Ishura

After the demise of the demon king, the resulting power vacuum has broken the balance of the world. Eager to claim this power for themselves, self-proclaimed demon kings from various worlds assemble in the New Principality of Lithia to fight for it. Among them, master swordsman Soujirou Yagyuu seeks to take this coveted position for himself. Joined by Tooi Kagizume no Yuno, a young girl he saved from an army of golems that destroyed her city, Soujirou enters Lithia to battle his way to the title.

At the same time, the leaders of the Aureatia Kingdom seek to destabilize Lithia by launching bandits after the convoys of merchandise transiting through the principality. Enraged, Imashime of Taren, the founder of Lithia and defector from Aureatia, sends vicious thief Kasasagi no Dakai to investigate the origin of these attacks. With war on the brink of eruption, no one can predict what influence the contenders for the demon king's throne will have on the coming conflict.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yagyuu, Soujirou Main

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Hoshihase Alus Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Tooi Kagizume no Yuno Main

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Seijakunaru Harghent Main

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Rankai Ryoureki Nihilo Supporting

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Toorika no Kuze Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Umitaru Higuare Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Sekaishi no Kia Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Sekki no Tsubasa Regnejee Supporting

Morikubo, Shoutarou Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Hashi, Takaya Japanese

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Vig, Julien Producer

Saitou, Kazuhiro Producer

Satou, Taira Producer

Reviews

Mar 20, 2024

Marinate1016

Recommended

Ishura is probably the most unique action anime I’ve ever seen. A slow but rewarding burn that has one of the coolest premises you’ll find and an immense amount of worldbuilding. This was one of the best shows of Winter 2024 and it’s a shame it flew under the radar.

While not an expert in the field of battle royale anime, I’ve seen a few and Ishura stands head and shoulders above the rest. What makes it so good to me is the wide range of characters with unique abilities who are all very OP and have unique fighting styles. Additionally, there’s the perfect amount of ... characterisation for each member of the cast. By the time they’re all introduced it really feels like we’ve established a connection with them. Every character is set up with their own episode that shows us their motivations, their abilities, their backstories and just what makes them tick. While at times it may seem a little tedious because you just want to get to the big battle royale, it was definitely a great decision because it made the fights at the end of the series that much more meaningful. The other big thing for me is that every character is strong. I mean the diversity of abilities in this series was shocking. The victor in a fight is just determined by how they match up with a particular opponent which made things fun.

Ishura has no main character, at least not yet, so the story kind of goes from one viewpoint to another depending on the episode. I liked this because it developed a rather large cast in a short period of time. While a couple characters felt underbaked, most of the cast I felt a nice attachment to and liked. Also made it difficult to choose who to root for because of the various goals of the characters. In a way, this 12 episode season felt like the longest character selection screen.

The worldbuilding is also really good in this. The magic system is nuanced, the political situation is interesting and there’s a ton of fantastical elements in this that just work really well. You can tell the author put a ton of time into fleshing out the world, characters and making you feel apart of a living breathing universe. It’s a bit frustrating at times though, because while you can tell the world is vast and detailed, sometimes I felt it wasn’t being utilised to its full potential. I’m sure that’s intentional as this is just adapting the first book I believe and there’s a ton more story to go. It just can be a bit slow at times. Nevertheless it has all the makings of a cool fantasy world.

The only downside I really have is that the story really just got going at the end. Like we spent so long building these characters up for a big battle and then the battle happens in a couple episodes and that’s it(not the end of the story, just the season). I wanted more! This world is so unique and the anime was a blast to watch. This is more a testament to how much I liked the show rather than a serious complaint though. I do understand it takes time to develop characters and appreciate the author’s intent.

Animation and fight scenes are really good. There’s some cgi, but it’s not distracting and the direction during the big set pieces is more than good enough.

Ishura is a must watch if you’re a fan of action anime, battle royales or if you just want something different to watch. I watch everything every season and I really can’t think of a show that’s been quite like this one. I had a blast watching it every Wednesday and I’m looking forward to reading it now.

Ishura gets 8 out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 20, 2024

Omarumba

Mixed Feelings

Informative

Ishura - to fight to the bitter end, however who expected the ending to be just that?

Meatgrinder, aka Battle royale, is a trope/genre that was popularized by Mirai Nikki and the Koushun Takami manga with the identical title in its heyday. Each author has a different take on this type of genre, but basically it's about creating a situation with a large number of characters who for some reason must survive and reduce their numbers as the story progresses. So what makes the difference between a good Battle Royale and a bad Battle Royale? Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet and take ... a look at two shows: Jigokuraku (aka Hell's Paradise), which got an anime adaptation in 2023, and a new show called Ishura, which we were treated to this past 2024 season.

Ishura emerged as a web novel in 2017, and was even later acquired by ASCII Media Works under the guise of "Dengeki no Shin Bungei". The author of this creation is Keiso, a man who would go on to release a couple other works such as Gekitou in the future. Ishura received a warm welcome before the anime adaptation was announced, receiving good comments from critics, and in 2023 it was finally announced as an anime, produced by Passione, directed by Takeo Takahashi, and animated by Sanzigen, a studio that specializes in CGI graphics.

Ishura is about creatures with powerful abilities that can be compared to demigods and even gods. The Demon King has been killed, but by whom - it is unknown. Now the now wandering souls of the heroes (aka Shuras) are free to do whatever they please, but the question of "who killed the Demon King" becomes cancerous for them, to the point that they decide to organize a contest like a gladiator battle to find out the true identity of the winner. Well, at least that's what Keiso, the author of the work, willed. The first season of the anime adaptation will adapt the first volume of the novel, and will focus on the story's characters and the political conflict between the Golden Capital and the self-proclaimed new principality of Lithia. There is no main character in this story, the plot focuses on all the characters, some of whom get screen time and reveal in an entire episode, as if to save their time. Accompanied by solving two major problems, solving a political dispute and finding Keiso's true hero, we are "very happy", I heartily apologize for the quotation marks, with battles as it should be.... battle royale?

So, yes, Ishura is Battle Royale, and essentially the entire plot is a subplot to keep the viewer and reader in a state of anticipation of bloody battles and unforeseen moments. Battle Royale is good in that it allows the author to introduce a huge number of different characters and intelligently pit them against each other without depriving the rights of the target audience to enjoy the plot component at the same time. I'll call it the formula for a successful Battle Royale: spectacular battles + competent plot = good Battle Royale. For a perfect battle royale it is also necessary to have a logical conclusion of battles, balance, variety of characters, sharpness of the plot, but you do not think that all this is not in Ishura? Well, I won't be ironic, half of these things are really there. Back to the formula, does Ishura have the two main elements for a good battle royale? A competent plot is in place, even if it is a bit too rushed. The author brings us up to speed and does it very quickly, as if he is in a hurry, which makes our heads muddle after the first episodes. Spectacular battles? And there it is - the Achilles' heel of this show. Good battle royale must give the consumer a lot of emotions from battles, because that is the beauty of the genre. Starting to consume the product you bet on your favorite characters, which after a while begin to collide with each other, from which the viewer's eyes literally begin to move apart. In contrasting Jigokuraku I was not mistaken about this, for this work observes two factors of the formula of "good battle royale". The heroes, having appeared on the island with the purpose of fulfillment of the task, collide with each other spectacularly showing their skills and skills of battles, though the main character, Gabimaru, was made horribly invincible. Ishura, on the other hand, leaves you anticipating the same thing - but ends up doing exactly the opposite. Instead of spectacular battles, we literally get death with a single blow. Predictable? Hell no, but how frustrating it can be. The show is able to reveal a character over the course of an entire episode, only to end up with no trace of him in a measly few minutes. Keiso may have been going for realism, but Battle Royale isn't about realism, it's about spectacle. Imagine if on a gladiatorial battlefield everything would end with one blow, would the audience like it? I doubt it. As a bottom line, Ishura has a good story, but as a source of epicness the show is very weak.

Omitting the moments with battles I want to highlight the excellent work of the previously mentioned Sanzigen and animators, the picture is colorful and CGI animation is smooth and good. Character design is done at an excellent level, for which first of all we should praise Keiso. Each character has some zest in his appearance, thanks to which he stands out so well.

The musical accompaniment in this show is worth a special attention, but the fact that such a musical potential was mercilessly drained is worth the tears shed. Throughout the episodes, there are various musical compositions that reflect the emotion of the scene well, and this is a credit to Masahiro Tokuda, the man who also wrote music for shows like Deca-Dence and Platinum End. The opening splash screen of Sajou no Hana's "Shura ni Otoshite" shows all the characters in turn, and is generally good, I especially liked the wyvern scene. Konomi Suzuki's "Hakka" was also good, but it wasn't too memorable or special.

To summarize, I'd like to say two of the most obvious things at this point about a show like Ishura. Battle Royale is a very handy tool for an author, but even with a hammer you need to know how to hammer nails so that they don't stick out crooked. I won't be pessimistic, but I don't have any hopes for a spectacular sequel, especially considering that there are already 10(!) volumes in the novel, it's scary to imagine where Keiso's imagination has gone. And the second most obvious thing is that if they would translate the rest of the volumes into English as soon as possible, it would be fun to see what would come out of it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 20, 2024

whiteflame55

Not Recommended

The series gets off to a great start that really showcases the power and skill of a champion against a giant golem and placing them in the context of a world that is composed of fragile beings. Given the promise of a tournament featuring a set of characters like this one, it certainly set itself up for success.

…but it’s mostly downhill from there. There are some really good fights later into the series run as various otherworldly characters come into conflict with other powerful beings (many of whom would be participants in a future tournament that would necessarily pit them against one another anyway), where ... they really get to strut their stuff against calamities, sometimes in epic fashion.

However, that’s not the focus of most of this season. Instead, we focus in on a conflict between the Aureatia Kingdom and the New Principality of Lethia, which… is not what I came here for. I love a good war story, but you’ve introduced characters whose functions in the story render most militaries moot. You’ve established that most of this world is made of soggy cardboard compared with these fighters and introduced them with the promise that there will be a tournament used to determine who is the strongest. Telling your audience to care about the normal humans at this point just seems like an attempt to get us to care about doomed characters so their deaths can hit us that much harder, but what it does for me is make most of the deaths ring hollow. Even deaths of named characters just don’t matter much. The series does scant little to get us to care about its relationships, mainly just showing us “backstory” through brief glimpses into the past that barely help us connect with them, and that’s the best-case scenario.

But then there’s all the other elements. When a series leaves me with this many questions and only the barest of hints at the answers, I start to wonder why I should stay invested. This is a world in which the Demon King, widely agreed to be the most powerful and terrible being on the planet, was killed. Everyone assumes it’s one of these champions who did it. Fine. Now they want to hold a tournament to determine who the hero was that killed the Demon King. I guess they assume that whoever is the strongest must have done it and they want to reward them, but a) this seems far more likely to kill whoever the actual hero was, especially since just announcing the tournament guaranteed the kind of free-for-all kill fest that has resulted beforehand (especially considering just how diverse the sets of powers are), b) the fact that said hero hasn’t come forward means they’re pretty unlikely to take part in a tournament meant to uncover their identity, and c) that’s compounded by these characters requiring some national representation, which may just leave out the hero even if they wish to compete. Maybe they just don't care who killed the Demon King and just want a tournament for the sake of eliminating a bunch of these powerful beings and posting a figurehead - that's true for at least some of the stakeholders - but if that's the case, that just raises further questions about why they're doing it this way. Why couch any of this in the Demon King if you don't even care who killed him? Wouldn't this just result in a single powerful individual (or a small group of them) that no one can possibly defeat and that can take over by default?

Who these champions really are, where they came from (it’s only lightly hinted at), and why they arrived in this place are all up in the air. Much of the reveals deal in the warfare between the two countries instead, but even so, there’s so much we don’t know and this enigma is the kind that only serves to frustrate rather than intrigue. If you’re going to dedicate so much of your plot to these elements, the lack of a reason for them only serves to disengage your audience.

Beyond that, there are several other characters who have their own machinations in play, so there are all kinds of political power games going on that have little to nothing to do with the broader plot. Combine all that with a magic system that somehow gets specifically defined while simultaneously feeling almost entirely useless and a world that feels surprisingly small despite a broad variety of characters and environments, and what you get is a good seed of an idea that both feels like it’s been dramatically overcomplicated in many ways and overly simplified in others. And I haven’t even mentioned the CGI, which does look pretty bad in places. It’s not awful, but it does detract from opportunities to make the most of this series’ sakuga.

I don’t mean to make this series come off like a complete mess, it’s just a lot of interesting ideas that are thrown together haphazardly and result in a product that is less than the sum of its disparate parts. It does not help that the last episode suggests a lot of plots at play that just seem to make less sense the more you think about them. It’s the kind of show that prefers to use much of this season as setup for interesting stuff down the line, and while it might eventually get there, I don’t think that’s a substitute for engaging your audience early and often. Whether they’re talking about the period before the story where someone fought the all-powerful Demon King or the period after this season where an actual tournament is set to happen, everything sounds more interesting and narratively satisfying than this. As someone who is not a fan of series that seem to put off the good stuff in hopes that you'll be just hooked enough to see it through to the end, I can't recommend this one.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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