Watching the latest series of Ikkitousen, with the absurd subtitle of Xtreme Xecutor, is like viewing a relic of the past. Series focused on both fighting and fanservice have long since surpassed it in terms of what can be offered: whether that's titillation or solid action, the first three episodes contain much of what characterised the first three series. Primarily an adaptation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic (of which there is a self-titled, more straight faced series airing within the same season) with some lacklustre combat and ludicrously proportioned girls losing their clothing at the slightest opportunity. Next to nothing has changed from the preceding series, so like slipping into an old set of clothes, there is comfort in the familiar but also lamentation at their threadbare state.
this is a series concerned with curvaceous ladies and their disrobing antics
Mostly ignoring the resolute waste of time that was Great Guardians, the schools are enjoying a time of relative peace after the battle which took place at the climax of Dragon Destiny. That is until a spunky young lass appears attempting to make trouble for some fatal grievance her brother-cum-guardian suffered at the hand of the nefarious Sousou. After a selection of tepid duels, some involving baked goods, she is put in her place and only barely manages to escape; she is picked up by Ryuubei stumbling blindly in the rain and taken to Seito. The girl, Bachou, begs to be trained at the school until a misguided excursion with Ryuubei leads to an intervention by the interminably ditsy Hakufu. Now begging to be trained by Hakufu, an imperial decree is delivered with word of a new fighting tournament, issued by someone claiming to be the Emperor Kentei.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
Most of Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra feels like an incompetent comedian trying to tell a joke: each story ends with blank faces, raised eyebrows and a belated admission along the lines of "oh and there was a lizard who made everyone angry". It isn't a lack of time or imagination that scuppers the series, but a dearth of storytelling proficiency. Characters are introduced with no explanation as to why they were absent in the previous episodes, throwaway events from ten episodes prior are made crucial in a disparate storyline and deaths come frequently but are at best poorly handled and at worst treated as inconsequential. These faults don't prevent enjoyment of its unique world and ideas, but do turn an otherwise highly promising start into a lacklustre continuation.
given the weight such an endearing character's loss deserves; however it is handled with all the grace and deftness of a giraffe on ice
Split across multiple loosely connected stories, the overarching plot concerns the library of Bantorra and the collection of militant librarians which reside there. Located on an island at the centre of the known world, the librarians are charged with protecting the stone "books" which are born from people when they die; these books are organised in the multiple sub-levels of the library with the most treasured volumes in the lowest and most heavily guarded areas. The librarians fight against a group known as the Church of Drowning in God's Grace which aims to create a mythical "True Man". All is not as it seems though and in a world where death comes swiftly and brutality is everywhere, the three ancient deities of the world have plans which will affect all of the world's denizens.
Camera angles low, skirts short, females buxom and bath scenes aplenty, Ladies versus Butlers never forgets to pepper each episode with some pointless nudity or contrived situation aimed at keeping the chronically distracted engaged. Odd then that it routinely forgets its own premise, most of its own rules and the chest size of many of its cast. Moving away from the cringe inducing antics of Kanokon, the series guides the noseless female protagonists through a variety of light-hearted storylines, culminating in a predictable and tedious love triangle with the vacuous male lead. To its credit though, not once does it stray from the cheerful light humour that it competently achieves.
memorable more for playing fast and loose with human anatomy than ever
Akiharu's first day at Hakureiryou academy is fraught with misunderstandings - chased across campus by one of the schools top students, Selnia Iori Flameheart, he is only saved by his childhood classmate, Tomomi Saikyou. His training to become a butler is subsequently beset with problems as he is dragged from one situation to another by the snooty, devious and arrogant members of the school which run the gamut from a princess with a penchant for magical girl anime to a mute foreigner with an overzealous bodyguard to a confused transvestite. As Akiharu becomes more well known, his admirers begin to increase and it isn't long before he has a bevy of blossoming young ladies inexplicably smitten with him, much to his chagrin.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
When one's premise is a magical fuel present only in breast milk and requires young children to extract this via the most obvious method available, having an censored version available on all but the most liberal of television channels seems counter-productive. The uncensored version fills in a lot of the gaps that the other egregiously includes, obtuse close ups of faces and innocuous body parts only go so far before hard static cuts are made to conceal raunchy or revealing motions; unfamiliarity with the concept of Seikon no Qwaser would cause significant difficultly in understanding what the alternating moans of pleasure and pain were in reference to. The volume and abject lewdness of these scenes is quite staggering and it is no understatement to call the opening episodes of the series a panoply of pornography that don't attempt to mask their intentions.
a disgusting and reprehensible attitude that is only bolstered by the violence and borderline sadism
At St. Mikhailov Academy, someone is murdering local girls; the incidents began shortly after the dean of school disappeared, leaving only a cryptic note to his biological daughter Tomo and adoptive daughter Mafuyu. Tomo is a sickly girl who is often absent from school which, now with her father missing, causes both her and her self-styled protector Mafuyu to be bullied by some of her classmates. After a chance meeting with a silver-haired Russian boy, Mafuyu is attacked by a masked psychopath and is drawn into the world of the Qwaser - alchemists with an affinity for certain elements and the need for soma, found only in selected girl's breast milk. The young boy, Alexander, is the Qwaser of iron and after joining the school and moving into the local dormitory, he vows to protect Tomo against all aggressors.
The first season of Queen's Blade was underwhelming, beyond the initial deviance on display it went only slightly further than many of the other fighting-fanservice genre shows and exploited none of the opportunities a guaranteed late night, paid channel slot offers. Season two does nothing to change this status quo and, if anything, regresses by reducing the rampant titillation and dialling up the poorly choreographed fights. It still exists in the penumbra between unabashed pornography and cheeky teenage lasciviousness but whereas its forebear had a streak of deviance, there is a laughable attempt at characterisation which transforms the plot from background noise to utter drivel. Scant recommendations can be made when the series wholly fails to elicit any response, emotional or lustful, other than pitying indifference.
the disrobing becomes an afterthought to dead-pan serious problems
At the end of the last season Reina had made her way to Gainos and - after a brief scuffle with an avatar of the oft alluded Swamp Witch - the current reigning champion of Queen's Blade, Aldra announced that the Queen's Blade tournament could now begin. All of the previously introduced combatants take part for reasons best ignored lest they crumble under scrutiny, and after the more insipid ones are knocked out, the protagonists Reina and Tomoe once again take centre stage. With nefarious whimsy Aldra pits friend against friend and master against pupil, however it becomes increasingly apparent she has an ulterior motive to the battles and that her power to petrify the living is not borne from human magicks. As the contestants are whittled down, deaths follow and harsh realities are brought into acute focus leaving all but the most stalwart able to survive.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
