Otaku Network: Maison Ikkoku
Posted by sarahinfo on January 11, 2009
Zed, being an oddly dressed foreigner in this fantasy like town draws some unwanted attention from the authority figures. Not being one to obey the authorities, he resists but is knocked out and taken in by Jiko. When he comes too Jiko explains to him what is going on in this world, that there are people who have special powers called Shard Casters that summon large monsters, Spirits, to fight one another to protect their lands. They can also wield magical weapons and use elemental attacks, much like his mother did at the hospital. Jiko explains that the strange marks on Zeds arm means that he is a shard caster and hands him a fire shard to use to protect him self. He then tells Zed to seek the Tempura Shard Champion as his mentor so he can become strong and fulfill his destiny. Upon trying to leave the land Zed ends up fighting a man who is killing other Shard Casters and stealing their Spirits. Inadvertently Zed summons a spirit that has been residing inside of him to fight the man, the spirit if the winged creature that lead him through the portal. After defeating the man he finds out that the spirit is Amil Gaoul, one of 6 Key Spirits, the most powerful spirits in existence. Zed know finds himself embroiled in the politics of Tempura and it’s neighboring countries, all due to the fact that he controls one of the 6 Key Spirits. When all 6 are brought together that person will wield the power of God, so many conflicts are waged in the name of gaining all 6.
At first I was hesitant about this series, after watching the first episode my initial reaction was, “I’ll give it 5 episodes to not be Yu-Gi-Oh”. It really seemed like another lame monster dueling shonen series. I wasn’t actually swayed until about the 5th episode either, when I found out how brutal the series can be.
A few episodes into it we discover that Noah was also transported to this other world. He ends up in a land called Neotopia and is taken in by a friendly middle aged couple. The couple lives in a small sea-side village that is peaceful and happy. The couples son is a solider in the Neotopian military and they are very proud of him. Noah soon discovers that Neotopia is a peaceful and balanced land, the people live easy lives and much is provided for them. Noah soon befriends 2 young adults who had been childhood friends with his borders son. One of the friends harbors hatred towards the Neotopian way of life and is secretly plotting a rebellion. He brings to Noah’s attention the strict rules and complete ironclad control of its citizens lives. This truth is soon revealed to Noah as his existence in the village is discovered by the government. Noah’s borders are charged with breaking the laws of the land and the father is sentenced to death. The executer is the man’s own son, who does it unflinchingly in total obedience of the law. Noah is horrified at the chain of events that his presence has caused. He is taken into hiding but he and the disgruntled young man are soon discovered. The two old friends, the revolutionist and the military dog face of with each other over their views on the laws of Neotopia; in the midst of the fight their other friend is mortally wounded. The two men kill each other in front of Noah who is already trying to save their friend. In a fit of rage and anger Noah shows an incredible latent power and consumes the entire village in flames. In a shocked, grieving state amidst the burning ruins of the village that had tried to save him, the dying friend uses her last bit of life to teleport Noah away from Neotopia.
The fact that Noah, in a fit of rage, destroys an entire village and its inhabitants was pretty spectacular. This small story arch truly changed my view of the series and it continued to provide me with the same level of entertainment.
As the story progresses and the intrigue and out-right war develops between the different countries we see Zed and the other characters grow and mature. One of the most pleasing aspects of this series is the fact that Zed is not bound to any moral standard for the lives of his enemies. After his first kill he does not hesitate to take the lives of the people he fights. It would be nice for more series to be like this, locking in reality, when it comes to a combat situation. This fact alone separates Kiba from almost every other shonen adventure title. I enjoyed the series as well because of the story and the characters. It was truly an interesting and engaging story filled with intrigue and political commentary. This series was made for the more mature crowd, in both subject matter and story line. The art isn’t the greatest, in some parts it’s not fluid, but the story more than makes up for this. The biggest problem I had with the series was actually in the final episode. There was a 4 or 5 minute portion of the final episode during the climax of the series that was a bit cheesy, but they quickly over came this cheese and ended strongly. With the way they ended the series it would be nice to see at least a movie to carry the story a little bit further, but with out that it ended well and didn’t really leave any loose ends. Just be aware that not everyone dies when you think they do in the series, but most of them do. Also, for all the genocide, and there is a lot of it at time, the violence is actually bloodless and minimally graphic. Yet just the same, people, sometimes lots of people, die, and some times in horrific ways.
All in all, Kiba, which also spawned a collectible card game of the same name, is a good series that had a good run and didn’t get bogged down with too much filler or waste. The characters are multi dimensional, if some are a bit whiney, and the story is above average for a shonen adventure series about people fighting each other with mystical summoned creatures. The sound track is pretty decent too. This series is currently being released on DVD in America, but I fear it does not have a large audience.
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