Anime

Anime Review: Ayakashi Triangle

So, this anime is a little less “spooky” and a little more “fanservice-heavy”, but it’s a series that also involves the Yokai, which are used in both spooky and silly contexts, so I feel okay including this more recent series, Ayakashi Triangle, into my Halloween reviews.

Ayakashi Triangle follows a pair of childhood friends – Matsuri Kazamaki and Suzu Kanade. Matsuri is a ninja who specializes in taking on Yokai who threaten humans, while Suzu is a medium who can see and communicate with Yokai, and considers them friendly. So, consequently, while the two get along very well, they also bounce off of each other when it comes to approaches to Yokai. While the two are in high school, Shirogane, the king of Ayakashi, tries to eat Suzu and take her power for himself. Matsuri is unable to kill him but can seal him – but before doing so, Shirogane puts a curse on Matsuri to turn him from a guy into a girl. Hilarity (and lots of fanservice) ensues.

Ayakashi Triangle is not as horny on main, in terms of its source material, as other series (none of the “this is just actual porn” material that was incorporated into the manga of Dead Mount Death Play and Chainsaw Man). However, it’s pretty damn horny. The version of this that I watched on Crunchyroll had a lot of censor images dropped throughout the series to cover up topless shots, too-defined panty shots, and straight-up bottomless shots. This is aggravated by Matsuri, underwear-wise, being all about the fundoshi (which emphasizes the butt and the crotch) both as a guy in the first episode and as a woman for the rest of the series.

Now, the source material is from the creator of To Love Ru and To Love Ru Darkness, so a lot of this is to be expected. CONNECT, the studio that did the Animation Production on the series, also seems to specialize in fanservice action series (they did production on all of the Strike the Blood franchise), so this generally is right in their wheelhouse, in terms of the animation staff they’re able to bring to bear on the project. The show did have a troubled production (with the series having to go on a COVID-related hiatus halfway through the series’ initial run), but generally, the production quality for much of the show appears to have worked out well (without having seen the uncensored versions of the episodes – it’s entirely possible the material under those images might not look great).

There is a pretty good balance between making the Ayakashi look cute (fitting with the shift in perception of Yokai since the release of Yo-kai Watch), but also giving a degree of threat as needed in various parts of the series. The action sequences are also very nicely done, and I especially need to give a shout-out to composer Rei Ishizuka. There’s a piece that utilizes a bunch of traditional Japanese instruments that kick in during some of the major action sequences that heightens the mood. It’s used just sparingly enough that it doesn’t become overused, helping to keep it as a heroic theme.

Is this a show where I’m going to seek out the uncensored version of it when it becomes available? No. Honestly, the censor images make the comedy work better than it would if this was uncensored, and while there are romantic comedy elements, they aren’t at the fore of the story the way they are in something like The Cafe Terrace and its Goddesses, where the nudity actively ties in with the character relationships in manners beyond sexual slapstick. If we do get more I might consider watching it, but that said, my finishing the series was helped by the fact that it finished in a relatively slow season. If it had come out in Fall 2023, I probably would have given it a miss.

Currently, Ayakashi Triangle is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.

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