Ishura
“A Rushed Battle for the Demon's Throne”
War is a genuinely merciless and destructive occurrence. It cares not for whether you are a soldier, civilian, or anything really; it claims all like some ravaging monster devoid of any conscience. Have you been the most compassionate and empathetic soul on the planet? In the face of war, almost nobody cares. The sad truth is that it is most often the most ruthless and indifferent people who prevail during such disasters, and what awaits everyone after departing from this world remains largely unknown. If you suddenly found yourself stuck in the middle of such a war, what would you do?
“Ishura” is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 3rd of January till the 20th of March in Winter 2024. It was produced by Magic Capsule, Tencent Japan, Kadokawa, and Aiming and brought to life by Studio Passione. The central staff behind it includes Tanaka Shou, Satou Taira, Saitou Kazuhiro, and Vig Julien as producers. The 23-minute episodes feature the genres of action, adventure, and fantasy alongside the themes of Gore and Isekai, earning a rating of R-17+ for their violence and profanity. The series is adapted from the light novel of the same title, which began publication on the 17th of September 2019 and is still ongoing. It is the work of author Keiso and artist Kureta, starting as a web novel on Kakuyomu on the 30th of June 2017. The first official volume was thus published by Kadokawa under the Dengeki no Shinbungei label and in English by Yen Press under the Yen On imprint on the 3rd of May 2022. The sequel anime series “Ishura 2nd Season” is said to air in January 2025 and also be based on the original LN.
The story is set in a world where the Demon King has already met their demise, which in turn caused a massive power vacuum that broke the fragile balance therein. Many are more than eager to claim this power, self-proclaiming themselves as “Demon Kings” from various worlds, who now assemble in the New Principality of Lithia intending to fight for it. Among the many, the camera hones in on a master swordsman named Soujirou Yagyuu, who also seeks to claim this coveted position. He is not alone either, as joining him is Tooi Kagizume no Yuno, a young girl he saved from the army of golems that destroyed her city. Together, the duo enter Lithia, planning to fight to the top.
Consequently, the leaders of the Aureatia Kingdom become set on destabilizing Lithia by dispatching numerous bandits after the merchandise convoys traversing the principality. Thus, Imashime of Taren, the founder of Lithia and defector from Aureatia, sends out the dangerous thief Kasasagi no Dakai to get to the bottom of these attacks in his enraged fury. All these events beacon a war on the very brink of eruption, leaving things in a state where nobody can predict what kind of influence the contenders for the Demon King's throne will have on the imminent chaos.
Ishura is all about fighting till the bitter end; that’s just how it is from beginning to end and nothing more. The main cast are like drifters in yet another chaotic world with superhuman skills and abilities who actively defy all logic, reason, and even sanity in this battle royale. The synopsis gives you an idea of the plot, but I noticed that pulling off everything it spoke of well with just 12 episodes is no straightforward task. As expected, this becomes a significant flaw that turns the whole show into a convoluted and incoherent mess that’s tough to keep track of or even care about. One thing that bugged me was that certain battles did not last nearly as long as they should’ve. Some of these fights end after a grand total of two blows, which are credited to the “unmistakable gap in strength” between the combatants. I kid you not; there are even fights to the death that get concluded after like three blows. This hits you extra hard because Ishura is a show we all come into expecting superb action between powerful characters. This show will make you yearn for more dragged-out fights like those of Naruto! It doesn’t matter how much buildup a fight may have had across many episodes; the two characters will settle it in seconds, with no defenses, retaliation, raw emotion, depth, or substance. They do have shock value, but that’s all.
The plotline is laid-back but coordinated, and they don’t give you much information to work. Honestly, this show would be mildly better if it had more exposition and world-building, so you’ll end up just as confused as I was if you don’t pay strict attention to everything happening on screen across the wide board. Even then, I don’t think the story is worth the attention. It comes across as flat and unnecessarily complicated, especially for a 12-episode show that shortened good fights for redundant buildup. There are no intricacies or groundbreaking plot twists either.
The character department is unique because none of them are objectively good people and are subjectively not very likable. We all have characters we love regardless of how evil, idiotic, rude, brutal, sadistic, selfish, or any other similar negative traits they have; this is because they rock their role, and we love them for being the jerks they are. The best example is the KonoSuba cast: terrible human beings flawed in the most messed up and idiotic ways, but the plot and comedy of the show carry them to new heights. Essentially, Ishura is full of jerks, and whether you find them likable is up to your preferences. Most of this cast is severely flawed but very realistic, so props to the show for doing that well. But unlike KonoSuba, I found a number of them to be severely irritable.
Soujirou is a battle-freak samurai capable of going toe-to-toe with supernatural creatures despite being human. Tooi is pathetic and insufferable, meant to represent the toxic viewpoint of an average person amid superhumans, but I will admit that this is important for the plot's themes. Everyone else is guaranteed to be a complete and utter jerk (the correct mindset in a Battle Royale like this), with each hellbent on killing the others. Thus, we dawdle into the following problem: Too many characters! There are just too many introduced, and none of them get character development, making for a very surface-level cast that you couldn’t care less about. They do have variety, and I’m sure you’ll land on a favorite or two, but the show does not have enough time to flesh any of them out, so connecting with them becomes a challenge.
The art and animation department isn’t outstanding either, with a bucketload of comically awful CGI used here and there. The animation has no fluidity, and the fights are too short to have enough incredible still shots to salvage the wreckage. It’s like they used notably bad artwork and animation to fill the time unnecessarily and tried every trick in the book to avoid animating the excellent action scenes. This is glaringly obvious in battles between combatants who are not swordsmen; it’s like they didn’t know how to animate anything besides swords clashing. The character designs are campy, bland, and forgettable, and the backgrounds are so lackluster that I’ve forgotten what they were like.
The Sounds and Music department is the only thing I found satisfactory here. The opening theme is "Shura ni Otoshite" by sajou no hana, and the ending theme is "Hakka" by Konomi Suzuki, both decent pieces that were too good for the subpar visuals accompanying them. I liked the opening more, which follows a fast and techno-like style that reflects the dramatic Battle Royale setup of the show well, while the ending was more serious and reflected the cruelties of their world. The OSTs give off a feeling of unnervingness, driven by the dystopian setting, but otherwise aren’t noteworthy. I don’t have much to say about the voice acting either because while everyone did a decent job, their characters did not get enough time to shine.
Overall, I will not call Ishura a negative show because it has the potential to appeal to specific audiences. Some viewers enjoy shows with less exposition and clean-cut fights, which Isura does well, especially if you pay enough attention to the characters to become invested in them. Even with the lackluster animation, there’s plenty of wildness to enjoy without stressing about the details, but I’m sure most would love to see longer fights. There’s enjoyment to be had here, owing to the initial novelty and the complex progression through the myriad of characters. But I would advise you to steer clear if you don’t wish to expend your brain capabilities on the story and characters (which requires more than it should ideally) and are easily irritated by certain personalities. If you are going to watch, accept it as it is: a ruthless Battle Royale bathed in insanity and chaos until the very end!
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