Hikari no Ou

Human civilization no longer revolves around fire, but is instead now driven by fear of it. Repeated wars have changed human biology, and people now spontaneously combust when they get close to natural flame. However, a new source of energy prevents society from complete collapse: a stone-shaped material used to produce light and steam lies within the bodies of monsters that infest numerous forests. Those tasked with collecting this precious resource are called fire hunters.

Touko, a young village girl, is saved from a forest monster by a fire hunter who perishes during his heroic action. After the hunter's dog, Kanata, heals from his own injury, the girl's family sends her to the capital in order to return Kanata and the hunter's fire sickle to his relatives.

Elsewhere, the fire hunter's son, Koushi, and his sister are adopted by a wealthy family. Koushi learns some troubling facts related to the country's ruling royal family. He conducts secret research on a special fire stone found by his late father, kickstarting a race against time between the country's leaders and those trying to save mankind from its ultimate demise.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Touko Main

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Kanata Main

Koushi Main

Ishige, Shouya Japanese

Kira Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Shouzou Supporting

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Hibari Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Kiri Supporting

Shimamura, Yuu Japanese

Hitou Supporting

Watanuki, Ryuunosuke Japanese

Yanagi Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Sakakibara, Yoshiko Japanese

Katagiri, Daisuke Producer

Toda, Takeshi Producer

Terakawa, Hidekazu Producer

Chino, Takatoshi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Dec 26, 2023

Feyni

Recommended

It may seem boring and tempting to drop in the first few episodes but the story gradually unfolds with new interesting plots and links.

Art style is unique, similar to dororo and its a story without modern conveniences.
It was predictable to a certain extent.

Characters are mysterious and there was not a lot of background story other the anime reminding that humans toyed with fire and got burnt badly.

Ending was a cliffhanger that stated will be continued in season 2.
Quite a lot is shown without much details hence the score.

Definitely a must watch if one doesn't mind the slow and boring start.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 26, 2023

Godslayer27

Mixed Feelings

Hikari no ou has as one of his biggest points of interest and strenghts the world-building and everything related to the settings, the premise is interesting but as im going to mention later there are many reasons why in general terms the series didnt live up to my expectations (and maybe to many others spectators) even with doing right many things.

Although the complexity of the story in not enormous, is does feel like that due to an poor direction and writting, the narration and chuncks of information about the world that serve as explanation about something along the episodes accompained with transitions very erratics with ... from time to time still-colored-images that doesnt fit the flow and are really off for the general scheme of the series makes for an pretty difficult digestion of dialogs and understanding of the context.

The series throws at you a bunch of things that most of the time feel foreign one against other and the way that are serve is pretty bad makes for an confusing experience that to begin shouldnt be like that because at his core is rather simple (i cant even say that is trying to be more intrincate netiher because the fault clearly rest on a poor handle on the storytelling). Sure you will be able to catch of what is all about but it's gonna make for an tedious ride for some moments.

Characters wise the main ones who takes most screen-time are pretty weak from some who are fully hollow and really from persona to motivations dont have anything and the few reminecentst fragments left are just some kind of stereotype on their behaviours (talking about you touko), to others who between them (Koushi and Yuoshichi) their goals and intentions are very blurry and kinda inconsistent, for the rest of the characters for most part were fine.

The art style i like it but was strange 50% of the time the drawings and animation in general were fine but the other half the amount on quality how decreased was notable with episodes like the one were appears the dragon thing, with fights is also the same sometimes looked good but other times were pretty poor. On this aspect i think was 50/50 is very obivious when takes appeareance, i dont know if this was because of an low budget or what.

The op and end were pretty good, the ost didnt have any piece that was memorable.

Now even with all that mentioned i have to say despite all their faults i kinda enjoy it, the fire hunters, the gods, the villages, the two episodes on the train through the forest (which i wish could lasted more) really catched my eye and even if the story is not followed completly flawlessly kinda got my hook to see how would unfold. To some degree make me remember to another series called "shinsekai yori" on the wolrd-building and how interesting looks.

RESUME
This series is gonna be polarized there are gonna be people how doesnt like it (understandably given all his cons) and some who can be able to forgive or make blind eye to their cons and still enjoy it, worth to mention it feels refreshing in comparisons with many others series of today. If you ask me i would say to give it a chance having on mind the aforementioned and see if you end up liking it , its not a bad or horrible series but also is not an materpiece or excent of faults.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 5, 2024

perseii

Not Recommended

Hikari no Ou tries to be a unique, more thoughtful kind of fantasy, but sadly it is much too shabby and dry to recommend.

Its biggest problem is the animation; constantly breaking the art, moving as little as possible, making odd artistic choices, and often making scenes more confusing. Action sequences suffer the most, with characters suddenly looking like MS Paint drawings and awkwardly floating around. Characters go off-model all the time, even in quieter moments. The 3D CG, while sparingly used, looks very outdated and jarring. Painterly illustrations sometimes take over the screen, but often in seemingly random moments. The list goes on.

Unorthodox, "low-quality" animation ... can pay off, like in Tatami Galaxy and Mononoke for example. However, the animation here just does not feel like there is any consistency or artistic intent behind it, and it feels more like they are trying to cut corners and cover up mistakes (unsuccessfully). Interestingly, the OP is much better and shows the potential of this style of art and animation; the show itself often does not meet this bar. The end of Episode 2 would be a good point to decide for yourself whether you can enjoy (or tolerate) how the show looks and moves.

The overall art style really works, however, and feels unique next to its 2023 peers. The character designs, the backgrounds and the subdued color palette all come together to create an almost dream-like and mythical atmosphere (I like that it reminded me of Mushi-shi). The music also feels different and adds a lot to the contemplative and mysterious tone.

The strange and expansive world is the most interesting thing about the show. This is a harsh world where humanity is still struggling after a mysterious disaster. There is a form of society resembling Industrial-era Japan (a little like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), but most people are desperately scraping by, while powerful, mysterious forces are vying for control. The show is packed with thoughtful worldbuilding that encompasses technology, economy, social classes, races, customs, beliefs, and more. However, there is just so much of it, right up to the final episode, and much of it is delivered in an unengaging manner, through narration and characters flapping their mouths.

The characters are very toned down and believable people, but it is difficult to care about them. Basically every character is just focused on their goals and stoically pressing on. This may be as expected in a post-apocalyptic world, but they do not reveal much of their personalities and motivations that we can connect with. One of the two main characters is entirely pushed along by circumstance, without much to say about it. Many supporting characters remain a mystery, and not in a way that leaves us intrigued; we just don't have much to go on.

The story mainly acts as a vehicle to journey across the world. While it is fascinating to gradually discover this world alongside the characters, the story is not much of an emotional one, other than characters bonding through their shared struggles. In 10 episodes, it feels like the show has only now finished setting the stage. The season ends in the middle of a build-up, and while it does provide a future direction, its meaning is left unclear.

So what are we left with? We have a unique art style that is constantly brought down by sloppy animation. We have an interesting and detailed world that is dumped on us with no interesting story and characters to populate it and hold our attention. Yes, this is an original, understated, more adult-oriented fantasy anime (the kind I was looking forward to). If you are absolutely dying for one of those, if you are generally unaffected by animation quality, and if you value worldbuilding above all else, you may enjoy this show. Otherwise, I suggest you look elsewhere and avoid the disappointment and irritation I have felt watching this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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'Hikari no Ou' Gets Second Anime Season

The 10th and final episode of Hikari no Ou (The Fire Hunter) television anime series announced a second season on Saturday. Returning staff includes Junji Nishimura ...read more

Mar 18, 2023 8:05 AM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (7 comments)

PV Collection for Dec 26 - Jan 1

Here is a collection of promotional videos, television ads, teasers, and trailers that were released last week. This thread excludes videos that have already been fe...read more

Jan 1, 2023 8:22 PM by Snow | Discuss (5 comments)

	Poll: Do people really think the animation quality is bad? ( 1 2 ) EmmyMoomin - Feb 7, 2023	74 replies	by CyStarkman »» Oct 3, 1:42 AM
	Poll: Hikari no Ou Episode 10 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 18, 2023	47 replies	by WolfWood37 »» Aug 8, 10:58 PM
	Poll: Hikari no Ou Episode 9 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 11, 2023	27 replies	by WolfWood37 »» Aug 8, 2:03 AM
	Poll: Hikari no Ou Episode 8 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 4, 2023	28 replies	by WolfWood37 »» Aug 8, 1:30 AM
	Poll: Hikari no Ou Episode 7 Discussion KANLen09 - Feb 25, 2023	18 replies	by WolfWood37 »» Aug 8, 12:52 AM