Five hundred years ago, a feudal lord was attacked by demons wanting to retrieve his mysterious inner power, the invincible power that can help them take over the human world. The famous mage, TokimoriHazama, was called upon, and with his 2 students, managed to save the whole land. But they fell ill, the feudal lord was killed, his power was also buried with him at a site called Karasumori.
In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, became the kekkaishi protecting the land and the power. They use a technique called Kekkai, a form of magical barrier, used to capture and destroy Ayakashi (monsters/demons) that are drawn to this land. Any demons that come near the power will become stronger and therefore Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from intrusion of the Ayakashi.
But some of the demons form a powerful organization to take over that mysterious power. Yoshimori plans to destroy not only the demons, but also to gain the power to completely save the world from being controlled by demons. To do that, he first needs to know what the power actually is, and also strengthen his poor kekkai skills.
Story:
Yes Kekkaishi is also a Shounen show like its Bleach and Naruto counter parts, and it even uses the very same formula. But instead of trying to reinvent or remake the genre, it takes that formula and perfects it from the ground up. And that is what caught me by surprise as I was expecting a typical run of the mill Shounen series.
But after episode 4 I had to swallow the assumptions I had made so early about Kekkaishi. Yoshimori only wants power in order to protect the ones he loves. Yes we have heard and seen this before however, what gives Kekkaishi the edge over the others is that it has an ending and it leaves room for continuation unlike many shounen shows that drag on and on and end on a cliff hanger or a “what the ****” ending. The shows pace starts of really slowly, but it gains momentum as the series progresses and new characters get introduced on a regular basis keeping it fresh.
And usually when using the word Shounen boring long winded flash backs are always a must, you know those episodes were you want to take a fork and poke out your eyes. But not with Kekkaishi, the flash backs serves an important role in the show telling us the motives of the character and why he has taking the action he has. This is especially true for the bad guys in Kekkaishi, and that is also one of the facts that makes Kekkaishi stand out from the other Shounen shows, the fact that the bad guys get just as much screen time as the good guys and we get to see the reasons and motivations for there actions.
And yes like most Shounen shows Kekkaishi has fillers but they are kept to a minimum and even then, the story of these fillers always pertains to that of the main plot and don’t go totally off track like Naruto and Bleach does.
Characters:
This is where Kekkaishi really stand head and shoulders above the other Shounen shows especially the lead female in Kekkaishi “Tokine”, who isn’t you average big breasted useless in a fight Shousen bimbo. Tokine is a fresh main character who isn’t useless in a fight nor does she whine and run after the main male character in each episode.
From the start of the show there is a deep bond between Yoshimori and Tokine they clearly care for one another and it shows as Yoshimori protects Tokine from danger to make up for his past mistakes. During the early episodes we learn that Yoshimori was always the one crying and getting saved by Tokine when they were younger. But slowly the roles reverse as Yoshimori matures and comes to grips with his powers, which was a really nice touch to the character and the overall story of Kekkaishi.
There is always a hint of romance between Yoshimori and Tokine but being a Kekkaishi seems to affect the couple from taking there relationship any further which is kind of sad, since it could have opened a whole new venue in the show.
There is over half a dozen likeable characters in Kekkaish my two favorite characters would be Gen Shishio (Who appears later on in the show.) and Madarao a white demon dog that has served the Sumimura family since its founding. You get the feeling there is more to Madarao than meets the eye and you get to see that first hand during the course of the show.
Animation:
The animation style of Kekkaishi gives it a “fresh” feel, high quality fight scenes are typical of Shounen shows with crisp fluid animation during these fight scenes but where Kekkaishi differs is that it keeps this high quality through out the whole series. And what makes Kekkaishi even more interesting in that aspect is that, the animation is consistent throughout the series. I haven't seen such a series that maintains its fluid animation wise since The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Sound:
Kekkaishi’s OST for the most part is an average soundtrack with a couple of memorable track through out the show. The voice acting was above average and added to the overall feel of the show but nothing really amazing. With maybe the exception of the songs used during the opening and ending credits.
Enjoyment:
It doesn’t happen much anymore these days, me being surprised by an Anime show like Kekkaishi. I think the reason behind this is that is that, most Anime shows these days follow a certain formula when it comes to plot and story. If the formula worked in one Anime title it gets reused in another and this is especially true for Shounen shows like Bleach, Naruto and Busou Renkin.
I'm not a very big Shounen fan but Kekkaishi has really caught my attention. I don't believe the series is all that popular at the moment with western audiences. That being said it is currently the 3rd most watched show in Japan next to Naruto and Bleach, and that is saying a lot. But I am still a bit surprised Kekkaishi doesn't have a bigger following than it currently has, but hopefully this review will rectify this.
After watching Kekkaishi it has quickly climbed to one of my all time favorite Anime shows. As I stated before Kekkaishi isn't really a conventional Shounen series and the story is aimed more at the mature audience rather than your regular teenager. Would I recommend this to anyone? Hell yes I would and then some more, as it is a fun highly entertaining show, something that has been lacking in this seasons Anime line up.
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