Some shows, you watch the first episode, and you’re pretty sure they’re going to suck. Others, you watch episode 1, and you have a fairly strong impression that the show is likely to be pretty good. More often, it takes a little longer to get any sort of strong sense. For Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys, there’s an immediate feeling that this show is going to be… fun. If it’s good, it’ll be a fun sort of good. If it’s bad, it seems like it will still be fun. Naturally, that’s just an Episode 1 impression and anything can change during the run of the show, but that’s more or less how it presents itself. I actually got to see Episode 1 first at Anime Expo, but now that it’s out for real, it’s time to give my typical summary and thoughts.
Our story takes place in feudal Japan, where one very angry boy, Ichibanbochi, leads us in by kicking some samurai thugs, this going double when they show off some masks, the likes of which he was looking for. This doesn’t go too well for him as he gets arrested, thrown into prison, and scheduled for a swift execution. However, rather than being killed, he (and several other condemned criminals) are brought before a maimed samurai named Heisuke Toudou. Heisuke explains that the leaders of the Shinsengumi, the Shogun’s samurai police in Kyoto, have been murdered, and that he is now giving these criminals a choice: take their place and help maintain order in the capital, or die like they were supposed to.
Naturally, the criminals (for the most part) accept their new lease on life, introducing us to a cast that is over-the-top colorful, in a way that will probably be merciful since they’re referred to by two names each. They include a hitman who’s fine killing for a new boss (Sakuya), a simpleton glutton (Bou), a crazy doctor (Sougen), a sinful monk (Suzuran), a woman crossdressing as a man (Akira), and a dude with a rap sheet so long and varied his tagline is simply “The crime collector” (Gyatarou).
Ichibanboshi is less than thrilled with the prospect, calling Heisuke out for how samurai have made his life worse, including a masked samurai slaughtering his family. Heisuke, rather than offing him on the spot, reveals another copy of the mask Ichibanboshi was hunting after and reveals that a group called the “Masked Demons” were responsible for the murders of the real Shinsengumi, which gets Ichibanboshi on board for the sake of revenge.
As the criminals begin to train (Under Akira, who actually knows how to use a sword), an obvious villain begins to stir up a mess in Kyoto, giving some sort of evil magic sword to a guy who would seem inclined to use it for evil. This intersects with the new Shinsengumi on patrol as they find both people injured just to “test” the sword and, in the case of Ichibanboshi and Sakuya, the malefactor himself, menacing the helpless. Ichibanboshi pursues, while Sakuya gets the rest of the Shinsengumi, and their paths intersect as the former catches up with the guy, prepared to cut down a cowering family. This reminds Ichibanboshi of his own past and he draws his sword, causing some sort of magic light to emerge that lets him shatter the bad guy’s sword and strike him down. Thus ends episode 1.
So, the first thing just about anyone would notice about this show is that it’s going loud. Each character has a very strong, particular archetype, to the point where they can be introduced by tag lines, and they have a strong chromatic theme as well – Ichibanboshi is red, Gyatarou is orange, Bou is yellow, Sougen is green, Sakuya is blue, Akira is pink, and Suzuran is purple. They match throughout, giving you a basic coding that tends to be a substitute for building much character. Given that there are eight leads and (supposedly) twelve episodes, I’d count us lucky if half of them get any sort of nuance at all. And, calling it now, if we get development for half that half is Heisuke, Sakuya, Ichibanboshi, and Akira.
On the other hand, as long as their archetypes are entertaining, that’s something that can be sort of allowed Presuming that our lead dials down the shouting a pinch and everyone else finds good material for their acts, that’s quite acceptable. The style would support it as well, with the bold lines and bright colors speaking to a show that wants to capture the same kind of “Hero show” energy that Shikizakura paid homage to, where you do things big and loud because that’s the contract of the genre.
Again, I’m not expecting this show to be good (or bad, for that matter) but I am expecting it to be fun. We will see if it delivers.