Martial Art animes are generally successful ventures. This is due to many features including action, plot, and the variety of martial art techniques portrayed. In particular, the animes Tenjho Tenge, Ikki Tousen, and Kill la Kill, which can be purchased here, have captured the essence and redefined the martial arts anime genre.
Tenjho Tenge, Ikki Tousen, and Kill la Kill, all share the same setting of a high school environment yet adapt it differently. In Tenjho Tenge there is only one high school where the Juken Club is fighting the student council for supremacy to run the school. Conversely, in Ikki Tousen there are multiple high schools fighting one another in a turf war to determine who is in charge of the territories of Kanto. Finally, Kill la Kill combines the two works as a single student challenges the student council, and goes on to conquer other high schools to have supremacy. Each of these works takes the high school environment and places its own twist on it.
Furthermore, the three animes have ties to ancient times. Ikki Tousen is based off of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which portrays the story of feudal lords and their retainers trying to replace the dwindling Hans Dynasty, similar to the high schools and the students fighting one another. Tenjho Tenge’s connection to the past is a feud between the student council and the Juken Club. It has been going on between the two groups since the Japanese Feudal Era and the conflict was left unresolved by their ancestors. Finally, Kill la Kill captures Japanese nationalism and how a nation transitions from era to another.
The three animes have diversity in their martial art style, within their respective shows, but the three tend to focus on a particular element of martial arts. Each of the animes focuses on a particular aspect of the martial arts genre. Ikki Tousen focuses on hand-to-hand combat with minimal weapons interjected into the fights between the students. Conversely, Tenjho Tenge utilizes a combination of hand-to-hand combat with weapons typically swords. Kill la Kill focuses on weapons of all sorts being utilized against one another that are used in conjunction with a special uniform. All three of these animes focus on a different aspect of combat in a martial arts anime, yet they achieve a level of diversity.
Tenjho Tenge, Ikki Tousen, and Kill la Kill have many similarities that define and expand the martial arts anime genre.
