Hakuouki: Reimeiroku

Beaten and left to perish, Ryuunosuke Ibuki is robbed of everything to his name. Seeing him in such a pitiful state, a man named Kamo Serizawa gives him a second chance and offers him to become his personal assistant. Ibuki seems to be spared by grief, but this new lifestyle only makes him nothing more than a dog to one of the most influential men in all of Kyoto.

Meanwhile, with the rise of ronin attacks on the general population, the shogunate sends the Roshigumi to Kyoto to strike for peace. Led by the honorable yet soft-spoken Isami Kondou, the Roshigumi is composed of strong and skilled samurai but lacks any meaningful political connections to gain footing in the city plagued by crime. Having no other choice, Kondou allies with the arrogant Serizawa and his connections in exchange for their combative strength.

Despite hating everything the samurai stand for, Ibuki finds himself tangled in the business of the Roshigumi. However, as he interacts with the members under Kondou's leadership, Ibuki slowly realizes that not all samurai are as cruel and dishonorable as he once thought. Hakuouki Reimeiroku explores the early days leading up to the formation of the Shinsengumi while the political tension in Kyoto gives rise to instability and uncertainty.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Saitou, Hajime Main

Toriumi, Kousuke Japanese

Okita, Souji Main

Morikubo, Shoutarou Japanese

Hijikata, Toshizou Main

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Harada, Sanosuke Main

Yusa, Kouji Japanese

Toudou, Heisuke Main

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Nagakura, Shinpachi Main

Tsuboi, Tomohiro Japanese

Ibuki, Ryunosuke Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Serizawa, Kamo Main

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Kazama, Chikage Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Yukimura, Chizuru Supporting

Kuwashima, Houko Japanese

Hayashi, Youhei Producer

Ogura, Mitsutoshi Producer

Yamazaki, Asuka Producer

Urasaki, Nobumitsu Producer

Reviews

Sep 15, 2014

greatyu

Recommended

The word "Pride" is an essential word in the Samurai world- and in this story we follow a "Dog" yes a long haired dog who doesn't have any resolve to even hold the sword in his belt on his journey and also someone who also has zero pride to move forward with life.

This "Banken's" name is Ryuunousuke- and after being half-beaten to death he gets saved by the Roshigumi's captain: another annoying man which i had no concern at first}into the all famous Kondo-Hijikata group also known as the "Shinsengumi"

Story:As the previous anime the main chara is a male lead this time-so no one ... can criticize that it's solely intended for girls. Any fan can watch it regardless their gender-but the point is like the helpless female lead the male lead is also helpless- and a coward but with a contrasting element. The boy is of real Samurai blood- and he is actively involved with a group who are envious with the Samurai-line age but are actually farmers or doctors or what not. When Serizawa-han rescued Ruunosuke and he get accepted into the group he learns what it's to be a man with "Warrior's Spirit"- this one is filled with plot twists and sacrificial.

Art: Is admirable. Characters were drawn beautifully-all the females were considered with care- the Opening was done carefully representing the emotions of the Shinsengumi- eg: Heisuke(with high resolve)- being represented with a sunset is totally applicable. In conclusion it was well done symbolically.

Sound: Dubbing was superb- all voices match the wonderful characters. Average Opening and Ending-but they have the beat. Could have done more for the background soundtracks- so i took a point out.

Character:We tackle the pasts of the Shinsengumi members- on how they lead their childhood or how they got their resolves- but of course only a few characters were privileged enough for that. Be if there were more episodes- i could have given it a nine. The most controversial characters were Kazama and this Serizawa whom you'll meet anew in this season. It also actually shows how comrades take care of each other- you also learn how hard it's for a soldier to be a "soldier" initially. The personalities are no different- it has all the essential characters for an epic plot line, you see Chiefs pitying their subordinates and showing mercy indirectly, you need to decipher them. You have to dwell deep inside their emotions to find out.

Enjoyment: I'd say i didn't enjoy this much as the first two seasons- i dunno it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the previous seasons were of the otome variety. I think it's because I've watched this straight on after the Sequel since this is a prequel. For me the epicness washed over during the 6/7 episodes- where the male lead learns finally how to fight and show some maturity- the outburst is at the last episode which i was like "If you do this- I'll forever loose respect of you Okita!" with tears in my eyes of course.(when you'll watch it you'll know) is so intense!

Overall: Definitely an anime to watch after a working out when you're tired lol or if you are eternally bored. It literally shows the basics of being a Samurai- and how hard it is to kill a person- it's not easy. The Shinsengumi is an honourable group who were real historical figures who fought with their utmost strength to show that status or bloodline has no respect whatsoever for being a warrior- you just need hard work and resolve.
Also this anime has totally respected the true-wikipedia-facts of the Shinsengumi which means that it had achieved total justice to the characters.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 1, 2014

portisHeart

Recommended

I already liked both previous seasons (this "prequel" was made later) quite a lot, excepted for one superfluous character so they didn't make it to my faves - but I loved that third season even more because the unnerving shoujo reverse harem fanservice factor called Chizuru that had spoiled those other episodes for me wasn't there any more! Instead, one more gorgeous and funny rebellious bishounen who should imho have been part of all episodes.

It was nice to see them all again and to learn how the events happening in the sequels had begun.

Of course the same great art as the other seasons, and mostly ... hot bishounen.

Surely not the exact historical version of the events - but for non-japanese people who don't have a clue, this series awakes the desire to learn the true facts of japanese history around that time!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 24, 2013

Tieria-Shirin

Recommended

I don't really understand why they chose this to be the third season for Hakuouki, being for the fact that this should have been the first one to start the series off with. Other than that have watched two seasons of it and finishing up with the third.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 13, 2012 2:37 PM by Florete | Discuss (67 comments)

	Poll: Hakuouki Reimeiroku Episode 3 Discussion tsubasalover - Jul 23, 2012	18 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 19, 6:34 PM
	Poll: Hakuouki Reimeiroku Episode 2 Discussion tsubasalover - Jul 16, 2012	22 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 19, 7:55 AM
	Poll: Hakuouki Reimeiroku Episode 1 Discussion tsubasalover - Jul 1, 2012	49 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Nov 19, 4:04 AM
	Can I Watch This Prequel Without Watching the Other Series? Motion_Menace - Oct 13, 2012	8 replies	by YukiPwns00 »» Jun 3, 2023 8:38 AM
	Poll: Hakuouki Reimeiroku Episode 12 Discussion tsubasalover - Sep 24, 2012	47 replies	by future_dose »» Jun 5, 2020 7:15 AM