Juuni Taisen

Amazing Anime... Soundtrack hits you deep in the soul, characters are well made yet you never feel safe for them

There is sadness, anger, hardships , chaos, twisted personalities, generous personalities.... However everyone has one goal. To become the victor of the Zodiac wars!

I personally like this so much i binged it in one day, the soundtrack really makes this whole anime in my opinion, there is gore and and no character is safe. They are all professionals fighting to the death.


The story is not all that different to genres like the Hunger Games, so if you hate those type of shows then this ... is not for you. The art style is very nice, the character dispersity in strenghts and weaknesses was very mixed and well thought out

It feels very realistic since people die like flies, even though their professionals.

I feel like if you love gore, deep story with good music and unique character designs you will 100% love this hidden gem on an Anime

Juuni Taisen offers a unique and intriguing concept. To summarise it it is a battle royale featuring twelve warriors, each taking the forms of different Chinese zodiac signs, competing for the ultimate prize: a wish that could change their lives forever. The series blends action, strategy, and character exploration to create an often intense viewing experience.

One of the standout aspects of the anime is its diverse cast of characters, each possessing distinct personalities, abilities, and backstories. As the show progresses, viewers are treated to decently executed flashback sequences that delve into the past of each competitor, revealing their motivations for participating in the brutal Juuni ... Taisen and the events that shaped their lives. This approach adds depth to the characters and enhances the emotional investment of the audience.

The animation and art style of Juuni Taisen are generally well-done, with fluid action sequences and attention to detail in character designs. The fight scenes are choreographed creatively, showcasing the unique abilities of each warrior. However, some viewers might find the animation occasionally inconsistent in certain episodes.

The series blends action with psychological elements, as warriors strategize and adapt their tactics to outwit their opponents. The unpredictability of the battles kept me and many other viewers engaged and curious about the outcome, as alliances form and betrayals unfold. This psychological aspect adds complexity to the narrative, making the story more than just a straightforward battle for survival.

On the downside, some viewers might find the pacing a bit uneven. The balance between character development, flashbacks, and the progression of the battle can occasionally feel disjointed. Additionally, while the character backstories provide depth, they can sometimes overshadow the present-day events, making it challenging to maintain a consistent focus on the ongoing battle.

In conclusion, "Juuni Taisen" offers a unique and intriguing take on the battle royale genre, blending action, strategy, and character exploration. The diverse cast, well-executed flashbacks, and psychological elements contribute to an engaging narrative. While there are some pacing issues, the anime remains to be worth the watch for those interested in a darker, more complex take on the concept of a deadly tournament.

Overall rating 7/10

I watched Juuni Taisen, also known as Zodiac War. Here are my thoughts:

So basically, as you might have guessed, there are 12 warriors, each of whom are vaguely based on a zodiac animal. They all fight each other to the death simultaneously in an abandoned city because of a battle royale-style competition. It was interesting to see how the various warrior abilities competed against each other (and worked together in some cases). I'm a huge sucker for battle royale-style conflicts such as this.

The actual battle royale plot is easy to watch and makes for suitable binge-watch material. If you just feel like burning through an ... entire season in one day, this show would be an okay candidate for that, despite its flaws. This is kind of a junk-food show and shouldn't be taken seriously.

This show would be much better if they just entirely cut out the time-consuming character backstories and kept the screentime exclusively focused on the battle royale plot. Instead, literally entire episodes are wasted on inconsequential exposition for characters nobody cares about. None of these characters are compelling or interesting in any way. They easily could have filled an entire cour with a 12-fighter battle royale conflict; I have no idea why they threw away that opportunity to instead waste half the runtime on generic uncreative character backstories that would be better off in an OVA or auxiliary literature. This really was a terrible decision. By far the most boring part of this anime were all these pointless backstories. They spent way WAY too much screentime on this. Nobody cares about the exposition for some one-dimensional character in a huge cast who gets killed off one episode later. I am not watching this anime for character development (although I usually value it in other shows); this is not the situation for it and this show does not benefit from it at all. I don't care about your cliche tragic backstory or that Grug likes opera and long walks on the beach when he's not crushing skulls. I am just here to watch people with cool abilities plot against each other and fight; stop wasting my time with anything that isn't that. Just as an example to illustrate my point: they waste an ENTIRE EPISODE on the utterly generic boring backstory of a character who was killed off SEVEN EPISODES AGO. Right during what should be the pinnacle of the story they pivot to this nonsense – it was utterly ridiculous and totally stunted the show's momentum.

The character designs are overly comical to the point it almost made the show difficult to take seriously. I would have preferred them less pants-on-head retarded. Most characters in this look like they were designed by an edgy 12-year-old boy shortly after he learned about Chinese New Year. This show can be a little over-the-top edgy in general, sometimes to the point of it backfiring and being comical.

Overall the visuals are adequate but definitely not a selling point. The character animation employs this effect that blurs the linework, maybe to make it more organic-looking. I think I would have preferred that these blurred linework effects not be present, but it's not a big deal either way. The character animation was consistently adequate, so I probably shouldn't complain. Overall this show is animated competently but it doesn't excel beyond that. There isn't much of an art style, which is a missed opportunity but also not a flaw. CGI is used during some action scenes, FYI. The fight scenes were quite underwhelming and unimpressive overall. The fight scenes are also usually so shortlived that I hesitate to call this an action show at all; this is not necessarily a bad thing – I would prefer it over the tedious drawn-out fight scenes that plague some other anime. If you go into this show excited for fight scenes, you will be disappointed. The strategy aspect of the battle royale competition was far more entertaining, from my perspective at least.

The OST is generic and unimpressive, and never enhanced my enjoyment of the show (although I did like the ED song). Voice acting was similarly unremarkable, despite the ample opportunity for unique voices. I guess the VA for the necromancer did an okay job. Also I gotta acknowledge the VA (Yuuichirou Umehara) for the ox fighter – that guy has a great voice and I've enjoyed him in other roles.

Often the show plays a character's internal dialogue while they or somebody else is speaking, resulting in the viewer needing to pay attention to both lines of dialogue. I found the frequency of this a little irritating but I suppose it is an effective time-saving technique in terms of getting through dialogue quickly. It's also true that the contrast between what the characters say and think can be quite significant, but maybe it could have been demonstrated better. Having to follow two people speaking at once is cumbersome and I wish this anime didn't force it so often.

One very petty criticism I have: the city they fight in supposedly had a population of 500,000; I gotta say, a city with that population would not have infrastructure as dense as what is depicted in the show, not even in Japan. It looks like a city with a population at least double that (I know this is a silly thing to fixate on).

Yet another example of this anime's appalling waste of screentime is that the final episode consists mostly of the competition winner deliberating over what their 'wish' (the competition prize) should be. This mental deliberation of course takes place over the backdrop of some very dull screenplay, resulting in a viewing experience that is simply not entertaining. It was a very underwhelming season finale.


My overall rating: 4/10
My rating for this would be higher if the absurdly excessive and out-of-place pointless character backstories were removed from the show, or at least their duration were reduced enormously. It's mindboggling how much time got wasted on this. I try not to focus on one single issue when critiquing an anime, but it really is that straightforward in this case. When the show actually focused on the battle royale conflict, it was entertaining and easy to watch. Unfortunately, the screentime of this show was utterly squandered and the cool battle royale plot was heavily diluted by very low-quality content.

Seriously, just skip the flashback scenes. They aren't necessary to understand the plot of the show, and the anime as a whole would be much more entertaining if they were removed. Ordinarily I would be mortified by the thought of skipping content, but the banality of these character backstories is especially egregious and they add nothing of value to the show at all. This is a junk-food show and should be treated as such.

Despite my criticisms, this is still adequate binge-watch material. If you just want something to entertain you for ~5 hours straight, this isn't a terrible choice – you could do worse.

Lastly, I want to be very clear so that nobody misinterprets me: character development is usually a good thing and I have praised it in other shows (or criticized its absence). The difference is that a 12-character 12-episode battle royale action show is not at all suited for it – particularly the sheer amount of time that was devoted to it in this case.

Vague spoiler: the rat warrior's ability is really cool. It's a shame it didn't get more focus. It would have been interesting to see it deployed more from his perspective.