Review for Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny Complete Collection (Review)
Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 17:57

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Introduction
The way that the anime cake has been shared in the UK of late lacks for a little equity, with Beez Entertainment getting a small slice, MVM getting a smaller slice, and Manga Entertainment getting everything else, including the candles. The thing is that despite the way the situation has evolved, I still have a lot of affection for MVM, after all it was their releases that sparked my second passion for anime, and most of what they have released over the years has made it into my collection. You can guess that I eagerly await every subsequent release from MVM, even if their current share of the anime market means that it's a long gap between releases. 2011 has been a comparative drought for them, with just Slayers Evolution-R, The Tower of Druaga and now Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny. With Manga Entertainment, when they release something that you don't appreciate, you can expect something to wash that taste from your mouth within a couple of weeks at most. When the next release from MVM will be in 2012, then you can imagine the sinking feeling in my stomach when I realised that their final anime release for 2011 would be Ikki Tousen.

I sampled a disc of Ikki Tousen when the first series was released, and I have to say that I loathed it. It's notable that of all the series MVM have released and that do reside in my collection, Ikki Tousen isn't one of them. But what do I know? Fans love Ikki Tousen. The first series released here as Battle Vixens, begat spin-off after spin-off. Dragon Destiny is merely the first sequel, as there is also Great Guardians, and Xtreme Xecutor, as well as the associated OVA episodes. The director of Xtreme Xecutor went on to direct Master of Martial Hearts, released here this year by Manga Entertainment, and it too shares a common theme with Ikki Tousen.

It's all about girls getting into fights. It's all about intrusive camera angles, boobs and gusset shots. It's all about explosions of chi so powerful that with a single impact, a blow can cause any girl's clothes to completely disintegrate, leaving her naked and blushing. It's all about sex and violence. And the boobs have to be independently minded, the animators have to have degrees in boob physics, and if booby bounce doesn't have a corresponding sound effect, the sound director is going to be fired. Ikki Tousen isn't my favourite anime of all time, but the scuttlebutt is that Dragon Destiny is the best of the Ikki Tousen franchise. It certainly makes it worth a second chance.

It's a loose retelling of the historical novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, itself inspiration for John Woo's Red Cliff and much, much more. The characters from 1800 years ago have been reincarnated as modern day high school students, but destiny is repeating itself, with the students almost compelled to relive their past lives through inter-school battles and tournaments. The Grand Tournament of Ikki Tousen: Battle Vixens is over, and now the focus turns to the power struggle between the three schools of Nanyou, Seito, and Kyoshou and the three dragons of Hakufu Sonsaku, Gentoku Ryuubi, and Moutoku Sousou. But one of Nanyou's big four, Ryomou Shimei may have chanced upon a means to defeat pre-destiny once and for all, the elusive Dragon Gem. MVM's release of Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny presents all twelve episodes across three discs, as well as the six episode OVA series (with one notable omission).

Disc 1

1. Sign of the Dragon Spirit
2. The Evil Lord Awakens
3. Bloodshed and Tears
4. Chance Meeting of the Two Dragons

Disc 2

5. Ruthless Fighters
6. Encounter with the Crouching Dragon
7. Kan'u Surrenders
8. The Little Conqueror's Heroic Death

Disc 3

9. Friendship in Chaos
10. The Wandering Koukin
11. Fighter Melee
12. Red Cliffs in Flames

Picture
Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer for its episodes. The image is clear and colourful throughout, but with an old-fashioned NTSC-PAL conversion, there is that extra bit of softness. The animation is smooth and vivid enough though, and blended frames and ghosting are kept to a minimum. It's a fairly standard looking anime, with generic characters recognisable from the first series, and an obvious emphasis on fan service. That means lecherous camera angles, easily shredded skimpy clothing, nudity, boobs, butts, and all the animated sex and violence that a teen male anime fan could wish for. I have to mention that the quality of the animation is a world away from the first series, there are no static shots, it's all fluidly animated, and the character designs stay on model throughout. There's also a level of detail and richness to the animation that the first series lacked, even if Dragon Destiny isn't in the upper tier of anime shows.

Sound
The audio comes in DD 2.0 Stereo in both English and Japanese, with optional translated subtitles and a signs only track. The music drives the pace of the show well, and the theme songs certainly catch the attention. I went with the original language track, and the performances certainly had spirit. The same can't be said for the English dub that I only briefly sampled. I found it to be desultory and monotone.

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