Considering that the initial manga is now over (with a sequel presently in publication), there is NO EXCUSE that the anime shouldn’t cover the entirety of the first manga, which covers the tournament Tokita and Kazuo enter. We know that tournament stories are nothing new, but with this anime, you’re getting a different quality of action you aren’t going to see anywhere else (which we’re going to get to). This time, the tournament in this series has a gimmick that offers a fresh taste in comparison to other tournament anime. As we shared earlier, the underground now rules old school kumite competition that you would see in Jean Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport isn’t merely about honor but settling business disputes. Take for example, the recent Disney/Fox merger and if any problems were to arise. Instead of settling it in court, you can settle it in a fight with a fighter of your choosing!

With the manga now complete, we can see the entirety of the tournament in anime form and not only do you get a full story, you also get a huge cast of characters. All we can say is you’re getting a lot of characters with the fighters and managers, and they each bring something to the table for viewers to be excited about.

For a series about action, this is one one of the main reasons you need to watch it. The original manga has some insane action that is real and somewhat not realistic. Either way, the manga does an excellent job of explaining how each character’s styles and techniques work, and we are positive it will make this way into the anime. Some characters are striking oriented, others are grappling oriented, others mix it up, and there are others that take it a bizarre step that you’d think were an old Soviet experiment gone wrong. Considering how devastating and brutal the action of the manga is, it will make great material for the anime as to how they animate the speed, power, and techniques of the featured combatants.

We can say for sure it will give Baki a run for its money. If you’re someone who loves martial arts action that is more grounded in reality, then Kengan Ashura promises to deliver on that. And the original art of the manga is very unique with how the muscles are detailed and based on the what we’ve seen from the trailers and screenshots, the upcoming anime is doing its part in being faithful to those qualities. So if you’re the type that’s really into detailed art and animation, then this is the anime for you!

Though our present exposure to the music upon the drafting this article is just limited to My First Story by King & Ashley, its intense guitar riffs and passionate singing does enough to get you excited for its adrenaline pumping action. If this is setting the tone with what the soundtrack has to offer, then it should stimulate our senses with sound and with the sight of its animation. Not only does My First Story fit excellently with the brutality of the action, it flows with the speed and just brings out the emotional content (as Bruce Lee would say) within its crazy fight scenes.

The voice cast also has some names that are fresh and seasoned veterans to the game that we are positive will give each character the life they need to make this anime exciting! Playing Tokita is one of anime’s hottest young talents, Tatsuhisa Suzuki. You might know him as the Japanese voice of Noctis in Final Fantasy XV, Akira Hose in Ghost in the Shell: Arise, and Makoto Tachibana in Free! We anticipate he can capture Tokita’s warrior driven nature and that he’s illiterate due to his upbringing. Playing Kazuo is Cho aka Shigeru Nagashima, who you may also know as the voices of Jaken in Inuyasha, Brook in One Piece, and Vice Principal Uchiyamada in GTO. Other notable names include Daisuke Ono, Megumi Ogata, Daisuke Namikawa, Rikiya Koyama, and too many to list but they’re all big names for its large cast!