Otaku, No Video

Asu no Yoichi

(c) 2009 AIC, Yuu Minamoto

Also known as: Samurai Harem

Origin: Based on a manga by Yuu Minamoto

Studio: AIC

Made in: 2009

Genre: Harem / action

Premise: Yoichi is a naive teen samurai-in-training who’s lived his whole life in the mountains of modern Japan. He’s sent to train with another samurai family comprised of four sisters who live in a dojo the big city. Various nubile female assassins attack, and/or Yoichi stumbles on the girls naked.

Show x Show: It’s Tenchi Muyo! crossed with Rurouni Kenshin

Episodes: 12

Is there a plot? Yes, a mild one. Only really kicks in during the last couple of episodes.

Does the end feel satisfying? Yes. The final episode is a bit choppy, but it ties up all the loose ends.

Is it creepily sexualized? No, at least within the standards of harem anime. Each girl has an age-appropriate attraction to Yoichi. The nudity’s mild. Yoichi avoids all lecherousness, though seeing a girl naked prompts copious nosebleeds on his part.

Can I show it to my Mom? Probably not; the show touches on a lot of ecchi harem standards — the beach episode, accidentally walking in on a girl while she’s bathing/undressing, etc.

Can I show it to a non-anime fan? To introduce them to a classic example of a harem/action anime, sure. But if they’ve never seen anime, start with a Miyazaki film.

Sheet count (drawings per second): High by TV standards. Yoichi uses standard attack animations that are re-used a few times, but they’re spaced out and don’t feel dull.

Believability of animation: Solid. AIC’s never been a slouch here.

Does the art quality vary from shot to shot? Nope.

Quality of action sequences: There’s not much; Yoichi will use one of his wind-based attacks, which mostly look the same. Other characters mostly leap around and toss generic ninja-like weapons. But it’s all about the characters, and their face-offs feel satisfying. Plus, the relatively high sheet count makes all that dodging look balletic. I had no complaints.

Music: Unremarkable.

Editing: Unremarkable.

Direction (use of camera angles, etc.): Unremarkable.

Voices: Pleasant and appropriate to their characters, but otherwise unremarkable.

Availability: Licensed by Sentai Filmworks; not released as of this writing. Fansubs are available.