Drifted Away: Drifters
Howdy, howdy folks! This week I’m back with a review on a show
that I have been very excited about seeing as well as reviewing. Granted, I wanted to save this review for
later in the month, but because I’ve been swamped with grad school the past few
weeks, doing a discussion post would have been killer for me. Don’t get me wrong, despite that I’ll be doing
this a little sooner than expected, I really am excited about this week’s
review. And that’s more or less due to
the fact that I’m a die-hard Hellsing fan. So if you haven’t figured it out by now, then
let’s get on with this week’s review of Drifters.
The series opens up at the Battle
of Segikahara. After emerging victorious
in battle, Toyohisa Shimazu finds himself severely injured and on the brink of
death. Suddenly, he stumbles into a
strange white corridor with a man at a desk at the end. Just as quickly as he appears in this strange
place, Toyohisa quickly finds himself in another strange new world, but with
some not so new faces. After recovering
from his injuries, Toyohisa finds himself in the company of the infamous Oda
Nobunaga and a young archer Yoichi Nasu.
All three share the same problem in that they mysteriously appeared in
this new world, giving them the nickname “Drifters” amongst the locals. But when they realize that the non-human
inhabitants of this world are in trouble, they decide to take action. However, little do they know, there are other
powerful forces at play in this world, as well as other Drifters that could be
helpful to their cause.
Now, I do want to note that this
series is not entirely through its first season. So much of this review is based on what is
available. Then again, I’ve reviewed
shows watching less. Regardless, Drifters gets a 7.7 out of ten from this
critic. I could have gone higher, but
given that the series is only halfway through its first season, it wouldn’t be
all that fair. But I don’t blame myself
for thinking about it; the positives really outweighed the good. If you were a fan of Hellsing Ultimate, you will love Drifters-and that’s not saying that the same studio that produced Hellsing created it. Animation style aside, there’s a lot of
elements from Kouta Hirano’s manga incorporated in the show that seem to echo
his first major success(*cough* *cough* Hellsing). Plus, as a fan, it’s nice to see one of
Hirano’s works made into an actual series.
Remember, Hellsing Ultimate was
anOVA, so it technically doesn’t count. As
for the original Hellsing series, I
try not to think about it. Fandom for
Hirano and/or Hellsing aside, the
story is actually really good. So far it’s
been building up quite nicely and the latest additions to the show -good and
bad-are just so awesome. Believe me, I
get excited with each new episode!
So while much of the show has been
a resounding A+ so far, there is one downside to the show that should be
noted. This was not necessarily a bad
thing, but it is an issue dealing with content.
Yeah, Drifters does not stray
from the blood, gore, language, and even sexual content that its kissing cousin
had. But while there are “f” bombs and
even one rape scene, the intensity of the adult content is still toned down to
about a quarter of what Hellsing had. That’s a good thing. Still, I was a little disappointed that Mr. Hirano
was not able to create something that wouldn’t receive an R rating. Oh well.
But again I say, I get pretty excited with each new episode that came out,
so it should not be missed!
So Hellsing fans rejoice! Even
though there aren’t any vampires or Nazi’s, there are some of history’s
greatest figures battling it out with monsters in a fantastical new world. It sounds cool just saying it! Hellsing
fans and otakus alike should not miss this show! Currently, Drifters is part of Funimation’s fall simuldub line up. That means that not only will the show be
featured on Funimation’s site in Japanese, but the English dub will be released
at the same time as well. Crunchyroll
also has the show as well. Both sites allow
users to watch it for free. And so that
wraps up this week’s exciting post! Next
week I will try and do another discussion post.
But in the meantime, stay tuned for more and send me requests if you
have any!
-Hanime
on Anime
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