Koutetsu Sangokushi

[Impz]

I have checked a few times on the forum on whether there is an existence of a thread on this, but found none. This seems to be an adaptation of the classic "Romance of the three kingdoms" but due to my lack of ability in the Japanese language, I am unable to give a review on it as yet.

The production company that picks this up disturbs me quite a bit though, since none of its production has been anywhere top notch in the anime field. I am really hoping a bit more out of them.

Website: Click Here (http://www.koutetsu-sangokushi.jp/file/jsp/index.html)

Production company: NAS (NGE, Dragon Drive, POT, Shaman King)

More information needed, someone translate them for me? :)

[monir]

More information in the following:

Cast:---

Mamoru Miyano (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=10397) as Hakugen Rikuson
Akira Ishida (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=443) as Shimei Ryomou
Junichi Suwabe (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=48696) as Kouha Kannei
Kentarou Itou (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=776) as Shigi Taishiji
Kouji Yusa (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=3195) as Shiyu Shoukatsukin
Mitsuki Saiga (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=411) as Kouseki Ryoutou
Takehito Koyasu (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=662) as Koumei Shoukatsuryou
Hitomi Nabatame (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=17354) as Chuubou Sonken
Kazuhiko Inoue (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=722) as Kouketsu Ryousou
Rina Satou (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=16411) as Gentoku Ryuubi
Shinichiro Miki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=659) as Koukin Shuuyu
Yasunori Matsumoto (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=499) as Hakufu Sonsaku

Staff:---

Chief Director: Tetsuya Endo (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=2232)
Series Composition: Natsuko Takahashi (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=4629)
Music: Yuji Toriyama (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=12825)

Animation Production: Picture Magic (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?id=3611)

After looking at the list of network channel that are going to broadcast this show in April, I think it's safe to say this is another of those shounen series that don't seem to go any where even after a modest 50+ episodes. Good find Impz! :D

[Impz]

More information in the following:

Cast:---

Mamoru Miyano (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=10397) as Hakugen Rikuson
Akira Ishida (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=443) as Shimei Ryomou
Junichi Suwabe (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=48696) as Kouha Kannei
Kentarou Itou (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=776) as Shigi Taishiji
Kouji Yusa (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=3195) as Shiyu Shoukatsukin
Mitsuki Saiga (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=411) as Kouseki Ryoutou
Takehito Koyasu (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=662) as Koumei Shoukatsuryou
Hitomi Nabatame (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=17354) as Chuubou Sonken
Kazuhiko Inoue (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=722) as Kouketsu Ryousou
Rina Satou (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=16411) as Gentoku Ryuubi
Shinichiro Miki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=659) as Koukin Shuuyu
Yasunori Matsumoto (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=499) as Hakufu Sonsaku

Staff:---

Chief Director: Tetsuya Endo (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=2232)
Series Composition: Natsuko Takahashi (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=4629)
Music: Yuji Toriyama (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=12825)

Animation Production: Picture Magic (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?id=3611)

After looking at the list of network channel that are going to broadcast this show in April, I think it's safe to say this is another of those shounen series that don't seem to go any where even after a modest 50+ episodes. Good find Impz! :D

LOL! Ok, if that's the case, it will be highly unlikely for me to try it out. Still, Monir, any chance of you or anyone out there to summarize the story plot in Japanese to a nice palatable English?

*hint hint*

[Scribble]

Lol impz, you have to - it's ROTK!

I was kind of hoping it'd be a slightly more 'mature' shonen action show, ala Fullmetal Alchemist. This'll probably end up being a guilty pleasure for me since it's ROTK . Plus, the source material might be interesting since it was a manga beforehand.

[Honey_and_Cleaver]

Whose the hero? Hakugan or Shimei?

[Scribble]

Did anyone see the first episode?

I read praise for it on http://psgels.blogsome.com , which was pretty surprising. I guess the anime won't be popular, but someone else must have seen the first episode.

[Crystal_Method]

I can't really gather up my thoughts on this one. The animation and art was good, but I was really disappointed with the battle scenes. And the story I thought was good too, until it displayed the male leads super gayness (not literally, just he was such a wuss to the point of him seeming like a girl).

[aroduc]

I just watched the first 10 minutes of it and had to turn it off. The art is okay, but everybody looks insane, but the animation is a sin... the vocals aren't even synced. The music itself is decent enough, though pretty generic... that's about as much praise as I can give it.

The animation though... seriously... straight out of 1975. Character stills moving between other stills as little slash effects go past... 2 frames for people talking... bad cg objects randomly floating over completely still shots, the works. And even if you get past that, you run right into the maw of bishie Zhuge Liang (I'm pretty sure Rikuson/Lu Xun calls him Koumei, but honestly, I was already reaching for the delete button) and his apparent romance with Lu Xun of all people. :p

Spoiler for hot hot Lu Xun x Zhuge Liang.
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/3331/bscap0000as5.jpg

[usagijen]

I can't really gather up my thoughts on this one. The animation and art was good, but I was really disappointed with the battle scenes. And the story I thought was good too, until it displayed the male leads super gayness (not literally, just he was such a wuss to the point of him seeming like a girl).

LOL. I thought the same too XDD
and it urged me to poke a little fun at this, in a blog post of mine :p --> http://miocolore.wordpress.com/2007/...ushi-episode-1

XDDD

[Crystal_Method]

LOL. I thought the same too XDD
and it urged me to poke a little fun at this, in a blog post of mine :p --> http://miocolore.wordpress.com/2007/04/07/koutetsu-sangokushi-episode-1

XDDD

lol... I bet he did mean he was going to make his move on Hakugen. Or at least I wouldn't be surprised.

Who knows maybe the story will be about Hakugen's journey to becoming a man with the help from the girl that seems to have an important role. That would be quite interesting, him maybe spending one night with her and the next day coming out as a totally new and tough guy.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Well, now I know what the writer from Gakuen Heaven and the character designer from Corda D'Oro were doing here. But since I find I can appreciate some BL, I actually enjoyed it. Anyway, the whole thing was worth it to hear two outstanding seiyuu there on the mountain together: Takehito Koyasu and Miyano Mamoru.

The animation was fairly primitive, but the snappy character design made up for that. I just hate the fake Chinoiserie of those excessively upturned eaves, but the low-class luxury in other details was nice. Of course, this owes even less to Three Kingdoms than RomeoxJuliet does to Romeo and Juliet. For some reason, I kept thinking of Angelique. But the show still exercises a poisonous fascination that may bring me back next week.

[andromeda0201]

I didn't like the animation design, however the opening and ending themes were good, main reason for me to keep watching for the next few episodes, and of course all the seiyuus involved

[Friera]

What is a Seyiuu?

And, is this show BL? I'm not even sure if the person to left on the picture in the Website is a woman or a man.
I'm attracted to this show because of the beautiful characterdesign. I look forward for it subbed. :)

[Samsara]

here comes another attempt to buther characters from The Romance of The Three Kingdoms... but at least I'm glad that this time, unlike Dragon Destiny, the characters are (mostly ?) male, not female. the only one I can't quite decide is Chuubou Sonken. The character design looks ultra feminine and the seiyuu is female as well but chances are he's probably a guy, too.

The cast is the only reason I actually bothered to watch this anime. Throw Ishida Akira, Miki Shinichiro, Suwabe Junichi, Koyasu Takehito, Okiayu Ryotaro into the same anime, and you've got my attention no matter how worthless other apects of the show are. I just can't help but think this is an anime made to feed the fantasies of all those seiyuu fangirls out there and Saint Beast is another such show from this season.

Even though I was fully prepared for a highly slashable show even months before Koutetsu Sangokushi aired, for some reason I still couldn't help but laugh every time Rikuson and Koumei talked and stared into each other's eyes...


Spoiler for hot hot Lu Xun x Zhuge Liang.
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/3331/bscap0000as5.jpg


uh... don't mean to be picky here but no matter how I look at it, the pairing is more like Koumei x Rikuson... it's sort of a "convention" if you will to write the pairings as seme x uke. And Miyano Mamoru's Rikuson just doesn't look or sound like seme material to me, not opposite somebody of Koyasu Takehito's caliber anyway. Not sure if Koyasu has ever been played uke but if that were to happen, probably only Miki Shinichiro and Suwabe Junichi out of the cast of this anime could stand a chance as seme...

ok, ok, I know all those bl drama CDs have poisoined my mind ^^; but here's what Koyasu Takehito wrote in his Apr 7 blog entry (http://koyap.jugem.jp/):


...「鋼鉄三国志」(Koutetsu Sangokushi)も無事に始まりましたね。なんか気のせいか、BLの香りがはんなりと…。まあ、それ もいっか。...


so if even he felt that this one smells of BL, can't blame me for thinking all these things... ^^

The only positive thing I could say so far about this anime is that I enjoyed the ED song by Miyano very much. Not many male seiyuu could sing well so I was a little surprised by his performance. It was certainly better than Hoshi Souichiro who's singing both the OP and ED for Shining Tears x Wind.

[usagijen]

here comes another attempt to buther characters from The Romance of The Three Kingdoms... but at least I'm glad that this time, unlike Dragon Destiny, the characters are (mostly ?) male, not female. the only one I can't quite decide is Chuubou Sonken. The character design looks ultra feminine and the seiyuu is female as well but chances are he's probably a guy, too.

The cast is the only reason I actually bothered to watch this anime. Throw Ishida Akira, Miki Shinichiro, Suwabe Junichi, Koyasu Takehito, Okiayu Ryotaro into the same anime, and you've got my attention no matter how worthless other apects of the show are. I just can't help but think this is an anime made to feed the fantasies of all those seiyuu fangirls out there and Saint Beast is another such show from this season.

Even though I was fully prepared for a highly slashable show even months before Koutetsu Sangokushi aired, for some reason I still couldn't help but laugh every time Rikuson and Koumei talked and stared into each other's eyes...

uh... don't mean to be picky here but no matter how I look at it, the pairing is more like Koumei x Rikuson... it's sort of a "convention" if you will to write the pairings as seme x uke. And Miyano Mamoru's Rikuson just doesn't look or sound like seme material to me, not opposite somebody of Koyasu Takehito's caliber anyway. Not sure if Koyasu has ever been played uke but if that were to happen, probably only Miki Shinichiro and Suwabe Junichi out of the cast of this anime could stand a chance as seme...

ok, ok, I know all those bl drama CDs have poisoined my mind ^^; but here's what Koyasu Takehito wrote in his Apr 7 blog entry (http://koyap.jugem.jp/):

so if even he felt that this one smells of BL, can't blame me for thinking all these things... ^^

The only positive thing I could say so far about this anime is that I enjoyed the ED song by Miyano very much. Not many male seiyuu could sing well so I was a little surprised by his performance. It was certainly better than Hoshi Souichiro who's singing both the OP and ED for Shining Tears x Wind.

with the awesome cast list they have, and the somewhat BL-ish scenes they put (with Koumei x Rikuson / Hakugen 's pairing), I'm pretty sure they were trying to target BL fans for this as well o__o Just imagine the bucks they'll generate by selling all these Drama CD's that they'll be producing... "marketing strategy" hehe XD

I agree about enjoying the anime's ED song (compared to Hoshi Souichiro's singing *shields herself from Hoshi Souichiro fans* ^^''' ).

But I'm still pretty much hopeful for Koutetsu Sangokushi, despite the butchering / insult (?) I've made in response to my first impression of it... :p

[Impz]

hah, ok, well, I do have a bit of a short review and summary for it in my blog....

Here is it. (http://that.animeblogger.net/2007/04/07/id-analysis-koutetsu-sangokushi-kamichama-karin/)

Anyone who wants to see if it's good can take a look there for the first episode ^_^

[usagijen]

hah, ok, well, I do have a bit of a short review and summary for it in my blog....

Here is it. (http://that.animeblogger.net/2007/04/07/id-analysis-koutetsu-sangokushi-kamichama-karin/)

Anyone who wants to see if it's good can take a look there for the first episode ^_^

yeah, read your review of it, Impz, and I agree that it does look promising. Seeing as you mentioned about LuXun and Zhuge Liang in ROTK made me curious and asked my brother about these two (since he is an ROTK fan ^^''' ). He was surprised when I mentioned that those two BL-ish characters is LuXun and Zhuge Liang respectively. (Rather ruprised by how LuXun was the lead in this anime, when he didn't seem to have much role in ROTK... and also surprised by how Zhuge Liang ended up being LuXun's master (and evil)... when he was supposed to be an adviser of Liu Bei in ROTK)

[Impz]

yeah, read your review of it, Impz, and I agree that it does look promising. Seeing as you mentioned about LuXun and Zhuge Liang in ROTK made me curious and asked my brother about these two (since he is an ROTK fan ^^''' ). He was surprised when I mentioned that those two BL-ish characters is LuXun and Zhuge Liang respectively. (Rather ruprised by how LuXun was the lead in this anime, when he didn't seem to have much role in ROTK... and also surprised by how Zhuge Liang ended up being LuXun's master (and evil)... when he was supposed to be an adviser of Liu Bei in ROTK)

Hah, I am also a rather huge ROTK fan and it's amazing how Zhuge Liang is an evil character but I enjoyed it because i am no fan of the Shu faction. Please make them the villain group and all that jazz.

If they are already butchering the ROTK, might as well butcher it good.

Hah.

[Scribble]

Lol at Zhuge Liang being an evil character. In the novel translation I read, he kind of came across as arrogant and rude - as opposed to more "down to earth" advisers like Jia Xiu.

[Kaoru Chujo]

What is a Seiyuu?...Seiyuu 声優 is the Japanese word for "voice actor." I like to use that word, but maybe I should use "voice actor" or "VA." In Japanese, they sometimes don't even use their own word, but use the letters "CV" (from the English "character voice").

Anyway, there are a lot of good ones in this show. I thought Miyano Mamoru did a great job with the song, too.

[KingMoo-chan]

This show doesn't seem that good at all, but somehow I am drawn to it. Mainly, I must admit, due to the setting and characters, even though these interpretations make the Dynasty Warriors versions of the individuals seem historically accurate. Sun Quan and Cao Cao, to all intents and purposes, seem virtually female.

While most of the budget seems focused on making sure that Lu Xun's hair never stops blowing in the wind, I think this has the potential to be enjoyable if not great. The plot doesn't inspire at the minute, but it could prove more interesting once more characters become involved and the three factions start to move. Sun Ce didn't impress me, but Zhuge Liang did - this version just has something about him, perhaps the eyes, that makes him seem utterly evil while at the same time the type of character you want to suceed. Of the three kingdoms, historically and fictionally, I find Wu the most curious and Shu the least inspiring, and so it is splendid to see the latter potentially displayed as far from the lofty heroes that the Romance decrees they are.

I think I will keep watching this for the era and location design, rather than for the storyline.

[Scribble]

Of the three kingdoms, historically and fictionally, I find Wu the most curious and Shu the least inspiring, and so it is splendid to see the latter potentially displayed as far from the lofty heroes that the Romance decrees they are.

I think I will keep watching this for the era and location design, rather than for the storyline.


It's also good that Wu is in the spotlight this time - it's usually Shu (as the heroes, like you said) and Wei as the villains. I've also heard people call Wu 'boring', which is far from the truth (See Sun Jian and the Imperial Seal, Sun Ce's 'great adventure' and Chi Bi, which aren't technically Wu but still count)

[Kaoru Chujo]

It's also good that Wu is in the spotlight this time - it's usually Shu (as the heroes, like you said) and Wei as the villains. I've also heard people call Wu 'boring', which is far from the truth (See Sun Jian and the Imperial Seal, Sun Ce's 'great adventure' and Chi Bi, which aren't technically Wu but still count)I agree. Basically, isn't Wu the lower Yangtze area around the present Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, etc.? An exotic and magical area in ancient times. The lush waterlands. How could that be boring?

Turning things around is interesting. The Shu-Han heroes are loyal, I guess, but eminently fallible. Others have some virtue, too. I love the poetry of Cao Cao's son Cao Zhi, for example. And Cao Cao himself could write.

But I won't watch this show for historical accuracy, that's for sure.

[Scribble]

But I won't watch this show for historical accuracy, that's for sure.

While I would love to see the whole novel animated again, it's also fun seeing how they twist the story we all know so well. Ravages of Time was very good, and I'm one of the few people who do not complain about the character designs in Dynasty Warriors and Kessen.

I couldn't be bothered to keep up with Ikkitousen, and haven't gotten round to watching A Spirit of the Sun because although they claim to be based on ROTK, they probably only take one or two elements from history/novel. At least the officers are keeping their names in this, which gives me some hope :D

[runey]

Samsara: Koyappi was uke in the Zetsuai 1989 OAV. IMHO, it didn't sound quite right.

As for this show, I'm kinda hoping the subbers use the Chinese names, if only because those are the ones I recognize from Dynasty Warriors.

[Leedizzle]

I find Ikkitousen/Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny more historically accurate then from the glimpse that Koutetsu Sangokushi has given on the first episode, but I really don't watch Ikkitousen for the historical accuracy even though it is quite good.

It seems every anime I watch that resemble Romance of the Three Kingdoms villianizes Wei and it seems this anime will be no different.

yeah, read your review of it, Impz, and I agree that it does look promising. Seeing as you mentioned about LuXun and Zhuge Liang in ROTK made me curious and asked my brother about these two (since he is an ROTK fan ^^''' ). He was surprised when I mentioned that those two BL-ish characters is LuXun and Zhuge Liang respectively. (Rather ruprised by how LuXun was the lead in this anime, when he didn't seem to have much role in ROTK... and also surprised by how Zhuge Liang ended up being LuXun's master (and evil)... when he was supposed to be an adviser of Liu Bei in ROTK)

I don't know if your brother answered you off the game Dynasty Warriors but, Lu Xun played the exact same role Zhuge Liang does for Shu as Sima Yi did for Wei. Lu Xun plays a huge role in the downfall of Shu along with Lu Meng when they kill Guan Yu. He may have not been as glorified in the games but in the novel he is probably on the same level as Zhuge Liang/Sima Yi in tactical/military expertise and better then their respective successors.

[pomps]

Lu Meng was able to beat Guan Yu for his arrogance and ignorance, Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei for his stupidity, I dont think they are on the same level as Zhuge Liang. In fact Lu Xun was almost killed in Zhuge Liang's rocks' formation, only saved by his father-in-law.
Anyway I hate this anime the moment I saw Sun Quan in his/her dress, and almost puke when Cao Cao appear, it's very disturbing for me. I expected alot of plot twist, but didn't know they would turn such great leaders into gays/gals. It's ok if the anime is a comedy but this anime, no way.

[Scribble]

I expected alot of plot twist, but didn't know they would turn such great leaders into gays/gals. It's ok if the anime is a comedy but this anime, no way.

:rolleyes:

Lol, whether they are hot or not, it's somewhat strange that the leaders are now girls, but it's an issue when you imply that they've been demoted because they're "gay". In ancient China, the rulers and their officers probably did have homosexual relations - as long as they also took wives.

and as a side note, no-one is better than Zhuge Liang in the novel. He is portrayed as some kind of god who can predict everything.

[andromeda0201]

Well the leaders aren't girls, they are pretty boys with female seiyuus....it was really kind of hard watching Sun Quan and the little boy looking so ladylike... I mean, if you hadn't read the character introduction you'd have thought they were actually girls, just like what Fate/Stay night did to King Arthur and Lancelot

[Fevvers]

I wasn't impressed with the first episode at all; some parts became overly cheesy and pretentious they're not even funny. The animation was meeeh at the most; nothing ground breaking. I liked Rikuson though, surprisingly; I almost always never like naive and idealistic characters like him, but for some reason, I'm interested in seeing his growth. Koumei, on the other hand, squicks me out, seems to me as if the series' creators are trying to make him as mysterious as possible, and somehow it just comes out as fake/forced.

I'll try to watch the next few episodes just to see if the execution would improve; if not, well... thank the gods for Seirei no Moribito.

[KingMoo-chan]

Episode 2, in my opinion, was less enjoyable than the first. The action scene was horrendously animated, and the plot didn't feel particularly helped by the episode. As Inujun says, too, watching Sun Quan, Cao Cao and the rest in an utterly feminine form just feels odd, especially as it only seems to lead to the blushing undertones that occur throughout episode 2. Many of the characters, such as Sun Ce's generals, seem to have little reason to be in the show other than to fit their historical existances, a placing with seems to contradict the ethos behind the insertion of a fantasy plot into the historical era.

For some reason, though, I'm still going to watch this show. Of late, the settings of anime have become incredibly important to me, and I adore this one, and the period of history that it alludes to.

[Hydex]

Lu Meng was able to beat Guan Yu for his arrogance and ignorance, Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei for his stupidity, I dont think they are on the same level as Zhuge Liang. In fact Lu Xun was almost killed in Zhuge Liang's rocks' formation, only saved by his father-in-law.
Anyway I hate this anime the moment I saw Sun Quan in his/her dress, and almost puke when Cao Cao appear, it's very disturbing for me. I expected alot of plot twist, but didn't know they would turn such great leaders into gays/gals. It's ok if the anime is a comedy but this anime, no way.

Same here. Too bad for this anime, but there's quite a number of good animes this spring, so no big loss.

[Scribble]

I just watched the first episode.

I...I don't get it. What was the purpose of putting ROTK characters in the story? What *at all* has it got to do with SGYY/SGZ? I went into this thinking it'd be something a little less accurate than Ravages of Time (which accurate in the sense it was a retelling of the novel), but you could more or less call this Koutetsu Harry Potter, replace the Three Kingdoms characters with Harry Potter, and you wouldn't lose anything.

I wasn't expecting a lot from this series, but wow....looks like I have to still rely on Koei to offer me my modern Romance of the Three Kingdoms fanservice. ;_;

[ObsidianZ]

The yaoi undertones are kinda....creepy.

Anyways, this looks kinda boring, very predictable.

[SKGundam]

I'm just really stupid here, I played the Koei games that were based on Romance of the three kingdoms and seen the first epsiode of a old anime series based off it...........how is this series based off of RoTK? Some of the characters i could tell are based on what you guys say they are but having different names. So in short What exactly is this series' relation to RoTK?

[Kingofkongs]

well as u said ur self this anime is LOOOSELY connected with ROTK same countries same chara... the different name is because they use japanese name for the charas so Lu Xun become Rikuson .... then Wu becomes Go etc

[BatAttack]

Since there seem to be many RoTK fans here it seems a good place to ask:
Having never seen nor read any RoTK, what are the 'best' RoTK anime series?

Preferably serious ones.
I watched an ep or two of Ikki Tousen but found the fan-service unbearable, and the 'high school' setting just ridiculous.

Thanks for any advice anyone might have..

[5_of_Spades]

Since there seem to be many RoTK fans here it seems a good place to ask:
Having never seen nor read any RoTK, what are the 'best' RoTK anime series?

Preferably serious ones.
I watched an ep or two of Ikki Tousen but found the fan-service unbearable, and the 'high school' setting just ridiculous.

Thanks for any advice anyone might have..


Oh man. I have watched a couple, but all of them fell short of my expectations. RoTK is a very serious novel, and most animes I've seen have generalized/trivialized it. The closest adaptation I've seen is the live action series. I think to truly enjou RoTK, you would have to read it in the original text. Many things are lost in translation.

[5_of_Spades]

And was I the only one who thought 孫権 and 凌統 were the 二乔 when watching the opening?

[CeDeR]

is it just me or the main character and the guy with feathers r a lil bit gay?
also is sonken a guy??girl in disguise?mmmm......

[Scribble]

Since there seem to be many RoTK fans here it seems a good place to ask:
Having never seen nor read any RoTK, what are the 'best' RoTK anime series?


I'm a bit late in replying to this post, but just in case you revisit this thread:

I'm not that qualified to recommend the 'best' ROTK adaptations, as the majority of them have not been translated to English. Apparently, there are three ROTK anime movies and plenty of ROTK manga. As it seems, there is a whole magazine (like shonen jump) which just contains manga based on ROTK, which Koutetsu Sangokushi hails from IIRC. I heard the best manga adaptation is the one whose mangaka recently died, and I think it was a faithful adaptation too. Oh, and there's another anime which is loosely based on ROTK: A Spirit of the Sun (Taiyo....) which has been subbed.

If you read manga, there's always The Ravages of Time (which is a Chinese comic, I think) which has been scanlated. It's not really accurate to the events in the novel, but is faithful in terms of setting, the events (Yellow Scarves, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu) and characters. I think it's probably the best 'retelling' of the story I've ever seen, though that isn't saying much. The twists are very cool.

But if you haven't read the novel, you should do that (assuming you like reading). It's available free online (www.threekingdoms.com), and can be ordered from places like Amazon. I personally prefer reading it online as there is a little sidebar on the right where people can post their comments, paragraph-by-paragraph. I learned a lot from this, as the comments there give you a good insight into the period and enhances the experience. Best book ever, IMO =D

[Kaoru Chujo]

I can understand fans of ROTK being offended by this bizarre trampling on a classic, and I'm probably not going to watch it all, but I've enjoyed the episodes I have watched. The BL aspect doesn't bother me. I just enjoy it on its own terms. Hamlet as BL might be fun, lol. And Sun Quan as a woman is pretty interesting. I don't find this show predictable at all. The architecture is like some adolescent fantasy version of ancient China, too, but it's interesting in itself. The show is definitely "different." And as I said before, hearing Miyano Mamoru and Koyasu Takehito together is fairly cool. Nabatame Hitome as Sun Quan is cool, too.

[EtherealMoon]

I think ROTK fans are coming down a bit too hard on the anime. It's obviously been Gankutsuoh'ed, let's watch it for what it is instead judging it from its source material. I'm enjoying it so far, it's a bit slow, but still enjoyable enough.

And th animation isn't that bad (LOL at the person who said it was 1975 bad), but it's pretty average for a show in 2007 methinks. They do have glimpses of good animation time to time but there are some times when it's below average, but the majority of it is average.

And Sun Quan (Sonken) is not female in this anime (and even referred to masuline pronouns). He wears a slightly modified but clearly MASCULINE outfit. I do think the voice is too girly but you can hear the seiyuu trying to achieve an androgyous voice (but failing miserably). Also, every major and minor character so far are male. If they were male in the novel, they're still male in the anime. Beware of traps, my friends.

But I have good feelings for this anime as well. At its pace, I'm gonna assume that it will be at least 25-26 episodes because it will really botch the series if it's shorter than that.

[greeneyes]

I think ROTK fans are coming down a bit too hard on the anime. It's obviously been Gankutsuoh'ed, let's watch it for what it is instead judging it from its source material. I'm enjoying it so far, it's a bit slow, but still enjoyable enough.

I just came across this show yesterday and watched the 4 subbed eps. I've really enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to more. As for the comparisons to ROTK i've never seen it though I might later. But I defiantly agree that why can't we simply enjoy the show for what it is instead of picking it apart piece by piece? If you enjoy it then do so and if you don't, then thats also your prerogative but the ripping of it I don't believe is really necessary.

[royaltyxgirl]

wow it totali rox lyk there r 7 eps subbed already and rikuson finally met his master!! whoo hoo!

[mpeters13]

I can't find the lyrics for the OP theme anywhere. Any takers?

EDIT: I found them.

[Newguy]

Lu Meng was able to beat Guan Yu for his arrogance and ignorance, Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei for his stupidity, I dont think they are on the same level as Zhuge Liang. In fact Lu Xun was almost killed in Zhuge Liang's rocks' formation, only saved by his father-in-law.
Anyway I hate this anime the moment I saw Sun Quan in his/her dress, and almost puke when Cao Cao appear, it's very disturbing for me. I expected alot of plot twist, but didn't know they would turn such great leaders into gays/gals. It's ok if the anime is a comedy but this anime, no way.

Being a Wu fan I gotta say this. Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu didn't do jack in history. SGYY is just a novel exaggerating everyone in Shu's abilities. Go read SGZ for historical acceracy.

[Jemcrystal]

It's a tragedy :T_T:.

It's gay :hyper-^v^: enough for those (of us) who are into BL to enjoy. But the bishonen characters are effeminate, not truly homosexual.

Visually pretty :innocent:. Sometimes I felt like I was watching Power Rangers :twitch:. To sad for my tastes :(.