Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko
Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko is a 2017 Japanese media franchise produced by Genco, co-produced by Crunchyroll, and animated by Studio Gokumi.
Plot
The story is centered around a group of sword-wielding shrine maidens "Toji", who attend school while improving their extermination skills and serve as a unit in the police force in order to exorcise mysterious, hostile creatures known only as "aradama". The government authorizes the Toji to wear swords and serve as government officials, and the government has set up five schools throughout the country for the girls to attend. The girls live ordinary school lives, while occasionally performing their duties, wielding their swords and using various powers to fight and protect the people. In the spring, the five schools send their best Toji to compete in a tournament. As the tournament concludes in an unexpected fashion shortly into the series, a multi-layered conflict starts to unfold and develop involving different factions of Toji and aradama, and its mysterious background slowly unveils following from near the end of World War II.Characters
Main Characters
;Kanami Eto;Hiyori Jujo
;Mai Yanase
;Sayaka Itomi
;Kaoru Mashiko
;Ellen Kohagura
Antagonists
;Yukari Origami;Maki Shido
;Suzuka Konohana
;Yomi Satsuki
;Yume Tsubakuro
;Yukina Takatsu
;Princess Tagitsu
Supporting Characters
;Ema Hashima;Iroha Gojou
;Sana Maniwa
;Akane Origami
;Richard Friedman
;Rui Onda
Other Characters
;Nene;Ayumu Uchizato
;Princess Takiri
;Princess Ichikishima
;Yuzuki Sagara
;Kagari Hiiragi
;Minato Fujiwara
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation written by Sakae Saito began serialization in the December 2017 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Ace on October 26. In February 2019, it was announced that the manga would end on March 26.Mobile game
A mobile game developed by Square Enix titled Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko: Kizamishi Issen no Tomoshibi was announced and released on iOS and Android devices in 2018. The cast reprised their roles and the game used Yoshinori Shizuma's character designs.Anime
The anime is co-produced between Genco and Studio Gokumi. Kodai Kakimoto directed the series, while Tatsuya Takahashi is in charge of scripts and Yoshinori Shizuma is the original character designer. Kaede Hondo, Saori Ōnishi, Azumi Waki, Hina Kino, Risae Matsuda and Eri Suzuki performed both the first opening theme "Save Me Save You" and the first ending theme "Kokoro no Memoria". They also performed the second opening theme "Shinkakei Colors" and the second ending theme "Mirai Epilogue". The series aired from January 5 to June 22, 2018. It ran for 24 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the series, while Funimation produced an English dub.A new anime television series titled Mini Toji, featuring mini versions of the characters from the series and the Toji no Miko: Kizamishi Issen no Tomoshibi smartphone game, aired from January 5 to March 16, 2019 on AT-X, Tokyo MX, BS11, and MBS. The series is animated by Project No.9 and directed by Yuu Nobuta, with Aoi Akashiro handled the series' scripts, and Hiromi Ogata designed the characters. The main cast reprised their roles. The opening theme is "Kono Bangumi wa Ura Wakaki Kōmuin-tachi no Teikyō de Okuri Itashimasu" by Kaede Hondo and Himika Akaneya under their character names. The series ran for 11 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the series.
On December 18, 2019, an OVA adaptation of the Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko: Kizamishi Issen no Tomoshibi game was announced. The OVA is animated by Project No.9 and directed by Tomohiro Kamitani, with Aoi Akashiro handling the series' scripts, and Daisuke Niitsuma designing the characters. It will air in an "advanced premiere" set in two parts via broadcast and streaming services in 2020.
Novel
A novel was released on July 19, 2019. The story begins a year before the events in the anime.Reception
Previews
The anime series' first episode garnered mixed reviews from Anime News Network's staff during the Winter 2018 season previews. Chris Farris solely reviewed the English dub version of the episode, criticizing the constant padding through "sparse backgrounds and needlessly overused CGI shortcuts" and poor explanation of the "overwrought terminology" about Toji but commended the performances from the various voice actresses. He concluded that despite the dub, the series might have difficulty to compel viewers over time. James Beckett found the introduction "rote and lacking-identity" throughout to garner viewer interest, noting how the premise and characters are filled with clichés and the production "middling at best" with its generic character designs, hollow backgrounds, and CG fight scenes feeling "stiff and blandly directed to be much fun." Lynzee Loveridge repeated what both Farris and Beckett said about the episode's delivery of its religious terminology and sword fights, saying she found it "pretty boring for what's supposed to be a supernatural action show." Rebecca Silverman said the series has potential when the episode moves away from its "cute young girls fight monsters" premise to focus on introducing its cast of characters and buildup some internal conflict towards the end of its runtime. Nick Creamer gave note of the "internal narrative choices" used throughout for raising the show's arbitrary setup, praising the establishment of the world and Kanami and Mai's characters in a tournament setting, but felt it was hampered by weak attempts at building atmosphere through "abominable background art" and action scenes being undercut by poor CG. He concluded that its "just short of passable - worth a look if this is your genre, otherwise a guiltless skip." Theron Martin wrote that after watching the series opener twice, he said that a more thorough elaboration would've helped ease viewers into its world and terminology much better despite "solid visual merits" and the promise of "immediate internal conflict and intrigue" to help infuse life into a standard concept.Series reception
Martin reviewed the complete anime series. He praised the camaraderie amongst its main cast for carrying dramatic weight and interest between the "solid action scenes" but was critical of the unexplored story elements in a complexly savvy but standard plot, quality control of its animation, and unremarkable soundtrack, concluding that "Overall, Katana Maidens is a watchable but uninspired series beyond a few featured sword fights. While many parts of its story underachieve, it does at least finish on its strongest note, so those unimpressed by earlier parts but committed to finishing will have something to look forward to."Gadget Tsūshin listed "Horizon Alliance" in their 2019 anime buzzwords list.