Mirage of Blaze: Ancient Rivals - Anime Movie Review

This is the second part of the anime series Mirage of Blaze. You most definitely have to see the first volume because this anime is knowledge loaded. Mirage of Blaze is an anime based on a yaoi manga. While the second volume wasn't as much of a history lesson as the first, it definitely had it share of the story to share. One issue that I do have with the anime is how the episodes are arranged on the discs. The first volume had four episodes and each of the other three parts have three episodes.

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Where to begin? There was big war between Japanese warlords in feudal Japan some 400 years ago. Everyone who died in those battles spirit clung to the hate of that war and did not get cleanse and get reborn. There is feudal underworld comprised of these spirits who are battling still and want to rule the present world. The just warlord who won that war became a war god upon his death. Some of the spirits who did not pass on were charged by the war god to become possessors. This means they usurp people's bodies at birth and continue living. Their job is to exorcize the vengeful spirits that are causing trouble to keep the present world safe. They do remember their life from 400 years ago, except for Takaya (Kagetora in his past life) who is sealing his own memories.

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So from the first anime we have Takaya who is the reincarnated Kagetora one of the five possessors who works for the Just Warlord. Naoe is the mentor (friend, maybe something more) who finds him and explains all this possessor mess to him. Then we have Yuzuru, friend/classmate of Takaya who is some kind of wildcard power. We are not told exactly what he is. Haruie, is another possessor (one of the five) who shows up in the second disk (he is a woman in this life).

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The first two episodes deal with some ghosts who have been hypnotized and moved to Takaya's high school where they are harming the kids. Who moved the spirits and why? Can they return the spirits to their guardian selves? The situation in the school smacks of a situation thirty years ago that resulted in the deaths of the possessors. There is also the matter of this student Chiaki who has shown up at the school who is supposedly Takaya's best friend. Only Takaya doesn't know who he is, and everyone else does. Could this guy be responsible for the ghosts?

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The third episode deals with the relationship between Takaya and Naoe. Takaya begins to get his memories back--in piece meal. There seems to be a long, frustrating history between Naoe and Kagetora (Takaya). Seems like Naoe did something in the past that Kagetora won't forgive him for (its been 400 yrs get over it already). So there is a lot of frustration, Hate? and unrequited love between the two of them. There is more to it than this episode reveals.

The animation is not the greatest in this anime--not bad but not as pretty as Descendants of Darkness. It's the characters that draw me in. Takaya reminds me of Dee in FAKE, tough on the outside (pain in the butt) but soft on the inside. Yuzuru still reminds me of Ryo from FAKE. Naoe is still playing up the mentor position (until he kind of flips out at the end). I still like Naoe, he is the conflict filled, in pain--dark deep character--400 years of torture would make anyone flip. Haruie is the bubbly "female" character. She is basic backup for everyone else hardly ever taking a stance on her own always looking to Naoe or Takaya for direction.

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The background music isn't so bad. Not too dorky, but the English voicing is horrid. Turn that mess off and read the subtitles you will be better off for it, and the story makes more sense.

This anime is story intensive and it can be a lot to take in. You will probably have to watch it twice (saw this one three times) but the story is worth the figuring out. It does have a lot of action in-between the history lessons. You will not be bored. I really enjoyed this series. Skip though if Yaoi relationships are not your thing.