Shikabane Hime Review

Needless to say, this series caught my interest, too. However, before I go any further, I gotta talk about an issue I have with the American release. Not because of the dub or anything, we’ll get to that in a little while, but because of the official release title “Corpse Princess”. It’s a direct translation of the original Japanese title, but there’s really no need for it. The characters classified as Shikabane Hime are referred to as such, and nobody uses the term “Corpse Princess” even once. Plus, there is no speck of royalty in any character, so really, this move was pointless. It’s like if they called Buso Renkin “Alchemic Arms”, but still used the Japanese title to refer to the weapons. Whoever let that motion pass should’ve been whacked on the head with a newspaper like a dog and told to stand in the corner to think about what he’s done, because he’s been a very bad boy.

So, this cheap knockoff of Bleach focuses on young Ouri Kagami. He claims to be fascinated with the concept of death. Why? Because a cat told him. Just go with it, anime can get away with that, I guess. He ends up getting involved in the affairs of Makina Hoshimura, a Shikabane Hime under contract to fight alongside his adopted brother, a monk named Keisei Tagami. She fights monsters called Shikabane, the dead who have revived because of their regrets and turned to grotesque form. If she kills 108 of them, she can get into heaven, but that isn’t her primary concern. She’s more interested in enacting revenge for the massacre of herself and her family by the hand of the Seven Stars, a group of high-level Shikabane who claim to act on nature alone. (coughlazycoughwritingcough)

So, yea. If this were a drinking game, take a shot at any aspect that resembles Yu Yu Hakusho or Bleach. Much like my Black Butler review, there are just a handful of concepts and elements that have just been seen before, to the point of being dated. But also like that review, this show managed to suck me in for what it is. The animation is really good; particularly for the action scenes, which are fast-paced, and almost looks a little sloppy at times, but that’s Gainax, the group behind Gurren Lagann and FLCL, for ya. They’re allowed to have that by now, because they make shows that are weird, but beloved. Watching gun or sword-toting girls fight monsters is cool as long as it can look good, and boy do they make it look good. Also, the coloring of characters is dulled, the sunset looks nice and the shading is intensified, especially at night. It really sets the overall mood well.

Okay, the characters: Ouri…is about as bland, dumb and obnoxious as they get. Why is this show trying to convince us that he’s the main character? He really has absolutely no relation to what’s going on, and they have to tell him that constantly. Whenever he enters the fray, it’s usually because either that damn cat told him to, he happened to beat the wrong place at the wrong time, or because of stupid curiosity. He’s a lot like Tidus from Final Fantasy X, with the only difference being when he talks, he sounds like he’s barely awake. Luckily, there’s no forced laugh scene. There’s a forced crying scene from him, though not quite as horrendous.

Keisei is much better. As far as his relationship with Ouri goes, he is, for lack of a better word, a typical big brother. He bullies him by pushing his fascination with chibi mowe fanservice anime on him,(it’s anime)and gets on the little bugger’s nerves, but he really will defend him no matter the cost. In fact, backstory will show he was like a big brother to Makina as well. When he gets serious, we can really tell he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure the two are defended. Good brother. Also, as a high-ranking figure, of course he’s going to have a handful of tricks up his sleeve (I kinda feel like most of it is stuff the writers pulled out of their asses to give the good guys a victory, but whatever) and it certainly makes his side of the fights interesting.

And now, Makina, who I’ve gotta give a yin-yang retrospective on. First off, she seems badass enough. An undead girl who fights with high-flying jumps, double machine guns and hard- hitting kicks, n’ combat moves? How awesome is that?! When she gets fighting, she can really send the bad guys packing. When you’ve got good animation to back it up, it’s pretty impressive. The counterbalance to it: She’s kind of a pushover. Most of the time, when she gets in battle, she gets smacked around, tossed, twirled, and even dismembered once or twice. Sometimes she’ll talk a mighty game only to fail up to five times before getting it right. It’s almost like Vegeta’s constant boasting about his power boost after getting the shit kicked out of him relentlessly to make it happen. However, one can sympathize with her when they learn why she does what she does, and what motivates her actions. They frequently say she’s dead and inhuman, but she proves quite opposite a number of times. Unfortunately, that ends up becoming a massive weakness. Obviously, when against the Seven Stars, she doesn’t think about her actions rationally, which of course, results in her getting the crap kicked out of her. Also, without spoiling too much, I’ll say one important character ends up getting the shaft at the end of the first half, and that results in her needing to reconsider her options. One trial she needs to do is learn to let go…and she ends up failing that miserably. It adds to the sympathy factor, yes, but when you welcome adversity into your personality, you are voluntarily making yourself cannon fodder, to other good guys, no less. She’s badass, but weak as hell. What can I say?

“Dammit! I bet 20 bucks that this shit wouldn’t happen!”

I also like most of the side characters. Many of them are underplayed, but when we’re given the hint that they might be pivotal to the action element, we’re curious to see what they can do. Some Shikabane Hime and Monks fight with swords, hand-to-hand, archery, claws or even a BFH (Big Fuckin’ Hammer), and that proves for some interesting innovation in fighting ability. My favorite of which is a fisticuff-attuned SH named Minai, who wields massive gauntlets and deals super-powerful punches, and normally wears a motorcycle outfit (and is even shown riding one), but is also incredibly nice and demure. We don’t normally see that kind of combination, it really is a contrast that turns out relatively well. Unfortunately, she gets killed off around the end of the show’s first third, for a SHITTY reason that fucking Tidus caused, but the last episode is also dedicated to her backstory, so that’s something.

“I like to kick ass, but I also enjoy unicorns and long walks on the beach.”

Okay, now for one more element that pretty much every anime has decided it’s going to have, but for this one, proves rather unsuccessful: Fanservice. For the most part it’s pretty much glanced over. I mean, there are about seven girls in the show who possess large breasts, and there are magazines and figurines of it from time to time, and even a bath scene. If you want to have that, fine. It’s not going to really affect the show, and it won’t be an issue. But it tries to be obnoxious sometimes, and executes it the entirely wrong way. Like one scene where Ouri is talking to one classmate (one of the seven that I mentioned), but also juggles listening to that fucking cat…again…So he tries to reach for it as it appears on her shoulders, and where should his hands land…but right on her tits. … I am not making this up. That actually happens. …No. No, no, no no, nonono, no, no, no, no, no, no…NO! You do NOT get to do that. You just do NOT! Somebody needs to find the guys who wrote and storyboarded this scene, bitch slap them across the face and say “NO! NO! BAD Writers! BAD!” You can’t just…Shit like this don’t fly in the west! There’s making your character accident-prone, and then there’s jumping, no, pole-vaulting the shark just for a gag you want to see. This kind of crap doesn’t just happen on accident, you know.

“Yes, that is a nice cooch, but I was only trying to swat a bee.”

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, (Don’t even think about it) time for the Dub or Sub part. Go for the Japanese version if you want, I won’t suggest one over the other, but the dub version works well enough for its audience. I will say that I love Luci Christian in just about any role she does, and hearing her as the subtle, vengeful and angry Makina is definitely a twist I love hearing apart from the high-pitched, cheerful and cutesy roles I’m used to. Other familiar voice actors, like J Michael Tatum as Keisei and Colleen Clinkenbeard as Minai (probably my favorite character in this show, who gets whacked off very early for a SHITTY reason) give good emotion to their roles as well, and Ouri’s excited, perverted classmate, Ushijima voiced by Johnny Yong Bo---I mean, Micah Solusod is pretty humorous as well as annoying for his part. And, Ouri is boring…and Aaron Dismuke doesn’t really help. Whenever he monologues, I just can’t help the feeling that he was half asleep in the booth, and when he expresses emotion, it sounds kinda forced and unenthusiastic. Oh, Alphonse. What did they do to you?

In the end, it really isn’t hard to pinpoint where the Secret-Oragnization-vs-Ghost-Monster storyline draws from several times, but seeing this series managed to entertain me well enough. I enjoyed the fights, felt sorry for a number of characters and looked forward to seeing how this ended. There’s a ROYALLY retarded twist ending, but I think you could probably get your ball bearings from this show. As long as any show this begets doesn’t spawn any other forced grope scenes, I think my faith in the future generation can safely remain intact. However, it’s currently hanging by a thread… *Shikabane Hime is owned by Funimation, Feel, Gainax, AT-X& Yoshiichi Akahito. Please support the official release by purchasing the DVDs wherever available or by watching it on Funimation’s website or Netflix.

“I smile to hide my sorrow at the fact that my life has no meaning.”