Minor Spoiler Ahead Note: TLDR at the very bottom. Story 35 Shikizakura is an anime with a unique mix of the scifi power suit and Shinto folklore but the story is so boring I have to drag my feet to watch at least 6 episodes so that I can give it a fair shot. Our MC Kakeru happen to get caught in a certain disastrous event when he was a child and is the sole survivor of said event. Fast forward into the future he got caught up in a fight between the team in power suit fighting the Oni. Between all the chaos Kakeru stumbles upon a power suit that is possessed by an Oni but manages to control it and join the fight against the Oni. 500https://api.theotaku.review/images/animereview/1639146444php4SDtvo.jpg Maybe because I am old and doesnt really dig this kind of show anymore. Maybe kids would love it better and I am the wrong demographic for this anime. The story overall is fairy standard Power Ranger or Super Sentai stuffs. The Shinto folklore stuff is not used in any deep way. The best you get is cleansing Oni. Even the Oni design doesnt seem to resemble any of the folklore Oni. The story is predictable and the writing is bland. I can see the plot from miles away. E.g I predict one day someone or some other team is going to find an issue with Kakerus power suit being an Oni and challenge them and voila it happen in later episodes. The separation of the realm when fighting is a refreshing addition such as the Oni realm where most of the fighting happens and the real world but this concept is nothing new too. Seen those a lot in other animes and games. Character 30 The characters are super stereotypical and made up of extremely common tropes which will make typical common tropes looks miles better. Kakeru is basically a kid who wants to become a hero/obsess with being a hero and have a heart of gold with some idealism that wont work in real life. Kakeru is super bland as an MC and seems to only have a onetrack mind which is to be a hero and save people. 500https://api.theotaku.review/images/animereview/1639146445phpnT7cua.jpg Ooka is your stereotypical strongwilled princesslike character who cant actually take part in combat because her skill can only be used for cleansing. Ryou is your super serious guy who acts like a douchebag but actually got a good heart. Kaede and Haruko is a tomboyish and girly duo who are actually good friends with each other but are very forgettable as a character. 500https://api.theotaku.review/images/animereview/1639146445phpakBNuM.jpg Some characters do have decent backstories even if those backstories are generic overused predictable situations. Sadly the decent back story wasnt able to salvage the bland characters. Honestly I have more interest in Kakerus close friend Kippei who have zero special power whatsoever. He actually just seems like a great buddy who will support Kakeru. The way he talks and tries to dig info out of Kakeru because he seems to be hiding things from him is also somewhat funny. Ibara is the Oni inside Kakerus power suit who happens to be a pretty funny guy. His personality also outshines Kakeru in both personality and wit departments. Art Animation 60 It is obvious that the characters are in 3D CG but it is quite decently done. Not a dumpster fire like Tesla Note. The CG is much more obvious when the characters are moving. 500https://api.theotaku.review/images/animereview/1639146446phpKfK3sk.jpg Character designs without power suits are uninspiring. The characters have little detail while the power suits have more details. The power suit designs are also better very Megamanlike with more details. The background detail is hit or miss. There are scenes where it is well detailed with good textures background characters walking around and some even look quite realistic. On the other hand we got bland and emptylooking rooms too. The usage of red and pink colours for Oni realm can be overwhelming. The CG animation can be stiff or unnatural at times but due to the use of CG battles are well choreographed and allow for more freedom in the camera department where the camera can rotate around or follow the character. Sound 55 The opening song is a typical JPop song without much impact for me the ending song is a tiny bit better with its chill vibe. Sound effects in combat got a nice impact. You can feel every punch clashing of sword and sound the machine gun fires are pretty solid too. 500https://api.theotaku.review/images/animereview/1639146445phpTpxIty.jpg The background musics got a decent mix of traditional Japanese style and modern rock. The traditional Japanese style musics stand out pretty well. However modern rock musics are quite generic. Voice acting is hit or miss Kakeru Ooka Ryou Kaede and Haruko who are the core team got uninteresting and flat voice acting. Meanwhile Ibara the Oni inside Kakerus power suit and Kippei Kakerus close friend a supporting character got better voice acting. TLDR: A typical colour coded Power Ranger style anime with some surfacelevel Shinto folklore in it. The story is uninspiring and the characters are bland but battles are pretty wellchoreographed.