Nippon Sangoku

Anime. Our beloved medium, especially in modern times, is synonymous with waifus with voluptuous bouncy milkers, loli vampires with a lifetime spanning aeons, and cute autistic kuudere elven waifus, and protagonists so dense he would make The Kowloon Walled City blush. Sometimes, though, there will be shows that decide to be a bit grown-up about it, rejecting such childish and uncouth tropes and tackling more intellectually stimulating topics such as strategies and war, which demands its viewers to put their big boy pants on to engage. However, a lot of them are not as sophisticated as they might have led you to believe, such as is the case with Nippon Sangoku. Peeling off its posh exterior of Sun Tzu and Zhuge Liang's coat paint, you get a show filled to the brim with inconsistencies and shallow characters. A military strategy series is typically populated with the usual cast of edgy, emo sternface Mcgee who likes to mope around all sad about their family and the looming threat of death from war. While this can be set up for deep emotional and psychologically compelling exploration of a character, it tends to get dull and drags the pacing down to an agonising degree. Fear not, as Nippon Sangoku has figured out a great solution to this dilemma by amping the silliness of its characters into caricature territory. That’s why we get such riveting characters as Kawaii-desu ugly bastard dictator Taira, who is constantly doing peace signs like he is posing for a gravure idol photoshoot, and his pet and yesman, the figurehead emperor with severe incontinence problems where his body fluids oozes out of his every pore every scene he is in. The main characters feature rice-ball-squeezing fujo boy Asama and his Gary Stu boyfriend Aoteru, who is a tactical genius with a dark past, a lust for vengeance because Taira killed his cute waifu. There is also Ryumon, who is bald with an eyepatch, making him exude aura every time he is on screen, like Japanese Nick Fury. The main antagonist for this particular arc is Wajima, who looks like she leads an army of Only Fans’ simps, who can’t help but ogle at her whenever she speaks or looks at them with her oh so precious smile. I don’t mind a bit of silliness, of course, but you have to expand these characters further than just caricatures. These characters are shallow, and with the exaggerated personalities, make it clear that the show is trying to make up for them in the characterisation department. They also clash with the overall tone of the show. The most important thing of all is that they are not entertaining or humorous enough to carry the show on their own, especially with a bloated Narita-esque cast like this. NS is often praised for its realistic and ingenious strategies. This is, of course, due to the show taking a lot of it straight out of Three Kingdoms and Sun Tzu's War Manual. In order not to be accused of plagiarism, they decide to make certain alterations that are questionable to say the least. The most notable one is the Empty Fort Strategy. This tactic is inspired by Three Kingdoms, in which Zhuge Liang deployed it to stall Sima Yi's troops for his men to retreat effectively. Nippon Sangoku changes the execution of the strategy and makes it look asinine in comparison. First of all, there is no fort. This is a bold choice because a fortress, big or small, provides the claustrophobic threat of being ambushed by the opponents on high ground. Thus, by eliminating it, it significantly lowers the potential for Ryumon’s troop to bypass their numerical disadvantage and demands truly good writing, which leads me to my next point. Instead of creating some forms of fog of war to make up for the lack of fort, the show makes the brilliant decision to position Ryumon on a bridge in the middle of a river, thus removing the possibility of his troops being stationed around him. The only place his troops could be deployed is at Ryumon’s back. Third, Wajima is demonstrated to be a talented archer before the battle, but they still make her move in closer for the execution shot. If they are so afraid of an ambush, why move in close to take the shot? Fourth, they actually mixed up the order of the timing of the retreat order. Aoteru's retreat order is supposed to be before the Bridge Battle for Ryumon’s scheme to make any sense. In the original R3K, it was used as a stall tactic, but here it seems like Ryumon was doing it just to aurafarm. I was under the impression that Ryumon's army was backed up into a corner. If they could just retreat, holding Fukui just seems like a terrible tactic. Not to mention, Ryumon's following Kaku's proposal to split up from the main army is irrational because now Ryumon's troop, with a significantly lower number, has to fend off Seii's big squadron in Fukui. It's beyond comprehension. The final, most baffling thing is that Wajima bails out of the fight after missing her first shot. Why would she do this? She is already in range for an ambush. Why not just take another shot? Seii heavily outnumbers Yamato in Fukui, and they have intel, and with the battle setup like this, the threat of a successful ambush is practically non-existent. Instead of Ryumon looking like a daredevil badass, it makes Seii incompetent and stupid. Aside from the laughable, terrible execution of a crucial tactic in the biggest turning point in the show, there is also a heavy amount of romanticization and mythologization that detracts from the “realism” the show is going for. Just to give you an idea, in the infamous Bridge Battle, to illustrate that Ryumon somehow gets some form of blessing from God, the arrow shot from Wajima at point-blank range directly in his face gets Deus-Ex’d and misses. Another one is the absurdly short time frame they give to Aoteru’s miraculous soldier-farmer policy, yielding ridiculous results as an attempt to demonstrate his Gary Stu prowess with all tell and no show. Random fodder soldiers standing up against Taira knowing he’s got the emperor’s favour only to get beheaded on the spot to demonstrate his ruthlessness; Moriyama, a chief clerk despite being Ryuumon’s retainer for 15 years decides to propose an allegiance with Seii, their most powerful adversary at the time, just to get refuted by Kaku to demonstrate Kaku’s brilliant gift of the gab; the speed of Seii’s blitzkrieg getting over 50k soldiers across mountainous terrain compared to the predicted 10k because their road was just that wide, I presume; Yayakichi sacrifices himself to boost the stake and emotional weight despite the Bridge Battle not even be that big of a blunder (Why couldn’t they just demote a couple of guys, or better yet, demote Yayakichi himself? Why does Yayakichi need to be executed when Seii is desperately in need of manpower?) It seems like they are constantly in dire need to create tension and drama to elevate the character’s abilities to an almost satirical level. I am aware this type of romanticization exists in this sort of media. It’s to create a more lasting impression on the viewers, to leave them in awe, but when the crux of these moments is so trivial, it just comes off as campy, cheesy, and gratuitous. The worldbuilding of the show itself is also wishy-washy. This is supposed to be set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, where society regresses to the Meiji era. There is a mix of weaponry like guns, swords, bows, and arrows. There are rusty cars and highways, which makes me wonder why there is a need for them to ride horses or use primitive weapons like swords or bows. They have gunpowder, so how have explosives not seen more widespread use? The setting or world-building doesn’t make any sense because it has no ties to the characters or battles, and even conflicts with the time period it takes place in. It is merely there for a sense of aesthetic and romance, but in turn, creates all sorts of discrepancies and detracts from the immersion of the "realistic" tactics. The only positive thing I could say abou…

Nippon Sangoku is the kind of show that anime needs more of. An intelligent and engaging plot, interesting and lovable/hateable characters, intense scenes, beautiful animation and direction and a nice unique soundtrack all come together to make it one of the better anime of the year. It's definitely an anime you can't afford to miss out on if you're tired of the usual fare, and just want something a little more mature and unique. Story/Plot Being a military based anime, Nippon Sangoku’s story feels very reminiscent of classic war dramas like Attack on Titan, Kingdom and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. With the three warring factions you have action, politics, military strategy and mind games. From the beginning, the show gets straight to the point. Every episode is filled with meaningful scenes that propel the show forward. The show takes its time to meticulously plan out and explain the context for everyone involved so that what’s going on is well understood by viewers. Once it’s finished setting up, the main conflict begins and becomes very hard to predict while being engaging all the way through. After a certain point, every episode is filled with intense developments for the story in a way that feels natural but also surprising. Since this season feels like only the introduction to a much larger conflict, it’s hard to judge the story as a whole, but from what we’ve seen so far, it’s a tense ride with lots of moving parts. Story Score: 9 Characters This show leans more towards developing plot than characters, but this doesn’t mean the characters are not good. While they aren’t overly complex or go though life-changing development all the time, the characterization for the show is fantastic. Each character has a distinct and memorable personality, and the show is a masterclass at making you love and hate characters that were just introduced. Another strength is that the cast is competent. Characters know what they are doing and are intelligent. Even when they mess up, the context and reasoning behind those actions are well illustrated so it doesn’t feel like the characters are dumb for no reason. Character Score: 8.5 Animation/Direction The animation is great. The show has many instances of fluid and creative animation and excellent use of colour and striking imagery all while using a somewhat unique artstyle. Even when scenes are just filled with dialogue, there is care to add movement, striking imagery, and dynamic camera angles to make them more engaging. It always feels good to look at and at times can be quite cinematic. Animation/Direction Score: 9 Music The music isn’t a core part of this show to the point of where it defines the show itself, but it does its job to help heighten the scenes. There is some good variety to the music, sometimes there's epic orchestrals, tense jazzy music, or uplifting guitar solos. It aids the scenes really well but the soundtrack also knows when to be more subdued as well. Music Score: 8.5 Enjoyment Nippon Sangoku is an entertaining ride all the way through. It gets you invested in all aspects and characters of the story. If you enjoy the complexities of war and society, post-apocalyptic settings, military anime, the Meiji Era (think Rurouni Kenshin or Golden Kamuy) and smart characters doing smart things, the show will be a blast to watch. The music and animation are a treat as well meaning the anime isn’t just carried by its writing too. Viewers will be inspired, intrigued, angry, happy and tense all throughout the show. Enjoyment Score: 10 Negatives to Consider: 1) The show is centered in Japan, meaning a lot of the time, locations unfamiliar to non-Japanese will be mentioned frequently which may be confusing. I do believe that the show does a great job showing things on the map so that viewers can see what is happening, but it can be hard for someone to follow if they don’t have a good grasp of geography and terrain. This leads to my second point. 2) This isn’t a show you can watch and only half pay attention to. You may miss key explanations for events and characters, without which may seem like things came out of nowhere or are unexplained. It requires full focus and attention. 3) Even though it is a war show, it’s not filled with battles every episode. A lot of the time conflicts are smaller, or the focus is on military strategy instead. It doesn’t rely on massive set piece battles like Kingdom or Lord of the Rings. If you’re expecting action to fill up the run time, you may be disappointed. 4) This story is one massive homage to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Art of War, the Sengoku period and other legendary stories across East Asia. This means that a lot of events are based on stories or legends that may or may not have happened. Because some arcs reference legendary events, your suspension of disbelief may be tested since what happens may not necessarily be realistic. The show isn’t trying to be a realistic war drama but rather a reimagined legend based in the future.

What if you took Kingdom and stripped it of its plot and rich strategy? You get Nippon Sangoku. One of my biggest nits with this show is the fact that it puts up a front of strategy, but instead of diving deep into game theory and having each side as trying as hard as they can until they get genuinely outplayed, most victories come from one side displaying cartoon-level foolishness or the writers pulling shit out of their ass to save an unwinable situation. Furthermore, the characters are not believable at all. Misumi doesn't have to work his way up the ladder through hard work and demonstrated achievement. Instead, he has one lucky stroke (the agriculture policy he implemented) and all of a sudden he has the complete trust of his seniors. So much so in fact that they were willing to bet the entire success of the war on him figuring out a riddle. I'm sorry, but if you are a smart and rational person like General Ryuumon, do you not hedge your gamble as much as possible? You would plan something like "If Misumi succeeds, we do X. If he fails, we do Y. If Taira discovers our plan, we do Z." Also, Taira's faction is overpowered. He's a big bad guy who can execute anyone he wants, whenever he wants, with nobody to actually enforce any consequences against him. So of course he would execute Ryuumon and Misumi whenever he felt it, right? Nope. Apparently those two have plot armor for some reason. The show never answered the question of what actual influence Ryuumon's faction had against Taira's faction, so why didn't Taira just get rid of them? The fact that this show is so highly rated is a crime. The writing infuriates me, because so much of it is just an average anime's plot dressed up as something profound. No, it's definitely not when you put in a modicum of intelligence thinking about it.

Nippon Sangoku checks off a lot of good things in their good animation, plot, and a variety of characters for you to like and dislike. The convictions of the characters make sense and the setting is also interesting in the fact that it happens in a post-nuclear war Japan. It's a decent watch if you're just looking for something to watch for the sake of watching. However don't go in expecting to really take anything away from this anime. It's main focus is the overarching storyline and is incredibly fast paced and in turn sacrifices fleshing out really memorable characters. You generally know what they all want to accomplish but there's nothing that really draws you to any which character. As if they're all just kind of there on one big chess board game to fulfill a certain role but are essentially just lifeless pieces. Now that I think of it, it has the same vibe as Classroom of the Elite where the author tries really hard to make the plot and everything seem big brain but at the end of it all it doesn't really carry much substance other than the satisfaction of seeing the MC's plan come together. Mind you I've only watched two seasons of that and dropped it so take that with a grain of salt. Anywho I'd really only recommend this if you like a lot of political drama and quips from Sun Tzu and other figures cause there's no end of that. Otherwise it's nothing really amazing to write home about.

"Painfully delusional." -- the following is an examination of how a tired and boring lead, as well as a completely invalidating ending, can make something so worthy of praise hard to recommend. reader discretion is advised. -- I don't want to tag this as a spoiler because, despite later in this review me examining events in a lens that could definitely be seen as such while still attempting to avoid too specific specifics, I think it's really important for anyone interested in picking up this show to know this right off the bat. Nippon Sangoku has a weak lead protagonist and not only fails to stick the landing of everything it sets out to do, but rather completely breaks both legs without fail upon impact of the lackluster arc conclusion / next arc introduction. Aoteru is like Ayanokouji or Akiyama or any other 'A'-starting character that goes on big monologues and one-ups noobs through pure skill and "well I never said" as all these dweebs try to be like Columbo with half the swag, yet Akiyama and even Ayanokouji feel like they have backing to their claims, control of situations, and motivations that, while mysterious, make sense and are at least less eye-rolling than blatant revenge based on something revealed immediately that could've been prevented by... not being a mediocre writer? Aoteru frequently finds himself in situations where any other character would be ridiculed or senselessly beaten or straight-up murdered, and yet he's allowed to just tortuously yap on and on about something and somehow end up convincing those that are seen as the most stubborn or fearful of change. He's standing in this big room, full of people that hate him and/or want him dead, and one person he has to convince that's been shown to be very small and spineless, and as he's going on and on, he gets interrupted a few times: "wow, i can't believe you would say that when this and that and wow, u r so freakin' lame and dumb" and everyone laughs and Aoteru responds with "i never said that bro" and a shock gets sent through the room... wow, sure showed them man, facts and logic don't CARE ABOUT UR FEELINGS. I don't find him cool when his eyes glow blue and his soft spoken, powerful words kill them with statements rather than swords - he's away from what is happening and is just following orders, whatever, get me back to the cool stuff. The show puts him on the backburner to focus on this fight between two nations, highlighting the leaders and strategists of this war as they use their well of knowledge for combat to strike each other. Relationships are tested, stakes are high, and each opponent seems capable, at different times, of winning! It is intriguing, it has a lot of give'n'take that feels like a true battle with low reinforcements and cunning wits to get through predicaments, sacrifices that feel heavy, and after all of it is said and done... it means absolutely nothing because the accomplishments of each character is completely vanquished from meaning anything other than "well, there's context for where we are now." Getting into the spoilers now. Aoteru has a wonderful relationship at the start that seems to be very equal and a two-way-street, his soon-to-be wife and him share a lot of values and bounce off each other very well. She seems to be more gung ho with taking action while he wants something more peaceful, yet can't deny the injustice around them and supports her want for change. The idea of them working together to make this world better is a great idea! They murder her offscreen in the first episode and, after that, his motivation is less so this continuation of their joint ideals rather, his want to avenge his dead wife. How trope-y! So frequently, we just cut to our lead, who is away from the conflict and doing nothing, just thinking about his dead wife or doing something for the end goal of getting back at those that made his wife dead. It gets brought up in conversations where he hardcuts back to the morning it happened and he has lil' inner ruminations of "Saki..." It makes him feel incredibly one-dimensional, like these other traits died with the death of his wife. She is dead ya know! Meanwhile, there's this conflict happening. It is great. It is fun, it is tense - Kevin Penkin delivers this amazingly dense, varied, and scene-stealing music from beginning to end of every episode with saxophone and guitar solos alongside strings that just make this beautiful animation and smooth, unique direction shine, there are SO many cool 'lil animation differences and cuts and sound effects that just ooze style and, when something might feel basic or not so engaging, this direction carries it to higher highs and makes bigger laughs and bigger gasps - and then it is none of those. The last three episodes kill everything. After two episodes straight of Aoteru owning society, what could've been maybe ten unexplainable minutes instead of forty unbearable and unplausible ones, we get the final episode. Two important characters are killed out-of-the-blue, one of which is revealed to have a deadly condition way too late in the season and the other who has just had the most important development in the entire show that completely changes their character, such an interesting turn-of-events and natural exploration that just makes sense, and then every other protagonist is put into a bind that diminishes them... and this all happens in like, THREE MINUTES OR SOMETHING... just a MONTAGE... why was there seven or so episodes about this conflict if this is how it all decides to wrap up!? Why not take time to make this happen, get the montage out of here and make it multiple episodes so, even if it is a hard pill to swallow, I'm not choking on my own vomit and being told "trust the process" as my eyes roll back into my head. This is not a nice bow, this is an insult. It sucks how promising this started, delivered despite the rocky start, and then completely fell on its face. A hard one to rec for sure even though it does so much so good. I would wait to see how season two is received because in this state of a cliffhanger after making nothing matter outside of basic character introduction, I see no point in watching this. Did I mention his wife is dead? Kinda important stuff.

The first episode created the illusion that it could be something serious and interesting, but it turned out to be typical of today's childish-teenage primitive caricature clownery, which was simply thrown on top of a little bloody cruelty and an atypical visual style. The characters are terribly boring, they don't have a drop of life or any nuance, they constantly speak slogans and pathetic phrases even in private conversations. Remember how in your first Power Point presentation you threw all possible effects and transitions on the slides? This anime feels the same way, as if the author got hold of some book with quotes and stuffed them everywhere where it is needed and not needed, and so as to make it as much as possible.Typically for low-quality anime, all the "smart" characters here are so only due to the use of basic common sense and/or because everyone else around is almost mentally retarded. In general, it is mostly a low-quality standard shonen with all these typical for the genre reactions, emotional outbursts, primitive "jokes", voice-over introducing the characters, providing information directly in the forehead, etc. The story of the Three Kingdoms as a historical era (in ancient China) is stretched onto this post-apocalyptic setting without any significant adaptation and it is feels like force a square peg into a round hole. The character design and visual style in general are not exactly what I like, but they are interesting and original enough and this is a big plus for the title, but the storytelling sometimes feels like you are being read excerpts from Wikipedia rather than told a story. The animation is uneven, sometimes quite good, sometimes cheap, and sometimes completely absent; the music is completely mediocre, and I don't even remember if there was even one ost somewhere. The first episode promises a dramatic revenge story, but later on MC doesn't care for that even for one millisecond of screentime and in fact we get anime about teenage-level ideas about state management and socio-political processes in general, which even in the context of anime feels very superficial. This is of course better than nothing and it is much better than completely childish primitivism that is found in some other anime, but that's all. Still, to write such stories you need to be either very smart yourself, or very self-confident.. decide for yourself which option is closer to you in this case. On my scale of impressions, this title felt much more stupid, cringe and corny than intelligent or interesting. They tried to do something pretentious and grandiose but completely screwed up. 2/10

At first you will be curious about the high ratings this show has..and then you watch the first episode and get hooked. But it is just downfall after that. You would assume this show is all about how the brilliant mc will raise to the top and remove corruption and how he handles situation with his brains along with the other mc who is strong in combat . you would think this show is about two who raise to the top together. but the show gives them barely any role . kills of interesting characters. and filled with bland characters.,. It just has a very different type of story telling and art . which somewhat keeps you in the hook only for the story to be unsatisfactory . the art fools you into thinking this is good . but surely doesn't deserve the high rating it has..

A good military-themed story has to do a bunch of difficult aspects right: character development, economic and political setting and the actual tactics and strategies. Nippon sangoku is appallingly bad at setting the first aspect, does a somewhat poor job at the second and it's barely mediocre with the third. The technical quality of the anime is great in its first episode and declines sharply, so if you were attracted by its intense style in the first episode I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't really need to tell you why you need good characters for a good story, but I'll point out it's importance for military storylines: there is a very deep psychological component to warfare, if you were to study the writings of historical commander you'll come to see the many doubts, assumptions and fears that lead them to either defeat or victory. So, having said that, the characters in this anime are parody-levels of shallow and boring. Characterization is thinly spread only across its main cast, the rest are given, and I do not say this lightly, "wojack vs Chad" levels of depth: when faced with a confrontation (say, a political debate), the character that is losing will execrete all manner of fluids from their face (sweat, tears, snot...) to the point of looking like the crying wojack, while the party that is on the right will look like handsome squidward; this stops being funny very fast, especially in the court scenes. The main cast is largely spared from this curse but there's not much for them either: the protagonist is supposed to be on a quest to avenge his wife but is never seen being angry or grieving after the first episode and is just mr stoic genius for the rest of the series, his main friend is kind of a pompous prick but still goes along with him for some reason, the rest of the cast is one note and boring. Probably the best developed character is the dictator-lady but that's not saying much, especially because all that development is, shall we say, wasted by the end (can't go any further without spoilers). The setting is possibly the biggest letdown of the show. As a fan of the Total War games, the words "Meiji post-apocalypse" immediately conjure images of the Fall of the Samurai standalone expansion for Shogun 2 Total War: the gatling guns and the bow samurai, the ironclads and the shogitai, the armstrong guns and the katana kachi... Modernity coming to swallow tradition whole, it's a great game. Too bad the anime does nothing with the setting, it literally might very well be the medieval Sengoku Jidai for all the difference it makes. Sometimes you do see revolvers and (bolt-actions???? in the fake-1860s????) rifles but it's not like their characteristics ever come into play in the tactics: again, they might as well all be using spears and bows (the enemies in this war do and they're just fine for most of it). We get a little bit of industrial farming at the start but nothing else when it comes to the rest of the economy, I don't know how they make guns, how many and why don't they just gun down all these freaks with swords using their WW1 rifles, or where the hell are the machineguns and the artillery. The war happens in a void, separate from the economy except for mentions on food rations, mostly to give a little wank to the protagonist for his "GENIUS REFORMS!!!!" (it's military colonization of the borderlands, the Romans were doing that 2000 years ago...). War isn't just an economic exercise, actually it's mostly a political one, just by other means. Now, I've told you about the characters, so how do you think the politics look like? Exactly, bad. The main villain's faction has completely taken over the royal court, the emperor is his puppet and he can just call in his goons to kill everyone he dislikes in front of everyone else, just like with the character's expressions there's no effort for subtlety. At some point the protagonist owns the main villain with facts and logic at court, and there was no reason why he shouldn't have just been killed there like his wife, except for plot armour. Another review also pointed out that there's no appreciable difference between the factions apart from their names and uniform, which, I might also add, are also very lacking in detail when it comes to ranks and unit insignia. I think the only element of political intrigue I like was that the good guys couldn't call in reinforcements because a) they'd be led by the bad faction guy and b) they'd be defenceless against the invasion from the other faction, which is honestly the bare minimum. So yeah, there's no substantive political and economic ground to the military movements. For the tactic level, there's nothing to say: battles are boring and one note (again, the late gunpowder era technology never comes into play, there's literally no artillery) and are usually solved by one stupid trick at their start or just before them (other reviews note the horrible, horrible application of the empty castle tactic, legitimately aneurysm inducing). Are the strategic movements at least passable? Eh, kinda. In total, these 12 episodes gave us 1 isolated battle and 1 whole campaign segmented in 2 distinct operations. The isolated battle is literally just a less brilliant battle of Okehazama: enemy invades, they win at the beginning and have a party at night, the command staff is then killed while drunk; there's nothing notable about it other than it skips over any of the parts that could've showed tactic or strategic brilliance. The campaign is overall below average. The initial operations starts badly because you'll be shouting at the screen that it's an obvious trap (the anime itself will be doing that too), but the trap won't develop exactly like you think, starting the 2nd operation conducted by the enemy. This will progress in a sensible manner but is inevitably dragged down by the idiotic "empty castle" incident (yes, the good general guy will literally just stand alone on a bridge and frighten the enemy with his aura, it is that stupid). The operations ends in victory for the good guys (obviously) in an unspectacular fashion, no grand battle like Zama or Leipzig. The political ramifications of the war appear to be hard reseted at the end of the series which is, well, the final fuck you. Really, if you're a nerd of military history you'll get nothing out of this. Warfare in this anime is as shallow as in any Call of Duty, just a sequence of "clever" tricks and sleights of hand, rather than the result of robust planning, execution and training.

Nippon Sangoku is a show that on paper has an interesting premise, with a young man named Aoteru Misumi trying to reunify a divided post-apocalyptic Japan. The show sells you on a great premise of a complex narrative, but is in way too much of a hurry to actually let the viewer enjoy any of it. So, the premise: nuclear war leads to crisis, refugees, revolution and conflict, and ends up in a Meiji-era Japan divided into three warring states. Does it make sense? No. But it's a unique enough premise that's also well executed so it's no biggie. Its biggest drawback is, however, the pacing. Episode 1 sets the stage, and gives a fine exposition, but after that the viewer gets bombarded with info non-stop. Endless hordes of new names, factions, political tricks and troop movements are thrown at you at a speed where you're trying to keep up rather than engaging and thinking about it. Sure, there's probably a lot of complexity to it, but there's no time for the viewer to think about it. I just never got the chance to sit with the story, art, or atmosphere because the next thing was already happening. On that note, I think that 24 episodes would be more reasonable, since it tries juggling politics, warfare and personal drama all at once, leading to it feeling rushed and underwhelming. One example of that is the fact that for the latter half of the show, Aoteru got basically no screen-time despite being the main character, due to the show being focused on trying to fit a massive war and power struggle into a mere 6-episode timeframe. Sadly, the show is so focused on pushing the plot forward that the character writing is shallow, leading to no development of the characters, and making it hard for the viewer to connect to them. Aoteru is a fine lead, and I really like that the show is framed like a kind of biopic about him and the great deeds he accomplished (even though we never got to see said deeds). In terms of side characters, none are developed at all, which is frankly disappointing. This is especially true of Tsune, who is supposed to be the main supporting character. In terms of antagonists, Taira is practically cardboard. He is cringe and annoying, and lacks a clear motivation for the way he acts. Ogha, however, is better written; there is some nuance in how she leads and wins people over, and I admit the show got me rooting for her. So, in terms of character writing, Nippon Sangoku was weak, but that's explainable since it clearly wasn't the priority. Art, then. It is without a doubt the show's strongest point. From start to finish, the art held up without quality drops and created a great viewing experience. I have to give a special mention to the great use of colours, especially in episode one. To be frank, the art carried the show. But it is at the same time frustrating that the pacing of the show actively works against the art. I feel like I spent more time trying to keep up with the plot rather than appreciating what was on screen. The score and sound production were fine and had a good mix of different genres, on the upper end of "just there", and the vocal performances were pretty much standard. In terms of my personal enjoyment, I was fairly eager at the start to keep watching, as the first few episodes set the show up quite well, but that excitement dropped off as the show went on and the pacing problem set in. I can't really say that it affected me emotionally that much, and I'm not compelled to pick up the manga. I would watch a second season though. In conclusion, Nippon Sangoku is a beautifully produced, fast, plot-driven show that trips over its own ambition. It has a unique setting and excellent art, but tries to cram way too much into twelve episodes, sacrificing atmosphere and character depth. Watch it if you appreciate art, or if you're looking for something fast-paced. Skip it if you're more in the market for character-driven shows.

Nippon Sangoku was easily the biggest surprise of the season for me to the point where I wasn’t even going to watch this show because of my insanely stacked Saturday-Sunday lineup, saw a few good tweets about it so decided to give it a go and boy was this unlike anything I’d really seen before. Post-apocalyptic Japan that’s essentially reverted back to the Sengoku era in terms of the country being divided into smaller states and constant wars, but instead of focusing on combat, the emphasis is on strategy and Misumi working his way up the ladder to change Yamato after enduring tragedy. This was such a great watch with a compelling narrative, great MC and a genuinely great villain that you don’t just want to see lose, you NEED it with every fiber in your body. Must watch for strategy and world building lovers. The best part of Nippon Sangoku is the insane world building. I think this series plays out more like a table top strategy game than an anime honestly. There’s so much history, lore, political allegiances, betrayals, this show’s got more action that most battle shonen, but it manifests itself in these intense military and political chess matches rather than hand to hand combat. Seeing Misumi come up with a 10 point plan on the spot to save his life or one of Ryumon’s masterclass military gambles based on Sun Tzu’s principles is as exciting as any of the big battle shonen fight scenes for me. It’s also more realistic, thus more enjoyable, because creating concrete change doesn’t just come from you punching your way out of situations. It requires a lot of planning. It helps that the antagonist is an extremely intelligent and cunning POS. Makes every interaction with him feel so tense because he and Misumi or the other characters are playing mental chess, trying to stay a few steps ahead of him. It’s kind of hard to explain, but if you watch the first episode, which is one of the best directed episodes of the entire year, you’ll find out pretty quickly what I’m talking about. I have to give this author credit for not shying away from making a completely irredeemable truly evil antagonist who is as capable and competent as the protagonist too. The author is clearly very intelligent because characters can only be as smart as the person writing them, and he makes so many clever twists and moves in this story, so credit to Matsuki-sensei. The story also doesn’t shy away from some extremely dark and uncomfortable things, it’s not afraid to kill off people you might have grown to like. Just an all-around solid and different story that really gripped me. Production values are insane here. The show looks gorgeous, has a unique art-style, great animation when needed, excellent cinematography and direction.. voice acting.. can’t come up with a single downside really. Well done Studio Kafka. I just can’t believe 12 weeks went by this soon because this show was my favorite thing to look forward to on Sundays. I’m definitely going to miss it, I’d love a season 2, but in lieu of that, I’ll be reading the manga. Nippon Sangoku gets 9, out of 10.

For supposedly being the dark horse of the season, Nippon Sangoku didn’t strike as that dark to me but it did have its fair share of horseshit in it. For all the praise I’ve seen of it from both casuals that checked it out of curiosity, and critics/elitists as the hidden gem/best show of its season, I expected a lot more and thus consider it my disappointment of the year so far. Most of the criticism I have with it has been said somewhere else already. The beginning is pretty meh, the setting has some inconsistencies, the main character didn’t act according to his characterization at first, the characters are kinda plain, and the finale is super rushed. For most of those, we will take a look extensively at the first episode. This is a retrofuturistic post-apocalyptic Three Kingdoms in Japan of sorts, so yeah the premise is amazing, but the setup is a bit questionable? Or at the very least limited. We know that the superpowers unleashed a nuclear war and that’s how Japan split in three, meaning there’s a whole post-apocalyptic world out there that we’re not seeing but ok, the author chose to focus on a specific place from the setting, within the scenario he created, so it’s ok. As has been stated, the technological reverting of Japan to such an era isn’t totally explored, why that one specifically and what happened with all the present day technology? It isn’t explored nor explained much nor very well at first. Eventually we do see some modern buildings and even cars that are used for field tactics, but until that happens, the setting feels like quirkiest of the year, and that’s considering that there was a bad CGI Hokuto no Ken remake airing at the same time (the CGI is bad, not the show itself). At the very least there are jobs and activities that drive the economy and funds and resources are addressed and become a plot point used in story for the military tactics, reminiscent of actually existing ones that were used in real life, character roles and dynamics, and buildup for some of its themes. So although more quirky, it does make a little more sense than the alternative. If the explanations and the scenario make sense in a post nuclear apocalypse setting though, that’s a thing for anyone to think about themselves. But still, for the most part it feels like the setting exists the way it does mostly so every few episodes there can a reference to something modern, or some modern day technology or building, a manga or something otaku being mentioned, or quirky villains making silly poses, plus an opening that combines traditional and contemporary music, yet because of the in-story post contemporary regression to traditional, those things don’t feel anachronistic. For how rational the protagonist is supposed to be, he did a big oversight that could have potentially not prevented the tragedy perhaps, but it would have been better to see him at least attempt to. He knows the officials in his land are corrupt and tyrannical, he knows they are executing people for every pitiful excuse, and knows well his wife offended one of them, yet did nothing about it, didn’t even try to in fact. Well he was very young and tried to avoid conflict as much as he could, a book smarts guy more than a street smarts guy, so maybe the disbelief can be suspended regarding that. But then there’s the villain, who let him go by the end of the episode, something very common for arrogant villains that underestimates protagonists and that comes back to bite them in the ass later, but the one in here isn’t presented like that. He is arrogant for sure but his impression of the main character wasn’t of someone that posed no threat, but rather of an interesting individual. You could probably say well maybe the antagonist planned to use him? No he didn’t. Well he eventually did something about him but that doesn’t come until the very end of the season and out of screen. As for the issues in the following episodes, for a show with a premise such as this, the tone isn’t very serious. Like I’ve been saying, it’s very quirky and a good chunk of the characters are as well. Basically the main villain, every minor antagonist or secondary character, and even the supposed deuteragonist, acts or talks silly most of the time, and that clashes a lot with what’s supposed to be the serious dark horse show of the season. About the Movements of the Earth, this is not. It’s not comically homoerotic and over the top like an actual historical title like Golden Kamuy, nor action heavy and manly that’s supposed to come off as cool like Hokuto no Ken either. It’s a weird middle point that makes it for a niche audience. So after all that, it is safe to say that this show wouldn’t have passed the 3 episode rule as far as I’m concerned. It’s from episode 4 and 5 that the show starts displaying some level of quality, and most stuff afterwards until the second to last episode, the eleventh, it’s pretty good and elevates the whole anime. It’s when another nation and faction and antagonist are shown and made part of the plot and divide the narrative between two perspectives, that the series becomes pretty good. We see internal conflicts between different factions on both sides, inside infiltration and invasion plots from Seii to Yamato, side characters sacrificing themselves and dying, actual field tactics that are direct references to Three Kingdoms are employed, better characters are introduced, like Ryumon, Kaku and Wajima, the latter which is a better character, though not a better antagonist, than Taira, and even some secondary ones like the son of the latter and the emperor either change perspectives or grow a little bit of balls. It’s also when the narrative follows more characters than the protagonist, and he and the deuteragonist are built up to eventually replace Ryumon and Kaku. The aforementioned issues didn’t exactly go away, but are now mixed up with some actual pretty good stuff. With that said, the deuteragonist is kinda forgotten by the narrative for the most part, and his inner monologues don’t exactly help him either, what the anime did with Kaku wasn’t bad, but did feel unnecessarily sudden due to lack of proper build up. I also have to wonder why don’t the characters that can kill the villain, at least try to do it? Maybe he’s secretly super strong and will show it later. I mean he has a lot of people under his command, true, but kill him off and all that falls apart, at least from what was shown in the season. And also, when they finally fought on the battlefield, the Yamato side completely stomped on Seii, thus it feels like the only reason why they weren’t winning early was because of the inside enemy, and that there was a big difference in levels all along, and that the narrative is picking a side. Even the strategies and the arguments of the protagonist have been questioned somewhat. Logh, Ravages of Time or Ad Astra, this is not. And as good as they are as plot devices, and as well as they fit a certain role, such as a Deku-like romanticist analyst for the protagonist, mentors for Ryumon and Kaku, antagonist and the other side of the coin for Wajima, who also wants revenge and follows her idea of justice and unification of the nation in a dictatorial way, contrary to Misumi, at least as far as the narrative is concerned, the cast is still very plain. Again, Logh or Ravages of Time, this is not. What’s indisputably mishandled is the finale, sorry but that was plain bad. Up until the middle point it was an ok conclusion, but the second half of the final episode had a whole season worth of plot points happening and new characters being presented at an insane speed and weren’t even properly shown but more like told by the narrator, leading to a semi cliffhanger, that was not a good ending at all. Due to the in-story post contemporary regression to traditional times of the setting, the combination of traditional and modern music for the opening fits the series, and the visual se…

Just one episode. That’s all I ask you to give Nippon Sangoku. Because I genuinely believe that’s all it will take for this anime to hook you in. What impressed me most was how quickly Nippon Sangoku made me care about its world. The premise is about three nations fighting for control of Japan, each leader with their own claim to power. It sells the world through the leaders, their goals, and the decisions they make. You slowly start to see how one person’s choice can affect not just their own nation, but the other nations as well. A leader commanding another nation to surrender could cause a revolution in that other nation. Every choice feels like it can shift the balance between nations; it’s really an anime of cause and effect. That’s what makes the political warfare so fun to watch. One moment, it looks like one side has the advantage, and then one decision from the opposing side can completely change everything. The characters rely on planning, timing, and reading the political atmosphere around them. Sometimes a brilliant move turns the tide. Sometimes a risky move destroys the advantage they had. It almost feels like the characters are playing 4D chess while we’re just sitting there watching the consequences unfold. The battles are entertaining because it’s not about powerhouses fighting each other, but the mind games used in war to gain the winning edge. One thing I always heavily praise in anime is when it doesn’t just make an antagonist “bad” because they do evil things, or treat someone as the enemy just because the story says they are. It’s way more interesting when the anime also shows the other side of the story and gives that character a valid reason for doing what they do. Nippon Sangoku does exactly that. By showing the perspectives of its leaders, their goals, ideologies, and motives, the anime makes the conflict feel much more balanced than simple good versus evil. These leaders don’t feel like enemies, but more like people on different sides of the broken country, each with their own reason for wanting control over Japan. Their goals clash, but the anime gives each side enough reasoning that you understand why they fight, even if you don’t agree with how they go about it. Wajima Ouga is probably the clearest example of this. She could have easily been written as a simple enemy leader, but the anime gives her enough perspective that you understand why people would follow her and why she believes in what she’s doing. She has charisma, a strong sense of purpose, and a vision that makes sense from her side. That’s what makes her interesting. She doesn’t feel like someone who exists just to oppose the main characters. She feels like a leader of another nation with her own valid reason for wanting to shape Japan in the way she believes is best. That’s why Nippon Sangoku’s political conflict works so well. It doesn’t ask you to pick the “good” side and the “bad” side. It makes the conflict feel like different leaders fighting over the future of the same country, with each side having enough reasoning behind it to make the clash feel meaningful. The result is a political conflict that feels less like hero versus villain and more like competing visions for what Japan should become. The lighter moments and comedic characters also add a lot of personality to the show, without weakening the seriousness of the story. That balance is hard to pull off, especially in a story about war and strategy. I thought the comedic and lighthearted moments would be something I would dislike in a series like this, but this anime pulls it off somehow. The art was one of the first things that caught my attention. It has an unconventional but beautiful style that separates it from the usual seasonal anime, and it fits the “historical” atmosphere perfectly. The soundtrack is also, of course, going to be great with Kevin Penkin on it. I don’t know the exact genre, but there are some scenes in big moments where the added vocals with instrumentals just hit, making the bigger moments feel even more powerful. This is now the second season in a row where one of the most interesting anime of the season has gone under a lot of people’s radar, as it was overshadowed by more anticipated titles. Last season, it was Ikoku Nikki; this season, it’s Nippon Sangoku. It feels like it has the kind of writing that can appeal to a very wide audience, but somehow it isn’t getting the attention it deserves. For a war anime this layered, that’s a shame. Nippon Sangoku makes its world, conflict, and strategies feel worth caring about, with every major decision carrying real weight. A serious contender for anime of the year. …Dang, now I’ve gotta read Kingdom.

Sometimes this anime feels too good, too tailored. It’s hard to describe, but where a high-quality production without artistic merit could be described as “assembly-line,” this production, which has artistic merit in spades feels… I don’t know, like a king commissioning a painting during the Renaissance? A lot of this comes from the “made by Amazon” card at the beginning of each episode, but there is a slightly impersonal feel to Nippon Sangoku that prevents it from having a more visceral impact. But pay no mind to any of that, because this is really good. The art style of the anime and the aesthetics of the three nations really give this anime a Japanese flavor you don’t get with the more abstracted, universal designs of your typical anime. It has such rich characters and such interesting politics. I love Aoteru’s drive, Ryuumon’s confidence, Wajima’s fire, and Taira’s sliminess. Also, Tonotsugu reminds me of Alfred E. Neuman, which makes me smile. There’s still room to grow. The show takes its time building its cast, and there are still parts of the world that could use more fleshing out, but you can see the groundwork being laid. There are characters with small arcs, and some characters that are just beginning their arcs. I’m really excited to see this world evolve alongside the progression of Aoteru’s life mission. That said, the ending felt a bit abrupt. A great hook for the next arc that really enhances one character, but also a big shakeup that feels rushed, throws off the methodical buildup of the season to that point, and shafts another major character.

Nippon Sangoku — A Surprisingly Great Anime After finishing all 12 episodes of Nippon Sangoku, I can honestly say this was one of the shows that surprised me the most. The first episode immediately caught my attention. It starts really strong and gives you a good idea of what kind of story you're getting into without wasting much time. From there, the story keeps getting more interesting as the political conflicts, different characters, and battles start to develop. The series does a good job of making me curious about what will happen next. One of my favorite things about it is the art style. It looks very different from most anime, and that's something I really appreciate. The character designs, backgrounds, and overall visual style give the show its own identity. It might look unusual at first, but I think it fits the atmosphere of the story really well. I also really enjoyed how the story isn't simply about fighting. There is a lot of strategy, politics, war and different ways of dealing with problems. The characters don't always solve things by just getting stronger and fighting, which made the story more interesting for me. The second half especially made me more invested in the world and the conflict. By the end of the 12 episodes, I was left wanting to see more of this world and where the characters go from here. Overall, Nippon Sangoku is a very interesting and unique anime with a strong beginning, great art style, and a story that kept me interested until the end. I'm really glad I decided to give it a chance.

I really recommend this anime—it has everything you could want for a little anime marathon: drama, comedy, military strategy, and above all, conviction. There are plenty of references you’ll pick up on as you watch. I think you should give it a chance because each episode is somewhat unpredictable, and the soundtrack adds a perfect sense of immersion that keeps you glued to the screen. Best of all, every episode is connected, from the first to the last. Trust me, you won’t regret watching it. Keep an open mind and remember that, in the end, it’s just fiction. I’d like to add that the graphics are truly beautiful and unique—it’s a visual delight to observe the detail in the characters, the settings, and the many objects on screen. You’ll also encounter a variety of characters that you’d typically find in everyday life, experiencing emotions ranging from love, loneliness, and hope to pride and anger. It’s one of those anime series that leaves you wanting to keep watching nonstop.

To be honest, after watching the first episode, I was quite skeptical about this anime. The premise seemed lacking in originality, and quoting Sun Tzu is used as a terrible cliche in so many places. I also always worry that a title with excessive violence will use it clumsily. However, the visuals and the directing of the episode kept me from judging based on just one entry, so I knew I had to watch a few more. And it was not in vain. Everything I previously considered a downside turned into the anime's unique strengths for me, because in skilled hands, even cliches can be used to bring pleasure to the viewer. For now, I can't say that I’ve truly connected with the main character, Misumi Aoteru, but just like with all the characters in this title, I expect great things from this young man. I would also like to note the disgusting yet terrifying antagonist - Minister Taira. I hope there is some interesting motive behind his lust for power, but even if there isn't, I will happily watch him get his punishment (hopefully). The supporting characters are interesting and charismatic; I can't say I am deeply impressed by them, but I don't want to say anything bad either, as they served as an engaging element of this work. But still, the most important part for me is the setting of this anime - the world of post-apocalyptic Japan during the Three Nations era. Watching the parallels to the past, while at the same time seeing possible versions of our future, is both interesting and frightening. However, this living world fascinated me, and I look forward to the early release of the second season. As for the anime itself, I wouldn't hesitate to call it a hidden gem.

After reading other reviewers' comments about moving slideshows, the show being boring, animation lacking, character design, etc.—I think I can explain why I found this enjoyable and why these things didn't bother me that much. Character design: So, I am surprised that other people may feel that the character design is lackluster, though it is understandable—some characters look very similar. However, I feel that this is a nitpick because, in most other anime, I feel this way about the characters, so for me it didn't really have that much of an effect. Also, there were indicators showing the difference between certain characters which clearly distinguishes one from the other—e.g., Wajima, a female lead, has a purple tiger tattooed on her face; the MC has a certain hairstyle; etc. I actually like that most of the characters look similar because it sort of drives home the fact that this is one specific country, which has never been that diversified, at war with itself; of course most of the people will look similar. Lastly, the characters that DID stand out were very detailed and when they were injured, you knew it. Subtle bags under the eyes, redder cheeks, etc, definitely showed there was some care given to accentuating their emotions and fatigue. Animation: The thing that drew me in the most WAS the animation. Or, I should say, the animation style. It was poetic and reminded me of something akin to the short animation sequence in Kill Bill. I will concede that they definitely abandoned a lot of what drew me in, in terms of animation. The slideshows DO become heavy-handed and it does get repetitive. But I forgive that because that doesn't start until around episode 6-7, and that's out of 12. ALSO, this was co-produced by Amazon *eye roll*. They are notorious for skimping on the budget (which is what I assume happened towards the latter end of the show). Even though the animation style initially hooked me, I stayed for the writing. Dialogue/Writing: I think if you go into this story wanting to "see" the war concepts in action, you might be missing the point. This is written as sort of war-strategy-poetry—NOT a "show, don't tell" presentation. This is about a war with words, manipulation, and real-world consequences rather than an actual action-based cause-and-effect execution. AND, there are several scenes where there is action, you don't know what's going to happen, and it shows the concepts of hubris/arrogance in wartime and their consequences; the antagonist's son is kidnapped, almost killed, and it really seems like he will be executed. This is also more of a drama than an action. I do concede that, again, in the later episodes it loses the steam and balance that it had in the earlier episodes. However, it retains its ground with the last two episodes, where the MC has to convince the puppet Emperor—who is always on the brink of being assassinated if he goes against the antagonist—to take a stand. This is done through well-written exposition. Essentially, that's all this show is. Finally: To compare a show with 12 episodes to Kingdom, a show with 6 seasons, whose animation was terrible in the first two seasons and whose first season had 38 episodes, AND which is also squarely in the historical *action* genre, is a bit disingenuous. This series hasn't even had a real chance to breathe, let alone find its bearings. Especially for a show in this genre co-produced by goddamn Amazon ugh. I think if this gets a season 2 and the budget is up to par with the ambitions (doubtful), it'll blow this one out of the water. I think this is a solid anime which isn't just surface-level nonsense like most other overrated crap out today. This is an honest attempt at giving viewers something refreshing. It's totally understandable if this isn't for you. The criticisms of this show absolutely hold some weight. I think you should give it a shot if you're interested!

This is Kingdom with all the sauce but absolutely no substance. The good parts are that, again, so much sauce, amazing style, animation, the voice acting is *chefs kiss*, pretty much all you want from anime as a medium. The bad parts? phew. expositions on top of expositions. it tries to have complex mind games but one side is frustratingly dumb and unfair, what even is the point anymore. misumi and tsune-chan san are legit the only interesting parts of the show and they don't! show them! at all!!!! the over narration as if it's a real war makes me laugh, because it's not a real war, and they were so heavy handed with the narration it's honestly a bore. it's not the worst thing in the world and i will be tuning into the 2nd season (if it has one) but eh i wish we had more of the actual protagonist and his friend

Totally recommend this if you don't expect it to be too deep, and if you just enjoy it in a comedic way then i think it's a good use of time. Basically copying Three Kingdoms thingy, with people dying. It got one big cry out of me, in the later parts of the anime when someone died, and that's totally worth it to me already. Not many animes can make u get one big cry. The dynamics between the main characters are funny too so yeah. Comedy at its peak idk. Love Ryumon and Kaku A LOT. Even if many ppl don't think it's hitting the spot of mature animes, it's seriously worth watching yk. Totally.

" A well crafted idea " I am a big fan of war and tactical kind of series and usually watch most of them every year but they lacks impact in terms of decisive politics and characters who take action instead of overthinking which wastes half of eps . Nippon Sangoku came like a silent fire . "No hype No promotion No sound " but the impact which it made is loud and clear . Just a straightforward banger , author and studio cooked hard in terms of everything . 2026 is a banger packed year . We getting many peak sequels like jjk , bleach , tensura etc and other anticipated series back to back still this shit made it's way to top at least in my list of top 10 anime of year . Well nothing more to say if you like war and military stuff then it's a must watch show . Can't wait for season 2 .