Alternative title(s): Hakyuu Houshin Engi
Manga Adaptation by C-Station
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Taikobo, a young man whose clan was wiped out by a beautiful, ageless demon, is charged with hunting down and sealing all immortals living in the human world.

Artemis’ verdict: Hard Pass

I’m assuming this is a remake, as opposed to a sequel, of the Soul Hunter series that aired in 1999. I never watched it, but the 90s feel is certainly still very strong here – the large pointed noses, the big rounded eyes, and just the overall feel of the piece. I don’t have a problem with that as such, and I’m sure fans of the show will appreciate the (I’m assuming) similar art style, although I will say that even now in 2018, Soul Hunter is clearly working on a tight budget. There are still frames aplenty, and the movement in general is just quite limited.

Technical issues aside though – including that god-awful OP – this is clearly not the kind of anime I’m into, or ever have been. It’s the classic battle shounen thing; it’s an exposition-heavy show for which you need to consult a glossary to understand/memorize every random new term that comes up, and one that veers wildly between seriousness and comedy every ten seconds or so. Needless to say, it also features a nearly all-male cast with one main, oversexualized female character whose defining traits are her tight leotard and absurdly large breasts. I’ve seen far worse anime before, as I’m sure we all have, but this is still exactly the kind of dull, simple-minded title that I tend to go out of my way to avoid.

Jel’s verdict: This Hurt My Soul

Despite spending the first ten minutes info dumping the plot, I could not tell you a single thing about what this show is about. Maybe I was just tired when I watched but it was almost like the sentences were just random words strung together and nothing made any sense. I’m more inclined to blame it on bad writing, or the assumption that we are familiar with the source material. On top of that, this very much looks like an anime from the late 90s/early 2000s and I don’t mean that as a compliment. The character designs are ugly (I blame the huge hands) and even the action scenes, which could have been their one redeeming quality, are super lame. I did not see Soul Hunter when it first got the anime treatment but I’m willing to bet you’re better off watching that.