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Plot
The story of the Drifters begins in Japan in 1600, with the Battle of Sekigahara. The triumph of the Tokugawa clan, who then ruled for nearly 200 years as Shogun, was undoubtedly the most important historical fight in Japan. The samurai Shimazu Toyohisa is on the side of the defeated forces in this conflict, and during the retreat, he decides to stay behind to stop his army's pursuers. Toyohisa, who is mortally wounded, resolves to let himself die, but he is immediately enveloped by light and finds himself in a sort of corridor with several doors. He encounters a sort of clerk at a desk who opens a door and transports him to a traditional fantasy realm populated by elves, dwarves, dragons, orcs, goblins, and other races. As a result, Toyohisa will realize that he is not the only one who has found himself in this bizarre realm. Along with him, he will meet other famous historical figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Nasu no Yoichi, Hannibal and Scipio Africanus, Butch Cassidy, and many others on the side of the Drifters faction, which finds itself in the midst of a battle against the Ends faction, which is led by the mysterious Black King and consists of non-human races such as orcs, goblins, and other monsters. Joan of Arc, Mitsuhide Akechi, and Anastasia Romanova are among them. The difference with the Drifters is that these historical figures died with regrets in previous lives, and in the fantasy world where they now reside, they are a distorted version of themselves with supernatural abilities, such as Joan of Arc's ability to use pyrokinesis or Anastasia's ability to unleash snow and ice storms. As a result, the two sides are doomed to combat in a universe that does not belong to them.
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Characters
When it comes to the characters, it's impossible not to mention their charisma. I may be biased because I admired the mangaka's previous work, but I think Hirano is a master at drawing fascinating and charming characters who, thanks to the vein of madness that runs through most of them - combined with their almost compulsive smiling while they slice up their enemies or things go according to plan - and their speeches full of power and verbal charge are able to express a remarkable fortitude of character that can't help but make you smile. Oda Nobunaga stands out, but I think the others (at least from what we've seen of them so far) are all worthily complex and defined. The character interactions are for the most part well-crafted and entertaining to see, and it's clear that Hirano enjoys interacting with numerous historical personalities from many eras, as well as reworking them in the features as needed to make them even more "unique" and "personalized."
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Pros
* Great design: Even though I'm not a graphic designer, I have to tell you that a design like Drifters is something I haven't seen many other times. The anime drawings are clean, accurate, and detailed enough, if not more, and the coloring is rich in chiaroscuro that goes to detail the characters' and scenes' figures, resulting in a good volumetric and chromatic depiction. The animations are quite smooth and optimized; I didn't notice any noticeable drops, but overall, the production seemed to be of high quality. Even the CGI is nicely employed; it is present but not obtrusive, and when used, it blends in well with the scene and people (unlike other animated productions, such as Overlord, where the use of CG is a constant phenomenon and poorly rendered).
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- Fights mixed with laughs: The manga/anime comes alive and exciting when it switches from more serious times where the protagonists not only the battle but also tend to make pretty sophisticated decisions, to others that are on the verge of parody. Not only are there serious moments and others when there is a lot of blood, which is a common element throughout combat, but there are also comedic ones. Yes, because the protagonists will frequently pause to comment on certain scenes in the novel, such as when Toyohisa complains about the refugees who are working against them. Toyohisa is unsuited for purposes such as negotiating because he is a Samurai who has spent his entire life on the battlefields. It's no coincidence that Oda Nobunaga and Nasu No Yoichi will try all in their power to keep him away from it, but they frequently fail, resulting in some amusing scenes.
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- The meaning of battles: Battles in Drifters can boast fluid, clear, engaging, and animated shots and animations, which bring out raw, brutal violence that often results in splatter: a typical feature of Hirano's works, but we seemed more contextualized in this latest effort because the main intent is to reflect on how violent and bloody wars can be, in no uncertain terms. Characters who approach battle by putting into practice a wide array of tactics and methods, well-delineated on the basis of each character's historical and psychological background, making the fighting more tactical, unexpected, and entertaining. The series' reflections on the war, on the other hand, focus more on the atrocities experienced by the victims: they are shown the brutality perpetrated during times of hostility, such as imposing its supremacy on those who are different and considered a threat, forcing them to hard labor, and killing innocents and children without remorse. This contrasts with Toyohisa's samurai honor, and shakes his belief that there are unwritten rules to be followed even in these times, such as not openly involving innocents; this can be interpreted as a consideration of man, who loses all inhibitions and loses control over his actions, convinced that he is acting for the greater good.
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Cons
* One of the first season's major flaws could be the excessive focus on the trio of lone heroes rather than the other characters, particularly the antagonists, who turn out to have little impact.- Also the comic side of this manga can be considered a flaw for someone since in some parts it is maybe a little bit exaggerated (although I don't agree with this opinion)
Rating
8.0/10.0
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