By Mark Rodriguez
I first found out this sexy martial arts series from my good friend The Fish Hunter, who would collect the manga series as a hobby. While Tokyopop brought it over as 'Battle Vixens' the real series was called Ikki Tousen which follows several female schoolgirl fighters on all sorts of adventures. The original manga started in April of 2000 in Japan, with the anime version coming out in 2003. While the manga series had 24 volumes total, only 15 of those were brought over to the states. I'm not sure if it was due to lack of sales, or Tokyopop just lost interest. Also, unlike other series like say, Dragonball, Death Note or Bleach, where you can still find new copies of their manga due to various reprints and re-releases, Ikki Tousen was never reprinted in the states as a collection or anything after volume 15 was done. It took me a while to find some of them so I'll be reviewing the most I can if I can find all 15 volumes as long as they don't go for insane prices over Amazon or eBay.
Chapter 1-
The story opens with a busty young woman in shorts focusing her moves before landing a palm strike on a punching bag. The girl sighs and thinks there's no point in fighting the punching bag since it doesn't bleed. As she walks away, the punching bag bubbles up and explodes.
The girl eats alongside her mother in the Roko Temple. Her mother asks what she's done so far, and the girl, named Hakufu, confirmed she already did 500 push ups and 500 sit ups. When inquired further, Hakufu says she also did squat leg thrusts, chin ups and toe touch rotations. Hakufu noticed her mother let her guard down while she is sipping her bowl and goes for a punch. Her mother surprisingly blocks the attack with a fish she is holding up with her chopsticks. Her mother smiles in victory.
Hakufu sighs and gives up for this morning and heads off to school. Her mother thinks to herself about how proud she is of her daughter's efforts. Suddenly one side of her glasses cracks and then shatters due to the force of Hakufu's punch. Her mother comments it's the third pair this month.
Hakufu gets to school and joins her Tea Ceremony Circle class. Her knees get cramped from staying in the same position for too long and she falls on her face. Her classmates laugh at her lack of coordination. Outside Hakufu asks why she's even in a Tea Ceremony Class to begin with and is annoyed her mother got her involved with it.
It's clear Hakufu would rather be fighting but she has flashbacks of her mother nagging her that 'girls who fight don't find rich husbands'. Hakufu walks by a boxing class and she fantasizes about stepping up and taking out the champ. The late bell rings and suddenly there's a creepy guy standing right behind her.
Hakufu is surprised, since nobody is able to sneak up behind her. The guy figures her mom told her to lay low, just like his own mom did, but he chooses not to listen. Hakufu recognizes the earring the guy has is similar to the types her mother uses.
Hakufu follows the guy outside, which catches his interest. He tell her he's a Sophomore at Youshyu Academy. The guy introduces himself as Han You and recognizes Hakufu as a First Draft Sonsaku, which she doesn't understand. Han is confused Hakufu doesn't know anything about the Rayuko Academy's Toutaka or the Yoshu Academy's Ensho. He says Mr. Ryouyo will set her straight. Hakufu thinks he's just talking crazy talk.
Han picks up a little rock, and we see a close up of 2 skull rings, on his index and middle fingers. He asks her if she's with them or against them, and she says 'none of the above'. Han crushes the rock in his hand and says that kind of answer will land her in the hospital since they can't afford to let her side against them. Hakufu is sick of all this cryptic talk and says she followed him for a fight. He looked like someone interesting so she demands an actual fight or she will just beat him up. Han says he knows since its in her blood.
Hakufu's mother looks at a picture of someone and laments that Hakufu is a Toushi by nature and her hormones are raging. She says it was only a matter or time and she laments that she tried to spare Hakufu her fate.
Han's skull rings reveal two small blades as they both prepare to fight. Han notes Hakufu doesn't have any type of 'magatama', which tells him she's E Rank or lower.
Hakufu gets her mother's words of 'girls that fight don't get rich husbands' out of her head and then decides to ask if Han is a rich guy. Hakufu dodges his attacks, but sees that her entire top has been shredded up. Han comments on her chest and Hakufu says she doesn't care if he stares but she's calling for a time out.
Hakufu's mother pulls out a jewel box and thinks about the magatama. They were born in the Sangoku Period when there were 3 rulers of one realm under chaos. These gems were cut from the souls of heroes that dreamed of uniting the realm.
Han continues to try to slice up Hakufu but she manages to dodge his attacks. Destroying her clothes became his downfall as he now finds his opponent's chest to be too distracting. Hakufu lunges in, within kissing distance which makes Han freeze up. This is the perfect chance for her to land a devastating punch to the face that sends him flying back violently from the sheer impact. As Hakufu's fist shakes from excitement, she has her own literal climax at the feel of actually getting to do some damage on an actual person.
Han starts to lose his cool, saying that Hakufu cheated by not announcing her rank. He says C-Rank always beats E-Rank and he starts to power up. Hakufu gets in her stance and comments how he tears off her top and somehow it's her fault for hitting back.
We skip forward to after the fight (why???) and Hakufu is trying to sneak home without being caught in torn up clothes. Her mother catches her and says 'so no rich husbands for you, eh?'. Hakufu tries to make an excuse but she blurts out that she was fighting and she won. Her mother pulls out the jewel case in which she keeps the magatama and tell her she must leave, not just her home but the town as well. She says Hakufu has forced this decision upon herself just as she did when she was her age. As she hands her the jewel box, she tells her daughter than she has already seen the gem and already knows what the magatama is. It is hers now, and she must head out. Tokyo awaits her.
Elsewhere, Han is buried in a deep 'Han-shaped' hole among the tall blades of grass. He can only mutter 'ow...' at the savage beating he endured.
My Thoughts-
We have a good set up and introduction to Hakufu and the story behind the magatama and her being a Toushi. It seems Toushis are gifted martial artists separated by ranks, and the ones at the top want to make sure they stay there. It seems their destiny begins the moment they have their first fight, something Hakufu's mom has been trying to prevent but knew would come sooner or later.
Hakufu seems like a decent girl, though at the moment all we know about her was her repressed yearning to fight, to the point she even daydreams about fighting. Now that she has to leave her hometown and go to Tokyo, we'll see what awaits her.
The art is pretty good and the action scenes were decent, though I was surprised it was that fanservice heavy. Like I know the series had fanservice, but it's a little tough to get some pics to show in this blog that doesn't involve pantyshots. Han You was kind of a creepy dude, but he had an interesting fighting style and some deadly weapons, which made for an interesting first fight. I did wish we got to see the last part of the fight. I wonder if the anime adaptation will show some more of it.
It's a good start, but it is only the start. We'll get more familiar with Hakufu and how all the Toushi ranks work as we continue onwards.
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