Gather your fighters and prepare for an intense battle royale set in the heart of Japan!
Minato Sahashi is a bit of a loser. After failing his college entrance exam for a second time, his mother has cut his allowance and he faces the troubling prospect of having to move out of the city and back home with his sister. All of these worries come to a halt when a girl named Musubi literally falls into his lap. Before he can process what is going on, two more women appear and attack them, shooting electric bolts from their hands. Musubi grabs Minato by the wrist and together they flee into a nearby alley only to be cornered by the attackers. As Minato attempts to defend Musubi, the girl kisses him and her inner strength and power is released.
Musubi is a Sekirei, a warrior race that has found itself on Earth and became participants in a game called The Sekirei Plan, headed by the overeager chairman of MBI, a large business conglomerate. In the build up to the game, the Sekireis must find their Ashikabi, a master or handler, who will unlock their power. Ideally, Sekireis will be naturally attracted to their Ashikabis, but there are those who will force the warriors to be their slaves. During the course of the series, Minato will accumulate a number of Sekireis, effectively turning the show into a harem comedy.
Sekirei is a fun, action packed adventure that features a healthy dose of romance to compliment epic fight sequences. The animation in Sekirei is well produced and tends to really shine during the numerous fight scenes. Because the Sekireis are elemental warriors, battles are visually exciting to watch as combatants use water, air and earth-based powers against one another. Magic spells are cast frequently and as a result, buildings are leveled often and Musubi is almost always losing her shirt. What harem comedy would be complete without sex appeal? Sekirei isn’t shy about it, as Musubi will wear sexy outfits or nothing at all (as a being not from Earth, she has no concept of modesty) and often bathes with the other female characters. All of the women in the show, with the exception of Ku, are given ample chest sizes which tend to be the focus of particular comedy bits. When Tsukiumi is introduced, she and Musubi constantly fight for Minato’s affection and the right to be considered his wife, a constant source of hilarity. Although the series involves fighting, the action is not overtly violent. Characters will bleed from their mouths after taking a particularly hard hit, but the violence is scarcely graphic.
The series is sweet (if not a bit cheesy) at times, as the concept of kissing to unlock the Sekirei’s power lends itself to a high degree of romance, a bonus for those who want that in their martial art harem comedies. The biggest concern about the series will no doubt be the nudity, but overall the series is delightful, upbeat and entertaining.
Sekirei: The Complete Series
Funimation, 2010
directed by Keizou Kusakawa
300 minutes, Number of Discs: 4
Company Age Rating: TV-MA
