First Impression: Gifuu Doudou! ~ Kanetsugu to Keiji

The manliest anime of this season

The manliest anime this season is finally here! Not many people seem to be interested in this anime, but I did, so I watched it. Though its premier is not the best, it certainly did not disappoint.

Production

Studio + Producer // The most surprising thing about Gifuu Doudou is definitely the studio the anime is under. With such historical theme and endless amounts of muscles the characters have, it is to be expected for studios such as Toei Animation or Madhouse or whatever studio that has shounen and action genres on their belts. Out of all studios though, Studio DEEN is the one that is covering this anime. Yes, this was definitely unexpected and worrying. DEEN is known mostly for their unsatisfying gay porns and romance anime that end up animated badly, so what’s with the sudden shift of genre they decided to try out? As if DEEN is not enough, the director adds more surprise because Bob Shirohata is the director of the anime. It’s none other than the man who was in charge if Hiiro no Kakera First Season. Yep, that anime with such horrible animation and framing. The bright side of this worrying combination is the fact that Gifuu Doudou would give more experience to Studio DEEN and Bob Shirohata. Having this anime as their lab rat is something that I am not amused of.

Tetsuo Hara // Though the studio and the director are not the best, Tetsuo Hara’s name in this anime’s production assures me. He’s none other than the man who created Hokuto no Ken, thus the similarity in the art between these two (though the mangaka of Gifuu Doudou is Yuuji Takemura). This anime might be about two melancholic warriors reminiscing about their glorious days, but with Tetsuo Hara planning the story, somehow I am less worried with the combination of DEEN, Bob Shirohata, and Tetsuo Hara.

Gifuu Doudou

Two Best Friends // The first episode already depicts the two main characters’ one in a million personalities and the special friedship between the two. Maeda Keiji is known for his eccentric behavior, but it is raised up to eleven in this anime when he decided to “axe” a newly-built house. Of course, nobody understands how his mind works… except Naoe Kanetsugu. Unlike Maeda Keiji, Naoe is a charismatic person,  raised to be a wise and manipulative person, traits needed during the Sengoku Era. It can be seen that the two have such conflicting personalities, and yet the two of them understand each other the most. Even the tiniest action is understood by the other party. The odd but extraordinary friendship between Maeda and Naoe adds to the passionate fire of Sengoku Era.

SO MANLY // Though Maeda and Naoe have different personalities, they have many GAR traits that are similar to each other. First, they are HUGE. Both of them are twice the size of a normal man, and their width is definitely wider than many. Muscles can be seen everywhere in their bodies, from their hands to their necks. Fierce-looking face is also another physical trait both of them have. Jeebus, Maeda has a white tiger appears out of nowhere when he fights, and the same goes for Naoe’s Bishamonten. Both of these people are so MANLY. They’re not the only ones though, since Naoe’s big brother is as manly as he is. The manliness of the characters is what makes this anime special though, and it is a perfect companion to the bold and striking art that is done by Yuuji Takemura. Everything is manly in this anime and nothing hurts.

Screenshots:

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So manly even the women turned manly

So manly his eyebrows make noise when he frowns

Manliest butt ever

This anime is like how I expected it to be. Muscles, super powers, huge characters with intense eyebrows, and so on. These are the things one would usually see when the name “Tetsuo Hara” is seen. His influence can be seen in every corner of the anime, including the style of the art despite of the fact that the mangaka is Yuuji Takemura. Nevertheless, these things made me able to sit for twenty minutes and see the first meeting between Maeda and Naoe. The crazy stunts the two pulled are definitely exaggerated because there is no way tigers and Bishamonten can appear out of pure aura, but the exaggeration is definitely the reason why the anime is not boring.

The biggest stunt though comes from Studio DEEN. Since they have been doing nothing but romance anime, I expect them to flop on this one. I was wrong. Bob Shinohara have no experience with GAR anime like this, but he was able to get all the focal points of Gifuu Doudou. All the crazy and unusual things in Gifuu Doudou, Shinohara was able to capture then and animate them perfectly. Well, not-so-perfect since the animation is not beyond ordinary, but Studio DEEN was able to handle the first episode well. The question is, will they be able to keep it up until the end?

About anaaga

Have read 418 BL manga and continuing.