The Mongol invasions of Japan are certainly a fascinating part of the history of this part of the world. It’s also one which hasn’t been the subject of many manga and any anime that I’m aware of (though I’d be surprised if there isn’t something I’m not). For an island nation, the idea of an invasion from the mainland of Asia was terrifying, a threat to their very way of life. Surely it was a contributing factor to the enforced isolation which was the norm for Japan throughout most of its history, before Perry’s black ships arrived at Shimoda in 1853 and everything was forever changed.
Angolmois: Genkou Kassen-ki chronicles the first of those invasions, which took place in 1274 and began on the island of Tsushima, in the far west of Japan. It was especially remote given that the capital during this time had moved from Kyoto to distant Kamakura, in Kanto. I always debate how much to discuss the historical record when writing about series like this because in a sense, it is a “spoiler” if one doesn’t know the details. Without getting into specifics, it was a bloody episode in history, and one with long-lasting repercussions for both Japan and the Mongol Empire.
I don’t know the extent to which the specific events of Angolmois are rooted in fact – for example, I don’t know of an actual historical figure who shares the name of the protagonist, exiled samurai Jinzaburou Kuchii (Ono Yuuki, who’s excellent here). I don’t know if a large group of rough-and-readies were exiled to Tsushima with the express purpose of being shock troops against the oncoming Mongol horde. I do know that Tsushima was the first battlefront in this war, and that the local troops were badly outnumbered by the Mongols and could have used all the help they could get.
There’s definitely a timeless element in this manga adaptation’s story – it’s the kind of show you could have easily seen made by pre-bankruptcy Gonzo in the early 2000’s. Jinzaburou and his fellow exiles aren’t especially interested in dying for the country that just exiled them, but it’s clear all of them (and a couple are still children) would have otherwise been sentenced to death. It’s an interesting bunch, a mix of soldiers, thieves, monks and merchants, the most notable for now being ex-pirate Onitakemaru (Koyama Rikiya, a busy bee this season). He winds up joining Jinzabrou out when he comes to the defense of the daimyo’s daughter when the first Mongol scouts arrive to kidnap her. In Onitakemaru’s case it appears to be more out of a reluctance to miss out on a good fight than anything, but Jinzaburou seems more or less honor-driven.
All in all I thought this premiere was quite well done – maybe the best of the season after Planet With and Banana Fish, in fact. There’s nothing much of note in the staff list or NAZ Studio’s track record, but the show looks pretty good, and the episode is nicely paced. The exposition flows naturally, the cast is solid, and it’s relatively unsparing in showing the horrors of an inglorious frontier war without lapsing too far into the fantastical (apart from those Mongol LED=eyed helmets). I’m certainly keen to follow Angolmois from here – Jinzaburou is a charismatic lead and I love a good historical drama, which this series shows every chance of becoming.
leongsh
July 12, 2018 at 6:41 amAgreed that the first episode of the show is one of the more notable premieres this season alongside Banana Fish and Planet With. It exceeded my expectations. This was my 2nd choice of the new shows this season after Banana Fish.
elianthos80
July 12, 2018 at 10:21 amWell as you know I quite liked the episode Enzo, art style included XD. Similarly to Leongsh this was my 2nd hopeful choice after the Banana Fish lock for the season… may the next 11 episodes be as good or better.
– The glowing red-eyed mask gave me Jin Roh flashbacks btw.
Psyric
July 12, 2018 at 11:21 amPretty interesting to see this come out as, in the video game world, ”Ghosts of Tsushima” chews a lot of scenery over the same event. I’ll make sure to view it this weekend!
Matti
July 12, 2018 at 11:52 amHmm, probably my favourite premier so far, though the pessimist/realist in me says the production values will fall off a cliff come next week.
Guardian Enzo
July 12, 2018 at 2:34 pmCould happen. Let’s hope not.
The wild guesser
July 12, 2018 at 11:53 amFirst Golden Kamuy deals with characters from the Russo-Japanese War, now this with the 1st Mongol Invasion.
Anime has been feeding my period Piece sensibilities lately.
Also, how much history, except the ending of the invasion campaign, obviously, is considered spoiler territory?
Guardian Enzo
July 12, 2018 at 2:33 pmWell, that’s just it – how much? I don’t really know. You can’t really treat a historical event like a manga and say it’s all off limits for discussion, but – for example, I wouldn’t want to say how a specific battle ended (unless it was something like the Normandy invasion or WW II generally, where the level of ignorance required not to know is off the charts).
Ronbb
July 12, 2018 at 6:55 pmThanks Enzo for giving this show a full post…it’s my pick simply based on the premise. Turned out, it didn’t disappoint — the premiere was competent. I will stick with it whether or not the production values will drop — we stuck with Kingdom for two seasons, by the way. Besides, we have the brilliant Koyama Rikiya to boost!
P.S. Yes, I was comparing the Ono Yuuki here and the Ono Yuuki in Maou-sama!
Guardian Enzo
July 12, 2018 at 7:34 pmHeh, I thought about Kingdom too when the subject of production values came up. Confident this won’t be a disaster on that level, but I also know the Angolmois manga is not as broadly revered as Kingdom is.
Ronbb
July 12, 2018 at 9:43 pmThat can be indicative. Aside from all historic references, Kingdom came with a ton of intriguing war tactics and politics. I’m not familiar with the source material…I’m wondering if Angolmois would just be about the fight scenes among the characters. Well, we will find out, and if your schedule permits, I look forward to reading your posts with references to the history that you contemplated to share :).
GC
July 13, 2018 at 1:26 pmI really liked the 1st episode. My only complaint is that the art direction is very unusual, its like we are watching the series thru tissue paper or something.The texture and backgrounds are quite odd.
The wild guesser
July 14, 2018 at 11:32 amMan, to this day I wonder what in all this holy allowed a manga as good as Kingdom be turned into such a travesty (from production standpoint).
I’m convinced that if given the proper care, a kingdom Anime would be LEGENDARY.
Guardian Enzo
July 14, 2018 at 5:23 pmYeah, manga is a huge seller too. It’s a real shame.
Acernos
July 17, 2018 at 3:16 pmDo you know what my fear is? is this being the kind of series that only has an interesting beginning and then gets boring. I mean, such an interesting theme came from an unknown manga to a lot of people is a little suspicious.