Name: Busou Renkin
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Year: 2006
Rating: Enjoyable
Muto Kazuki is an ordinary high school boy however one day he attempts to save a girl being attacked by a monster. Unfortunately he dies from this heroic act. The girl on the other hand is far from ordinary. Tokiko Tsumura is a member of a select group who deal with the monsters known as Homunculus. Buso renkin (weapon alchemy) are the only types of weapons that are able to defeat these monsters. These weapons are called forth with the use of Kakugane’s that were developed in the process of creating the Philosopher’s stone. Whilst generally Kakukane’s are used as a means of killing a special Black Kakugane can be used to bring life. Kazuki is given a new chance at life, Tokiko explains to him the reality of what is happening around him. Knowing that these monsters roam the planet feeding off humans Kazuki is determined to do what he can to prevent further deaths.
When I think of anime and alchemy the first thing that comes to mind is FMA. Fullmetal Alchemist was a real success one that is hard to top. I think Busou Renkin put its own spin on alchemy however I prefer the “traditional” theory that FMA stuck closer to. There is a fair amount of action in this series and the types of weapons don’t come short. However this series has its limits. I enjoyed this series but not to an extent where I would have wanted to see more. The first impression was a very good one however I found that as the story progressed it started to dwindle. The characters were fairly short lived. I would have liked to have seen more of the minor characters like Hayasaka Shusui. Although I understand that the main characters needed to be given the most attention it would have been nice if it turned out more like a “team game”. Kazuki definatly gets the spotlight but even then we are only given the “try your best and succeed” stereotype of a shounen character. Its hard to beat the successful shounen anime serials out there but this series does give it a go. I think this series is a great choice if your looking for something lighthearted, if your looking for something to watch just to chill out then this might just be the one.
