Mouryou Senki Madara

This Was Actually A Pretty Good OVA Series

It Had A Descent Story And The Characters Were Pretty Good As Well, MADARA Is A Good Series For People Who Like Those Classic 1980 Fantasy Anime's With Good Violence

Madara is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name, from which it borrows the story and part of the cast. This is because the production planned only two OVAs, each just over 50 minutes long, which in my opinion are insufficient to tell the entire story of the manga. Nevertheless, the cuts that were made and the direction chosen do not make the product any less interesting.

This version preserves crucial elements that transform Madara from a simple fantasy into an original hybrid, featuring anthropomorphic beasts, battle prosthetics that make people resemble puppets, chakra used for magical attacks, ancient technologies, demons, Buddhism, ... and much more. The fusion of all these elements immediately achieves the desired effect, successfully capturing the viewer.

The direction is handled by Yuuji Moriyama, who has worked in various roles on several notable productions such as Project A-Ko, multiple Urusei Yatsura films as well as the main TV series, Macross Plus, and many others, including later projects related to Madara itself. As a director, however, he does an excellent job, effectively shaping a story that inevitably had to undergo cuts in order to remain fully accessible.

The animation is of a good standard, not always outstanding, but consistently enjoyable to watch, with no significant drops in quality. Since came out in 1991, it inevitably competed with other productions such as Burn Up!, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, Doomed Megalopolis, and Detonator Orgun; nevertheless, it holds up well and remains appreciable even today. A very good adaptation despite its inherent limitations, and one worth revisiting if you enjoy swashbuckling fantasy stories with a few intriguing twists.

Story: 1/2
Direction: 1/2
Animation: 1/2
Characters: 1/2
Music: 1/2
Bonus points: 2/2

Final score: 7/10

! This was a fun discovery.

It is a two-part OVA, with 90s graphics and mediocre sound effects. You follow the adventures of a boy trying to find his way in the world of evil and decadence . He has enough arrogance and conviction to be a worthy protagonist , without being too superficial. There will be plenty of fights and random obstacles in his path. A lot of WTF moments. It can even be somewhat stereotypical. But if you credit yourself as a fantasy fan, you should give it a try.

Something to enjoy on the side while you delay on your backlog.