Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys

“A Historical Action Saga”

Have you ever been a teacher at some point in your life? Perhaps not by official profession, but we have all taught something to someone else in one way or another. Whether you taught your sibling a card game, helped someone study, or simply showed an elder how to use new technology, aren’t all of these some form of teaching?

Teachers and leaders everywhere run into troublesome students and followers, which is where their true mentoring capabilities are put to the test. So imagine you had to get a group of unruly people in line against a very chaotic backdrop. This one series explores such a tale!

“Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys," also known as “Bucchigire!” is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 8th of July up until the 23rd of September in summer 2022. Geno Studio brought it to life while working with Ai Addiction, Bilibili, and Twin Engine on its production.

The main staff behind it include Kang Yue as producer, Hirakawa Tetsuo as director and on series composition, Yano Satoshi as sound director, and Mori Kunihiro as episode director and on storyboard. It featured the genre of action alongside the themes of history and samurai.

Each episode runs for a total of 24 minutes, receiving a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years of age or older. Celebrating the anime’s premiere, Tokyo Tower held a collaborative event back on the 8th of July and the 21st of August, 2022. The series was later released on Blu-ray and DVD formats in Japan on October 26, 2022.

The story begins in Kyoto, where a ruthless imperialist criminal gang called the Masked Demons launches a bloody attack against the Shinsengumi's Eighth Division, which serves as the law-enforcing squad faithful to the shogunate. Almost completely annihilated, the team’s only survivor is Heisuke Toudou, and he is left critically injured.

Unfortunately, Toudou’s troubles don’t end there, as he is pushed to rebuild the Shinsengumi by their local feudal lord, Katamori Matsudaira. Left with few choices, Toudou turns to eight convicts and offers them a chance at redemption. How? They must discard their old names and substitute for the eight Shinsengumi captains. As risky as this endeavor may be, Sakuya, a former assassin, immediately executes one of the criminals.

Unsurprisingly, Toudou has a tough time transforming the seven remaining criminals into loyal servants. Among them is the impulsive and vengeful Ichibanboshi, whose family had perished at the hands of the Masked Demons. His inherent lack of discipline threatens Toudou’s entire plan even more! Regardless, Toudou pledges to protect the shogunate against all odds: imperialists, foreign invaders, and opposing factions like Kogorou Katsura's group. As the different groups scramble to seize power at the dusk of the Edo period, Toudou’s ragtag team of miscreants has their work cut out for them!

Bucchigire is an anime that is neither good nor bad, where the number of positives is equal to the number of negatives. At the start, you may even wonder what on earth you’re watching for, but as the tale progresses, things get easier to digest and simply watch. It is not unique in any way, but it can be fun and interesting at times, and this is enough to make it fairly entertaining.

This is a tale of your average stupid but goodhearted protagonist, alongside their team of far more interesting characters, fighting off the bad guys. It doesn’t take any brianjuice to enjoy their shenanigans from start to finish, but that’s part of the charm. This show is entirely devoted to foolish entertainment and gets right to the point without dragging anything out.

There’s a lot to be said about the various departments, but let's start with the story. This plot could’ve been miles better, and they start by throwing a bunch of characters in our faces. The good side is that this provides us with a colorful cast of characters to watch, and they are one of the stronger aspects of the show.

There is someone for everyone, each matching different tastes, and they are fun to watch on-screen while also being great fits for the vibe. Each of them has committed a crime and has a special reason for being a samurai, most of which are selfish.

This morally gray side of the cast makes the anime that much more entertaining, painting a story that’s above average and exciting. This is the kind of tale that you’ll have no qualms watching, and you MUST be able to turn your brain off for most of the watch. Why? It can be very shallow and generic at times. So if you’re looking for a well-written, unique, and deep story, this is not your show. This one follows the guidelines set by the genre most of the time in terms of story, so it’s better not to fuss about it much and simply let it flow.

Looking at the character department, the main cast consists of the seven criminals who look like a set of colored pencils together. They get recruited to fill suspiciously vacant positions within the Shinsengumi, but it’s difficult to care about all of them when they're all introduced at once.

As interesting as the cast is, some of the secondary protagonists were better written than the main protagonist, which left me wondering how much better this show would be if one of them were the MC instead. On the flip side, all of them have great, compelling backstories and are pretty funny on their own too. The main cast utilizes similarly colorful swords that can function as a bunch of other weapons as well: guns, electric staffs, and so on!

The main antagonist is very generic, so much so that you can feel the plot twist reveal itself from a mile away. It’s not that this character is irredeemable, because some solid backstory would’ve made them a much better-written character, but they don’t bother with that this season. So there’s potential for this character in a sequel, if there will ever be any.

Although this is not a romantic story, I wholeheartedly endorse the connection between the cross-dressing gentleman (assuming the persona of a Geisha) and the cross-dressing girl (aspiring to be a samurai); they are simply too adorable apart. By the end, you’ll also be rooting for gender equality within the Shinsengumi, which was a pressing issue during that period.

The art and animation department is impressive. The artwork is super unique,and every character design is very distinctive, each outside the standard Samurai mold. The color palette is vibrant, the detailing shows the effort the creators put in, and it goes well with the overall vibe of the show. But there’s a solid chance most of the designs “drew inspiration” from other media characters; you’ll be reminded of quite a few if you’ve watched a fair share of anime or played some popular game titles.

The flashbacks are an important part of this anime, but they use red and cyan triangles as side panels, and this is quite off-putting. It follows a curtain-like pattern, which does not mesh well with the other visuals, so this department is certainly not perfect. The backgrounds had me in awe, perfectly fitting the historical Edo atmosphere and enhancing the show a lot.

The Sounds and Music department is not the greatest, but it doesn't rob the show of its positive aspects. This is unfortunate because much more could’ve been accomplished with masterful audio. At the very least, the OSTs match the show fairly well, and the sound effects are how they should be too, right down to the clashing of swords. I do commend the Shamisen scores and the traditional Japanese pieces, which were personally appealing to me.

They make a good attempt to match the music to the vibe of each scene, but it doesn’t always work out well. The opening theme is "Ichiban Hikare! -Bucchigire!" by Takanori Nishikawa, and the ending theme is "Danzai Democracy" by name-less, both of which are decent but nothing particularly memorable. There’s nothing that stands out with the voice acting either; it was there, and it did its job. The voicing for the better character interactions is commendable, though, because they just bounce off each other in a good way.

Overall, Bucchigire is very weak in the story department and, depending on your preferences, the characters too. The main cast seems to follow very popular character tropes, but their colorful designs and fun chemistry make up for it to some extent. Even amidst the many negatives, this show doesn’t fail to be entertaining. If you’re on the lookout for a fun action anime to watch without using your brain too much, I honestly will recommend this to you.

Conversely, if you’re targeting a deep anime that’s a cut above the rest, skip this without much thought. If you’re curious, give the first three to four episodes a watch and decide for yourself. This is a cheesy samurai story that solely aims to entertain, and they succeed in that endeavor for the most part. I’m pretty sure the creators had a good time making this show too.