JCO: Shadow Skill - My One Stroke is Invincible!

[JohnCrichton]

By Remmy's request, I shall deliver! Once a *snicker* CNX EXCLUSIVE, now for the fun and joy of the world of Toon Zone I bring you the hot buttered first JCO to breach the internet game between the CNX and Toon Zone!

Hope you enjoy!

When the sky becomes
full by the sun,
shadows are born on the land.
The Shadow is a reflection,
of heaven's illumination.
The reflection pushes itself
And becomes strong.
And this is how it becomes
a rare Sevaar.
The Sevaar says, "My one
stroke is invincible."
People of the world praise the Sevaars.
"They are those who carry
honor and fear."

It's a good thing I went through a anime pervert phase or else I never would've found this awesome anime gem.

Shadow Skill

A while back in me college days I was on a little bit of an experimental hentai renting kick. I rented stuff like GUY and Venus 7. GUY was pretty good, because I love monster fighters. I love monster fighters above almost anything. Venus 7..... eh.... :b

Anyway, looking at the cover of the anime called Shadow Skill I thought..... "Curse my curious mind! I must see this!"

And to my surprise and delight it wasn't hentai! It was a jammin', awesome animated, equal parts monster fighter and straight fighter anime.

What IS the Deal?

As far as I can tell it's basically a Fist of the Northstar world. Some kind of world wide disaster happened, that's never mentioned, turning the world into a savage wasteland where the strong reign supreme, communities wander the dry plains, or gather in fortified towns.

It's good that they stay in in groups, cuz in this realm.... there be monsters.

And where you have monsters, you have to have those who would stand against them. Those who will brave the long dark night to stand against demon that prey upon the innocent. The toughest of these 59 select fighters are called, Sevaar. And the toughest of them, is the legendary, Scarface.

The story follows Sevaar hopeful in training, Gan Bau and his sister the 59th Sevaar, Ele Lagu as they travel the land fighting monsters, battling in tournaments and trying to pay off Gan's goof sister's debts.

Zee Gued!!!

If you're at all a fighter anime fan, this is one to pick up. First off the animation is up and top notch. Little digital here, mostly wonderfully drawn cell there. Character designs are also a plus. Can't have a good anime without characters that make you notice them, or you forget who they are when they're off screen.

The fight scenes are very well choreographed, reminding me of personal Perfect Anime, Fatal Fury the Motion Picture and Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer. Swift, fluid, detailed and best of all hard hitting. Seeing these guys get pounded through walls or drop kicked so hard their mudder feels it it very pleasing to the fight fan's eye.

Ah, another cool thing about this anime is that in its harsh, deadly and serious environment, there's a good amount of fun and comedy to be had. Ele is one of the hardest anime fighters I've ever seen, but boy is she a goof! Lazy, silly, serious and sexy all rolled into one hard bodied package.

Das Bahd

Hmmmm... let's see..... oh! The soundtrack is nothing special. No catch tunes, or anything special there. That's a bit of a drawback. It's not bad.. just not special.

Another bad thing would beeee........ hm, if you're not into fight animes with massive monsters, this probably won't be your bag.

I can't think of much else... except that only the first two volumes were released in America. If you want more you'll have to traverse the cybernetic pathways of the internet to find them.... and I have.

The Most Dangerous Final Word!!!

When I was a wee pup, I was afraid of dark corners and going places by myself. My simple explanation, "The monsters would get me."

That's why I like anime, Sentai, and Tokusatsu so much. The underlying message, that you can fight back! That if your spirit's strong, and you show no fear, that those same monsters of my imagination that I used to fear, I could have beaten the crap out of with the same imagination!

Fight animes illustrate that excellently. Someday, when I have little Danger Kids of my own, I'll teach them that when the "monsters" growl, roar, and go bump in the night... kick the sucker in the stomach and with your glowing blue fist.... show him that Your One Stroke is Invincable!!!


That's my sweet & sour JohnCrichton Opinion and you cannot defeat my Shadow Skill, waaaaaaahh!!!!