Moeyo Ken: A Clash From the Past! (2003)
Animation Production: Pony Canyon/Red Entertainment
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-4
By Kakumei Shojo

Introduction

The premise- 3 daughters of Shinsengumi heroes take up their fathers' swords to protect Japan against angry gods.

Story

Westernization is introduced to Kyoto. The old ways die off. The gods grow angry as they are forgotten. The Mobile Shinsengumi, possessing talent in swordsmanship and magic, walk the fine line of balance between the old ways and modernization. Kondou Yuuko, Hijikata Toshie, and Okita Kaoru are the daughters of the most influential Shinsengumi warriors. Too bad they don't have their fathers' reputation. Rather than becoming legendary heroes like their fathers these 3 prefer to spend their time bickering and complaining! Now they must protect an ever-changing Japan...that is if they don't end up accidentally destroying it first! Can Kyoto depend on these haphazard heroes?

Episode Synopses

Episode 1
Kyoto just isn't what it used to be. As Westernization extends into Japan the government orders its people to abandon their old ways and to modernize along with the rest of the world. A restless demon disguised as a distinguished gentleman with a wooden camera is summoned to preserve the "good old times", but when he takes people's pictures they disappear! The Mobile Shinsengumi are called to take action and to rescue the people of Kyoto.

Episode 2
The government continues demanding the old ways to be changed, including ordering the destruction of homages to the gods. When Gozu the Great's Commemoration Float is destroyed he immediately seeks retribution. And to make matters worse, Kondou has taken the wooden planks from it to fix a hole in her wall! Talk about disrespectful! Will the girls be able to subdue this angry god?

Episode 3
Something is wrong with Hijikata. Usually cold and stand-offish, she has somehow distanced herself even more than normal. Ignoring Hijikata’s desperate attempts to be left alone, Kondou and Okita grow concerned and decide to investigate. If they survive the vengeful samurai spirits intent on destroying them will they be fortunate enough to survive Hijikata’s wrath?

Episode 4
The 4 powerful Chinese gods of the North, South, East, and West are weakening for some unknown reason. Kondou goes to investigate and discovers a blast from the past. But before she has time to do anything about it the government appears and confiscates all belongings of the Mobile Shinsengumi. With no money to reacquire their possessions Okita and Hijikata decide to go their separate ways. Can Kondou convince them to return or is this the end of The Mobile Shinsengumi?

Review

Some infamous names in the anime industry have united to create Moeyo Ken. Written by Ohji Hiroi and produced by Red Entertainment - the masterminds behind the incredibly popular Sakura Wars, there is already a lot of draw for people to see this series. Add Rumiko Takahashi to the mix as the character designer (Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha) and you are sure to have a hit! Right?

I was looking forward to reviewing this DVD. The names associated with it were enough to get me excited. Besides, the premise sounded very interesting. 3 daughters of Shinsengumi warriors must protect Japan from demons enraged about the changing of the times.

The girls live in one of the other Shinsengumi warrior’s houses with his widowed wife (their employer and guardian), 2 boys, and Nekomaru, a giant demon cat with the mentality of a child. Fulfilling her husband’s dying wish, Oryou promised to protect Japan. To do so, she employed the Mobile Shinsengumi. She supplies them with the latest technologies- a futuristic looking race car, and magical samurai armor. The problem is that the girls seem to do more destruction than even the demons! Between their trouble making and petty arguing they don’t appear to be very dependable. As a result, the people tend to express concern whenever the Mobile Shinsengumi is involved. Feeling underappreciated for not receiving the same respect as their fathers, the girls grow resentful. To intensify problems they have no money, so they are completely dependent upon their employer.

How do they cope? They argue! Kondou is the chief, but is completely vulgar, outspoken, and selfish. She is probably the worst person for the job. Hijikata is quiet, reserved, and a loner. Not a wonderful teammate. Besides, she and Kondou are constantly locking horns. They should try to get along though, considering their fathers were comrades and fought together side by side. Okita is probably the nicest of the bunch. She tends to be the one to placate demons and gods. Unfortunately she also tends to be over emotional, and when something upsets her she lets everyone around her know by creating an aura of light that destroys the surrounding area. Somehow, the girls manage to become a team long enough to handle an angry demon or resentful god. When they actually are working together as a team they can be a very effective one. Then something will happen to set one of them off (usually Okita) and they’ll end up doing more harm than good.

With only four episodes there really is no time for character development. The different character types in Moeyo Ken are a commonality in anime series, and there wasn’t any particular favorite I had. The four episodes were more about the interaction between the characters as opposed to their development. Sometimes the interactions were amusing, and sometimes they occurred too often for my taste, or were too overdone.

The series is also very episodic. A problem is presented and resolved at the end of the episode. There is a little bit of story that links the episodes together, but overall I felt that story telling elements and character development were utilized too few and far between. I prefer stories that embellish upon the characters, so that I have a reason to feel emotion towards them. One of the reasons I like anime as much as I do is because of the fleshing out and developing of the characters. Typically by the end of an anime series I have experienced so much with the characters I feel like I know them. In Moeyo Ken there weren’t any characters that I felt like I knew. Now I understand that this is the first 4 episodes of the series, but the way the 4th episode on the DVD ended makes me wonder if there will be more released.

It was strange watching this after just finishing Samurai X Reflection. Coincidentally, Moeyo Ken is set in the same time period; during the Meiji Restoration. However, this series is nothing like Kenshin. Although set in the same time period and place (Kyoto) the tone and style are completely different. Certain landmarks will be instantly recognizable, but although the backgrounds might be reminiscent of each other, the animation on the foreground is completely different. Like Kenshin, you have the elements of past converging into the future and the government ordering the people to abandon their old ways as they move towards the future. In Moeyo Ken there is a futuristic Sci-Fi element, like the car they drive around in and the magical samurai hardsuits they don when the battles get rough.

This series was, in many ways reminiscent of Sakura Wars, with samurai females utilizing futuristic technology to protect the people. While not exact there are most certainly enough parallels between the series that it is impossible not to see that Moeyo Ken is the next generation Sakura Wars.

The problem I had is that it tried to emulate Sakura Wars too much. I wanted to see this series perhaps start with a similar concept, but evolve into its own.

In regards to the voice acting, I felt that everyone did a nice job. I watched the Japanese version of Moeyo Ken, and what was strange about this series was hearing all the older, lower female voices. Okita is the only female character that is younger and as a result her voice is higher pitched. Both Kondou and Hijikata’s VA’s utilize their lower registers to sound older, tougher, or mature. Typically in anime you hear a lot of high-pitched youthful voices because your main character is a teenager, or young and naive. In Moeyo Ken, it is apparent that at least Hijikata and Kondou are older, even if Okita is the most mature and sensible. I felt the choices in VAs were very appropriate to their characters, and that everyone did a nice job.

Final Thoughts

Certainly with the combined efforts of such influential anime forces, a talented cast, and a great concept this series was going to be good. At times the series was downright brilliant, but with just 4 episodes it is very hard to evolve the characters and create a cohesive story. Like I said before, the concept is great! I love the idea that these 3 female warriors aren’t trying to preserve the old ways, or the future. They maintain the balance between the two, when they aren’t pettily arguing that is. My biggest problem is that I felt for the kind of work Red Entertainment, Hiroi and Takahashi san are known for this series did not reflect their full potentials. However, if you like Sakura Wars you might want to check out Moeyo Ken. As a stand alone series its definitely enjoyable.

Kakumei Shojo