Battle Vixens a.k.a. Ikki Tousen
Publisher
Geneon / MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2003
Battle Vixens a.k.a. Ikki Tousen Volume 4: Fighting Fate!
By otaku_kei
14th Aug 06  Usually I find myself grateful for writing final volume reviews. I get to impart my feelings not only of the latest volume but the series as a whole. But with the final volume of Ikki Tousen the main felling I have is one of relief: at last this show is over! I'm sure that if you are reading this latest review you have probably already perused my less than glowing reviews on the previous three volumes. I'd like to say that by the end of this show I had developed an appreciation for its retarded idea of fun, but that was not to be. Ikki Tousen remains one of the worst shows I have ever had the misfortune to see, and certainly the worst show I have ever reviewed. This concluding volume continues the ridiculous story of schoolkids imbued with the spirits and fates of an ancient conflict, so these kids need to bash the crap out of each other, get naked as much as possible, and not even bother to resolve the wafer thin plot satisfactorily. Hakufu and her friends face off against the evil Totaku, but lo and behold this entire situation has been manipulated by Sagi as he tries to escape the fate his bead has predestined! So an apparent ally turns out to be a traitor, oh how shocking, I never saw that coming. This thoughtless use of cliches and all too common plot twists just demonstrates how little thought has gone into this show. We have seen this all before, in so many other shows, and accomplished so much better elsewhere that with every scene in Ikki Tousen we are reminded of just what drivel this show is. Now I have tried not to be snobbish or dismissive about this show. I find fanservice can be worked into a series well to enhance a show, rather than bludgeoning the audience with panty shots in every scene. The conclusion to this show was also dramatically unsatisfying. Whilst the plot has been rather incidental throughout the show, it still is left unresolved when two people are manipulated to their deaths, and yet the real puppet master of all this strife is welcomed back to Nanyo Academy with open arms, laughing off his mad schemes, all is forgiven. The one person who deserved to die for his actions is whitewashed, and his real victims are all but forgotten. Did anyone involved in this production have any morals whatsoever? Sure the evil guy can escape, why, because we are running out of time and budget so cannot animate a final showdown. Well that is fine, but the audience can just go jump if they want any type of resolution! This was lazy filmmaking from start to finish and I cannot emphasise enough just how much you should avoid this show. As I said at the start of this review I am relieved that I no longer have to put up with this show. I know that this series of reviews have been rather negative, and if you want a different opinion its quite easy to find them around. Anime News Network public grading votes this show as decent. More people there were positive than negative, but I cannot bring myself to recommend this show to anyone. Ah well, at least I don't have to be subjected to that annoying opening tune any more!
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; TV Spots; Art Gallery; Outtakes; MVM Trailers
Release information: OUT NOW
Notes: For such a substandard show, MVM still deliver their trademark top quality presentation. The A/V quality is as good as can be expected of such a recent show, yet that still does not cover the sometimes cheap animation used by this show. The extras are nothing that you will come back to for a second time but do provide significantly more than the average UK release.
-- otaku_kei 14th Aug 06
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