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Busou Renkin「武装錬金�?~ “Arms Alchemy”

Episodes: 26
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Shounen
Studio: XEBEC
OP: “Makka Na Chikai” by Yoshiki Fukuyama
ED: “Hoshiakari” by Jyukai
Official Site: http://www.busourenkin.com/

Impressions:

At first when I saw a couple of screenshots of this, I thought ‘Kiba’. When I read that there’s alchemy in the series, I thought ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’. And after I finally finished watching the first episode, I thought ‘Bleach’! Wow, an anime that reminds me of three other titles, though the end result only left Bleach in my mind, though obviously it cannot compare with it (at least not now anyway). The episode exceeded my expectations mainly because I didn’t expect it to be good. In the end, it was decent. The action was pretty good; much better than Kiba but not as good as Fullmetal Alchemist or Bleach, but of course I can’t expect the first episode to be. The massed killings performed by Tokiko were pretty cool, though I wish the Homunculus were more biological than mechanical. Heads and limbs being ripped apart would look so much better on flesh and blood organisms rather than transforming robot-type things; the blood is the main thing it lacked.

The character design is only average but standard for a shounen series. I really hate Tokiko’s scar though, as well as her hair style. I wish the female lead would look more like Mahiro, but someone like her wouldn’t fit the role of the ‘chosen’ alchemist or whatever she is. The quality was high enough for a first episode and the action pretty good, though having seen Bleach has raised my level of ‘good’ action quite substantially. Kazuki’s alchemical weapon isn’t too flashy either. I don’t like big swords as they’re slow and even if the character swings it around super fast, it’d look unnatural. I had the same problem with Ichigo’s shikai, though when he went bankai I was like, ‘Man, look at that slick new black blade!’ I adore long, thin swords; dunno why though, I just do. At least big swords make ranged attacks look better, which is something every fantasy/shounen series has to have – a sword that fires beams. Though I don’t know how closely Busou Renkin will accord with the general shounen rules.

A few extra things now. Firstly, why is Tokiko wearing seifuku, or school uniform? It seems so out of place. Second, Mahiro is voiced by Hirano Aya! Though I didn’t realise until I checked Anime News Network and concluded that she used a higher pitched voice for Mahiro than the Haruhi I am used to. Third, Busou Renkin reminds of Bleach, as I have said before. Kazuki and his friends obviously = Ichigo and his buddies; Mahiro = Inoue (in role and looks); Homunculus = Hollows; Alchemists = Shinigami (wait, exactly how many Alchemists are there anyway?); Tokiko = Rukia; Alchemy = reiatsu etc. You get the drift. The sequence of events is similar to Bleach to, in the sense that the male lead is saved by the female expert, then it is reversed and the male prodigy saves the female lead (though it seems Kazuki is already lusting for Tokiko – that definitely did NOT happen in Bleach…) All in all, the episode was above average and enough to keep me watching…for now.

Story:

From ANN/AnimeNFO
One day, Muto Kazuki, a high school boy, saves a girl being assaulted by a big monster, but he is stabbed to death by the monster. However, the next morning, he finds he is alive. He wanders it was just a dream, but he meets the monster again, and he realizes his death is real. He and his sister get into a scrape, but suddenly, a girl in the dream appears. She explains him that the monster is a Homunculus made by alchemy. She also tells him that there is Kakugane in his chest in place of the heart. It is an alloy made by alchemy, too, and it is the only weapon to fight against Homunculus. Using the power of Kakugane, he beats the monster and saves his sister.

Plot Outline:

- Kazuki sees a girl in an unfamiliar school uniform in danger of being attacked by a large monster and goes to save her but ends up being killed
- He wakes up and believes it was all a dream
- He travels to school, where quite a few of the characters are introduced
- He is confronted by a teacher and is instructed to clean a the grounds after school
- After finishing the cleaning, the teacher approaches him and turns into the monster from the start of the episode
- The monster devours Kazuki’s little sister, which brings him into a rage and he tries to defeat the beast

- Kazuki’s physical blows do not affect the monster at all, but before he can be consumed by it as well, he is saved by the girl from earlier
- The girl destroys the monster with ease and releases Kazuki’s unconscious sister, Mahiro
- As Mahiro rests in the school’s health room, the girl explains to Kazuki about alchemy and the current situation he is in, as well as how Kazuki really did die but was brought back to life by her
- The girl dashes off to kill the rest of the Homunculus, which is what the earlier monster was, located at their nearby base
- Kazuki rushes home with Mahiro when she wakes up and runs back to the alchemist’s side (the girl), who is struggling with the last of the Homunculus
- Kazuki generates his own alchemical weapon – a large sword – and cuts through the leader of the Homunculus before it can kill the girl
- Afterwards, Kazuki insists that the girl allows him to help her. She finally accepts and decides to train Kazuki
- The girl introduces herself as Tokiko

Preview:

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