I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for stories taking place during the Sengoku era, the Meiji era, or having anything to do with samurai. Some of my favorites including shows such as Rurouni Kenshin, Nobunaga Concerto, Samurai 7, and Takehiko Inoue's brilliant manga Vagabond. Something about traditional and old school Japan simply appeals to me on a simplistic level. Today's (spoiler free) anime that I'd like to talk about is a shoujo manga adaptation from Funimation Entertainment set in the Meiji Era.
Donten ni Warau or "Laughing Under the Clouds," is an emotional ride that actually had me crying more times than I actually expected. Another hidden gem amongst 2014's last season, Donten tells a simple story revolving around the powerful themes of family and love. It's main plot revolves around Japan's struggles to keep down crime while fighting an ancient supernatural serpent known as the Orochi that possess a human vessel every 600 hundred years. It showcases many different families and their roles in this fight throughout the ages and it's pretty damn cool. Spouting a cast of some of the most likable characters with satisfying development, the show also greatly appeals to many with its abundant and diverse character archetypes. The three main protagonists are the Kumou brothers who are in charge of guarding a sacred, ancient family temple in the heart of a countryside village in a slowly-becoming-modern Japan. The three brothers are as follows:
1.) Tenka Kumou (aka Meiji era Kamina)
Tenka is the oldest brother (age 24) of the Cloud brother trio and is easily one of the most likable characters of all of anime 2014. Tenka is a powerful man who has won the love and respect of everyone from his village and has gone through many lengths to keep his brothers safe and free of any burdens. Taking on all the pain and burdens of his past, family, and responsibilities Tenka has tried his best to not allow his younger brothers to feel pain and to grow up in a world that they can smile and laugh in. Raising both his brothers himself, (with the fact that we find out his mother and father are dead at the beginning of the show) Tenka has tried his best to instill positive and humble life lessons to his brothers so that they can grow into happy and productive guardians of the Kumou temple. Maybe I'm just a sucker for good family relationship in shows, but I can't stress enough that Tenka spearheads quite possibly the greatest one I've seen in all of anime 2014.
2.) Soramaru Kumou
Living under his older brother's shadow, Soramaru is the second oldest brother (age 16) who wishes to prove himself and become just as strong as Tenka. Soramaru is the character that the show puts a heavy focus on in terms of his development. Having repressed memories of a tragic event that occurred in his early childhood, Tenka has sought to hide this pain from Soramaru by teaching him to smile and laugh even in the face of sadness. His development as a character is very satisfying by the show's conclusion and I was surprised by how well Sora drives most of the emotional baggage that hits viewers like a truck in this show.
3.) Chuutarou Kumou
Calling everyone sir for some reason, Chuutarou is the third and youngest (age 12) of the Cloud brother trio. While initially depicted as a helpless child who relies on and always needs the help of his two older brothers, Chuutarou also gets some satisfying development by the show's conclusion. He's also the driving force of a lot of the comedy in the show.
-Throw in mages, a cool police force, a demonic familiar, an ancient ninja clan, and a one handed swordsman who is the reincarnation of a man from 600 years ago and you got a really cool cast of characters.
Donten's charm lies in it's humble portrayal of family and it's great pacing that allows for viewers to be emotionally invested in it's cast of characters. With a crisp hand drawn art style, good choreography in fight scenes, and an awesome soundtrack this show should not be missed. It's a show that makes you cry and tears at your emotions but leaves you with a very satisfying conclusion.
At the end of the day, it's how we spent our time amongst those we love that allow us to look back on our lives and make a judgement of satisfaction once we reach old age.
Me trying to get all sappy and philosophical aside, I hope that I've sparked some interest in this brilliant show without giving too much away. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.
-Nights Off
Link to MAL: http://myanimelist.net/profile/NightsOff27
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