Skin Deep
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Action, Comedy, Ecchi, School
- Airing Date : October 2018 to December 2018
- Producers : TNK
Contains Spoilers
Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen (Senran Kagura: Shinovi Master) Introduction and Story
Based on a reasonably popular gaming franchise about ninjas who specialize in decimating their target's clothes, Senran Kagura Shinovi Master serves as a sequel to 2013's anime adaptation. Retaining most of the source material's roster but following an adaptation-only storyline, Senran Kagura sees the primarily female cast dragged into one person's revenge fantasy. Despite practically being one herself, a tragic incident leaves Fubuki hating the very existence of shinobi! With the assistance of the gullible Gekkou and Senko, Fubuki stages a tournament and invites the best (and most well-endowed) ninjas in the game. Asuka's team is attacked, demons are involved, and—yes—there are multiple bath scenes! Senran Kagura Shinovi Master strives to be a titillating action romp, but does the anime strike the right balance?
1. Shounen of Yesteryear
What constitutes a great season of Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen? How important are the battle scenes? Or, is victory solely determined by the anime's ability to arouse viewers? While hardly works of art, the games successfully blend flashy combat with over-the-top ecchi to create a satisfying enough package. For the most part, the anime offers a comparable experience, although one cannot rely on gameplay to pick up the story's slack. Nevertheless, Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen is a serviceable action ecchi series. Possessing far more nudity than most of the anime's contemporaries, TNK's adaptation is not afraid to show all of the skin. Characters are constantly portrayed in various stages of undress, and the animation tends to be decent during these scenes. When it comes to action, Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen's later episodes show a touch of improvement, although battles are never offensively terrible.
1. Boring Ecchi
Whether eating a box of chocolates or watching an ecchi anime, variety is key to a fulfilling experience. Disliking ecchi is a valid reason for not enjoying Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen, but it is not a valid criticism of the series. Like any other genre, ecchi can be done well or poorly. Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen threatens to fall within the latter. In the games, the ecchi moments quickly start to become repetitive, as the elimination of clothes replays the same few animations. Perhaps, TNK felt pressured to resist the urge to deviate from the source material, as the anime's ecchi's scenes are stunningly boring. Every encounter results in both characters losing their attire; it happens so often, you cannot help wonder why they bother to wear anything! What's the point? Despite stuffing each episode with enough nudity to fill most hentai series, these scenes seldom play out in a unique, entertaining, or memorable way. Nudity is part of the equation simply because this is an ecchi series.
2. Too Many Eggs in the Basket
Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen's cast is overwhelmingly extensive. Ignoring minor characters who scarcely utter a word, the anime divides its attention among four different ninja schools, with each boasting around five shinobi. That brings the total to 20 girls, a number increased further when the villain is added to the mix. Even if 2013's season is taken into account, Senran Kagura juggles too many characters to adequately explore but a select few in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, the ones deemed deserving of the attention do not always benefit from the limelight. As the de facto protagonist, Asuka seems to exist merely to teach every antagonist that indiscriminately killing is wrong. Homura and Ikaruga are arguably the anime's most interesting characters, but they barely get anything to do throughout the story. Then, you have characters like Katsuragi, whose foremost contribution to the season is periodically groping one of the other girls.
3. Disappointing Follow-through
Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen introduces a handful of potentially fascinating concepts. During the opening six episodes, Asuka grows something resembling a personality, with the shinobi girl discarding her morals to begin hunting the other schools' members. Youma refers to demons responsible for killing countless shinobi, and the heroes view them as little more than emotionless monsters. Out of nowhere, Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen opposes this belief and asks whether these supposedly mindless beasts are actually just trying to protect their own families from shinobi. Both of these plot points could have injected some life into an otherwise predictable storyline, but the anime explores neither one of them.
Final Thoughts
The worst thing that can be said about Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen is that the anime is dull. The story treads no new ground, the cast is spread too thin, and the action rarely rises above mediocrity.
Did you agree with our review? Is Senran Kagura Shinovi Master: Tokyo Youma-hen worth watching? Please let us know in the comments below!
Author: Mark Sammut
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