Enno Chiaki is the descendant of the monk Ozuno who controlled the powerful demon Zenki. Zenki aided the purification of Japan by destroying many evil creatures that ravaged the land. With Zenki having no more purpose, he was sealed away... until Chiaki released him to combat evil one more time.
But there's a problems: Zenki has manifested as a little kid that can't seem to get enough of annoying Chiaki. But come trouble, Zenki turns back into his true form, warding off evil forces once again as long as he stays under Chiaki's control. Will evil take over Japan once more, or can Chiaki and Zenki work together to finish them off once and for all?
Credits: jakulito
Story & Characters
Time for another one of my "I-never-heard-of-that-Anime-before" reviews...
Kishin Douji Zenki's main story revolves around Enno Chiaki and Zenki and their daily battles with evil. Zenki is
the powerful guardian deity of Ozuno, a legendary monk who helped seal away the main villain, Kuruma centuries ago.
After defeating Kuruma, Ozuno sealed away Zenki in a stone statue. Fast-forward to the present and we have Chiaki who is
a direct descendant of Ozuno.
One day, Chiaki is threatened by a monster created by the "Seed of Evil". Unable to fend-off the beast, she
resorts to reciting the incantation to revive Zenki. Zenki is miraculously brought into this world and quickly proceeds
to slaughter the evil creature that is threatening Chiaki. After the battle, Zenki turns his attention to Chiaki but is
then turned into a little brat by the bracelet worn by Chiaki which was given by her grandmother. The bracelet acts as a
seal so Zenki wouldn't go berserk all over Japan, as explained by Ozuno.
That's just for the first episode... From then on, its a struggle for control between Chiaki and Zenki but then
they always end up working together to defeat a beast at the end of each episode.
Here's a complex, scientifically-formulated scheme of each episode:
Happy episode intro (usually Zenki and Chiaki arguing) -> Character with evil intent shows -> more arguing ->
Evil character with evil intent gets planted with a "Seed of Evil" -> morearguing -> for some reason
Chiaki and Zenki are always there -> Zenki tries stop the beast with his puny-brat form but fails so he then asks
Chiaki to unseal him -> Zenki is Godlike so he can never loose... beats the crap out of enemy -> Ma-ma-ma-Monster
Kill!!! -> Zenki eats "seed of evil" (not all the time in the Wolf King arc) -> some more arguing ->
Ends.
To put it simply, Zenki's plot is as generic as you can get. Though the theme is nice it really gets boring too
quick. Story is generic and characters are very two-dimensional and transparent.
Very predictable.
Rating: 4
Art
I just re-watched this anime, and compared to today's standard for graphical presentation, I'd say its
okay.
In general, the artwork is good. The coloring's fine and the detailing is okay. If there's one thing worth
noting about this, its character design. Zenki, for one, is very unique. His design is "cool" in every aspect
and his upgraded form is way above that. Enemies are also nicely designed in Zenki. There's never a lack of weird
enemies in this title so that may help in getting some people interested. Heck, who wouldn't want to see a 6-legged
piece of shit that eats anything in its path?
Overall, nothing much going on in the art department.
Rating: 5
Sound
Zenki's sound department is also a little quiet o_0...
Zenki kicks off with "Vajura On!" performed by the great Kageyama Hironobu which is by far the best audio
material in the show.
I've never actually seen an entire episode in Japanese, but I've seen some clips and I can say the VA sucks. I
don't know if its lag or something but mouths just don't sync with the sounds.
Another thing that sucks is the ending song. I don't know who sang it or what title it has but it ruins the show so
I don't care.
Generic sounds, like the rest of the show.
Rating: 3
Presentation
Overlooking the generic parts of the title, the show is quite enjoyable if you'll forget all about the plot. Humour
and fighting are the strengths of this anime with plenty of it to go around for everyone.
I can't believe I'm slamming something I love so much but the truth hurts, right...
Recommended for kids (with adult supervision).
Rating: 5
Final Verdict
4.3333 (below average)
Reviewed by BossMac, Feb 24, 2007