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There are series that you like and you go “well, that was cool, what shall I watch next?” once you finish them. Others that you really like and make you go “That was Awesome, I’m gonna read some stuff about it on the internet”. And then, there are series that leave you speechless, unable to move from your seat and leave such a strong impression in you that you know right away that they’ll stay with you forever. Joran is one of those series.
Now, first things first: Why the hell am I giving such high praise and top score to a series series that seems ... to be so impopular and underwatched among anime fans? Well, you see, Joran is not a rom-com that repeats the same unfunny joke a million times, and it certainly doesn’t have the word isekai in its tittle so I guess it was never bound to be popular among fans in the first place.
Jokes aside, once we know what Joran isn’t (this is no isekai rom-com, that’s for sure), let’s talk about what Joran is and why I consider it to be a masterpiece. Whithout getting into spoilers, the series is set in the early 30’s in some kind of alternative Japan (although it does look quite realistic, to the point that there are some scenes that feature radio broadcasts that sound as if they were taken straight from that period. I really loved that detail) and it’s centered on a special group created by the government to fight against insurgents. One of the members of said group is Yukimura/Sawa, who has some kind of special powers, and the series focuses mainly on her story and interactions with the other 3 members of the group as well as her little sister.
What makes Joran (or Jouran, as it can also be written) great and separates it from other series with a similar premise is how emotionally powerful and gripping it is. It’s hard to talk about it without spoliers so let’s just say that there’s a permanent sadness and melancholy that impregnates every scene that somehow make this series to be closer to stuff like Jin – Roh (which happens to be my favorite movie ever, anime or otherwise) or Casshern Sins. Of course, this slow pacing and somber mood might to be to everyone’s taste, specially considering how gloomy and sad the world already is. But I firmly belive that it’s in hard times like these that pure, heartfelt masterpieces are more necessary than ever. And, make no mistake, Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood is one of those.

The reason why I’m writing this review of an ultra-obscure OVA that’s more than 20 years old now is because it is at long last being subbed (more info on that at the series subforum).
For those who are unfamiliar with KNK I'll just say it's an epic 32 episodes (each one 45 min on average) OVA that run from 1993 to 2003. So yes, it took JC Staff (the studio) 10 years to make it. That can give you an idea of the quality level and the effort that was put into creating this.
The story is set in an alternate WW2 where a Japanese admiral ... is trying to change Japan's role in the war. It plays out pretty much as a political thriller with a ton of absolutely gorgeous action scenes, all of which are fully handrawn and joy to watch to any (realistic) 2D animation fan (Think Legend of the Galactic Heroes meets Zipang with the quality level of Patlabor 2 or Jin Roh in the action scenes). I guess the fact that I've watched the series several times Raw with my broken japanese should give you an indication of just how good the action scenes are.
I’m not even a history or military buff but I sure as hell am a hardcore handrawn animation fan who loves a good, gripping story and interesting characters. And, really, it doesn’t get much better than this
They just don't make them like they used to and it’s painfully obvious that we won't be able to get any military-political thriller of this caliber any time soon (if ever).

So, after reading a lot of blatant lies about this magnificent series, I’ve felt compelled to write a review to balance things up.
Two things have become clear to me after reading a lot of over the top negative comments about Hero Mask: a) A big (and very vocal) part of the anime fandom don’t like their anime to be “tainted” by any kind of Western influence and b) A lot of anime fans dislike big changes and series that try to break out of the norm.
Enter Hero Mask, a Netflix original series that, despite being made by studio Pierrot and a ... (relatively unkown) japanese staff, looks and feels Western as fuck. It also is radically different to anything we have come to expect from anime, both aestethically and plot-wise. So yeah, for a big part of the anime fans at least, half the battle was lost even before it started.
Which is a pity, really, as Hero Mask is a truly great series that combines noir-esque crime thriller elements with a touch of sci-fi. It is not that different to Psycho Pass or Monster (the 2 closest examples I can think of, anime-wise) although it probably would be more accurate to compare it to Western live action shows like True Detective and Black Mirror (with a healthy dose of James Bond-esque action scenes).
It is by no means perfect, though, and it does get a bit slow half-way through and the finale could have been handled in a better, less confusing way (although I want to believe that there’s a second cour on the way: it certainly would help to clarify a ton of things that are left unanswered by the end of it). However, if you are looking for a serious, mature and gripping thriller with a touch of sci-fi and a wonderful, unique aestethic (and also an outstanding soundtrack that kept reminding me of Monster all the time) and some of the best 2D action scenes I’ve seen this decade (that car chase at the end of Ep 3, Good Lord..) look no further, this is your series.
Just (don’t) believe the (negative) hype.