This anime was based from a manga created by Yabako Sandrovich and illustrated by Daromeon. I'll try to limit the review to what was revealed in the anime but will occasionally explain references from the manga. I highly suggest you read the manga for more context on some of the character's backstory.
Going to say it: Sub > Dub
Plot:
Kengan Matches have been around since the Edo Period of Japan. This is your standard fight to the death or until your opponent surrenders. Fighters represent a business owned by a merchant. Because back then, merchants had to hire assassins, do espionage, and other dirty ways to get their business ahead of competition. The Shogun that time, got sick of the fighting and underhanded methods these merchants do because it threatened public order.
The solution was creating an association that facilitates matches between merchants by proxy battle. Merchants hire fighters to represent them. These matches will decide the fate of their businesses depending on what is at stake. Merchants can wager who gets to build a building on a contested site, buy off another merchant's business, and forge partnerships. Anything goes on these deals.
In comes Kazuo Yamashita, your old corporate salary slave who happens to witness two fighters brawl in an alley by accident. Tokita Ohma, our protagonist with no affiliation, managed to beat the representative fighter of the Nogi Group, the parent company Kazuo's company works for. He had no idea what witnessing the event meant until he was invited by their company's president the next day for a meeting.
Because out best boy, Ohma, defeated their representative in an upcoming Kengan Match, Ohma was hired as a replacement and Kazuo as his guardian. This is how their journey starts as partners throughout the Kengan Annhiliation tournament.
The tournament will decide who becomes the next Head of the Kengan Association. It would be a competition among the members of the association.
Characters:
Tokita Ohma, a fighter raised by Niko Ohma and user of the Niko Fighting Style is the protagonist of the show. His motivations for fighting is to prove that his fighting style is the strongest. He entered the tournament for the chance to meet the one that killed his master. His motivations are straightforward to understand. Even when there are new plot developments throughout the story that add depth to his character, he still keeps that steady motto of just fighting to prove he is the best and his fighting style is the best.
He's not the usual protagonist you would see being involved in comedic relief or even has a sense of humor. He's just that brooding silent type that does not beat around the bush. His motivations are plain but I don't have any problems with this at all. In fact, it's the simplicity of his character that makes it someway relatable. You want to prove you and your technique is strong so you fight for it.
It's not that complicated to understand. The show and manga display these motivations consistently as he struggles to prove he is right. Ohma is not without weakness. He does struggle within himself and has doubts in his own fighting style. The show plays with this quite well.
Kazuo Yamashita, a corporate slave salary man, throughout the show, he is your side character that becomes a means of exposition for the show. He acts as another lens for the audience to understand the story. We see Ohma and the events unfold with our own eyes and his eyes.
His character development takes a while to appreciate with all the fighting going on. Kazuo is a comedic relief and a low key tactician. His skills of observation and intuition earned him recognition from other members of the association without him knowing it. He sees himself as a father figure to Ohma and rightfully so. I would say the relationship between him and Ohma are built from surrogate father son relationship.
Hideki Nogi, the chairman of the Nogi Group, this guy has ambitious to become the next chairman of the Kengan Association. He is also responsible for nudging Ohma and Kazuo into the tournament. He is know for being a schemer with several ulterior motives for doing stuff.
After tricking Kazuo into a debt trap to help Ohma gain entry into the tournament, it is revealed that Nogi has orchestrated several layers of schemes to obtain the chairman position of the Kengan Association.
The Good:
This is that one clip on YT suggestions that got me interested in the show on the first place.
The fighting scenes are not your usual hand drawn animations. They used 3D models here which usually get mixed reception. Most shows that tried mixing 3D and 2D animations in a fight failed miserably in both departments. There is a visual gap in what one can achieve with 3D and 2D that it just doesn't look right.
But in Kengan Ashura, I found the experiment to be a slight success if not, better than the other shows that tried to use 3D. Using 3D objects shortens the time it takes to finish an episode because frames no longer have to be meticulously drawn. 3D also opens opportunities for animators to experiment with perspectives as they 'film' the shot.
The fights felt more real as strikes were not portrayed heavily like superhuman feats. 2D animation tends to easily over exaggerate such strikes for more visual emphasis. Kengan Ashura breaks the standard fight scenes done by other anime by showing some degree of natural human reflexes during combat. There are no ultra super sonic speed punches but it is possible to create fast consecutive strikes that can be amazing to look at.
The plot is linear for the first season. It shouldn't be complicated when we are just here to watch people fight and cheer them on. I can't honestly help but compare this show to Baki (another popular fighting series). Compared to the other series, Kengan Ashura fights are borderline humanly possible. Some of the power spikes found in your using shonen anime can be seen here are well.
The fights between side characters are also something to look forward to. The anime shows a quick preview of their backgrounds but you can appreciate each character in depth in the manga. The match outcomes are unpredictable no matter how overpowered some characters were introduced. Being unpredictable makes the show better.
Character development for the side characters takes a while as the show slowly paces everything to Ohma and Kazuo's view point. But along the way, bits and pieces of the side characters are meshed into the plot reminding the audience that it's not only Ohma that matters in the show.
The Bad:
I initially didn't mind the parts where the anime skipped content from the manga. I watched the anime first so there's the reason. But after reading the manga, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that some characters had more to offer than quick screen time. But I could excuse that as a limitation to a show's time constraints.
Kengan Ashura had the potential to be a believable fighting show grounded to real world fighting. But there are some elements in the plot that makes absurd overpowered fighting styles possible. It's not as bad as superhuman fights the other show frequently gives (talking about Baki series).
I do agree with some fans that having some scenes animated in 2D works better but I don't think this influenced my decision heavily in terms of rating the show. I can say it's just a pass for my taste and considering the constraints in animation. The show is experimental that it deviates from the usual 2D sketch frame by frame animation.
Conclusion:
I recommend Kengan Ashura, the anime version to anyone that is interested in fighting anime genre. It's a niche show so I can understand that the display of muscles and testosterone will mean it would have a limited audience. It may make some want to hit go train at the gym in the hopes their punches could break walls.
The story isn't complicated to get behind and you can go in blind without reading the source material. I still recommend reading the manga if you want the full package.
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A hobby illustrator
