A few against overwhelming odds.
What They Say:
In the 13th century, the Mongolian Empire rapidly expands across the globe. Later historians who studied the prophecies of Nostradamus would say that Mongolia was the birthplace of the “Great King of Terror”, Angolmois. And at last, the force of the Mongolian Empire would turn their attention toward Japan… 1274: The Bun’ei Invasion. This story is a fresh look at the great battle that rocked all of medieval Japan: the Mongol Invasion. It shows how the people of Tsushima panicked, struggled, and eventually rose up against the overwhelming forces of their enemy.
Episode 1: “The Far End of Japan”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Angolmois is being adapted from the manga of the same name by Nanahiko Takagi, which originally ran in Samurai Ace in Japan until that stopped publishing, at which point it was moved onto Kadokawa’s ComicWalker application. It hasn’t been picked up for release in English yet, and I’m a bit surprised Yen hasn’t announced a release of it.
This adaptation is being helmed by Takayuki Kuriyama, who doesn’t have many credits to his name. He was an episode director here and there for a few shows. NAZ (DRAMAtical Murder) is the studio animating this, and they mostly do work for other productions rather than their own. This production is mostly an unknown going in.
Interesting coincidence that this manga about the Mongol invasion set in Tsushima Japan is getting an adaptation now when next year we’re getting a video game about the same invasion from a Western developer. That’s part of the reason I picked this up for review, to compare and contrast the two. That and I’m a sucker for historical fiction.
Exiled samurai general Jinzaburo Kuchii finds himself shipped out along with a group of other prisoners, both political and dangerous, to an unknown fate in Tsushima. A mutiny on board and arrival on the quaint island quickly makes the reason for their exile known. The leaders of the island are aware that the Mongols are preparing a massive strike force in Goryeo (Korea) of 900 ships. Knowing that Tsushima is first in line they were desperate for fighters. The conscription plan may not exactly have been the best idea, as several of the men rebel or escape, leaving only a handful behind willing to fight.
Willing to fight they are though, and we are quickly given a look at the warriors who are going to stand and fight in this war epic. Leading them, or attempting to, is Princess Teruhi, who is promptly kidnapped by a third party and has to be rescued by the men she conscripted. It’s just a taste of what’s to come because the fleet is on the move.
Being based on a historic event, the ultimate conclusion of this battle is known. The ominous opening scene clearly takes place at the end of the story. This might just be one of those ‘death and glory’ types of situations, and the lead and his men don’t really have a stake in this conflict beyond their lives. They were sold from death in to death.
The look of the show is very striking. The action animation is excellent, with no glaringly obvious tricks or shortcuts to hide the more complicated movements or censor the violence. Even though the battle is happening at night you can see everything that is going on. The character designs are wide-ranging and the lead is an adult man who is decidedly not a pretty-boy. The women have an aesthetic to their designs which reminds me of the style of anime from twenty years ago. The manga-ka actually appears to have looked to the historical record for what was available in clothing and technology at the time, and everything looks setting appropriate in a cartoony sort of way.
What is sure to be a point of contention among most viewers in the paper-texture filter they are using on top of all the art, which you can see in the screenshots. I know they were going for a historical look but it feels more like there is dirt on the camera lens. When the action is still it’s hardly noticeable, but as soon as movement starts it becomes extremely distracting because it doesn’t pan with the art. I hope they either tone it down in future episodes or start locking it to the camera movements.
In Summary:
Angolmois is off to a good start. While we’re still waiting for that Vinland Saga adaptation at least we can have another historical battle anime to tide us over. This first episode clearly sets up the coming conflict, the protagonists, and what’s at stake while getting the viewer right into the action. The leads are interesting and there’s a nice old-school feeling to the show overall. In fact, those that often bemoan the lack of good, mature anime like they used to make should keep their eyes on this show. If it can uphold this momentum this could be one of the better action shows of the last few years. Now if they could only cut back on the video filter a bit.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
