review provided by Katie and Andrew
Title: Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA “Shugaku Toshi Keppu-Roku”
Director: Series-Koichi Ohata OVA-Rion Kujo
Studio: Series-TNK OVA-Arms
Author: Series-Koichi Ohata OVA-Koichi Ohata
U.S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment
U.S. Release Date: March 11, 2014
Format and Length: DVD / 12 Episodes + 1 OVA / 300 Minutes
Genre: Action, Ecchi, Martial Arts, School, Super Power
Industry Age Rating: 17 and up
Overall Personal Rating: C
Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Ikki-Tousen
Synopsis:
The fourth season of Ikki-Tousen delivers double the ditz when Hakufu gets a disciple. But training a pupil is tiring work and catching some sleep at random times puts a delay on her dreams of combat conquest. Hakufu is ready to rumble when word of a tournament gets around and that is when a sinister force sabotages the rival schools’ into submission. Can Hakufu muscle her way to victory and save all her friends from repeating their fatal past? You will have to watch Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA to find out.
Commentary:
I can only describe Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA as more of the same that you come to expect from the series. The story line, however small it was, moved at a very fast pace and I was lost most of the time. There are many flashbacks right off the bat in the first episode that can confuse you if you have not watched the first season of Ikki-Tousen lately.
However, they did decide to introduce two new characters, Kentei the self-proclaimed “True King” and Mouki Bachou, Hakufu’s disciple. Kentei is the one planning a new tournament for the Great Fighters so he can force them to fulfill their destiny from eighteen hundred years ago. He lures each fighter with a Magatama to an island under the name of Nanban High School where may hardships await them. Mouki Bachou’s main objective is to fight and win a battle against the person who killed her precious older brother and that person is Sousou Moutoku , the head of Kyoshou Academy. Mouki can be described as being reckless, oblivious to her own limitations, and a leaping and kicking disaster in pink sneakers. I saw her as the comedic relief among the massive amounts of fan-service.
The characters were drawn well and the fight scenes were interesting. However, the fight scenes overpowered everything else in the series because they took up most of the episode time. The rest of the time was spent filling the screen with fan-service aka shirt shredding and looking up skirts for panty shots. The plot is Ikki-Tousen classic, girls from different schools fighting until their clothing shreds apart. Nothing special there but with the two new characters added in this season we do see some character development, but not much.
The OVA, Shugaku Toshi Keppu-Roku, the three major schools are off to Kyoto seeking spiritual energy tokens called Tsubas. You also finally get an explanation for why there are no innocent bystanders hurt during the battles. Shugaku Toshi Keppu-Roku is supposed to be the sequel to Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series but it feels more like an abbreviated retelling of the series. Nothing special in the plot or characters but it was nice to get a refresher for the series.
Extras:
Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA includes “Six Dreamy Views,” promotional videos, clean opening and closing animations, Japanese commercial, U.S. Trailer, Funimation Entertainment trailers, and episode commentary as Special Features. Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA has English and Japanese languages with Japanese subtitles.
Overall Grade: C
Ikki-Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor-The Complete Series Plus OVA has an extreme amount of fan-service and it takes away from the story line. However, it is an okay anime for what it is.
