Toji no Miko

Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Katana Maidens and while care has been taken to minimise story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. The tale of how six schoolgirls and their allies fought to protect the world from monsters from a parallel dimension with friendship, courage and a whole lot of awesome swordsmanship. Based off an original idea Katana Maidens or its Japanese title of Toji No Miko is an adventure and fantasy themed anime that gives us the opportunity to see what would happen if you combine the roles of traditional Japanese shrine maidens the Miko with those of the samurai and pit them against extra dimensional monsters called the Aradama that seek to invade their world. The first episode of the series while somewhat genetic was also impressive as it did an excellent job at showing the level of training and skills that such warriors that are called Toji within the series must have as they battle terrifying looking monsters that will give a squad of soldiers the fright. Seeing young middle and high school girls take up their katana and vow to use it and their abilities to protect the world from such monsters was something that resonated well with me and I'm glad that I watched the series to the end. Miko’s or shrine maidens as they are usually called are a common type of character that appears widely in many forms of media such as in manga, LN’s and here in animes. When one thinks of Japan most people would have many things that pop up in their mind with samurai and Miko’s being the most common. As Miko’s have no western equivalent it is perhaps unsurprising that they are less well known than the samurai ad compared to the latter the former’s duties would no doubt sound mundane. Although a shine maiden’s main role is largely restricted to helping manage the shrine that they work at by helping visitors get charms, ema's and fortunes as well as keep the shine clean and ordered shrine maidens are also heavily associated with cleansing impurities’. This latter point is made use of as part of the series main premise in this series by combining them with their duty of facing extra dimensional invaders that only they can fight with the trademarked weapon of the samurai the katana. With each katana being unique and having a will of its own one can say that the Toji in this show emphasis one of the best images that a Miko gives by showing them as powerful female soldiers that are able to protect the world from impurities from other dimensions by using swords that have chosen them as their wielders. Taking place in modern day Japan Katana maidens is centred on the work performed by the Miko’s of the sword administration an organisation that is dedicated to protecting the world from a threat that the military cannot which is the aradama a hostile extra dimensional race that is hostile to humanity and will not hesitate to kill innocent people. Operating under the auspices of the special religious military unit which is a government agency the sword administration commands highly trained Miko’s who are girls of junior high to high school age who have taken up the role as a sacred shrine maiden or Toji and wield a katana that has chosen her as its master in defence of the world. Each Toji while operating under the command of the sword administration belong to one of the five schools that have been established to train them with each being led by a hero of the administration. Here the girls in addition to being taught the normal curriculum are also taught the finer points of swordsmanship and anti aradama combat techniques. While each girl is influenced by their school’s creed to a degree each girl whether a Toji or one in training is united in the desire to protect humanity from the aradama by wielding their blade in its defence. Every spring the best Toji from each school are chosen to take part in a tournament where they prove their worth against their fellows under the gaze of the sword administrations higher-ups with a victory here potentially giving them and their school much prestige and notice from the administration. The overall story follows a team of Toji who while fighting to protect the world from the threat posed by the Aradama also become determined to fight to expose the truth about the sword administration and the five schools and the war against the aradama. By shining the light of truth into the lies that have been spread to hide the true nature of the war the team hopes to find the truth behind the endless war with the aradama and bring an end to the conflict that has raged for years. But in a conflict that has many different factions of the sword administration and the aradama vying to take control the team must fight with all their might trusting in their skills as Toji and their friendship and bonds with their friends, masters and fellow Toji as they try to stop a repeat of the tragedy that happened 20 years ago that if left unchecked would leave the human race in a perilous situation. The team of Toji while raised and trained in different schools and having different views and personalities are all united in their quest to both protect the human race from the aradama and to uncover the truth about the conflict between them. As they fight alongside one another they would form bonds of friendship, form rivalries and fight for what they believe in to protect those dear to them. The team consists of the cheerful but hot-blooded Kanami, the kind, and level-headed Mai, the quiet but dutiful Sayaka, the tenacious and cool Hiyori and the positive and hyperactive Ellen. Mai Yanase Mai Yanase voiced by new seiyuu Azumi Waki is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the six heroes of the series. A 13-year-old second-year middle school student and a Toji of Minoseki academy Mai is a kind, thoughtful and perceptive person that approaches each situation with calmness and due caution. Unlike her best friend and fellow Toji Kanami Mai is a composed and intelligent girl that has a knack for being able to deduce the key points of a situation and act accordingly. A caring person by nature Mai is the classic image of a sheltered ojou sama being elegant and refined while also being patient and friendly to all she meets whether they are from the same social class or not. While Mai’s skills as a Toji are powerful she knows full well that her skills are not a match for her best friend Kanami but instead of feeling despair at this strives to improve her skills to match her friends and stand side by side with her as they fight together. From the beginning of the series, it can be seen that Mai and Kanami had a very deep bond of friendship that had been borne out of their long association with each other. Rather than acting as normal friends do it can be seen that Mai’s relationship with Kanami is very much like how an older sister treats her younger sibling and it can be seen that Mai cares greatly about Kanami’s well being and dislikes seeing her being put in harms way or being manipulated by others going as far to confront those responsible even if their skill levels are not equal. This is best shown when she confronts Hiyori early in the series. Mai’s most prominent trait is arguably her kindness, honesty, and friendly nature that when reinforced by her stubborn refusal to back down even when pushed away has allowed her to forge strong bonds with many people most prominently Sayaka who she was able to impart into what true friendship and life is. From their interaction, it can be seen that Mai is someone that values free will and of being able to live your life the way you want to and as a result hates it when she see’s people being treated as tools. Unlike Kanami and the rest at the beginning of the series, Mai did not have a reason to fight against Yukari which created a struggle within Mai as she desperately w…

If there is an anime from 2018 that I consider to be underappreciated it would be Katana Maidens because despite having a low MAL score which I will never understand it manages to be the best two cour show from the Winter 18 season. The main reasons for why I think this show is better to compare to the likes of Darling in the Franxx, Beatless, and Record of the Grancrest War is one it’s very enjoyable to watch from start to finish, two the story and characters were well-handled and three and most importantly Katana Maidens actually respects its audience. Yes, this show is not perfect, as it has some flaws which I will point out throughout this review but compare the other three two cour shows Katana Maidens positives outweigh the negatives to a point where I consider it to be one of the best animes of 2018 Since the ancient times, the Kannagi priestesses have used their swords, or Okatana, to exorcise the creatures known as Aratama that brought chaos upon the world of man. These maidens were known as Tojis, a special task force within the police allowed to have their Okatana on their person because they are government officials, but they mostly consist of school girls who go to one of five training schools. This spring, the top Tojis from five schools across the country have been gathered for a customary tournament where they will use their abilities and fight for the top position. Just by reading the synopsis alone you the viewer would expect the show to be just another tournament anime that features cute girls with sword doing cute things you are dead wrong. The show destroyed the synopsis that I said in favour of a more intriguing action/adventure and espionage story that is well-executed and charming. While the premise isn’t all that original it’s the way that it presented that made it intriguing to watch. The Toji’s are basically magical girls but instead of using magical weapons they use actual weapons that we see in the real world. The pacing in the show is very good for the most part as it knows how to pace itself as well as keeping the audience interested in the events that happen in the show. In addition, every episode in the show has a purpose and a point that nicely blends with the overall narrative of the story. Instead of pointless recap episodes (Beatless) and unneeded random subplots (Darling in The Franxx) the show makes every event inducing subplots to feel important to the overall plot not to mention unlike any other 2 cour show from the winter 18 seasons the show does a great job of making the audience care about the overall plot and characters. The writing in the show is pretty surprisingly consistent. Yes! at times the show can have its hiccups in some areas but for the most part, I thought the writing of Kanata Maidens to be pretty good overall. Katana Maidens intriguing and the unpredictable story is only made strong of how great chararter and nicely written the chararters are. Kanami is a cheerful and positive girl who is also a big Kenjutsu enthusiast. I really Kanami. She started a weak fight who constantly has to rely on others to win but as the series progresses she becomes a much stronger fighter who is able to stand on her own. I also loved her character interactions with the cast overall. Hiyori is the Stoic and dedicated fighter of the group who carries a grudge towards the Origami family for her mother's death. Personally, I liked this character a lot. Her relationship with Kanami was well handed as she slowly starts to trust and respect Kanami as a fighter and a person. Mai is Kanami best friend and acts as the older sister of the group as she is always kind and friendly to everyone that she meets. I really liked Mai as she is probably the most mature and responsible characters in the series as she is very intelligent and always willing to care for others. Sayaka is an interesting character overall. She starts this emotionless girl who barely interacts to the group but as the series progresses she slowly starts to open up to others. Kaoru is a fun character that I liked. She may a sluggish person but she has a good heart. I overall liked her relationship with Ellen because despite having an indifferent attitude to Ellen she actually cares for her as she's very good partners who get along with each other. Ellen is the mood-maker of the group where she has a simplistic girlish personality. Despite her simplistic personality she actually a clever and brave fighter who is willing to risk her own life to protect her comrades in battle. Like with the other 6 girls she is a great character that I really liked. The rest of the characters are pretty good and enjoyable as they are including the villains who were interesting. Moving to the presentation side Katana Maidens visually is pretty good for the most part. The character designs are cute and very appealing to the eye. The background scenery is, for the most part, were solid it fits well with the series tone and atmosphere. The show features some fan-service but thankfully the fan-service in the show didn't overstay as the fan-service scenes in the show were only used in the parts of the hot springs in series when the girls are not fighting. I was glad there wasn't much fan-service in this show because this show could have taken the generic route where girls would often be wearing skimpy battle gear which they skin would often be exposed but am very glad that the show didn't follow the footsteps of a generic ecchi anime. Speaking of battle gear I liked the girls battle as not only they were appealing to look at but they actually fit well the shows setting. The actual animation is pretty good for the most part as the fight choreography was engaging and fun to watch. However, the use of CGI at times can be pretty distracting especially in a final couple of where the use of CGI was an all-time low. I honestly wished the show handled its CGI because outside of that complaint the animation, especially for some of the fights, were pretty good. Overall minus the awkward use of CGI especially in the last couple of episodes the visuals for Katana Maidens were pretty good. So far I praised the show for having great chararters. an intriguing unpredictable story and good visuals. This, unfortunately, can't be said with the soundtrack. Don’t me wrong the soundtrack is good for what it was but it didn’t really stand out which is a shame because some of the fights of the show were pretty good minus the awkward use of CGI that I just mentioned. Luckily both opening and endings themes from are pretty great and memorable in their own rights. The Seiyuus did a great job with roles that given for each girl. As you expect the subversion is great and well-acted. The English dub done by Funimation is actually pretty good as each of the English voice actors managed to do a great job voicing each girl. Katana Maidens is liking watching is underdog sports team grow into fame. Despite having a low MAL score which I will never understand I really enjoyed the series thanks to how well executed and enjoyable it was. The story is great and very enjoyable, the characters are all charming and likeable in they own ways, the writing/pacing was pretty solid and the visuals were very good minus the awkward use of CGI at times. Is it the best anime of 2018? Sadly no as it, did have some problems that prevent it from being one of the true greats from 2018. However, I will say this. Katana Maidens is easily the best two cour anime from the Winter 18 season and for me, it’s destroyed Beatless, Record of the Grancrest War and the now popular Darling in the Franxx. The show won’t be for everyone but if you want to check out an underrated anime from 2018 then I recommend Katana Maidens. It is an anime that will stay with my heart for many years to come.

Why 10? I started this anime at the begginning of january and I knew it was for me. In general, my favorite animes of a airing seasons are slice-of-life. But Katana Maidens - Toji no Miko is an action anime. I think what it makes it great is the characters, who are the steel of the story: the past of Hiyori, the determination of Kanami, etc. The art is amazing, and probably one of my favorite! It fit perfectly with the emotions of the characters IMO. How much did I enjoy the serie? Man, I waited each friday with excitement to watch those! Ho, I forgot to mention the 1st and 2nd OP/ED are amazing! So, overall, I have no complains: darker moments are necessary for the devellopement of the story (I won't spoil here) and are the key for some characters to improve themselves. It's in my 10 favorite animes of all-time, so I strongly recommend it! (But I have really unpopular opinions, as an anti-normies, so find more info before starting it!).

This show...has a definite edge when it comes to the start of 2-cour shows of the year, but when all is said and done, it is still a good watch from start to end, even though I had a disdain for the premise of the show. The story of Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko starts as bland, cookiecutter and generic (this is NOT CGDCT)...until the intense action starts building the story up...in a very slow fashion unfortunately. At first, I really don't seem to understand why this 2-cour show is that memorable, but after watching all the way through, it felt some sense of satisfaction, but not by much. In a nutshell, girls who wield katanas that are inherited by various groups of people, presumably from families or schools that have a reputation, fight the forces of evil that are called aradama, noro (or substances) that are the subject of experimentation, and started what was initially just a competition against different girls into something that triggered a national phenomenon that has been existing for a few decades, that is now threatening the lives of girls whom aspirations of being Toji, being used to exterminate the current setting yet again, and 6 girls whom have no affiliation with one another, combines their abilities together (with the power of their friendship) to stop the tragedy from happening again. The story setting is what you'd expect from a generic battle-shoujo anime, but where I can give credit is with its building story arcs, basically from the time of welding to conquering the world in 24 episodes, and that's where it tipped me off the series. I was trying hard not to see it as a generic show, but it felt underwhelming. Yes, it is an original series, and credits to people whom have thought of such ideas, but aside from people really enjoying the series as a whole, if you're not a fan of confusing or yet slow-progressing story arcs, skip this immediately. The characters are an interesting choice: Starting off with the initial two: Etou Kanami and Juujou Hiyori, 2 ordinary yet extraordinary characters towards the end, they come off as your typical shoujo battle-sense girls, and throughout the course of the journey from strength to strength and courage to redemption, their feelings for each other have not changed, for the fact that they were the first to cross each other's paths and because of the whole aradama issue, their bonds are unbreakable whether together or separate from the rest of the group. Kanami is the happy-go-lucky, and watchman of the 6 girls, who vouches to protect them and get stronger and understand their emotions and puts it into practice. Hiyori on the other hand, she is the "act first, think later" archetype, knowing that her enemies will get the better of her, and doesn't acknowledge others' efforts but coming to understand people's worries for her too. Sayaka Itomi and Yanase Mai are the striking silent duo of the group, because their experiences helm the way of their katana fighting. Sayaka is the worrywart of the group because of her experiences fighting with the enemy's side, then as lifeless as she comes, she learns to open up her feelings towards the group and gets courage from them to slowly get her out of the comfort zone. Mai is also somewhat of the same situation, though oppression and determination, she was the one leading Sayaka the entire way, and it's easy to see why they are so attached to one another, reassuring each other's security. Ellen Kohagura and Kaoru Mashiko (with her good aradama Nene) come from the same school and have a good relationship with one another. Ellen the big-busted girl is someone that reeks of positivity, looking at everything on the bright side, even in battle, not giving people their way and motivating them to be better and stronger as they go. Kaoru might seem like the chibi annoying little brat (and she is), but her big wide sword means business and that means she's as serious as she comes, taking care of Nene as if it is her last pet. Origami Yukari and the Elite Four: At first they come off as enemies, once fighting for each other because of the control of aradama and how Yukari would turn the whole situation around, but after the 1st half, they find themselves in a nutshell because of the manifestation of aradama that's split off into different personalities and fighting with the 6 girls to regain control, this time for good. Yukari herself is sinister, with her plans and her resolve to see things through, that brings over to the end of the 2nd arc, someone that defines a firm believer of "power is king". The elite masters, most presumably Konohana Suzuka, Shidou Maki and Satsuki Yomi, are idolizes of power, and when tormented, they fight for their own ideals and come to the conclusion that even with power, their motivations are empty if not yet realized dreams are not brought to fruition. Especially that one character, Yukina Takatsu, is very adamant on power, and is always being used, all the way to the realization that no one is for her and her alone. The art and animation is good, something to expect from studio Gokumi, who made Tsurezure Children last year, but that jarring CGI is the exact same reason why the producers went to full-on CGI for smooth battle scenes. Yes it's not heavily used but it's very noticeable. And something to note off of is the fact that while fanservice is little to nonexistent, Studio Gokumi is not a studio where they are capable to show, and while this doesn't hamper the show's quality, it's not something to be expected of here. The music...is the weakest point of the series. I mentioned in Comic Girls where I have an absolute love-hate relationships for VAs in theme songs, and while the latter is extremely good, this WAS the series I was referring to, this both OP and EDs of the 2 cours are very unmemorable, to the point where I was potentially skipping ALL 4 tracks to get right into the story. If you can appreciate them on its own I have no questions, but it is unfortunately average in every conceivable way. In the end, do I really hate this series with a flaming passion? Some things I still stand by a few months back, and while the series overall has improved, I'm just not the audience that it was tackling on, and call this a good battle shoujo if you want, but it's just not for me.

THIS IS NOT A TOURNAMENT ANIME OR A SOL ANIME. IT IS AN ACTION ADVENTURE ON A GRAND SCALE. Seriously, this show has more in common with Kill La Kill than anything else. Except it's bloodier. I won't talk much about the story, because it's difficult to discuss without mentioning spoilers as it is very complicated, but I will say that it does all make sense. The main two characters meet in a tournament, get thrown together by circumstance, and then things get really gay. So gay that the Big Bad says "lol ur gay" to them during the last fight. Seriously. Quote "I see the chicks have become lovebirds" unquote. There is a lot of cool sword fighting in this show, and it makes use of 3D animation during a lot of the action scenes, but it's not annoying.

So after my initial review was removed for updating it. I've decided to come back and post another review that is, for the most part, saying what my initial review said but worded differently. The mediocre reviews I feel don't properly represent the show. I feel a lot of people were put off with the less than stellar animation. The characters I like. They're interesting in their own way and I feel they don't really copy other characters. Like I said earlier. The animation isn't the greatest. But I am easily able to overlook it and find myself more interested in the story. The show has some Yuri themes going on and it is kind of nice. It's different then the Fluff-Yuri shows we've seen in the past. The show has two major things going for it. The Story and Characters. The show manages a decent middle line of not having the Revelations be to Earth shattering and just enough to keep me hooked. Some of the story reveals are interesting like the Mothers of the characters. The reveal of one of the characters we'eve been getting glimpses of throughout is actually the mother of one of the MC's is really nice. The cast of Female characters are nice and it'd be a bit tough for me to say who I disliked the most. I tended to feel they all had their place in the story. The action can be lacking at times and it's kind of an issue when your show is based on action. But I found that I paid little attention to that and more of the Story. The Music I find to be interesting. I'd recommend watching if you have any interest in these types of shows.

Toji no Miko is a great action anime for those who like: Simple but good story, close female best friend relations/yuri and swords, lots of swords. I really enjoyed Toji no Miko throughout its entire runtime binging the whole series in one day. It has a simple but really enjoyable story of humanity vs a foreign foe. Its still the same thing we always see but its still just as enjoyable to watch here. The sound for the series was great with the sword sound effects and the great music having a catchy but epic OP and ED sung by all the main characters similar to Love Lives music. My favourite factor of the series is definitely the friendship between the main two Kanami and Hiyori. Being a huge yuri fan seeing these two together and slowly build up their friendship was adorable as hell. Also seeing Kanami's resolve to stick with Hiyori throughout the series also kept me heavily invested. Similarly throughout the series we also get some mother/daughter relationships as well which was a great extra for me to see this family relation alongside Kanami and Hiyori's. I'd heavily compare this series to the likes of Strike Witches as they both have very similar stories and lead characters. Overall Toji no Miko is your standard girls battle anime you see anywhere but that's exactly the appeal. I was able to just sit back and enjoy a good series as it wasn't too complicated and I was just that interested in the characters that I couldn't stop watching. 9/10 highly recommend for those who just want to enjoy a good anime and those who are big fans of female friendships.

Bored and out of my mind, I distinctly remembered that I had heard of an anime named 'Toji no Miko' which was set to come out a few seasons ago, an anime whose story encompassed the tale of katanas only which females could wield. I remember passing this anime up at the time of its release mainly because I had thought that a story like this could only go south -- I, for one, favor male samurai characters, an archetype that I've long favored, especially after watching Unlimited Blade Works (dear lord Sasaki Kojirou was a personal pick for me for a long time afterwards). However, the catchy name stuck in my head, and considering watching it, I, like any other avid anime fan, headed over here to scope out the show before I would fully considering watching it. When the page finally loaded, my worst fears were confirmed: an abysmal score. I usually don't consider watching animes whose scores dip below 7; if a lot of people think that something is bad, usually, it is. General consensus can most often be trusted. But for some odd reason, I decided to scroll down and look over the reviews, to somehow convince myself that this show could not be as bad as the ratings make out to be (bored and reminiscing about UBW, I guess I just wanted a good swords(wo)men action anime to watch). Of the few ratings that I skimmed through, I mainly saw the same theme: the show wasn't actually that bad. With that in mind, I set off to watch the show, and with this in mind, I'll begin my review on quite possibly one of the best anime's I've ever watched: Toji no Miko, or Katana Maidens. If you're wondering why I spent so long talking about my thought process of deciding whether or not to watch the show, let me explain: the show fit all stereotypes of a show that I would never in my life consider watching: an all female main cast, a very low score, a terrible basis of a story. I had long since given up the battle-school story lines, and if possible, I would at least like a male and a female in the main cast. But, I went against these thoughts and eventually watched the show -- a decision in which I have no regrets. In fact, the opposite occurred; I am, without a doubt, glad that I decided to watch this show. Having just finished binging the show, I will now proceed with my analysis of why this is one of the best anime's I've ever watched. The first episode starts off with a tournament between the 5 major schools. The tournament proceeds normally, but things take a turn for a worse during the finals. At this point, I was neutral about the anime. The swordfighting scenes were nice and direct with good action, which sated my need for samurai scenes like these. However, I was getting more and more pissed off as the show went on. Ah yes, the dreaded stale character archetypes of anime -- Main Character #1: Etou Kanami, the happy go lucky type of person, the talkative "I'll save everyone with the power of friendship". Yes, that character. Why had she saved Hiyori? On a whim? Because she wants to "save everyone for the sake of saving everyone?" Alas, I thought this was the point that I would drop the anime. But something changed around episode 3 or episode 4, I can no longer remember. The truth about Origami Yukari. It was at this point that I was feeling something I haven't felt in years -- a fire sparking within me. I realized then that the plot of this anime was set up so fantastically well that it was comparable to actual English novels I used to read back in the day. Yes! An anime whose plot could actually be published in a story and would sell feverishly well? I had never imagined that this day would come. Animes nowadays have bland, linear plots that involves solely with dealing with obstacle after obstacle they encounter that plot fails to stimulate me. Indeed, plots like those are more likely in manga adaptations where you need a short amount of time to spark a desire in people to want more of the story. Light Novels, on the other hand, are often received terribly in their anime forms because 1) the LN's that receive adaptations have to resort to unreal amounts of fan service to ramp up viewerbase or 2) the plot can't advance fast enough in 1 season to make it popular. I'm starting to ramble now haha. However, it still stands that the plot of Toji no Miko still amazes me amidst the plots of more famous animes that came out and are coming out. I began to wonder why people disliked this anime. Among the reviews I read, the majority of them stated that the plot was clichè. What???? I literally have question marks popping out of my head. The story has long casted off what I thought would be a battle school anime, and it turned into an all out war -- a story of espionage and a fight between the inner machinations of government, a fight almost entirely shut out from the general public. Wherever have you seen an anime like this? I do so need recommendations for animes whose plot can progress in such a fashion comparable to bone fide novels and TV shows. I began to think that the fallacy lies in the way the show presents itself -- that people couldn't see the show for what it actually is. Indeed, the show drowns in its failed characterizations -- as I said before, Kanami, the talkative happy go lucky "I will save everyone for the sake of saving everyone" Hiyori -- the quiet "my only goal is to take revenge" Mai -- the useless "I want to be useful to my friends" Sayaka -- the kuudere "I want to be stronger because I am weak" Ellen -- the blonde haired foreigner whose only purpose and redeeming qualities in the story are her large breasts and Kaoru -- the lazy girl whose only purpose and redeeming quality is her ability to complain about how small her breasts are (jk, Kaoru actually has a big part to the plot and overall story which I'll explain later) People who watch this story are only entertained to the main characters and who they are -- which aren't much, and they're forced to pay less attention to the overall story, which is where all the gold is. Alas, the weakness of Japanese writers: they create such a good story, but they characterize their characters like normal anime characters :( I'll talk more about why I think this story is so good -- and why most people probably aren't able to recognize this as well. Throughout the entire story, you're forced to watch the story from a black and white point of view -- you're rooting for the main characters' side, and you're rooting against whoever obstructs the main characters' side. However, what you don't realize is that the story isn't a two sided coin like this. There's no right or wrong. And while it may take some time to realize this - certainly took me some time as well, when you do manage to realize it, it makes the show seem like a masterpiece that was written by a well renowned author with awards lined up to be given to them. Throughout the story, you may think it disgusting that people would willingly inject aradama into themselves. You see these people as 'bad'. This all stems from your misunderstanding that aradama is bad. Aradama originally is a byproduct that is produced as a result of forging the steel used to create okatanas. It's humans that disrupt the peace of aradama from their home in the netherworld. Juujou Kagari's decison to perish alone along with the Tagitsu-hime was not wrong. Neither was Minato's decision to save her. Neither was Origami Yukari's decision thereafter. The Elite Guard's unwavering loyalty to Origami Yukari is not wrong either. They each had their own reasons for injecting aradama into themselves. They each had their own ideals and and their own misunderstandings about the real situation that was unfolding in secret. The principal of Ayanokouji was not wrong in experimenting with aradama. She had wished for the world to be a fairer place -- and though that aradama could bring about that fairness. Even the principal of Renpu, while one may be hard-pressed to admit, was n…

Winter 2018 was a great season filled with beloved animes. Violet Evergarden, Yuru Camp, A place further than the universe,... just to name a few. With that much shows, it's natural that some good animes went under the radar. Unfortunately, the anime I talk about today is one of them, a great original action fantasy by studio Gokumi: Toji no Miko. Young girls with special abilities to fight monsters that can scatter the Earth is surely not a new thing, but even amongst various shows with similar themes. Toji no Miko is still a unique anime that stand above the rest. Throughout history, an elite group of shrine maidens known as "Toji" have saved the world from "Aratama," strange and malevolent beings bent on destroying humanity. Kanami Etou is young Kendo practitioner and a very good one with an undominable will for justice and love. One day, an unexpected twist of fate sent her on a journey with a mysterious partner Hiyori Juuyou, a quest that rather or not bring peace to the world she loves. What makes Toji no Miko special is its naturally adventurous feeling we get while watching it. Everything moves in a fast pace while making sure the viewers get the slightest about its world settings and the connections between characters. Speaking of characters, our two protagonists got tremendous amount of development as the stories progress along with the colorful casts with various personalities which dont feel flat or one-dimensional. To me, that's something very rare in anime nowsaday. The animation is very fluid when moving back and forth with traditional 2D animation and the CGI used for the Aratama. The darker choice of colors fit the tone of the show perfectly while still making sure it's bright enough for the standard of modern anime. But the characters design is kinda generic as you can see the same from many animes before. The soundtrack is nothing great in particular. But the VAs are pretty good. Pleasant to hear, Japanese is such a beautiful language. Overall, I think Toji no Miko is a massively underappreciadted. It saddens my heart to see such a great anime to go to waste. It has my highest recommendation. Check it out!

You would think this is one of those where it's just a normal action sword anime but I'm going to go with my initial impression here. These are some great characters caught in a decent story. It's not bad because it does pretty good in everything it does, it's a proficient anime. Kaname is easily the best character but that's for good reason, I mean you can see the pure amount of passion with her as well as her voice work and design. She is the strongest and a decent op. They actually go through the effort of having her training even while she's sleeping (in her dreams) and that's wild! Takatsu is pretty predictable and Nomi is pretty annoying but it has something of a payoff in the end. The first half of this anime is pretty solid which I didn't really expect, the name "Katana Maidens" sounds like another pervy anime about girls with swords but it took the high road and made an actual anime. The second half just builds on that and doesn't lack in any sort of quality compared to the first season, it stayed fresh. The action is pretty well done with a little bit of 3D modelling and angling which I respect if done right. The music isn't half bad either, there were times that the theme sounded pretty good in the background, the one complaint I have on that front is that in the final battle it uses the opening sequence song and it kind of killed the vibe in my opinion but whatever. The ending itself was pretty satisfying and there were times where I was like 'this isn't the final episode?!' but there are a few ticks here and there that nodded towards something for them afterwards that I wasn't too fond of. The whole series really envelopes the character and the sword that they wield, echoes of the past and does it all with a good delivery, I'll give it an 8.

The first 3 episodes are good and got me really hooked , they showcase the different styles of japanese swordsmanship. I was hoping they'd continue doin' that but episode after episode I didn't realized I finished the series. There are too many characters , but they focused on two. I was hoping they would do more backstory for the main 2 characters. So little time they had. Also there were bad 3d , as gigguk would describe it so beware. The adults didn't get much action. This is unrelated but I wish Tite Kubo didn't mess up Bleach. I don't know what else to say .

Ohhh boy, Toji no Miko is one of the shakiest starts to a season LA had seen in a while, but it got better...then worse...then better, what LA is saying is that Toji no Miko was a shaky ride through and through. Toji no Miko is an anime original anime about what are essentially miko sword maidens who kill Aratama's (demons in general) where they are trained in an academy, HOWEVER for a shaky start of a series, the first episode, the leaping point to attract audience was actually pretty great where the main characters Kanami Etou voiced by Kaede Hondo and Hiyori Juujou voiced by Saori Oonishi tries to take down the school head Yukari Origami voiced by Asami Seto have evil intentions and even have a hand in the Aratama's and they along with the rebel faction who is against Yukari. However for this plot, it just takes SOO LONG in order to get to this point and there are some friendship and character developments from both sides. Kanami and Hiyori's friendship easily grows as well as getting to know the newer characters like Eren Kohagura voiced by Eri Suzuki, the genki character to Kaoru Mashiko voiced by Risae Matsuda's cynical diminutive yet brash character and later on Sayaka Itomi voiced by Hina Kino, the quiet one who doesn't have many social skills and once in Yukari's faction and Mai Yanase voiced by Azumi Waki, Kanami's best friend but the mother figure to the entire cast. As for the villains, Suzuka Konohana voiced by M.A.O, Maki Shidou voiced by Yumi Uchiyama, Yomi Satsuki voiced by Mai Fuchiyama and Yume Tsubakuro voiced by Inori Minase gets development and really the main cast tries to talk and later battle it out as to what Yukari's true intentions are...the only exceptions to this however being Yomi and Yume, Yomi because it's all she has and she's consumed by the Aratama's power and Yume because she's batshit blood hungry...seriously. Yes, LA will say this but LA probably told the the first HALF of the anime to what happens to all these characters and yes, the huge cast of characters doesn't help with the character development screentime of many of the characters and it doesn't help as the halfway climax ending only brings in MORE characters afterwards and them also taking away some of the main cast's screentime and them developing now LA isn't saying that due to the large cast of characters means none of the cast members have no development, as the anime throughout does develop many of the core cast, from Kanami's always genki attitude and her knowing the world building to Toji no Miko's world along with Hiyori to knowing Kaoru's backstory and her personality a bit more, Eren's family gets more screentime and like Kaoru how she got the personality she got and probably LA's favourite of Sayaka finding out that not all Aratama's are just plain evil as some can live with humanity. Overall, LA's faovurite character development came from Sayaka, LA's favorite villain was Yume (seriously the DRAGON to the first major villain) and LA's favourite overall character was Hiyori by the end of the series. So...Toji no Miko for LA was one of the shakiest animes releases and onwards and it didn't quell for some time for LA for some odd reasoning, LA might have easily said it was the pacing, from a slow slog and giving us character development and world building fine but the anime goes to a freakin' crawl feeling almost fillery and wasting time, the first half it definitely felt like this but the second half was different at the very least. The second half does get more interesting than the first half, as ultimately for LA, the first half's and heck first episode subtlety new direction it took off away from the typical "school of kids beat up demons"...into "taking down the HEAD of the school the main cast were in and eliminating the corruption that dwells in the school where the Aratama has seated themselves in". The second half gives us a more narratively focused structure, giving us certain character development proper what was slightly shown in the first season, gives us world building in terms of the politics and the militaristic force of Toji no Miko's world in taking down the Aratama's and best yet a secret concerning the major villain as well as Kanami and Hiyori AND the first half's villain...yeah we're getting that as well. You can easily tell that LA was MUCH more interested in the second half than the first half as the kid gloves and the slow slog is gone and instead replaced by world building, character development and moving the plot smoothly even when a character focused episode is concerned. LA thinks the biggest problem with Toji no Miko is the abundance of characters that LA will talk/write sooo much more than this, like Kanami's fan who's OBSESSED with fighting with Kanami, Yomi's superior Yukina Takatsu who's a semi-yandere towards Yukari and later on the major villain of later half, Sana Maniwa voiced by Romi Park, the drill sergeant nasty to Kaoru...yeah LA isn't even skimming the surface, LA didn't even talk about the major villain of the later half, the newer and older allies, villains, family members, support characters and third party characters all in all this and it makes screentime to this anime nigh impossible to get full backstories of many of these characters let alone if they have a force in the plot or not. So, the animation done by Studio Gokumi, well the character designs are pretty to say the least with a bit of shine to them not to mention the VERY exotic cast of characters overall that Gokumi managed to create. -sigh- Toji no Miko incorporates 3D, not only for it's Aratama's BUT also.......in it's battles...and no this isn't like ufotable blending 2D and 3D CGI together to make it seamless, instead it's entirely CGI of the HUMAN characters and the battle is JANKY because of it and it's similar to seeing the rapid yet easily noticeable CGI shifts from 2D to CGI of Love Live's first season. Like Love Live did that in it's choreography and they used it sparingly, Toji no Miko meanwhile does it ANY CHANCE it can even if a character tries to swing their blade in ONE MOTION, and back to the comparison, Love Live's CGI got better by the second season, Toji no Miko had a similar amount of time and the CGI company Graphinica did NOT improve it's CGI AT all, as applying CGI to a human character doing a fast motion just doesn't work, in LA's eyes and it becomes easily noticeable right off the bat, the Aratama's CGI makes sense as they are non-human let alone if the anime is entirely CGI LA would excuse the human CGI motions, but Toji no Miko's CGI just tears down and makes almost every battle janky to the point of battles being nothing but clash of blades and NONE of the flair. As much as LA ragged on the CGI, the animation is overall good, not great as it has some derpy jankiness in terms of quality here and there but overall...the animation was fine...not great...just fine, but the CGI...does LA even need to say more? The voice acting, is pretty standard in terms of an almost all girls cast, with the typical wide range of vocals but also mostly moe vocals, especially from Kanami's voice actor Kaede Hondo but Saori Oonishi's Hiyori with her stoic no nonsense attitude was good nonetheless. Eri Suzuki's engrish genki was good as Eren and along with Risae Matsuda's Kaoru constant no fucks given personality seeping to her vocals was good as well. LA could go on but LA will say there are TWO MVP's in this anime for LA at least (if LA went through the entire cast LA would be here all day) and those two would be Hiyori's Saori Oonishi as she was LA's favourite character and Saori did go through some wide range of emotions and changes in terms of character from the stoic loner to the opened up, near tsundere level as Hiyori, the other would be Inori Minase as Yume as she was the resident crazy blood hungry character and Inori Minase brings her insanity to Yume but ALSO made Yume both a crazy yet sympathetic character by the…

Katana Maidens This was a pretty good series that does well in a lot of ways and fails in others. I'm only writing this review because I have a tendency to review series I either love or hate...this is me compromising for everything in between. To be honest, I went in thinking this would be like any of the other million shows involving magical girls or something similar. There's even a subgenre for Samurai/ninja magical girls like "Release the Spyce", "Armed Girls Machiavellism", or "Oh! Samurai Girls"! I'm not certain what the deal is with these shows in Japan, but it's not something we in the west are familiar with. That being said, I actually like some shows like this, particularly if it's a harem (throw a guy in the middle and it's even more humorous). Either way, "Katana Maidens" definitely falls into this subgenre, but distinguishes itself in many ways! First and foremost, this show sets itself apart by taking itself seriously. What I mean is, plenty of the aforementioned examples are either comedies or harems (and most of the others in the "powerful samurai/ninja girls" subgenre are basically the same). Katana Maidens has a pretty rich lore, good voice acting, and a few emotional scenes I didn't expect. It would appear they went into this series thinking it would be a hit. To be honest, I doubt many others have even given it a chance. If there's even the slightest chance someone may like it though, they definitely should give it a chance. SPOILERS from here on out except the conclusion/last paragraph: I personally liked the intro episodes where the tournament occurs and the main characters have to escape after an attempted assassination of Yukari Origami. Both of the girls are unique in their own right and I enjoyed most of what I saw from them. I'll admit I got slightly choked up later in the series when Hiyori is about to condemn herself to the depths of the underworld and Kanami breaks down in protest. It's just a nice moment between best friends that I couldn't help but sympathize. I also really liked their dynamic: while one is quiet, solemn, and singularly focused...the other is friendly, forthright, and free-spirited. It's not super original, but it makes for great TV. The character design was really my favorite part of this show though. I'm mostly referencing the humans, but there are a few demons or underworlders that really stand out. For the first half of the series, I could not get over just how cool Yukari Origami's design was. Don't know what it is about villains (or redeemed villains), but I always like them the most in any series unless they're just completely awful. I don't know if it was her hair cut or how she carried herself, but Origami definitely was one of the more stand outish characters of the series. Another villain I grew fond of was Yume of the Imperial Guard. In her case not only was she just a freak of nature when it came to ability, she had a lot of great dialogue (the bloodlust was less than original but still fun). She had a lot of conviction and great moments because of it. My last favorite of the demon crew is Princess Tagitsuhime of the underworld, although I'm not certain if she counts as one or four (her two "clones" and her possession of Origami). The design for all the princesses were by far some of the best character design I've seen in anime period. To expand on this statement, there's a scene toward the end around episode 21 I think, where Princess Tagitsu breaks free of Hiyori's body and you see the demon eyeballs on her clothing come out one by one as her sinister smile eventually comes into frame. It's just a cool and well animated scene that made getting to the end worth it for me. I know I've bragged on Hiyori already, but I honestly felt she was the only person on the good side, aside from Yukari Origami in the latter half of the series, that had a unique design. Most of the good guys blend together, especially after they acquire that upgraded gear from Helen's grandfather. But Hiyori stands out not just by her actions and personality, but also with the form she takes after teaming up with Princess Ichikishimahime and becomes the "thunder god". Really that just made a great character even more amazing and it speaks to the thought put into each individual or at least most of the important ones. Even though it was difficult to remember most of the names they threw out, I still recognized each individual character once I saw them. But yea, the thunder god scene was pretty fun to watch altogether. As much as the show stands out for what it's done right, it also has some glaring flaws that ultimately lead to me giving it less points than it I had intended. One thing that a lot of fighting shows do in general is have their characters wait around for exposition, and I can't stand it. It's wild how many conversations these girls are having while crossing blades. At one point, Evil Yukari is fighting with Kanami and Hiyori, and screams out for them to hurry and kill her while she has full control of the body. Of course, both Kanami and Hiyori just stand there dumbfounded, missing the opportunity to end it all right there. But even in the basic fights, so many of them could have been won if the person hadn't stood there allowing their opponent to reqroup. This goes for any of the characters who lost in a duel...they just stood there talking instead of finishing off their opponent...c'mon. Another glaring negative was the animation. Not so much the majority of the show, but specifically the fight scenes. It switches from classic animation to a 3d cgi, which looks absolutly terrible and boring. Now I understand it's cheaper, and for a new series, that's critical, but if I could have better animation at the cost of epsiode quantity, I'd make that trade. Honestly for how much fighting there is, it was really disappointing. Again, I get there's a budget. I suppose under the circumstances it could've been worse for sure, like the entire season done in 3D! I really don't have much to complain about. Yes the story is a little predictable with some dull characters and a confusing plot, but it makes up for it in a lot of ways. I honestly believe that had they focused on polishing it just a bit more, it would've been significantly more popular. Although, I'm not sure just how popular it was regardless, so who knows, maybe I'm alone in that thought. I can say for sure that there are some precious moments that are nice to see and some really memorable characters. Music was great as well. In the scene after Hiyori has the Princess rip out of her, a beautiful song comes on that I don't remember hearing for the rest of the series. Regardless, it has well placed music that was performed very well. There's just a lot of things that made this series much more worth it to watch rather than skip and God knows I've skipped most of the series similar to this one or in the genre. The fact I'm even writing a review, for what seems to be an unoriginal series, says it all.

I think what really spoiled this show for me was the foundation of the story (and I'll try to avoid spoilage as best as can). The lead character and her predecessor in the story both act out of so-called love and, as a result, many people die. Instead of making the hard, painful choice that would end a tremendous, destructive evil, both choose their own feelings. And neither pays a price for it. They are both seen as heroic, even as innocent people continue to die because of their actions. If you are someone who watches an anime like this for the swordfights and the story with no regard for the moral implications *in the world of the story• – my critique won't matter to you. In terms of basics, the story is pretty standard. There are a few characters that stand out for not being cookie-cutter. The ending is just magical anime happiness. Smiles all around. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable enough magical swordgirls fighting demonic evils type of anime. It's better than a lot of them. They make an attempt at character development, moral ambiguity, etc. It doesn't work as well as I would like, but I did sit and watch all 24 episodes and am likely to do so again in a few years.

((Review: English - Español)) ** English= For me, it's one of the best anime I've ever seen, which is why I'm giving it a 10 out of 10. I say this because it's a series that has a lot going for it: action, drama, suspense, psychological elements, subtle yuri undertones, sword-fighting girls, and more. It's a battle anime about sword-wielding girls who must protect the Earth from evil creatures, which isn't a very common premise in anime, and that's what makes it so special. The battles aren't epic, but they get the job done. This, combined with the high-quality animation (I watched it on Blu-ray), makes for a great experience. Episode 24 (which, for me, is the true ending of the series, beyond the two OVAs) was particularly special and nostalgic, to the point where it almost made me shed a tear. In conclusion, if you like action and drama anime with a good story, featuring girls who risk their lives fighting, plus great animation, this is the anime for you. The closest thing I've seen to it is Assault Lily BOUQUET, although that one is a short anime with a very concise and less developed plot. ** Español= Para mi, es de los mejores animes que he visto en mi vida, por eso le pongo la nota de 10, y lo digo porque es una serie que tiene muchos ingredientes: acción, drama, suspenso, sicológico, yuri sutil, chicas espadachinas, etc. Es un anime de combate de chicas espadachinas que tienen que proteger la tierra de unas criaturas malvadas, cosa que no es muy común ver en el anime, por eso lo hace muy especial. Las batallas no son épicas pero cumplen con su cometido, esto sumado a la buena animación que tiene este anime (yo lo vi en una versión Bluray). El capítulo 24 (que para mi es el verdadero final de la serie, más allá de las 2 ovas) fue muy especial y nostálgico, a tal punto que casi me hace soltar alguna lágrima. En conclusión, si te gustan los animes de acción y drama, con una buena historia, con chicas que arriesgan su vida combatiendo, sumado a una buena animación, este es tu anime. Lo más parecido que he visto es Assault Lily BOUQUET, aunque este es un anime corto con una trama muy concreta y no tan desarrollada.

Recommendation: Could best be described as "cute girls doing cool things". It's an underrated series with similar vibes to a mahou shoujo, and is worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing, though not worth going out of your way to see if you aren't. Plot: The series follows Etou Kanami, Juujou Hiyori and their friends as fight off demons called aradama with their special swords called "okatanas". This is a 2 cour series, but each cour is really best understood as a separate season, with a hard reset and entirely new story beginning in episode 13. The first follows Hiyori's grudge against Origami Yukari, and Kanami's eventual entanglement in it. It struggles with the introduction, with no explanation given for why Kanami has suddenly thrown her life away to help this girl she's never met initially. Eventually a convincing explanation does come, but it takes too long to get there. Once it finds its footing, it gets very entertaining though. The second cour picks up several months after the events of the first and covers the 6 girls and their allies' attempts to defeat the evil god Princess Tagitsu. The 2nd cour is better than the 1st, largely because the early episodes don't get bogged down as much in introductions and exposition, but both are pretty strong overall, if relatively straightforward. One issue I had with the plot was a lack of stakes, which seems odd to say about a show where the apocalypse is in play. But most of the sword fights are done using "utsushi", a sort of combat projection that allows people to take fatal blows or lose limbs with only minor damage to their "real" body. As a result, the fights often lack intensity, knowing that the loser will be completely fine regardless of what happens. Occasionally the show throws a curveball and a few characters do die permanently, but mostly everyone will always be fine, even the villains, and even people who seem to have died. The obvious comparison of this series is to Yuuki Yuuna, as it has similar plot beats and main characters, but Toji no Miko lacks the darker edge that Yuuki Yuuna had. To some, that will preferable, but I thought it was missing the emotional stakes that made Yuuki Yuuna so memorable. Audio/Visual: The audio is pretty strong, the sounds of the clashing swords and other battle noises are crisp and dynamic, the VA work for the girls is varied and professional, and the music is very solid. Visually, it is somewhat lacking. The obvious point of contention here is going to be the use of partial CGI for the fight animations, but I didn't think they looked completely terrible. It does look too much like a video game at points, but they do a good job of mostly using it during wide shots where uncanny valley faces and overly smooth movement aren't as noticeable. I would have preferred it without the CGI no doubt, but it could have been much worse. Some of the character designs are also a bit uninspired and the Storm Armor that they wear later in the series looks kind of corny and is too sci fi for the setting. Characters: There's a big cast and, impressively, they do a good job of giving everyone the necessary screentime and development that you rarely see in an adaptation of a gacha game like this. My personal favorite was the constantly put-upon Kaoru and her sword that was 3 times longer than she was tall. She steals every single scene she's in. The other characters are mostly fun as well, although I found Hiyori unfortunately generic for being one of the main characters. Kanami as Queen Sword Dork does a good job at carrying most of the scenes involving them to make up for Hiyori however. The action scenes are mostly fine, but the series is at its best with its character comedy. The series composition was done by Takashi Aoshima, best known for writing the adaptations of CGDCT tentpole franchises like Yuru Yuri and Gabriel Dropout, and you can expect similar vibes from the show during the less serious scenes. My one real complaint here aside from Hiyori is that the show feels the need to redeem all of its villains or make you feel sad in some way at their defeat. It's a good thing to do occasionally to add complexity to a story, but gets tiring when they try to extract sympathy from every single antagonist, including a literal god that's trying to destroy the world. Overall, a fun action-comedy with some light drama and lots of cute girls with swords. It's pretty straightforward and doesn't do much that's new, though the plot does flash some surprising depth on occasion, but it's an entertaining 24 episodes and one I'm glad I stuck with in spite of the slow start.