Five years ago a village was burned to the ground, and only three children survived. Now, as they live in peace in a church near a new town - a town that's not entirely happy with their presence - it seems that a powerful organization has come looking for them. To save their lives when their village was destoryed, the kids made a pact - and the nature of that pact is what's now of interest... From a longer-than-usual FT, to one that'll be shorter than usual. I knew abaout halfway through the opening credits for Hakkenden that this was lining up to be one of those shows that's simply Not My Thing, but since I'm not one to assume I watched through the episode anyway (hey, I got further with it that I did with Amnesia..). Three kids make deals with a demon to save their skins, gain Powers in the process, and those powers in turn become of interest to the Forces of Evil - in this case, the church. I'm sure I've seen this before, repeatedly... Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. I've watched enough magical girls shows to know they're as repetitive as hell, but that just proves the value of good execution. Hakkenden lacks that - it gives me no reason to like the lead characters, and when I hear lines like "They are the Goko Five Foxes from the Osaki Family, one of the Four Houses of the Sacred Beasts under the Church's care", my mind just hears "Silly shounen fighting show" and switches off. THE GOOD: Well-animated, at least, and some of the scenes are suitably creepy. I appreciate good creepiness. THE BAD: Just hackneyed, over-used ideas repackaged for a new audience, and I really couldn't be bothered. Go directly to the drop list, do not pass Three-Episode Rule, do not collect £200. Hakkenden is streamed by Crunchyroll.
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