Review of Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko

Bored and out of my mind, I distinctly remembered that I had heard of an anime named 'Toji no Miko' which was set to come out a few seasons ago, an anime whose story encompassed the tale of katanas only which females could wield. I remember passing this anime up at the time of its release mainly because I had thought that a story like this could only go south -- I, for one, favor male samurai characters, an archetype that I've long favored, especially after watching Unlimited Blade Works (dear lord Sasaki Kojirou was a personal pick for me for a long time afterwards).However, the catchy name stuck in my head, and considering watching it, I, like any other avid anime fan, headed over here to scope out the show before I would fully considering watching it.

When the page finally loaded, my worst fears were confirmed: an abysmal score. I usually don't consider watching animes whose scores dip below 7; if a lot of people think that something is bad, usually, it is. General consensus can most often be trusted. But for some odd reason, I decided to scroll down and look over the reviews, to somehow convince myself that this show could not be as bad as the ratings make out to be (bored and reminiscing about UBW, I guess I just wanted a good swords(wo)men action anime to watch). Of the few ratings that I skimmed through, I mainly saw the same theme: the show wasn't actually that bad.

With that in mind, I set off to watch the show, and with this in mind, I'll begin my review on quite possibly one of the best anime's I've ever watched: Toji no Miko, or Katana Maidens.

If you're wondering why I spent so long talking about my thought process of deciding whether or not to watch the show, let me explain: the show fit all stereotypes of a show that I would never in my life consider watching: an all female main cast, a very low score, a terrible basis of a story. I had long since given up the battle-school story lines, and if possible, I would at least like a male and a female in the main cast. But, I went against these thoughts and eventually watched the show -- a decision in which I have no regrets. In fact, the opposite occurred; I am, without a doubt, glad that I decided to watch this show.

Having just finished binging the show, I will now proceed with my analysis of why this is one of the best anime's I've ever watched.

The first episode starts off with a tournament between the 5 major schools. The tournament proceeds normally, but things take a turn for a worse during the finals. At this point, I was neutral about the anime. The swordfighting scenes were nice and direct with good action, which sated my need for samurai scenes like these. However, I was getting more and more pissed off as the show went on.
Ah yes, the dreaded stale character archetypes of anime -- Main Character #1: Etou Kanami, the happy go lucky type of person, the talkative "I'll save everyone with the power of friendship". Yes, that character.

Why had she saved Hiyori? On a whim? Because she wants to "save everyone for the sake of saving everyone?"

Alas, I thought this was the point that I would drop the anime. But something changed around episode 3 or episode 4, I can no longer remember. The truth about Origami Yukari. It was at this point that I was feeling something I haven't felt in years -- a fire sparking within me. I realized then that the plot of this anime was set up so fantastically well that it was comparable to actual English novels I used to read back in the day. Yes! An anime whose plot could actually be published in a story and would sell feverishly well? I had never imagined that this day would come. Animes nowadays have bland, linear plots that involves solely with dealing with obstacle after obstacle they encounter that plot fails to stimulate me. Indeed, plots like those are more likely in manga adaptations where you need a short amount of time to spark a desire in people to want more of the story.
Light Novels, on the other hand, are often received terribly in their anime forms because 1) the LN's that receive adaptations have to resort to unreal amounts of fan service to ramp up viewerbase or 2) the plot can't advance fast enough in 1 season to make it popular.

I'm starting to ramble now haha. However, it still stands that the plot of Toji no Miko still amazes me amidst the plots of more famous animes that came out and are coming out. I began to wonder why people disliked this anime. Among the reviews I read, the majority of them stated that the plot was clichè. What???? I literally have question marks popping out of my head. The story has long casted off what I thought would be a battle school anime, and it turned into an all out war -- a story of espionage and a fight between the inner machinations of government, a fight almost entirely shut out from the general public. Wherever have you seen an anime like this? I do so need recommendations for animes whose plot can progress in such a fashion comparable to bone fide novels and TV shows.

I began to think that the fallacy lies in the way the show presents itself -- that people couldn't see the show for what it actually is.
Indeed, the show drowns in its failed characterizations --
as I said before, Kanami, the talkative happy go lucky "I will save everyone for the sake of saving everyone"
Hiyori -- the quiet "my only goal is to take revenge"
Mai -- the useless "I want to be useful to my friends"
Sayaka -- the kuudere "I want to be stronger because I am weak"
Ellen -- the blonde haired foreigner whose only purpose and redeeming qualities in the story are her large breasts
and Kaoru -- the lazy girl whose only purpose and redeeming quality is her ability to complain about how small her breasts are (jk, Kaoru actually has a big part to the plot and overall story which I'll explain later)

People who watch this story are only entertained to the main characters and who they are -- which aren't much, and they're forced to pay less attention to the overall story, which is where all the gold is. Alas, the weakness of Japanese writers: they create such a good story, but they characterize their characters like normal anime characters :(

I'll talk more about why I think this story is so good -- and why most people probably aren't able to recognize this as well.

Throughout the entire story, you're forced to watch the story from a black and white point of view -- you're rooting for the main characters' side, and you're rooting against whoever obstructs the main characters' side. However, what you don't realize is that the story isn't a two sided coin like this. There's no right or wrong. And while it may take some time to realize this - certainly took me some time as well, when you do manage to realize it, it makes the show seem like a masterpiece that was written by a well renowned author with awards lined up to be given to them.

Throughout the story, you may think it disgusting that people would willingly inject aradama into themselves. You see these people as 'bad'. This all stems from your misunderstanding that aradama is bad. Aradama originally is a byproduct that is produced as a result of forging the steel used to create okatanas. It's humans that disrupt the peace of aradama from their home in the netherworld.

Juujou Kagari's decison to perish alone along with the Tagitsu-hime was not wrong. Neither was Minato's decision to save her. Neither was Origami Yukari's decision thereafter. The Elite Guard's unwavering loyalty to Origami Yukari is not wrong either. They each had their own reasons for injecting aradama into themselves. They each had their own ideals and and their own misunderstandings about the real situation that was unfolding in secret. The principal of Ayanokouji was not wrong in experimenting with aradama. She had wished for the world to be a fairer place -- and though that aradama could bring about that fairness. Even the principal of Renpu, while one may be hard-pressed to admit, was not wrong in her strive to follow after power. As a junior, she was timid, but somewhere, she lost her way. It wasn't until she realized that her drive for power had driven Yomi, the principal's 'failed prototype' to her death, that she eventually realized what she had done. Yomi, whose only goal was to thank the principal of Renpu for giving her worth, even when the entire world had deserted her. Yomi, who told the other two members of the Elite Guard that it was indeed too late for her to turn back, was not wrong.

This story is amazing in that it can give so much depth to side characters. It really makes you think, who was at fault in this story? First you think that the bad guys are Origami Yukari and her Elite Guards. Halfway through the story, it changes.

Speaking of halfway through the story, I want to hold a tribute for Tsubakuro Yume, one of my favorite characters in the entire anime. From the very beginning, I could tell that her loyalty, at the very least, did not lie with Origami Yukari. Unrestrained and unwilling to follow commands, she would do whatever pleased her. As her story later progressed, we would understand why she was like this. What progressed after her story surprised me -- I was amazed at how highly the other Elite Guard members were placed in the eyes of Maki and Konohana. They were viewed as actual companions -- almost like a family, something not expected among a bunch of arrogant girls who had accepted aradama. The group of outcasts, prodigies who were selected as among the best of the best of Toji to guard Origami Yukari. Maki and Konohana were not wrong, and neither was Yume.

As my review winds down to an end, I want to talk about the three princesses, whose names are so profound I can barely remember them, much less attempt to spell them out. But, I remember distinctly that the princesses represent the three stages of aradama when it is formed: confusion, anger, and the desire to coexist with humans. Confusion is timidness make you feel sorry for the aradama. Origami Yukari states herself that that princess (the princess with the craziest name) helped her stay sane for 20 years, and once she got to know the princess better, she found that the princess is actually very talkative. Throughout the entire story, we aren't able to understand the princess of anger -- Tagitsu-hime. And for good reason. We can't begin to fathom the feelings of an aradama who was created and thrust into a random world. They began to feel anger at the humans for creating them. It's kinda like if you've ever been angry about having been born -- you didn't ask for it, right? (LOL what an analogy). The third princess represents the desire to coexist with humans. There's a large turning point when the third princess meets Nene, Kaoru's pet and family guardian. She realizes that Nene, who was created from human's greed, was able to clear itself of most its impurities by interacting with humans. She begins to realize that fallacy that we've realized a long time ago -- there's nobody here in the wrong. In the aradama's eyes, they've been fighting a black and white fight where they believe they're right, and the humans are wrong. She comes to the realize that there were humans that realized this many years ago: Kaoru's clan, the Mashiko clan. The humans were not wrong, and neither was the aradama.

I want everyone to keep in mind that this review was written to try to convince you to watch this story (or to open your mind to a while new perspective towards the story if you've already finished watching this). The story had its poor points -- the way it presents itself is not the best, but I encourage everyone to give this a try and pay attention to the diamond thats sitting underneath all the rubble. It's there -- you just have to sift a little bit to find it :)

Story - 10
My entire review is based off the story so if you don't understand why I gave it a 10 then why are you even reading this LOL

Art - 9
Amazing art is usual. The only downside is that CGI is used throughout the animation. It detracts from viewer experience, but major fights are animated to perfection. Can't always expect ufotable type animation amirite

Sound - 8
Memorable, catchy, and hype into/outro that utilize the main characters, makes me feel connected to them

Enjoyment - 9

Overall - 9
Overall, one of the best anime's I've ever watched. I gave it a 9 because the plot kind of deteriorated halfway through the story, but still a good watch!

Thanks you guys for reading if you've made it this far, and I hope you guys take into consideration my heartfelt recommendation to watch this show! Happy watching! ^~^