Review of Ikki Tousen: Vol. 2 Historic Battles (Battle Vixens)

Introduction

Ikki Tousen: Battle Vixens is about sexy high school girls getting into some knock down, kung fu action, and losing most of their clothes in the process. There. I said it. Let the moral outrage commence. Write to your MPs, complain in every newspaper, and picket the production companies. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! There is something painfully hypocritical about our enlightened Western society, where sexism is supposedly a thing of the past, where people are protected from the perils of overt sexuality in the media, and where gender equality is supposedly the norm. But then this is the society of the men`s magazine, where porn chic is a fashion statement, where showing porn on television is never going to happen, but the nighttime schedules are packed with wall to wall sex documentaries, with the same pornographic scenes being shown with a discreet mosaic and ponderous voice-overs. This is a society where sex workers are frowned upon, but classes are taught in pole dancing, where dance music has degenerated into a series of cover versions sold on the strength of videos featuring rhythmic gusset thrusting. It`s apparently called post-modern irony. You see the women are empowered and in control of their own sexuality, there`s nothing wrong in flaunting it, enjoying it, revelling in it, because this time the men are stupid for actually falling for it. And in the back of the mind of every post-modern reconstructed male, there is an unreconstructed male laughing at the opportunity at having his cake and eating it.

It`d be nice to take a break from the hypocrisy once in while, and Ikki Tousen would seem to be a good chance to do so. Director Takashi Watanabe states in the interview that his goal was to make a show with plenty of "panty shots and kung fu action", to cater for a male demographic. A refreshingly un-PC attitude that presents a show that does what it says on the tin, without having to wrap up its contents in a veneer of female empowerment or irony.

Sex and violence with high school girls then; my inner fourteen year old was rubbing his hands with glee, but with this being Volume 2, I had no idea what they were fighting about. A little research reveals that 1800 years ago, there was an earth shaking battle. Since then, the main participants have been reincarnated through the ages, destined to keep fighting the same battles over and over. Flash forward to the present day, and those warriors` spirits have been reborn into both male and female students that attend seven of the top schools in Kanto. Now these school gangs hold regular fighting tournaments to see who will be ascendant. The amply endowed Hakufu Sonsaku is rumoured to hold the spirit of Shou-Haou, a legendary all-powerful warrior. But her mother has been keeping her out of the high school fights until now. Her introduction to the Kanto rivalries is brutal when she enrols at Nanyo Academy. Her education is swift, although when in danger her personality changes and her fighting abilities increase.

Now in Volume 2, the Big Fighters Tournament commences, and the school teams battle to see who will emerge triumphant this year. But the reigning champion Totaku has his own plans that involve getting rid of Hakufu, while in the background loyalties and alliances are as slippery as eels.

This is the second of four volumes, and contains three episodes.

Video

Ikki Tousen gets a 4:3 regular transfer, which is clear and colourful throughout, although there is some aliasing to put up with. The animation is pretty lacklustre, with the action pretty static for the most part, and the design quite simplistic. That is except for the fight sequences that are a good deal more dynamic, except for the obligatory pause for panties with every kick.

Audio

DD 2.0 English or Japanese, with translated subtitles or signs grace this disc. The dialogue is clear, and the dub is adequate. Although I quite like the power ballad that graces the end credits, the Caribbean style opening soon begins to grate, and the incidental music is instantly forgettable.

Features

This release has a few extra goodies that go above and beyond the usual anime release.

You get the usual trailers, here for Samurai Champloo and Kiddy Grade, the text free closing, as well as a character art gallery with 10 images.

The Director`s Interview lasts around 5 minutes and sees Takashi Watanabe interviewed by Manami Fuku. He talks about the story, and why he made the anime. There is also discussion of capturing live action footage for animation reference. (For all you fetishists, this is where you`ll find a few seconds of live action gusset)

Finally there are the outtakes, 7 minutes worth, which has the English language cast goofing around. I raised a smile a couple of times, which was a first with this disc.

Conclusion

It`s rated 18. That means this isn`t a cartoon that you buy for little Timmy. This is for adults only. I wasn`t writing about sex and violence for my health you know. I suppose this would be a good place to mention the fan service. Fan service is a term meaning imagery designed to satiate the fans, which usually applies to bare flesh, panty shots, cleavage, and anything else guaranteed to get the blood flowing. Ikki Tousen overflows with fan service, but you should bear in mind that this is a Japanese television production, so breasts are fine, but no nipples, butt cheeks are acceptable but no dangly bits. Also there is sex, and while you don`t see anything, the implications are more than clear. Sex by itself wouldn`t raise the BBFC`s ire, neither would violence, but combining the two is skating on thin ice. Volume 2 of Ikki Tousen merits the 18 rating for sexualised violence, and while nothing is graphic, I can`t see myself arguing against the rating. But in some ways it is a shame, as I don`t feel that viewers over the age of eighteen will appreciate the subtle nuances of the plot.

Ikki Tousen is boring. And while my inner fourteen-year-old enjoyed the, ahem visual aspects of the show, there was little else of merit here. Scantily clad girls fighting each other are perfect teen fodder. Countless 3D fighting games have been sold on the gravity defying assets of their female characters, and I think the majority of players will be in their early to mid teens. But there has to be more than that if you want to create a narrative. Here we have the story of the reincarnated warriors, which should add some interest. Hakufu seems to channel the spirit of a dead warrior in times of stress, essentially changing her personality. In the background of the combat, there are the volatile relationships of the students, as well as political manoeuvring and backstabbing. But it feels like a half-baked script put together to paper over the gaps between the sex and the fight scenes.

Perhaps coming in to a series with the second volume doesn`t do it justice, but the story feels like an afterthought, and the characters are paper-thin. I have enough of an inner teen left to confess that the character designs, specifically the female characters are pretty to look at, and the fight sequences are just a bonus in that respect. But grappling girls and pneumatic breasts do not an anime series make. If you are that way inclined, then if I may point you to an era prior to the reconstruction of man, and the oeuvre of one Russ Meyer, I doubt you`ll be disappointed. As for me, I guess it`s back to the old FHM. I read it for the articles, honest. Ikki Tousen: Battle Vixens is one to pass by.