Gifuu Doudou!! Kanetsugu to Keiji: Episode 4 Review

Streaming Allegiance: Crunchyroll
Reconnaissance Report by: Hitmage
Progress: Episode 4


poster gifuuGifuu Doudou has started to impress me now, finally picking up after a somewhat slow start. With the first two episodes consisting mostly of exposition about the first meeting of Naoe Kanetsugu and Maeda Keiji, it has started to actually go into their adventures and some of their fights. You can definitely see the heroic brotherly bonds forming, mainly out of a deep respect for the other’s fighting prowess. While the pacing of the series was kind of slow, I expected it, being a historical anime. Episode 4 brought in an interesting plot point with the introduction of some mysterious Buddhist nuns and an assassination plot, and I think from here on out we’ll be getting into more of the action. The stills are still pretty great, the animation in general is so-so – nothing too spectacular. We’re also seeing more of their past, and not just the two of them reminiscing. I’m excited to see how their bonds develop, and definitely want to see how they fight together.

I’m eager to see some more characters show up, and a bit more development come along. Thus far, the series has basically been “Look at these two overmuscled samurai badasses and all the stuff they do,” with some definitely bromantic vibes. I mean, I understand the series centers around Kanetsugu and Keiji – hell the show is named after them – but I kind of want to learn more about people other than the background characters who show up, say, a few things about which lord said what or something like that. It’s still fairly dialogue heavy, and the fights are flashy but brief. I suppose I was expecting a bit more Fist of the North Star-style things to happen, given the creator of the original manga having done that one too, but I suppose an historical series has to be a little different, aside from the usual artistic liberties taken to spice up the story in general.

Overall, I’m gonna give it about a 8/10, since it’s starting to pick itself up a bit, and we’re getting more insight into the main two. However, I’m hoping that it offers a bit more down the line, since I had high expectations of a work created by Tetsuo Hara.

Score: 8.00/10.00