© 1999 Tsutomu Anno • Ryu Fujisaki/Shueisha • TV Tokyo • Hoshin Project. All rights reserved.

Soul Hunter. V.1, Taikoubou's Mission. V.2, All the Queen's Men. V.3, The Spoils of War. V.4, Game of Kings. V.5, City of Fire. V.6, The One That Got Away.
TV series (26 episodes), 1999. Director: Junji Nishimura. V.1 & V. 6, 5 episodes/125 minutes; V.2-V.5, 4 episodes/100 minutes. Price & format: DVD bilingual $29.98. Distributor: A.D.V. Films.

The Yin dynasty ruled China from about 1800 to 1100 B.C. It fell when the last Yin emperor became such a dissolute tyrant that the people rallied behind one of his nobles who became the first Chou emperor. Soul Hunter is a 26 episode adaptation (July 3 - December 25, 1999) of a popular manga by Ryu Fujisaki that tells this story emphasizing all the fantasy that Chinese folk tales added to it before written history, throwing in modern anachronisms for humor. Emperor Zhou was not naturally dissolute; he was enchanted by the demoness Dakki, who took the form of a beautiful concubine (portrayed as a 20th century airheaded party girl with a vicious streak). The leaders of those who rise against the Yin are not just rebelling nobles and peasant Robin Hoods; they are given magical weapons by the divine Immortals. At least half the series is spent watching all the heroes screaming, "My magic weapon is more powerful than yours!" and battling among themselves for supremacy while Dakki cutely but sadistically tortures the people with her demonic monster pets. Fans of superhero comic books will love all the macho combats using flying boots, water battleaxes, enclosing bubbles, death dust, homing missiles of stone, and the like, many of which have modern military targeting devices. There are also several Heavenly comic-relief talking animals, although this title (rated 12+) is too bloody for young children. The nominal protagonist is Taikoubou, a cocky but naive adolescent Immortal, who is assigned to "seal away the souls" (kill) of Dakki and her 365 demonic minions who are plaguing the humans; but there are so many main characters and so many supporting characters that each DVD's extras include a "relationship tree" to list the cast and their connection to each other. There are also lengthy extras of "historical background" giving enough background on Chinese history to set the scene, and "translator notes," which gives similar background on Taoist mythology to explain the overlaid belief of the difference between the Immortal World and the Human World. (Some Immortals give humans magic weapons to fight for justice. Others give humans magic weapons just to watch them fight, manipulating humans like pawns in a fantasy role-playing game. The Immortals get into fights among themselves over their own morality. Should they interfere with humans even from noble motives, or let the humans control their own lives?) The translator notes also build up an imposing list of archaic Chinese words for demons, gods, divine implements and magical actions, until by episode 15 or so the characters are talking about using their Kongenji or Kaitenju Paopei to houshin their adversaries and it sounds normal.

The animation by Studio Deen is barely adequate, and the convoluted plot with alliances shifting from episode to episode plus the crowded cast make the story hard to follow. But the situation is fast-paced and dramatic enough that viewers will want to watch the next episode to find out what happens next. Soul Hunter may also interest some viewers enough in ancient Chinese history and Chinese mythology to make them want to learn the real stuff.

Fred Patten has written on anime for fan and professional magazines since the late 1970s. He wrote the liner notes for Rhino Entertainment's The Best of Anime music CD (1998), and was a contributor to The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, 2nd Edition, ed. by Maurice Horn (1999) and Animation in Asia and the Pacific, ed. by John A. Lent (2001).