Know Ashura has come to an finish, and whereas it improved in virtually each approach from season to season, the ending was mediocre at greatest. Whereas this season contained extra materials that appealed to my explicit tastes than another season, the issues which have plagued this present since its first episode continued into the ultimate episode. So whereas this season is undoubtedly the most effective it has Know Ashura has to supply, it stays a poor copy of different martial arts sequence and fails to know what makes a majority of these tales so interesting.
To start out with the positives, that is the most effective Know Ashura ever watched. Whereas it’s nonetheless jarring to see characters in numerous animation types collectively on display screen, the 3D fashions in battle have by no means seemed higher. To compensate for the dearth of weight and influence of CGI animation, the animators opted to alter the colour and texture of the character fashions. When a personality takes a very nasty hit, they instantly begin to bruise or eject viscera that stains their garments and pores and skin. The result’s grotesque, and the present lastly feels prefer it’s dwelling as much as its graphic repute.
The fights themselves even have a few of the greatest pacing within the sequence. Between this season’s longer-than-usual sixteen episodes and fewer fights to suit into this match format, the matches lastly really feel like they’ve a narrative and function a technique to flesh out the characters. Top-of-the-line examples of that is the battle between Sen Hatsumi and Agito Kanoh; the place we be taught that Sen desires to achieve his martial arts peak with out sacrificing his id to a inflexible coaching construction and that Agito is a bit monster who finds a base stage of enjoyment in violence. Whereas there are fewer fights this season than in earlier seasons, high quality is extra essential than amount and the handful of fights are a few of the sequence’ greatest.
Whereas it has all the time been one of many anime’s stronger factors, the music in season two, half two of Know Ashura is my favourite of the franchise. The brand new opening music, “Really feel My Ache” by HEY-SMITH is a ska-punk music that offers Streetlight Manifesto vibes. Equally, rapper Jin Dogg’s ending monitor “NANI!?” jogged my memory of Kazuhiro “MEEBEE” Abo’s “ITADAKIMASU” from the No Extra Heroes 3 OST. All this to say that the music of Know Ashura is extra enjoyable than ever on this sequence of episodes and that these songs construct fantastically on Edgelord’s sonic id from the earlier season.
Now for the negatives, of which there are various. Merely put, writing in Know Ashura is horrible. Exterior of some traces of dialogue that made me chortle, I can’t discover something constructive to say in regards to the plot, character, or idea of the sequence. For instance, this season lastly sees Setsuna Kiryu and Tokita Ohma face off. Kiryu worships Ohma as a god, due to an act of violence he witnessed Ohma commit once they had been kids. Nonetheless, he believes that Ohma’s instructor, Tokita Niko, ruined Ohma by instructing him the Niko martial artwork, which dampened Ohma’s violent impulses. Hallucinations of Niko drive Kiryu to insanity and a deep hatred for Niko and the Niko model. Throughout their battle, Kiryu tries to get Ohma to make use of the Possessed by a God approach, which transforms Ohma right into a monstrous kind extra consistent with his thought of what a violent god ought to look and act like.
Nonetheless, Possessed by a God is a way inside the Niko martial arts model, which makes Kiryu’s motivations appear to be a fallacy! I do know this irrationality will be defined away by mentioning that Kiryu is clearly having a psychological breakdown, however that excuse doesn’t make this writing fascinating and even good. It’s unhealthy writing as a personality whose complete multi-season arc is undermined by data that was simply accessible to them. Poorly thought out writing decisions like this make it not possible to see Kiryu as a personality with an interiority who has believably developed his id and values, and as an alternative make it clear that he’s merely a puppet who will do or say no matter must be executed to maneuver the plot ahead.
With out giving any spoilers, the anime’s plot can be fairly inconsequential and ends with out wrapping up a couple of free ends. These guys in fits who confirmed up through the Kengan Affiliation coup final season, seemingly performing independently of any beforehand established faction? This season doesn’t trouble explaining what’s occurring with them, kicking that narrative-critical can ahead to a sequel sequence that will by no means occur. It’s okay for an anime to have thriller and arrange future storylines, nevertheless it’s irritating to have a reasonably important plot improvement on the finish of 1 season utterly ignored within the subsequent.
This season additionally wastes loads of time constructing synthetic rigidity. There are a number of talks about corporations swapping their injured fighters for a brand new one, and so they by no means observe by. Likewise, the present spends loads of time speaking about how shut some characters are to demise, however that rigidity additionally feels hole. Characters in earlier seasons have come again to life after having their necks damaged or being injected with a deadly dose of poison, so demise appears of little consequence on this supposedly hardcore and edgy anime. Additional enjoying into this synthetic rigidity is a prolonged flashback sequence that’s instructed out of chronological order with the only goal of constructing the occasions inside it appear extra fascinating than they really are.
The worldview and perspective of Know Ashura proceed to be simply as cynical and nasty this season as in earlier seasons. In a single scene, the viewers begins to verbally reprimand a fighter for no obvious purpose. In one other scene, we be taught {that a} main character was a part of a battle to the demise, with no clarification as to why the unnamed group accountable would do such a factor. And as is now customary with Know AshuraThere are a couple of scenes the place grown males are fantastic with, and even encourage, the concept of sixteen-year-old women having bodily or romantic relationships with males effectively into their twenties.
Not solely is the script on this sequence unhealthy, nevertheless it additionally advocates a really grim worldview that all the time assumes the worst in folks and normalizes concepts which can be dangerous to weak teams.
On a extra technical observe, the English dub is surprisingly tough this time round and a step again from earlier seasons. Whereas the Japanese performances and subtitles stay serviceable, the English script has some distracting translation decisions. Some odd traces from this season embody: “Since they had been younger, the 2 would battle and evaluate methods a few years in the past,” “Present them how we do it in Japan,” when the speaker is a really American man, and “What the hell is Life Advance? I believed his instructor forbade him to make use of it. Why would he attempt to do one thing so harmful?” A whole lot of that means and unique intent is misplaced in these clumsy translations, and it is stunning to listen to a dub with these sorts of points in 2024.
That being mentioned, chances are high you have already determined whether or not or not you wish to give it Know Ashura your time and power now that it has handed fifty episodes. If you happen to get pleasure from this anime, congratulations, however if you’re studying this, I hope you broaden it to different martial arts media. Know Ashura is a shallow anime with a imply premise that’s greatest loved within the type of YouTube or TikTok clips, the place the fights, that are higher than ever, are taken out of their disappointing context.
