Busou Renkin is yet another shounen manga that is being anime-ified. I could’ve totally used the word “animated” but hey, this is how I roll. So is this more run of the mill shounen or does Busou Renkin actually amount to something?
Kazuki Muto wakes up from a really scary dream involving a metal tentacle stabbing him through the heart! He was trying to save a girl, but he ended up being skewered himself. The next day, Kazuki is bullied by his teacher. He’s forced to pull the weeds behind the school. Little does he know that the teacher is actually a Homunculus and wants to eat him!
Apparently, the dream that Kazuki had wasn’t really a dream. The girl who he was trying to save, Tsumura Tokiko, was actually an alchemist trying to destroy the Homunculus! After he died, Tokiko put some rare metal into Kazuki’s chest and revived him. He’s stronger, better, and faster than he was before! Apparently Kazuki has some innate abilities which make him a really good alchemist. He joins with Tokiko to kick some Homunculus ass.
I thought this anime was a lot more interesting when it was called Bleach. Seriously, this is a total Bleach ripoff! The whole thing with Kazuki almost dying, being brought back to life, and being an awesome shinigami… I mean, alchemist is exactly how the first episode of Bleach went! I guess that since Full Metal Alchemist is another popular anime, they decided to just combine the two…
Most of the character designs are generic as possible. The only exception is the character with the Japanese delinquent pompadour hairstyle! Every anime needs one of these guys. Kazuki obviously has a crush on Tokiko. I guess he has a thing for huge face scars… Granted, those leg blade things she has are kinda cool. She’s like the Japanese schoolgirl version of Doc Ock.
The animation seemed a bit choppy during the action scenes. Since this is an action anime, choppiness is bad news. I also didn’t like the cg that they used – it seemed out of place.
No OP this episode. I guess it’s “cool” when anime leave out the OP for the first episode. The ED is done by Jyukai, who also did the ED for Fate/stay night. The singer’s voice is really distinct, at least now that I’ve heard her sing two different songs… The ED’s pretty sweet.
Download the ED: “Hoshiakari” by Jyukai
Busou Renkin might have gotten the thumbs up from me had it been released a few years ago. It just seems like a ripoff of Bleach to me right now. Perhaps if it had something to distinguish it, I might try to keep watching, but I feel like I’ve already seen this anime. It was better the first time I watched it.
32 replies on “Busou Renkin – Anime First Impressions”
When I first saw this, I was thinking of another shounen series. It wasn’t Bleach I was thinking of but that’s about like the first episode of Bleach. I was actually thinking of Fate/stay Night, maybe because he dies and is brought back to life. Not sure why I really thought of that series. (Not because of the ED theme.)
Only thing that I really enjoyed about this series was the cute uniforms of the girls. Overall, it’s not a bad series but now after reading your impression I think I will pass on it. I’d rather watch Bleach anyways.
I was thinking of Kiba…
ahaha I dont like Bleach and I think the characters here are more likeable than Bleach’s. oh btw did you know this was created by the same guy who made Rurouni kenshin?
Yeah, Nobuhiro Watsuki. I was surprised myself when I first found out about that, since I have never heard of the series before. I became aware of it due to several Busou Renkin doujinshis I saw online and was became curious what this manga to have such a fan following.
Hmm…. either his art style has changed alot since Kenshin or the anime decided to go for a different look. Anyway, you’re right. It screams Bleach (though the title makes me think more of Full Metal Alchemist).
It’s more on Watsuki’s artstyle. His style changed to how it is in the Busou Renkin manga about 2/3rds through the Kenshin manga.
Hmmm. Even if it was done by the Kenshin guy, it still seems really lame to me. Maybe he sold out…
Hmm…first ep. was great, no matter what some fools have been blabbering.
hmm i think this is alot like fate stay night or shakugan no shana. the guy dies but finds out he’s living on some other thing. and always…theres a girl that is a extreme fighter
Oh Hung, will you shut up.
I personally think everyone’s a bit too mean to it. Now, maybe this is because I am a die-hard Rurouni Kenshin obessor who even MET Nobuhiro Watsuki and want to support all of Watsuki-sama’s work…
Who the hell is anyone to speak of ‘selling out’? Are you kidding me? Manga is NOT easy to create, and this one went MUCH better than Watski’s second series- a little thing called Gun Blaze West that got canned after only 3 manga’s. You can’t have every series be a Rurouni Kenshin.
I personally find it sad all anyone’s going to compare this to is Bleach/Fma, or Watsuki’s old works. Can’t everyone be given a chance?
Yes, we all know this is DEFINITELY a Bleach/Fma mix, but most mangaka do NOT read other peopl’s manga’s. Meaning? He had similar ideas- wasn’t influenced at all by Bleach or Fma. Of course his editor’s SHOULD HAVE told him that two VERY SIMILAR manga’s were out, but what can you do.
I haven’t seen the ep yet *am doing that now* but having read the first manga I think this series has a certain charm to it. Of course it screams
BLEACH! FMA! BLEACH! FMA!” but seems to stand alone as something unique as well. You can tell it wasn’t INTENDED to be a rip-off. Black Cat on the other hand severly pissed me off at it’s lack of ANYTHING ‘new’, and that was simply a mix of every Shounen in the book.
And about Watsuki’s style- being that Rurouni Kenshin was his first series his art obvioullsy would have a lot of developing to it, and so it had. I always joke that Rurouni Kenshin has about 15 different art styles in it. It’s not even simply that he has one style in the biginning which progresses to something else in the end- he has about 10. There’s three MAJOR differnt styles, but then they all go through period’s of combining with each other and make this nearly indefinite number of changes to it.
And obvioullsy, his work changed even MORE after Kenshin to what it is in Busou Renkin, and now on his new one-shot’s is different once-again.
No manga-ka’s work, except Clamp’s for some odd reason, constinatly keeps the same style.
I know this was a long rant, but… I dunno. UGH! Maybe I’m just too fond of Watsuki-sama’s work, but he was really proud of this series, and I think it deserves a CHANCE.
When I saw the first episode I thought this series had the potential to be kickass.
And now that I’ve seen the second episode there is no doubt.
I hope we got another long one.
Going to follow this series no matter what. First 10 episodes are always critical to catch me at least. This series did it in 2…
well im a fan of Nobuhiro Watsuki..i love Rurouni Kenshin ^^..but it’s until now that i know Busou Renkin is done by Nobuhiro Watsuki >..
Ummm Bleach rip off? You are absolutely correct,the worst thing about it is that the main characters sister looks and acts like Orihime from Bleach? I mean seriously whats up with that? When I saw this anime first impression was….
“man we running outta idea’s, lets just stick 2 popular anime together and hope will notice”
Actually my first impression was Busou Renkin = Bleach FMA Sailor Moon. The style of some of the fruity people/monsters/humonculi the transformations, and Tuxedo Mask/Pappillion Mask is where Sailor Moon comes from. This series is the opposite of original. Busou Renkin is a total rip off. Ill still watch it unless it gets retarded, just to use it for passing the time.
Well I’m open minded to this anime having not seen bleach but i have seen full metal alchemist and really the only connection is homonculi and alchemists which concepts are alot different than that of fma I personally thing that noone would throw as much a fit over if being a combo of bleach and fma if the homonculi and alchemist were to change to something else even though i have not seen bleach I do know the concept and yes they are very similar in alot of ways but then again that can go for alot of animes is specific genres the only things that change are the characters another anime that would be similar would be 3×3 eyes that anime has a strong chick who can kick ass then gets a nothing of a guy and he turns into a fighter as long as a style is popular there will be many hit and miss animes the only ones we’ll see will be the ones that the producers thought would do good so right there people should give it a chance but hey what do i know this is just a personal opinion
Well after seeing the first 14 episodes I will agree that is very simliar to Bleach and Sailor Moon. However, as the series progresses the characters seem to develop their own unique personalities. For being a relatively short series, I think its worth going to the end.
Sheesh! You people!
Haven’t you ever noticed that the more u obsess over details such as similar characters/plot/etc, the less you actually enjoy the anime/ manga. If you put everything aside and concentrate on this anime it’ll stick to you.
Also, remember that alot of shounen can appear similar (that’s why they are grouped under the same ‘title’) on the surface, while (for me) this has something unique about it- and I just can’t seem to STOP!
I just want to congratulate Watsuki on a job well done! While it is similar to other manga, it is something different for him, and I want to express my gratitude, and show my appreciation by saying “Thank you!” (Note: I’m somewhat of a Nobuhiro Watsuki fan) ^_^
One more thing- the anime actually has an opening now, and I want to comment on it =). Makka Na Chikai (Fukuyama Yoshiki) seems to me like one of those songs you just have to bob your head to and sing out loud with it. The moment I heard I thought childish. Although, as the song progressed I found it to be quite catchy and I began to like it! It goes quite well with this anime in my opinion =)
What isn’t like Bleach, Naruto, or any other popular shounen series to people nowadays? These comparisons are getting rediculous… Just because it has some similarities to some other series doesn’t mean it’s a complete rip-off. I’m enjoying Busou Renkin so far, great series.
Yay!!!! such a wonderful anime T___T—i think
i mean…just when i was thinking…”man, bleach and fma are getting kinda old…”, here comes a new series that combines them together…
^___^—happiness.
oh! and i should mention that bleach and fma are my fav shows.
so…yay for watsukisama for doint this for us bleach, fma fans! same plot/character/idea rocks!!!!!!!! -somewhat.
i mean…u can’t really guess what the ending is gonna be right? so its worth watching for sure!!!!! luv it…hehe
.. uhh .. what the hell?
puh-lease ppl, even if it’s similar, they are MUCH more animes out there that seems like identical twins. for this being alike to FMA, i can’t deny, but the concept is TOTALLY different. would you say a certain anime is a rip-off if it’s about a little girl who suddenly gains magic power? THERE IS NOT ONLY ONE TYPE OF THIS TYPE OF ANIME FOUND. so jeez.
get a life, man. & bleach? BLEACH WAS THE LAST THING ON MY MIND WHILE I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED BUSOU RENKIN. rip-off? alike to bleach? FMA i understand, bleach?? so what if the first episodes were similar? like i said, there are much more animes out there that are like identical twins. meaning not only one episode is similar, the whole entire series is similar. like, jeez?
and give some credit for the man; there are some serious bleach & FMA fans out there, and they are dead happie that this anime is a somehow combined plot of them both together. AND ITS NOT LIKE BUSOU RENKIN IS TOTALLY BORING. isnt it hilarious at points? while at bleach, i watched till around 90+ episodes before i realised i lost COMPLETE interest in it. i kept falling aslp on my computer table whenevr i watched it, excuse me.
its just that bleach keeps repeating its plot. its like an anime made for kids. no offense to anyone. maybe, if it has 20+ episodes like busou renkin, it might be interesting. t least in busou renkin, it can attract some more teenagers to watch it, rather than the kiddy-like bleach. can’t you sense that theres more of a romantic spark in busou renkin than in bleach?
i won’t complain about FMA, as i re-watched it 5 times. it is fantastic, and it is right to conclude that busou renkin is totally related to FMA. and yes, the concepts about the alchemy is TOTALLY different. even the homunculus concept is different.
though i just cant imagine how you guys managed to though of bleach during the first episode, i know it aint totally similar. you see ichigo blushing when rukia goes near him? ichigo is impulsive in a wild way, kazuki is impulsive in the calm way.
hes waay denser and has more of a sense of justice compared to ichigo. tokiko and rukia 2, i cant seem to sense any similarities between the two of them.
GET A LIFE TO THOSE JERKS OUT THERE .
BUSOU RENKIN IS SERIOUSLY A WONDERFUL ANIME.
-kyasha
I don’t get it. I really, honestly don’t get why people are so anti-Busou Renkin.
I love the series with a PASSIO. It is so awesome. I mean, sure, the first episode resembled Bleach, but thats AS FAR as the resemblence went. In my opinion, this show is way better than Bleach. (no offense to die-hard Bleach fans, I like bleach myself) but I can’t stand anime that gets so long. It’s pointless.
And I need more romance in my anime. Shounen with a little bit of romance is very good in my opinion.
I love the art style of this show. The weapons and characters just rule.
So put aside your comparisons and ctiticism, and just WATCH and ENJOY it. Putting your bitter opinions out dissuades others from watching it and making THEIR OWN opinions on the show.
This is why I never read reviews. I want to decide for myself if something is good or not.
So…there.
Well people who really think this is like Bleach and fma related really need to watch more of the story. I cant see where everyone got the “it reminds me of fma..” cus i may be about alchemy and whatever but ,what everything about alchemy is a fma rip off NO. The concept is totally different i mean there are alot of things before fma that has alchemy, humoncli and the philosp stone but i dont say the fma is a rip off of them. So tgive this anime a chance and watch it. Also u got to be kidding me If relate this to bleach cus if u find a zanpaktou in bleach that can turn into a submarine or Building than call me.
Well people who really think this is like Bleach and fma related really need to watch more of the story.
I cant see where everyone got the “it reminds me of fma..” cus i may be about alchemy and whatever but ,what everything about alchemy is a fma rip off NO.
The concept is totally different i mean there are alot of things before fma that has alchemy, humoncli and the philosp stone but i dont say the fma is a rip off of them.
So give this anime a chance and watch it. Also u got to be kidding me If relate this to bleach cus if u find a zanpaktou in bleach that can turn into a submarine or Building than call me.
ya i think buso renkin is great and if you follow the story it gets very interesting…(its cool cuz kazuki turns into somting like a super syan) ^_^ its sweet. Awsome fighting, awsome weapons, awsome characters, great anime!
Im really not seeing how this show “rips-off” either Bleach or Full Metal Alchemist. While it does share a fairly typical shonen plot with bleach (in the early parts) this is due to genre considerations rather than plagarisim, unless you consider Bleach to be ripping off, say, Kenshin which was in turn ripping off an earlier shonen series and so on.
So its only similar to bleach on the most superficial level (and if you peel ever series back to bare bones plot elements then theyre all going to look nearly identical). In regards to it “ripping off” Full Metal Alchemist, I really cant see it at all. Unless of course its the fact that they have something called alchemy, but the way alchemcy functions in and interacts with the worlds is entirely different in both series. Thats like saying Full Metal Alchemist is ripping off Focaults Pendulum (I mean they both have alchemy in them) or Gundam Wing is ripping off Transformers (they both have giant robots).
Personally, this is one of my favorite series of all time, but that’s just me. Plus, i see very little to no similaritys to Bleach in anyway. The only similarity to FMA i found is Alchemy, which like others have said, is completly different in this. Personally, i think that this series is definatly worth watching and you won’t regret it if you watch it.
I just finished the 26 long anime roughly around an hour ago and I must say…BRAVO (no pun intended…lol capt. bravo. haha xD). I remember reading the first manga chapter in shounen a long time ago and when I finally saw that it came out on anime, I just had to watch it. I can understand all the comparisons cuz I do that myself, however I saw a significant difference between the three anime shows that everybody seems to compare them with. First of all…I have to agree with some of the people here. Short series around 20+ episodes are the best, such as Busou Renkin and Trinity Blood. Too long of a series just tends to run out, such as Bleach (no offense, I love bleach. Especially Ichigo’s hollow side lol) but I really cant understand why people are calling this a rip off.
Ok granted, yea the first episode was really similar to Bleach’s debut, and that Mahiro is similar to Orihime. Big whoop. There’s homunculi and alchemy, so people already say its copying FMA? whats up with that? So Busou Renkin as the same base as FMA and the first episode is similar to bleach, but other than that I found it a really great show. It didnt run on like Bleach does, taking several episodes to finish one fight (similar to DBZ if you havent noticed) while BR took either just one episode or two at most. I’m going to stop before I start “ripping off” what other people have said already said and get to the point. I found Busou Renkin completely refreshing. After watching Bleach and Naruto and Naruto Shippuden so many times, it felt great that I got to finally watch something new. It had new characters, storyline, and it possessed a similar background that we were already familiar with, so in a way it felt (to me anyways) that there was a connection with the show and its characters. So I dont know why there’s so much controversy over it, its just a show so enjoy it. I know I did, in fact I’m hoping Watsuki-san makes a second season of Busou Renkin.
Eh, I was kinda disappoined with Busou Renkin. I loved RuroKen, and naturally, i wanted to read Watsuki’s next work. At the end of Rurouni Kenshin, he commented on how he felt he was really immature in making RuroKen and how he wanted to start a new work, etc etc. Frankly, I would rather read more about my favorite Meiji swordsman than a manga that does feel a lot like FMA. I already have an awesome manga about alchemy; don’t need another one!
oops forgot to say this:
But, this is a pretty good manga. I like the art and the story is ok, but if you compare it to Rurouni Kenshin, this manga is just second rate.
on the whole busou renkin is a brilliant anime it is worth watching but the storyline is very similar to bleach think back to episode 1 where tokiko gives kazuki his kakugane isnt it similar to when rikia gives ichigo his shinigamii powers
P.S mahiro looks and acts ALOT like orihime.
where can i find manga chapters in english im stuck at 54
or anime eipsodes send me a message please i just want to finish this series i actually like it
i also like bleach
and i liked the first part of naruto but not the second
i felt like adding that but i would really appreciate it
i finished already this anime it was awesome
Hello there, simply become aware of your current blog page by means of Google, and found that it’s really insightful. I will beware of brussels. I am relieved if you happen to commence this kind of in future. Quite a few other people can be benefited out of your composing. Kind regards!