Is Bakumatsu Bad Boys The Weirdest Show This Season?

gamerant.com:

Every season, there's at least one or two shows of note that slip under the radar, often when there hasn't been much hype. It's usually not until a trailer releases that people take notice and while this can make an underdog the star of the season, in the case of Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys, it's a curious thing.

Known by its other title, Bucchigire, this series from the studio behind Golden Kamuy tells the tale of seven criminals who are chosen to take the place of the Shinsengumi, who have all been killed. Now, these criminals take on the names of dead men and go to work defending Kyoto from criminal influences and a mysterious criminal element, all with the help of their magical swords. The last bit sort of comes out of nowhere, but that's par for the course with this show. To label it a «historical anime» would feel like calling The Last of Us Part II a tourism guide to Seattle. The premiere episode packs so much into the opening salvo that by the time the opening plays halfway through it, one could be forgiven for thinking that the second episode started.

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All seven of the main characters take on the titles of previous Shinsengumi officers who were all real people. Fans of Rurouni Kenshin might suspect as much when they hear Hajime Saito's name, that character having been based on the real man. Bucchigire is even less interested in accuracy, but the characters themselves aren't bad at all, apart from the criminal part.

Part of the benefit of such a lightning-quick pace is that it introduces each of its characters and lays out their skills and personalities in no time at all. They aren't the most three-dimensional at first, but their designs are striking and their quirks