The Book of Bantorra: A Masterful Anime Tale of Armed Librarians

The Book of Bantorra

Are you an avid reader? Be it hard copies or soft copies, reading is a beloved activity for many people in the world, and it will remain that way for much longer. There’s just so much to learn and experience through interwoven words, written by a myriad of authors as numerous as the grains of sand on your favorite beach.

Stories written with so much soul are what gave birth to many of the manga and anime masterpieces we have today, ones we can truly immerse ourselves in and perhaps never forget. Such pieces are undoubtedly treasures worth protecting, so that more people may enjoy their magic and walk away with unimportant life lessons.

"Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra," also known as "Armed Librarians: The Book of Bantorra," is a 27-episode TV anime series that aired from October 2nd, 2009, to April 2nd, 2010 as a fall 2009 show. Sentai Filmworks licensed this series, which Geneon Universal Entertainment, Sakura Create, and Atelier Musa produced, and Studio David Production brought it to life in 24 minute episodes.

The main staff behind it included Kawase Kouhei as producer, Shinohara Toshiya as director and on storyboard, Motoyama Satoshi as sound director, and Tsuda Naokatsu as episode director. It featured the genres of action and fantasy, alongside the themes of adult cast and superpower, receiving a rating of R-17+ for its violence and profanity.

The anime is based on the source light novel titled “Tatakau Shisho Series.” It ran for a total of 10 volumes from the 22nd of September 2005 until the 22nd of January 2010, featuring the genres of action, adventure, fantasy, and supernatural, along with the Super Power theme.

Targeted at the Seinen demographic, this was the work of author Yamagata Ishio and artist Maeshima Shigeki. An alternative version titled “Tatakau Shisho to Koisuru Bakudan” was released as a manga, which spanned 3 volumes from the 19th of March 2008 until the 19th of October 2009. It featured the fantasy genre and got serialized in Ultra Jump Egg, thanks to the same author and artist, Shinohara Kokonotsu.

The tale of The Book of Bantorra is set in a supernatural world where dead people are turned into books and then stored within the unorthodox Bantorra Library. Anyone who reads a book can learn about the past of the deceased, which is maintained by highly adept armed librarians wielding psychic powers. Why? Because they too have enemies in the form of a religious society known as the Sindeki Kyoudan, between these two seemingly opposite factions, war and struggle never seem to end.

While the Armed Librarians are exceptional fighters far above average people, their role is to guard the books of the dead, which contain all their experiences and memories in the form of a stone tablet or "book.” A simple touch is enough for the book to be read by anyone, but as these are manifestations of the very soul of the dead person, they must be respected and protected all the same.

Now, the followers of the Shindeki Kyoudan seek the destruction of the Armed Librarians so that they may use the books for their own personal gains. But there is no war devoid of secrets, and the same applies here.

The Book of Bantorra is one of the most unique shows I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Keep in mind that this is a nonlinear story with numerous intricate and interesting subplots.

The Armed Librarians are no ordinary group either, and the show portrays them doing all manner of activities. Be it finding stolen books, procuring new members, engaging in personal arguments, causing drama, or taking part in a myriad of adventures, they are an intriguing bunch the entire time. What’s more, each and every character has their own personal and hidden agendas to pursue while doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Sindeki Kyoudan spends its resources manipulating people against the Library for its own agendas.

Prepare for a decent amount of screentime to be spent on discussions regarding heaven and what a “true man” is, which honestly can get confusing and tiresome at times. This is where the minor issues start, because the plot doesn’t seem to have a clear focus or objective at times. It will continually jump in between a bunch of different issues,choosing not to dwell on each for long.

This makes the show quite confusing because it demands that you pay a lot of attention to everything and not watch with misconceptions. I can’t recount the number of times that I thought, “Oh! So this is what the story is about!” only to be proven wrong in due time. This is because the tale misleads you into believing many things, which aren’t inherently bad.

You won’t be led astray too easily if you pay close attention to everything, allowing you to fully appreciate it all coming together at the end, and this is where the beauty of it lies. It goes without saying that the story is highly unpredictable and keeps the audience thinking all the time, which is a real treat if you’re willing to spare the brain cells.

Almost nothing is straightforward here, and there are plot twists within every aforementioned subplot to keep you on your toes. As such, this department is full of plot twists, secrets, betrayals, philosophy, and hidden details for the brain that’s ready to rumble.

The character department is packed, and it is amazing how they managed to keep such a large cast together so well. We get introduced to many of them at once, but each and every one of them is an excellent character on its own; they all possess highly complex backgrounds and have varying motives of their own.

That’s also why it’s difficult to decide who the good and bad guys are in this series. The mantle of “main character” gets passed around too, because there’s no one character set in stone as the protagonist. This is great because every character gets ample time and attention to grow on you and develop as necessary. Even amidst such a proficient roster, a few stand out for being super refreshing and possessing such strong personalities.

You may not expect them to become much, but they deliver in a way you least expect! Their development is very dynamic yet natural because the story and remaining characters support it so well. At one point, I found myself feeling excited when a new character was introduced because I knew they would be just as amazing as the previous, if not more.

The art and animation department is extremely unique. It is to the point where you either adore each and every dark line on screen or find the overall aesthetic revolting. The characters don’t look like your everyday anime cast; their designs boast dark outlines and shadows devoid of color, and I think it suits the atmosphere of the show perfectly.

It’s not that there isn’t color here, but it is used sparingly and without the usual anime “shine” we have gotten accustomed to in recent years. They weren't afraid of making some of the women masculine either, because this is that kind of gritty show. Either way, it’s mostly up to your personal preferences, whether you’ll like them visually or not.

There’s a fair amount of CGI thrown into the mix, which may also appear alien at times. Personally, it did not bother me much, so it’s best not to dwell on it much and focus on the events themselves. The action scenes are among my favorite aspects because they are downright incredible. They put a lot of work into these scenes, and the CGI blends in seamlessly, yielding some of the best fights I’ve ever seen.

The backgrounds and scenery are fairly colorful and vivid to contrast the other dark aspects, making for a nice overall appearance. They all just mesh so well to give off the overall vibe of the show!

The Sounds and Music department is debatable and highly influenced by your tastes once again. The opening themes are "Datengoku Sensen" by ALI PROJECT and "Seisai no Ripieno” by Sasaki Sayaka, and the ending themes are "Light of Dawn" by Annabel and "Dominant Space" by Yuuki Aira, both of which are decent.

The OSTs were particularly alluring for me, which enhanced each scene to another level and remained consistent with the overall vibe; they mostly consisted of low-key orchestral sounds that added so much suspense to the show. On the other hand, the sound effects are top-tier and not out of place! They made the action scenes that much more amazing, and I cannot praise them enough. The voice acting was great as well; each complex character was portrayed superbly, and that’s a feat in itself.

Overall, The Book of Bantorra is an incredibly complex and entertaining show, packed to the brim with superb action. They use their huge cast to their maximum, developing all of them and making them all likable in some shape or form. Even if you feel the story is super confusing and is heading nowhere at first, I advise that you sit tight and continue watching with your full attention.

Everything comes together at the end, and it feels so satisfying to have been part of such an intricate journey. I recommend this show to anyone willing to watch it with their brain in high gear, because that’s where the mastery lies. This is definitely not your evening-chill anime and will only frustrate you if you watch it lightly. I recommend this show on the grounds of how amazing it is, nailing many aspects that other shows often mess up.