Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (Hakuoki Season One)

27/05/13   Japan has a rich and interesting history, and some of Japan’s most successful video games, anime, movies and TV series are based on historical events. The story of the Shinsengumi has been retold numerous times, and one of my personal all-time favourite anime, ‘Peacemaker Kurogane’ revolved around a young boy infiltrating the Shinsengumi with his brother. It was a brilliant anime, and is an absolute must-watch for any fans of samurai anime.
When I received ‘Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom’ I was ecstatic to learn it was about the Shinsengumi as well. While the interpretation is completely different, and the beginning is extremely slow, Hakuoki delivers an interesting version of the Shinsengumi that history buffs and samurai anime fans should check out.

The season begins with Chizuru, a young woman, traveling to Kyoto in search of her father. She is disguised as a boy, as it is far too dangerous for a woman to be wandering the streets of Kyoto by herself. One night, she is chased by Ronin (masterless samurai) and hides in an alley. The ronin are killed by demons, and the demons then attempt to attack Chizuru. Thankfully, the Shinsengumi arrive and save Chizuru, taking her back to their headquarters.

This is where Hakuoki becomes quite strange. The Shinsengumi meet, and discuss what to do with Chizuru. Like a bad first impression, all of the Shinsengumi act like jerks, and joke around about killing Chizuru until they discover she is in fact a woman, at which point Okita Soji decides Chizuru should get naked to prove it, so they can “have some fun”.
Joking or not, I found the writing to be pretty vulgar. It wasn’t funny, and it was pretty poor form to depict some of Japan’s most heroic samurai in this fashion. It took me a while to want to watch another episode, as the first episode seemed to be solely about a group of samurai arguing what to do with a woman who they had rescued.

Hakuoki, however, does manage to pick up and actually get quite entertaining after a few episodes. At this point Chizuru is joining the rest of the Shinsengumi on their patrols in search of her father, who the Shinsengumi are also looking for. Chizuru’s father is a well-known doctor, and while it’s implied the Shinsengumi are looking for him to help Chizuru, their intentions remained shrouded in mystery. One of the Shinsengumi, Sannan-san, is injured while protecting the village. His hand is injured, and will not heal, forcing him to undertake drastic measures to remain useful to the Shinsengumi. He takes an experimental potion, which transforms him into a demon, and reveals that it was Chizuru’s father who had developed the “medicine”. It might sound a tad weak or predictable, but the show actually makes you wonder just who Chizuru can actually trust, and the truth behind her father’s disappearance.

The action sequences are pretty far apart in Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, but they are entertaining. While the main story deals with Chizuru and her father, there are numerous sub plots going on as well. It can actually be hard to keep track of all the characters and their intentions, as there are the “Oni” trying to kidnap Chizuru for unknown reasons, an assassination attempt of the Shinsengumi’s commander, a mysterious princess who appears suddenly with cryptic messages, and other sub-plots.

Visually, Hakuoki is well designed and at times, very beautiful. There is a lot of clever colour use. In scenes where there is meant to be peace or beauty, there are a lot of pinks and purples met with shades of blue. The outlines of the characters are well defined, which highlights the colour use further. It’s hard not to notice the beauty in the artwork when it really is striking compared to other recent anime.

Highlight Moment

Without spoiling too much. I would have to say the last episode of the first seasonis definitely contains the series highlights. War breaks out, and there are a number of action sequences that are clever and entertaining. It will be interesting to see if Chizuru takes up the bsword in upcoming episodes.

Summary

It’s not easy to summarise Hakuoki, as there is so much going on at one time. It’s an enjoyable anime, though there are plenty of slow-paced scenes, which may begin to grate on fans of more action-oriented anime. One you learn the characters and get past the opening episodes, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is an slow-to-start but enjoyable beginning to a great series.

Score - 7/10

Written By Nick Getley