction of humankind and the Drifters are assigned to stop the Ends from their slaughter.
As the name implies, the show’s perspective is from the eyes of the Drifters. Though there is a fair amount of fighters with this title, the anime focuses on three in particular. Toyohisa Shimazu is the appointed leader of the group and is a classic warrior type, whose battle-minded ways make him great in the fights but a bit barbaric outside of them. Nobunaga Oda is a crafty middle-aged man, dubbed the “Devil King of the Sixth Heaven” who doesn’t fight as much as come up with strategy to make the Drifters team a fighting threat. Finally, there’s Yoichi Nasu, a bishonen archer whose aim is as good as his looks. The anime follows these three as they work their way up to be a formidable foe, from freeing demi humans from their serfdom and slavery to coming up with cunning plans in the midst of a fight.
The concept of Drifters isn’t too far removed from one of Hirano’s previous works, Hellsing. Hellsing mainly attracted an audience by blending its dark supernatural characters with hyper violence, occasionally sprinkling in historical references. Drifters changes this mixture – it still has the violence and supernatural elements, but it grounds itself more so in the history. Despite being a fantasy world, it feels more down-to-earth than other shows with this title. The Octobrists are a magician organization that wishes for the Drifters support to defeat the Ends. Though they are magicians, they are only seen using basic spells called “charms”. Their communication, though much more advanced than the setting, relies on a magic sphere on two users’ ends, acting more like a phone than anything magical. Though what we see is limited, it shines due to how it’s used. Toyohisa and the gang use the Octobrists’ magic in interesting ways to serve their needs, showing how easily they adapt to foreign concepts. Spells the Octobrists thought of only for defense are used offensively to surprise and crush the enemy. Even the communication orb was used primarily as a “recording diary” before the Drifters came along! I prefer this creative use of magic over the typical mage/wizard roles seen in fantasy shows.
That’s not to say this show is free from absurd magic. The Ends are characters that have “given up their humanity” for strong magical power. This is seen in Jeanne D’ Arc, who has incredible fire magic, and Toshizou, who uses ghost warriors to assist him in battle. Most interesting is the dreaded Black King, who has power over cellular replication that can heal/hurt single targets almost instantly. What makes these powers exciting is how they’ve been given to the villains, not the heroes. Wits dominate fights against the Ends and seeing how the Drifters turn the tide in battle is a lot of fun to watch. Fans of JoJo Part 2: Battle Tendency will adore these fights, as Toyohisa parallels Joseph Joestar. There’s nothing in Drifters that will make you rethink battles, but there are a few surprises that kept me wanting to watch the next episode.
Drifters has an interesting lot of characters, which is its strength and one of its problems. I find there are too many of them for this short first season and they didn’t need to be here this early on. Characters like Butch Cassidy and Naoshi Kanno really had no reason being here. They may have turned the tide in the battle they were present in, minor as it was, but they’re never really seen beyond this. I’m sure all the Drifters will meet up eventually to take down the Black King’s army, but they didn’t need to be present at this time. This time could’ve been use for more focus on the main trio, in particular Yoichi. Despite being labeled as a main character, Yoichi doesn’t get a whole lot of time or emphasis compared to Oda or Toyohisa. I saw Toyohisa’s warrior life in action in and outside of fights and I saw the humor mixed with dark cunning of Oda. Save for a brief moment talking to his old leader, Yoshitsune, Yoichi felt more like a strong supporting character. I hope that more insight will be given to him.
Humor is another thing Hirano and I generally disagree on. In Hellsing, ugly chibi-looking characters would break the ice at the wrong time and would be a lot cruder than what I like. This returns in Drifters, but I find it’s been toned down a bit. The toilet humor seems less prevalent in these scenes. Though one of Hannibal’s first “jokes” is that he can’t control his bladder, it’s a bit more understandable as he’s very old (though I still could’ve done without it). The humor mainly focuses on references to Japanese war history. This isn’t my strong suit, so moments like the Drifters’ first meetup in Episode 1 went over my head. That said, they normally are quick off-hand jokes, so they don’t fill up the show as much as they give a wink to a history loving audience.
Drifters’ art is what you’d expect from Hirano. Characters have large ringed irises for eyes, thick jagged lines make their outlines, and shadows that cover their face (save for a single eye) are all present. It’s a style that’s distinctly his and works great for his action series. Of course, the series also includes Hirano’s “ugly faces” he uses for comedy but it’s not as bad here. Maybe because there’s less poop drawings or perhaps I’ve grown accustomed to it. The animation team at Hoods Drifters Studio did a fair job. They use CG models at times (such as the soldiers) and it’s not the most fluid, but it’s not bad by any means. Sometimes it’s even in their favor - I like the “rough sketch” animatic look in the opening, more so than the cheap animation tweens that accompany it. The music of the series is upbeat rock and fits the action well. One track I like in particular starts as a flute track played through an old radio before becoming a strange Middle Eastern sounding piece. I didn’t care for the “lazy cool” vocals (with the “aw yeahs” in the verses) and sound of the opening and I do not like Kurosaki’s vocals for the ED (the acoustic guitar in the final episode was a welcome change). The seiyuus all did a fine job, though none here stood out in particular for me.
Overall, I give Drifters a 6.5/10. I didn’t care too much for Hellsing, so I was surprised as to how much I liked Drifters. If you liked Hellsing, or perhaps Hirano’s style in general, this is a must-watch. Those looking for a fun action series akin to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will also appreciate this show. Drifters is a bit fantastic in concept and occasionally campy, but it was a fun watch and I certainly wouldn’t mind viewing a second season.
Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review.
Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
