When people make certain decisions in their lives and truly desire something it could forever change their life it could even come true if they worked really hard in this world to achieve it but thats under the understanding of our world. But what if you were about to die and really desired to live what would happen? How about some nasty or beautiful entities come and grant those wishes to keep you alive but for a price eveeen if the price falls upon both parties. Well in Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun thats all possible if you truly desired it and even then you kinda have to be in the right place at the right time. Luckily our main character Shino Inuzuka exactly was wishing that and he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time while dying from a tragic accident but it turns in to be the right place and the right time as he is saved by the Churchs Riou Satomi but his price is a lot larger than any as the boy will forever not age forever aged 13 or die technically an immortal not only that he gives born to a grow who is called Murasame who is meant to be this super powerful entity thats what we are led to believe that when is called for bursts through Shinos skin and comes out as a sword yeah I know weird transformation. Also his friend if not family is a dog and his best friend Hamaji well we dont know about her yet but I suggest she is something too. Thus their lives changed as well. He is now no longer alive what will his life be like now? Right just before we go into this review I would just like to say that I will be marking this solely as if there wasnt even a second season but that doesnt mean I wont mention anything about it. Thats all I would like to say so lets get on with this review. Story 8/10 Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun is a an Action Shoujo and a Supernatural anime with katanas and all that which would make you think that this could have some real good battles and fighting scenes but can I just say right now dont bother if you are here for action because you will be wasting your time. I mean dont get me wrong it has its moments but they dont last long and theres nothing really to them anyway. This anime or this season wasnt based on Action and theatrics its based on one big ass puzzle with what seems to be a deep story which is slowly but surely coming together and by the end you will definitely see why this anime got a second season and what exactly is a drawing them in together as it was hinted quite a few times throughout the series. This series while trying to tell the story goes about it really slowly with barely anything happening. Some of you viewers might give up with this anime 5 episodes in because lets be honest nothing actually happens for like a good 7 to 8 episodes for me it wasnt till the 9th one that it really got interesting. Its around there that all the previous episodes start to make sense this anime is just simply you getting to know the characters the feel of the story what they are and get into the feel of it but honestly I think it failed at getting you into it until you get to that exact part of the series. Anyway its more like a long introduction of sorts still if you got through a whole lot of nothing then you are definitely are rewarded with a lot of mystery. Im sure you will be going straight onto season 2 in no time just wanting to know more and what the outcome could be well at least I certainly am. This animes good points are its strong story and presence while definitely giving us some good characters to enjoy as well. The characters certainly bring the story together and there is something real deep and mystified about each character especially Shino Inuzuka and Sousuke Inukawa. I think you all will be very surprised just how good the actually overall experience was like by the end even if the start was such a drag. For the bad points well like Ive said this anime literally goes nowhere for like 4 episodes they then suddenly get sent off to another town and now have to look for beads and you think this is where something begins but again nothing. At first you really think something deep is going on and shit is about to go down but in the end it was a totally let down seriously You get all dumped just for it to be all thrown away I mean it had the entire plot there and everything and at first you think Wait? What? That it? Cant be serious right? They build it all up and even the atmosphere just for it to end like this? There was a real good plot but the conclusion was very droll and boring. This is where you will strangle because it continues to do this. Theres even a random encounter on a train and ends in them making a friend and leaving him obviously the guy wasnt any normal guy and there something more to it and all that but still makes you think what exactly was the purpose of that guy? You know forget that question what was the point in the episode? You need not worry in the last few episodes everything begins to make sense I can assure you. Now I did say that this anime is solely story more than anything and yes that is correct but this anime has Action in it I mean come on It has flupping demons swords entities and bloody deities in it and yet nothing really badass happens or no real challenge at all throughout the whole thing apart from this mysterious character that doesnt get introduced until later in the series and he is like the first and only real threat that I know of throughout the whole thing. I wish it done it sooner because I honestly think people could lose patience of just how slow it progresses. Also the actual battles are nothing all that much either pretty standard none interesting stuff if they were to have a battle I wished it could have been more intense like maybe bring the story into the fight make it feel that little more intense and stuff but what do I know huh? In the end I think you could count the number of battles there were on your hand. I would love to make an example but then this review wouldnt really be spoiler free but you will see what I mean. For shoujo side of things well I couldnt say any girl or man wouldnt be disappointed at all the characters are all hot guys and that main character when his curse was lifted my god I think when I saw him I think I was just as stunned as Kobungo Inuta was haha. In the end it really just depends if you dont mind too much about a stories pace or anything like that then this wont be a problem for you in matter of fact it could even be fairly enjoyable and likeable as well. The story is certainly not perfect and it did have some real flaws. If youre a person who saw Katanas the genre Action and Supernatural and thinking its going to be some real fun and awesome battles then again sorry you are being totally miss leaded. Art 9/10 Art was amazing Recently animes art and animation have been astounding like they really have stepped it up a notch to something suppose from like an anime like maybe 3 or 4 years ago and I honestly think nowadays our rating on art should be a little more strict as there are less mistakes to point out now due to all this HD. Still again this anime I just couldnt bring this rating down any further than 9 because the art was like I said amazing. The entities were either beautifully animated and welldrawn or damn right suited to their looks or name take for example Shinos Murasame a crow with black feathers with this like evil look to his eye. Then you have the deities which look like what they were and yet so wonderfully drawn and animated I mean you could tell them apart from maybe some normal entity or demon. Literally everything supernatural was I would say stunning as simple as that really. That crow coming how of Shinos arm come on That like creeps me out a little whats worse he doesnt have any reaction to him whatsoever when it happens. The actual characters were very well drawn as well I wasnt too keen on Hamajis art but for me I eventually didnt mind matter of fact I liked her art as well in the end. Background was again well drawn but nothing really special. Its something you would expect from a 2013 anime. Ignore if you wish Damn I hate rating backgrounds because like who has the time to read the subtitles look at the screen and whats actually going on while trying to soak in the background when nothing happens there argh. End of gibberish Reason not for a ten is that I had one problem it just didnt seem right and Im sure you viewers will feel the same way is that when you go into a wider perspective when like Shino is next to Shousuke and see just how small he is to them it felt way too weird and off at the same time like something just wasnt right there he looked like a midget. However when I saw his real form without the curse I honestly think the art for it was magnificent and I truly thought it was better and it definitely suited in the crowd a lot more than in his small boy form. Shino: Eh? Naaaniii? Sound 6/10 One thing this anime definitely falls in is the music the music was simply just there the OP theme song after listening to it once makes you want to skip it every time so you can just get right in to it doesnt want you to stay back and listen to it. Im sure if you keep listening to it you might not be bothered by it but let me just say this if you listen to ANY music long enough youre going to like it by the end of it all until youre just sick of hearing it wait thats like that with every music oh well. One thing the OP did have which was good was the chorus with its hard beats and upbeat chorus was definitely nice but thats about it. As for the sounds in the anime they were fairly good they did add to some scenes and scenarios so they definitely did a good job there. The EP Theme Song is a little worse than even the OP as for the OP had a nice Chorus and instruments and so did this instrument wise but as for the lyrics and the song itself just didnt seem right I aint going to say that it didnt fit because the lyrics and the song is meant to resemble the anime itself. So I definitely will say for sure that the worse side of this anime is the music by far this is something Im hoping was done better in season 2. Also the reason for the 6 and not a 7 is purely because of the fact the year of this anime is 2013 and I honestly think music since last year has really been kicked up a notch nearly every new anime Ive seen has had outstanding quality of music and its getting harder and harder to rate so this is the reason and I compare to todays animes and this just isnt up there with them on this department. Characters 8/10 The characters were surprisingly very well done they werent boring very far from it. And Im leaving everything about the characters up to you because this story revolves around them but mainly the main character but dont they always argh so clich haha. Anyway the characters are all likeable and you knew which ones were mysterious or ominous beings. They all have something to them and every character seems to have a part of the plot even though it centres around Shino which is nice to see that it aint just all about the main character all the time. I find that so refreshing. There will be still characters that feel a little off or know nearly nothing about which is sad as I wished it went it to that a bit well I guess it did but I just thought maybe a little more still hopefully that gets all explained in season 2. There was a problem however its when a certain characters arc ends all of a sudden what we saw in the arc turned out to be totally different in the end matter of fact even joking and having a laugh to make the comedic moments which it did poor at if I might add. To be honest it confused the hell out of me that they turn to what they were in the arc to suddenly not giving a crap or continuing like nothing happened I just found that so weird. Meh its nothing mager but it just bugged me so I thought I should point it out. Enjoyment 7/10 Beginning stint was just a little confusing and weird at times but they were still fun episodes to watch just seeing how everything unravels is a nice thought. Basically this anime I dont think was meant to be all this fun fun times but more to immerse you within its storyline to get you to understand things what the characters are like their pasts and what kind of plot the series be going after that sort of thing and have you noticed its either about the story or the characters which make up the story as well. It centres around story not action. So if you are that kind of person then I suggest just giving this a miss. The beginning was a drag and could make you feel a little bored but I still think you will find yourself marching on further and further through this anime. For the later stages of the anime it kicks it up a notch by bringing an unknown being into the mix and showing us some new stuff it was certainly a joy to watch like Ive said so many times already throughout this review. So if youre watching this just hang in there and you will be REWARDED. Overall 8/10 The anime was just too slow to begin with and the viewers could well be fed up and just give up on the show due to nothing really happening at all and seeing even nothing during even the action doesnt help this anime by any means matter of fact makes it worse. Weird characters also just forgetting what just happened to them during the series and now just seem to act normal and jokingly which is nice to see that they are doing well but it just doesnt seem right the way they act as if nothing has happened to them at all. This anime however is good at telling a story it gives you lovely backgrounds on characters gives a deep storyline that is slowly but surely coming together which longs the enjoyment for more content amazing characters and meaning. Even the connection with the whole bead business it really does make for an interesting show to watch and when you finally get the last few episodes then youre going to enjoy this anime even more and makes you feel like you understand what was going on earlier and why they went the way they went with the show and it doesnt make It all that confusing anymore not only that it actually gives you more good times than anything its dark its deep and its mysterious how about that hey? Ive said quite a few times already but I will say it again this anime is NOT for people who are looking for just some awesome action and good fun fun times because youre not going to get it however if you are a person who wants to have a real story based then this is it or just want something that is a little mysterious then this has it as well or just want a deep story and awesome characters then again this anime has it. Its simply about the story and the characters nothing more or less. I recommend this to anyone who is anything about story and for people who like shoujo and all that I also would recommend this to people who like a deep mystery with mysterious characters. And I dont recommend to anyone who want something less serious or action and beefy time because it just aint going to work out for you. Reviewers Rating: 8