Ikki Tousen: AKA Battle Vixens

Tweekums

Ikki Tousen, or 'Battle Vixens' as it is sometimes called in the west is a series whose reputation precedes it; that is a reputation for violence and fan-service! Set in an alternate modern day Japan school children battle each other in solo combat because they have the souls of ancient Chinese warlords in the coloured earrings they all wear. It appears that their fates are destined to mirror those of these warlords.

The protagonist is the ditzy and busty Hakufu Sonsaku; a powerful fighter who harbours a powerful dragon within her; this makes her very dangerous when it is awakened… for friends and foes alike. She attends Nanyo Academy along with her cousin Koukin Shuuyu; he acts as her protector. Because of her potential danger an order is given to kill her. This inevitably leads to a series of violent fights until the order is revoked. That isn't the end to the action though; in fact after the obligatory hot springs episode the violence increases and it looks as though major characters could die… in fact some do.

Given the series' reputation I was surprised at just how little nudity there was; apart from the aforementioned hot spring episode there was hardly any. There is however a gratuitous number of panty shots is every episode and any time female characters fight you can guarantee that their clothing will suffer major damage. The story isn't too deep but it is fun and there were more laughs than I had expected; mostly due to Hakafu's stupidity! The action scenes are well done and the violence feels real despite the fact that characters have superhuman strength… if somebody is kicked into a wall it is the wall that gets damaged! Given the violence, some of which is of a sexual nature, and the fan service this obviously isn't suitable for younger viewers but it is worth watching for older viewers… if only to see what the fuss is about.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

score 8/10

Tweekums 1 July 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3042662/