Combatants Will be Dispatched
With the pandemic running rampant, we all need some positivity, chill vibes, and laughs in our lives. There are so many things to feel down and stressed about, so once again, let anime be our escape and positive release from the grim reality. During these trying times, a comedic fantasy could hit just the right spot and unwind troubled nerves. Many anime fit the bill, and here we will be looking at one of the latest.
“Sentouin, Hakenshimasu!”, also known as “Combatants Will Be Dispatched!” is a twelve-episode TV anime series that aired from the 4th of April until the 20th of June, as a Spring 2021 title. It was produced by Nippon Columbia and Kadokawa, licensed by Funimation, and brought to life by Studio J.C.Staff.
The primary staff behind it are Akagi Hiroaki as Director, Itou Miku on Theme Song Performance, Iwanami Yoshikazu as Sound Director, and Tomita Miyu on Theme Song Performance. The series boasts the genres of Action, Comedy, and Fantasy and received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.
This series is sourced from the Light Novel of the same title. It began publication on the 1st of November 2017 and is still ongoing. It is done by Author Akatsuki Natsume and Artist Lanthanum Kakao. It was also published in English under the title “Combatants Will be Dispatched!” by Yen Press on the 3rd of September 2019. An alternative version to the original Light Novel exists in the form of a Manga with the same title.
This manga began publication on the 27th of March 2018 and is still ongoing, featuring the additional genre of Seinen. It is done by Author Akatsuki Natsume and Artist Kiasa Masaaki; serialized in Comic Alive. This, too, has been published in English by Yen Press since the 24th of September 2019.
The story is set around a chief operative of the villainous Kisaragi Corporation, Sentouin Roku-gou. He receives orders to help the nefarious organization conquer the whole known universe as they see fit. For this end goal, he gets the specific task of infiltrating the Kingdom of Grace, a vital mission that could change the entire world’s fate.
But since the success of this mission is ever so crucial, a beyond exceptional android with a very youthful appearance named after the company itself, Alice Kisaragi, is tasked with being Roku-gou's travel companion on this journey. This further assignment fuels Roku-gou’s already bloated ego, as he continues to mistakenly believe that his skills as a combatant are superb, adding to a highly arrogant attitude.
Once the two arrive at the outskirts of the Kingdom of Grace, they have a fateful encounter with Snow, who happens to be the very Commander of the country's Royal Guard. Snow then proceeds to lead the duo to a certain broken but legendary artifact. Roku-gou very narrow-mindedly sees this as an excellent opportunity to get himself a long-awaited promotion at his company and decides to change the recitation for this peculiar sacred ritual into an embarrassing phrase. Of course, the kingdom wouldn't let such an act go unpunished; thus, the Princess of the Kingdom forces Roku-gou into the position of an honorary knight.
This leads to him completing part of his original mission, one way or another. He has now infiltrated the Kingdom's inner circle and is left with no choice but to aid his new employer in the battle against the Demon Lord's Army. He must do so all while perpetuating evil deeds as a combatant of the Kisaragi Corporation nonetheless.
Now, there is nothing very mature and in-depth about Sentouin; it is simply crude, lowbrow, and highly juvenile. Comedy is the central and critical aspect, so watch this series with that in mind. This anime will undoubtedly bring out laughs from its viewers every single time. So do not think about the details too much and even the premise; it’s neither meaningful nor intellectual.
Stories like this balance out the complicated, detailed, and profound stories often portrayed in anime. Viewers can be confident they are in for a hilarious watch when even the mere episode previews are so entertaining.
An entire episode is simply a 20-minute extended preview, yet it manages to stay humorous every step of the way. Thus there is not much else to be said about the “Story” aspect. What hits viewers the hardest in Sentouin are the jokes. They are fast and consistent, so much so that even if one joke is a miss, another will make up for it before the viewer even notices. So be prepared to laugh and take the jokes as jokes, nothing else.
The Characters are very well suited to the nature of the anime and well done. Almost every character is a complete jerk in this series, except maybe Heine and Astaroth. These characters can also be called Isekai Hybrids, not the typical overused archetypes we commonly see in Isekai anime.
This gives the series a very fresh feel compared to most series of this day and age. The setting is an over-the-top Isekai-like world in which the protagonists must now live. Almost everyone in the main cast, except for Alice, shows evident hesitation when doing evil acts. Still, as each episode presses on in the heat of the moment, it is hardly noticeable amidst all the chaos and won’t bother viewers as much.
One of the best scenes is the legendary fake-out confession, which can be called iconic throughout the entirety of anime. Overall the characters are powerfully written, likable, and even relatable; to be more precise, viewers would love to hate them.
Art and Animation can be pretty lacking for a 2021 anime. This is probably credited to the fact that the Studio just had too much on its plate this season. The animation is decent, with nothing remarkable or praiseworthy. The character designs are nice and attractive, especially when it comes to the girls. Their outfits are unique and distinct as well. The backgrounds are decently done as well.
The Sounds and Music are decent as well. Most of the OSTs are the average upbeat tracks. These aren’t bad in any way and complement the vibe of the anime pretty well. In the more impactful scenes, though, the music is lacking, unengaging, and overly sentimental. The Opening theme is "No.6" by Miku Itou, a decent J-pop song that compliments the vibrant anime style. The ending theme is "Home Sweet Home" by Alice Kisaragi (Miyu Tomita), Snow (Sayaka Kikuchi), Rose (Natsumi Murakami), and Grim (Minami Takahashi), it is both catchy and soothing.
Overall, “Sentouin, Hakenshimasu!” is a really entertaining and hilarious watch. Sometimes, a wacky, dumb, and simple comedy is what we need to get through tough times. If you’re a fan of the genres and particularly enjoy anime like KonoSuba, this series is highly recommended.
