Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood is an average battle shonen anime that squanders its potential. Its premise and execution are somewhat novel, reinventing the classic folk tale Momotaro into a multigenerational blood feud. Where it falls short is pacing, characterization, and impact. This mid-season review will only cover the first 12 episodes of the anime, with some manga statistics for context.
Rated 16+ for Blood/Gore, Profanity, Violence
SPOILER WARNING FOR EPISODES 1-12
There Once was a Giant Peach
Shiki Ichinose lived the typical life of a high school truant. Raised by his adoptive father Tsuyoshi, the two shared a rough but caring bond. One day, they’re attacked by the Momotaro Agency. Shiki discovers he’s a descendant of oni, doomed to be hunted by the descendants of Momotaro. Tsuyoshi sacrifices himself to save Shiki, which awakens Shiki’s oni blood. He swears to get revenge on the Momotaros and put an end to the feud once and for all.
The manga, written and illustrated by Yura Urushibara, is currently running in Akita Shoten’s weekly magazine Weekly Shonen Champion. It debuted in 2020 and has over 3 million copies in circulation as of 2024, with 25 compilation volumes. It has stood out as one of the magazine’s more violent series, yet it maintains a certain edgy charm.
A Long Journey
Tougen Anki has a great setup. The first episode shows you everything you need to know about the main character’s motivation while hinting at the larger world he’s discovered. The next three episodes also keep up the intrigue with new characters and powers.
Unfortunately, the next seven episodes are dedicated to a single conflict with a bit too much empty space. There are a lot of exposition dumps and moments when characters are just yelling at each other, and not in the fun Dragon Ball Z way. What makes it worse is a strangely unbalanced focus. Some characters get an entire episode dedicated to their backstory. Others have one off-screen fights and then randomly show up again. The pacing and action didn’t match the dire situation and left me feeling unsatisfied, wondering what the point was.
Chaotically Comedic Companions
From the outset, it’s clear the characters are meant to be simple and easily digestible. Of the main cast, Shiki is the most interesting. He puts on a typical delinquent attitude but displays genuine heart. The moments when he fired a live gun for the first time and when he comforted an oni orphan were very poignant. On that note, what a great way to subvert the typical fantasy power system. Giving him guns made of blood was a great choice. It could have added another layer to his character, using his knowledge of firearms to adapt to any situation.
That’s ultimately what hinders the characters the most: great ideas with shallow realizations. Shiki’s classmates have enjoyably chaotic chemistry, but we don’t see that until episodes 11 and 12. And the attempts to give them entertaining character traits come across as desperate. The Momotaro agents are even weaker. They come across as typical one-note villains with uninteresting motivations. The flashback in episode 11 failed to garner any kind of emotional response from me.
Not-So Tasty Dango
Tougen Anki shares a lot of battle shonen DNA with series like Blue Exorcist and Naruto. Whereas those series had memorable characters and a rich story, Tougen Anki ultimately fails to leave any kind of meaningful impression. The oni blood powers and Momotaro bacterium powers make for some interesting imagery, even if the CGI is poorly integrated. The characters and story have some good moments, but are bogged down by lackluster writing and inconsistent pacing. Overall, the series lacks focus on its themes. Instead, it throws poorly realized concepts at the wall, hoping something will stick. Though, given its long run, something must have stuck with readers. Maybe future episodes will assuage my gripes, but I’m not holding my breath.
Art & Animation: 6/10
- Fun power system with creative imagery
- Consistent, but nothing stood out as impressive
- CGI isn’t composited well and feels out of place
- Fights range from mindless entertainment to dull set pieces
Story & Characters: 4/10
- There aren’t many enjoyers of shonen who haven’t already seen it done better
- Most of the characters are pretty one-note
- Character designs aren’t that inspired or interesting (one female body type, really?)
- The story structure purposefully leaves room to expand, almost too much room
Sound & Presentation: 3/10
- Nothing stood out
- Typical battle shonen formula without a lot of uniqueness
- A confused tangle of tropes and clichés
- Doesn’t seem too concerned about innovation
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