Anime Impressions: Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood

By Abdul Saad
5 years Ago

<p><a href="https&colon;//bagogames&period;com/crunchyroll-announces-upcoming-titles-for-the-spring-2021-anime-season/">Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood</a> is the new historical/ supernatural anime this season that takes place in an alternate history of the Meiji era in 1931 where Japan has developed a new energy source, called the &&num;8216&semi;dragon vein&&num;8217&semi; or &&num;8216&semi;ryumyaku&&num;8217&semi; and the 15th Shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, is still very much in power&period; The anime follows our heroine Sawa Yukimura, a mysterious woman with a grim past who also happens to be an assassin of an organization of shogunate executioners called the &&num;8220&semi;Nue&&num;8221&semi;&period;</p>&NewLine;<p><img class="aligncenter" src="https&colon;//i0&period;wp&period;com/www&period;animefeminist&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Joran1-1&period;jpg&quest;fit=2560&percnt;2C1440&amp&semi;ssl=1" alt="Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood" width="2560" height="1440" /></p>&NewLine;<h3 style="text-align&colon; center&semi;">A Grand Entrance</h3>&NewLine;<p>Everything about Joran intrigued me prior to watching it, from the elaborate title to the supernatural elements and time setting&period; However, after watching the first episode, I can honestly say that while I’m still intrigued, I’m also a bit confused as the first episode introduces us to the anime&&num;8217&semi;s plot and characters in a rather messy way&period; The first minute introduces us to our jaded heroine as we see her undergo a cool super-powered transformation before starting a duel with a shadowy foe&period;</p>&NewLine;<p>Afterward, the episode then takes us to the proper start of the story showing us how dissatisfied citizens are with the country&&num;8217&semi;s current leadership&period; We then see Yuki&&num;8217&semi;s life as a reserved and modest book clerk and elder sister by day, and a deadly assassin by night&period; Though we don&&num;8217&semi;t get to see much of her everyday life, we do get a good glimpse of how she and the other assassins of Nue operate&period;</p>&NewLine;<p>To put it simply, these guys serve as agents that assassinate criminals or targets that may prove a threat to the shogunate&period; The first episode shows Yuki and her associates being given a mission to assassinate a smuggler who works for a major crime boss&period; While her associates make themselves known in the least stealthy way possible, Yuki instead distances herself to deal with another, more dangerous threat known as a changeling, a person that has undergone transformations and mutations not unlike what we see Yuki go through in the first scene&period;</p>&NewLine;<p><img class="aligncenter" src="https&colon;//i0&period;wp&period;com/www&period;otaquest&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/landscape&period;jpg&quest;resize=640&percnt;2C358&amp&semi;ssl=1" alt="Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood" width="640" height="358" /></p>&NewLine;<h3 style="text-align&colon; center&semi;">Direction and Themes</h3>&NewLine;<p>Story wise, the anime hasn’t given us a lot to work with so far&period; While the episode tries to give us an impression of who Yuki is as a person, she unfortunately only comes off as the typical jaded protagonist fueled only by revenge&period; And while we see hints of the mysterious &&num;8216&semi;ryumyaku&&num;8217&semi; energy that seems to be a major plot point in the story, we aren&&num;8217&semi;t told its origins or how it works specifically other than the few initial hints here and there&period;</p>&NewLine;<p>Other than that, seeing as I&&num;8217&semi;m a sucker for anime and manga centered around feudal Japan, specifically the Edo period, I&&num;8217&semi;m happy to say that this anime commits to its themes quite well, which was one of the major factors that initially drew me to it&period; The character designs, environments, dressing, and cars blended with western influences synonymous with the era are incredibly accurate&period; This is further emphasized with the anime&&num;8217&semi;s bizarre yet infectious soundtrack and distinct art style and animation, which dynamically changes during high-intensity moments&period;</p>&NewLine;<p><img class="aligncenter" src="https&colon;//i0&period;wp&period;com/asapland&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Joran&lowbar;-the-Princess-of-Snow-and-Blood-1&period;jpg&quest;fit=650&percnt;2C366&amp&semi;ssl=1" alt="Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood" width="650" height="366" /></p>&NewLine;<h3 style="text-align&colon; center&semi;">Conclusion</h3>&NewLine;<p>While Joran&&num;8217&semi;s story dangerously inches towards the convoluted side, I must say that its other objectively better features are what attracts me to it the most&period; And while the anime&&num;8217&semi;s pilot episode is in no way a perfect introduction to the series, it is at least worth a recommendation to viewers like me looking for the next grim historical anime with a supernatural twist, as specific as that may be&period;</p>&NewLine;<p>Thankfully the first episode was released on streaming platforms way before its April 7 premiere date in Japan, so western viewers can get their impressions on the anime now&period; The first episode of Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood is available to stream right now on<strong><a href="https&colon;//www&period;crunchyroll&period;com/joran-the-princess-of-snow-and-blood/episode-1-confidential-file-101-the-blue-flower-of-carnage-810171" target="&lowbar;blank" rel="noopener"> Crunchyroll&period;</a></strong></p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Have you seen Joran&colon; The Princess of Snow and Blood&quest; What&&num;8217&semi;s your favorite historical anime&quest; Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below&period;</strong></p>&NewLine;

Categories: Anime and Manga, Opinion
Tags: Anime and Manga Review Crunchyroll Joran: The Princess of Snow

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