Recently it occurred to me that I should limit the number of airing shows I’m watching if I plan to educate myself in the clandestine ways of older ones. Six months ago, I had over a dozen shows on my MAL watching list, most of which were airing, and that tends to bog things down. So I cut back, and now the airing shows I’m watching number four: Eden of the East, K-ON!, Shangri-La (which I may yet drop)…and Souten Kouro.
Why Souten Kouro? You might correctly guess that it isn’t what I’d call my cup of tea. In fact, it’s not even a show I’d file away as “good.”
Let’s start with what I don’t like about it. It prefers action to character development; in the three episodes released, it’s hard to get a feel for anyone except Cao Cao himself. That’s not to mention how over-the-top crazy the action scenes tend to be. Episode 2′s romance felt somewhat flat and contrived, like a Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen knockoff, the outcome of the trial at the beginning of episode 3 was just ridiculous, and the plot otherwise feels choppy, worsening the already tenuous connection between characters and viewer. If someone asked me to describe it, I’d probably open with “Yeah, it’s not that great.”
But I’d follow that disclaimer by clarifying that I’m more or less enjoying it anyway.
For one thing, it’s fine that most characters are brushed by briefly; I’m here for Cao Cao, after all. Some Zhang He would be nice, and maybe some more Xiahou Dun, but I knew better than to expect much depth out of characters in a show like this to begin with. And, while most of them may be bland, or political machinations personified (which I don’t really like), at least they aren’t talking pairs of tits.
Besides, I’m actually in the mood for Souten Kouro’s blend of politics and action right now. I’ve been playing a lot of Dynasty Warriors and related games lately; I’d almost expect the Three Kingdoms generals to exhibit superhuman strength when they aren’t waxing poetic on the state of the empire in anything I consumed related to the period. This isn’t the permanent state of my expectations, mind you, but sometimes I just want to see Cao Cao wreck someone’s shit.
We could say, then, that Souten Kouro manages a tenuous balance: its politics and action pander to my base fictitious desires right now, and it isn’t Ikkitousen, making it the better of the two Three Kingdoms anime interpretations I’ve seen. It doesn’t fit inside my “good” frame, but I like it — my enjoyment of it is entirely visceral, and while I do enjoy my intellectualizing, sometimes viscera is a relaxing alternative. It’s still possible that Souten Kouro will do something surprising, and goad from me more thorough enthusiasm, and that’s fine, of course; if that’s the way it goes, I’ll let this serve as a reminder of where it (and I) began.
I find it quite enjoyable myself, despite the horrible NARM in episode two. I enjoy it as a ‘tall tale,’ where it practically exists as propaganda for Cao Cao. As such I am well-prepared and quite expectant of the implausible things that I find throughout it.
As a juxtaposition, Sengoku Basara is far more ridiculous — but it may get the benefit of the doubt from more viewers because it very much seems not to take itself seriously. Souten Kouro may not really take itself that seriously, but I doubt from the presentation that this is merely an exercise of fun and lulz; quite the opposite.
So while my exposure with the actual Romance of the Three Kingdoms is very limited, movies like Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and The House of Flying Daggers prepare me well to enjoy this show.
Tall tale might be the best way to take it, now that you mention it. I’m prepared to look at every character not for what they have to offer on their own, but for which of Cao Cao’s features they highlight, and that’s alright with me.
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