Review of Isuca (2015)

Review of Isuca (2015)

Hello, everyone, it's time for a new review.

I just started this new anime yesterday by the name of Isuca. From what I read on MyAnimeList, the show sounded interesting. For the most part I found it entertaining to watch, although I wouldn't rank it in my top anime. What more, the series is only ten episodes long, so it took little time to complete this one.

The story follows a high school boy named Shinichirou who is rescued one evening from a monster by a mysterious archer. The next day he runs into that very hero, one of his schoolmates, Sakuya. Shinichirou was on the scene during one of Sakuya's battles, and he attempts to aid her, and through that assistance, it is discovered that he has a special ability of passing on spiritual energy to anyone he kisses. What more, it is revealed that Shinichirou also has the ability to discover a spirit, or mage's true name.  Needing money, Shinichirou takes on a job as the maid and cook for Sakuya, in addition to helping her with her responsibilities of sealing away specters who want to kill humans for their life force.

The first thing I have to say about the plot, is that it is pretty interesting. While it may have a few magical girl cliches, I still think it's original enough to stand on its own. The plot is easy to follow. The antagonist is powerful, without being over the top. There is also the subplot of the two teenage relatives--Sakuya and Suseri--competing for the title of the family's leader. The story alone makes the show worth a viewing.

The story gets high points for me, however, when it comes to the characters, I find several of them to be lacking.

I find the character of Shinichirou to be your basic, average high school male that anime fans have seen hundreds of times. He's nice and polite, but he's awkward around the women who desire him, and due to misunderstandings is often called a pervert by Sakuya. I find him to be too much of a pushover when it comes to Sakuya, and I'm surprised he didn't end up leaving Sakuya halfway through due to how awful she treats him. On the other hand, he proves himself to have lots of courage when it comes to battle, with how quick he is to put himself in danger, and sacrifice his life force to rescue his teammates. While he may be cliche, I still think he's likable enough to carry his weight in this series.

Now onto the number one problem I had with this show, and that is the lead female: Sakuya. I find it difficult to like or support Sakuya. She's currently the head of the Shimazu family, who hunts down specters, and she's trying to prove to them that she's the right candidate for the job. While I can understand she's under a lot of stress, her personality is so awful, I just can't root for her. She treats Shinichirou horribly, so much as to never even pay him for his services, as well as resort to physical violence for things that aren't even his fault. She is stubborn, selfish, and rarely shows any gratitude for anything anyone does for her--even small things, such as complaining about the stew and demanding that Shinichirou remake it for her. She's so quick to lash out at people that I just view her as an immature brat who isn't cut out to be the leader.

Tamako, the cat demon, has to be my favorite character in the series. I love how close she is with Shinichirou based on how he saved her life, and the fact that he unintentionally became her master. She is brave, which makes her useful in a few fights (at times even more useful than Sakuya), and willing to help out her friends at the cost of her own life. She also provides a few moments of comic relief.

And finally, there is Suseri. I find her to be more likable than Sakuya, but even she doesn't strike me as leader potential due to her recklessness. While she may come across as cold at first, she's not harsh like Sakuya. Her desire for wanting Shinichirou is initially based on his magical abilities, I do like their progressing relationship. Over time I believe that her love for him is sincere. I also believe that the two of them have better chemistry than Shinichirou and Sakuya. What more, she seems to be the only character in the series who undergoes some sort of character development.

Now onto the main antagonist of the anime, and that is the title character: Isuca. As mentioned before, she is a powerful mage, and I like how difficult it is for the good guys to fight her. However, her motive is not really clear. She explains that she hates Sakuya and her family, but never gives much of a reason for it. Also, her character has no redeeming qualities; she strikes me as being pure evil, at times just for the fun of it. Not to mention she has that cliche villain laugh. While she may be a decent adversary, the depth of her character lacks heavily. Perhaps this is something that is better explained in the manga, or will be explored if ever there is a second season, but as of now I find her to be a flat character.

There are also several minor characters that add nothing to the story and are given screen time for reasons I cannot comprehend. The most annoying of these would be Shinichirou's classmate and friend who is only there to stare at and talk about females. The teacher and I suppose family member, Nadeshiko, is also without purpose for the most part. It feels that she is mainly there for exposition. I know giving a decent amount of screen time to useless minor characters is a staple in many anime, but I still feel they're a waste of time.

The highlight of the show in my opinion are the fight scenes. For the most part I find them entertaining to watch. However, the moves can be repetitive, especially from Suseri who uses the same attack over and over again. I think the best one is in episode four when the katana possesses Sakuya and she is forced to attack Shinichirou. I just like the suspense of that fight. I also would have liked to have seen more sword fighting from Shinichirou as the series progressed.

I also like that the battles are not easy for the characters. In the major battle of the first episode, it took three characters to fight the specter. It's rare for Sakuya's attacks to work the first time (I think it may have happened once in the whole series). If the fights are too easy it makes it uninteresting for the audience. I think this anime did good with keeping the fights long enough to be interesting, while short enough to keep attention from fading.

In addition to this being a magical and action anime, it is also heavy with the ecchi. As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I don't like ecchi for the sake of ecchi, which unfortunately this show is. There are numerous unnecessary moments when clothing is torn off of characters during fights, or that infamous scene in the locker room with the rat demon in episode two. In regards to the first one, I find it ridiculous because after the fight in the first episode Sakuya sports no severe bruises/scrapes/scratches, and her hair is still neat, yet it's her clothes that are tattered; or the instance in a later episode in which the snake specter's poison burns off Tamako's clothes, but there is no actual damage to her person. Not only do I find that to be unnecessary fan service, but also unrealistic given the conditions. Then of course there are the many times that Shinichirou falls on a character, or accidentally ends up in a compromising position which leads to unfair abuse (slapping, being labeled as a pervert, etc) from Sakuya due to her embarrassment. This is not the first time I've seen this done in anime: I didn't find it funny before, and I still don't find it funny now. My opinion remains that if your story is good enough, you don't need useless ecchi to sell it.

The art is standard: it's not bad, but there's nothing about it that stands out either. The characters themselves look like typical anime characters. The only exception is the lead male, who just looks plain. There is nothing bold, or special about the color schemes used. Even the specters look like monsters shown in countless anime before.

There is nothing special about the music. There are no songs that stand out, nor are there any that I find annoying, in fact I hardly even paid attention to the background score. So as far as the soundtrack goes, I find it slightly below average.

In conclusion, I find the story to be interesting, however the ending is unsatisfying. If there is a sequel I will definitely check it out to fulfill my curiosity. The characters have little development, and this is another anime in which I find the protagonist too annoying to like. Fortunately for her, but not for the anime, the antagonist is also lacking in character development. There are some interesting fight scenes and plot twists. The art is neither good nor bad, just basic. In all, that's actually how I would classify the series: average. I think it's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do, but it's nothing spectacular.

Isuca: 6/10

Music: Anime openings
Beverage: Acai Berry Storm Mio