THEM Anime Reviews
Home Reviews Extras Forums
[R1 DVD box art]
AKA: 真・恋姫†無双 ~乙女大乱~ (Japanese)
Genre: Action, adventure, comedy.
Length: Television series, 13 episodes, 24 minutes each
Distributor: Currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks
Content Rating: TV MA (Violence, nudity and fanservice, sexual content.)
Related Series: Koihime Musou (season 1), Shin Koihime Musou (season 2)
Also Recommended: Ikkitousen, Dragon Ball, Inu-Yasha, My-Hime
Notes: The OAV is included in this review -- technically -- since it's available on the DVD set.

Loosely based on the adult visual novel series published by Nexton and developed by BaseSon, itself loosely based on the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". This is NOT related to the hentai anime Koihime.

You can find all three seasons of this show on Crunchyroll, even internationally.
Rating:

Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~

Synopsis

When a group of eunuchs lead by Choujou poisons Kashin with a pill that slowly turns her into a cat, and then takes over the capital, it's up to our band of heroes to find the cure and then liberate the capital from the eunuchs... and the powers of evil hiding in the shadows.


Review

If I can take one thing away from this show, then that would be that... hey, apparently, anime creators takes feedback very seriously.

...I think.

But seriously, the season progression of this show has been... odd, to say the least. The first season was a surprisingly entertaining series (which, if I reviewed it today, would probably rank a dead center three stars), as would the second if it didn't revolve so much around tedious idol-related stuff to go with the main plot. There was also the little issue with the show not really resolving much of the plot centered around the cursed book Crucial Keys to the Way of Peace.

So, should you care? If you found the aforementioned points in the reviews of the earlier seasons valid, then yes, you definitely should. Because not only does the Cho sisters play a relatively minor role in the show -- in fact, they barely show up at all -- but you're also spared from most of the idiocy of the earlier season, AND they also continue the storyline centered around the aforementioned book. Granted, you also have to deal with the three idiotic... catgirl tribe from the OAV of the second series, so it's still a little give-or-take.

Which is why it's so good that our main cast of characters are still their lovable selves, even Rin Rin (Chouhi), who in so many shows would just be an obnoxious brat. OK, so the total list of characters in this show is as large as ever and always growing, it's still eased into by lumping them into factions. Among the many new characters, our main cast gets another addition; Gien Bunchou, and thankfully, it's a good character too. Granted, she starts out a bit of a fight-happy punk, but eventually bonds rather strongly with Ryuubi and joins her group.

Art and animation quality is about the same as the earlier seasons. As is the opening and ending themes, more or less. (They're different songs, but still the same... if that makes any sense.) The whole main draw of the show is still having the girls travelling around the countryside saving the day, which, if you're into the whole Saturday morning cartoon thing, is quite entertaining. Granted, Sei, who's easily the show's funniest character, still feels compelled to do the "Butterfly mask" thing, but even that is minimized in this season.

The crisis is also a bit more tangible -- with a villainous faction usurping powers in the capital, and even more sinister forces working behind the scenes -- and no amount of singing is going to stop it this time. All this ties in with the aforementioned plot centered around the book, which got a very unsatisfying conclusion in the last season, but is finally brought up into the forefront and eventually concludes properly. (With a great "Oh, crap!" moment at that.)

Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~ is about as shallow as a kiddie pool; the morals are rather straightforward and the characters are relatively simple, so I guess if you're going to need a reason not to watch it, then that's as good a reason as any. But it dispenses with most of the stupidity from the second season and actually manages to be funny from time to time. Couple that up with the fact that most of the cast are a likable bunch, most of which also seem to possess a somewhat dry sense of humor, and I think you'll find Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~ going down quite easily.

Unlike the second season, this is a strong three star. Of course, if you've made it this far, you're going to be watching this anyway, so why am I even talking?Stig Høgset

Recommended Audience: Violence is light and slapstick-ish, because the Koihime Musou series has always been about the fanservice. (It's based on a porn game, so what did you expect?) Said fanservice is usually centered around general nudity, mostly through bath scenes, but expect things to heat up a little whenever Sousou gets involved.



Version(s) Viewed: R1 DVD, Japanese with English subs only
Review Status: Full (13/13)
Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~ © 2010 Dogakobo, Pony Canyon.
 
© 1996-2015 THEM Anime Reviews. All rights reserved.