Why Tougen Anki Feels Like Every Other Shonen Anime You’ve Ever Seen

There's a saying in art, "good artists borrow, great artists steal," but what happens when artists copy those that came before with little regard for why what came before worked?

Why Tougen Anki Feels Like Every Other Shonen Anime You’ve Ever Seen

Back in 2017, when Black Clover started, I watched the first episode and found myself more than a little stunned. At the time, it felt surreally unoriginal, like a mix of Naruto and Fairytale with a heavy dose of edgy aesthetics and a weird amount of sexism towards its female cast. Fast forward to this past July, and I find myself watching Toughen Anki, a show that lacks original thought. Aside from the core premise, the show appears to borrow exclusively from other properties, from the power system, which feels ripped straight from 2011's Deadman Wonderland, to a moment in episode 09 where a character uses a legally distinct Rasengan. There are good and interesting things about Tougen Anki, and its ending sequence is amazing, and the visualization of the Blood powers is metal as hell. However, it feels like an attempt to ape much better, more thoughtful shows in the Shonen action space.

Then there's the weird amount of over sexualization of the show's female cast. Every female cast member is. . . . . . . well-equipped, and by episode 07, a primary cast member is engaging in mixed martial arts in her underwear against a monster with tentacles for arms.

There's a saying in art, "good artists borrow, great artists steal," but what happens when artists copy those that came before with little regard for why the original worked?