Sengoku Basara Judge's End

Based on the videogame franchise of "crowd battling" Sengoku Basara, this animation series is set in the era of the warring kingdoms.

Now, for those not familiar with this originally PS2 based game, think Dynasty Warriors for style and sort of game.

And that style and gameplay like sequences are nicely transferred into the anime, where lone heroes battle whole armies as well as one on one duels.  The story, kicking off with a betrayal, is one of loyalty, choosing alliances, and being forced to work together.

While it is nicely drawn, I have two big gripes with this series.  The first comes to you as soon as minute 1 from the first episode, as it has a sort of japanese death metal opening theme... not really suited for my tastes for a middle ages feudal set series.  Luckily, the excellent "Polaris" end theme fits way better.

The second gripe is that while the series lasts 12 epidosed, the main storyline is tackled by halfway episode 10.  This means that the second half of that episode and the two following are there to wrap up all the dynamics between the various characters.  But this feels just to long, and makes some of the relations and rivalries look rather trivial to be honest.

It was an "okay" series for me, but not one I will long remember...