Moeyo Ken (anime)

Moeyo Ken
機動新撰組 萌えよ剣 (Kidō Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken)
Genre	Fantasy
Original video animation
Directed by	Hideki Tonokatsu
Studio	Trinet Entertainment
Released	19 November 2003
Episodes	4
TV anime
Directed by	Toshikatsu Tokoro
Studio	Trinet Entertainment
Licensed by	Funimation ADV Films (former)
Network	Television Saitama, Aichi Television Broadcasting
Original run	1 July 2005 – 23 September 2005
Episodes	13
Anime and Manga Portal

Moeyo Ken, known in Japan as Kidō Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken (機動新撰組 萌えよ剣^?) is a PC video game and anime about magical girl variants of Shinsengumi, a police force, and of Sakamoto Ryunosuke and his illegal companion, Nekomaru. Originally an OVA, it was also adapted into a television series. Moeyo Ken was created by Hiroi Oji, creator of the Sakura Wars series, with character designs by Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.

Plot

Anime TV Series: Set in an alternate universe Meiji Era, the lead male character of the story, Ryunosuke Sakamoto, is travelling from Shanghai towards Kyoto with his newly-licensed yōkai Nekomaru. The law in the story states that to be in legal possession of such a creature that it must be licensed. The Shinsengumi are enforcers of this law.

Anime OAV: The main characters are three girls from the Shinsengumi who battle yokai and ayakashi (demons and spirits) to protect the city of Kyoto.

The Mobile Shinsengumi

Yuko Kondo

Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (Japanese), Jenny Larson (English)

Yuko Kondo (近藤 勇子, Kondō Yūko^?) is the daughter of Isami Kondo and field commander of the Mobile Shinsengumi. She has a habit of breaking her sword in battle, and a tendency to rack up debts wherever she goes. Yuko is slightly scatterbrained and has pink hair, and enjoys making fun of Okita's breasts.

Kondo seems to be the fondest of the three girls of Oryou, since she frequently imagines the older woman committing suicide if Ryuunosuke were to return to Shanghai. To prevent this from happening, she comes up with various harebrained ideas to keep the young man in Kyoto by making him fall in love with a local waitress named Sayoko. Most of her plans to make the pair fall in love fail miserably, and soon her plans become less about preventing his departure and more about succeeding.

Kondo somewhat resembles the female version of Ranma Saotome from Ranma ½, with her tomboyish attitude, huge appetite, crazy schemes and constant debts.

Toshie Hijikata

Voiced by: Naoko Matsui (Japanese), Laurie Gallardo (English)

Toshie Hijikata (土方 歳絵, Hijikata Toshie^?) is the daughter of Toshizo Hijikata and the Mobile Shinsengumi's crackshot sharpshooter. While she may be an expert on guns, she is not an excellent cook (due to having a bad sense of taste). Not much of her background is known, but apparently she cannot remember her mother's face and the only photo she has of her is missing a face. As a result, Gennai created a "mother" robot that is an exact double of Toshie, which caused some confusion.

Hijikata seems to be the most intelligent of the three girls, since she is seen relaxing in a hot spring by reading a Jules Verne book. She is also the most logical of them, to the point where Kondo often claims she's like a machine. She also strongly resembles a female version of Rumiko Takahashi's Sesshomaru, since she has similar long white hair, Chinese-influenced clothes, an icy attitude and is dismissive of slapstick.

Kaoru Okita

Anime voices: Haruna Ikezawa (Japanese) Jessica Schwartz (OVA), Nancy Novotny (TV Series) (English)

Kaoru Okita (沖田 薫, Okita Kaoru^?) is the daughter of Soji Okita. She uses all sorts of weapons including shikigami of the legendary beasts (Genbu, Byakko, Seiryu and Suzaku). Kaoru takes it personally when she's told about her breast size.

It is revealed later in the series that Okita is actually only half human, having a kitsune mother who married Soji Okita and later abandoned her daughter, claiming she couldn't live among humans. She also has a kitsune older brother. Additionally, she develops a major crush on Ryuunosuke.

Ryunosuke Sakamoto

Anime voices: Chisa Yokoyama (Japanese) Evan Slack (OVA), Blake Shepard (TV Series) (English)

Ryunosuke Sakamoto (坂本 竜之介, Sakamoto Ryūnosuke^?) is the son of Oryo, president of the Shinsengumi. Ryuunosuke was sent to Shanghai at the age of ten to learn more about the world. He recently returned from Shanghai and brought a monster named Nekomaru to Kyoto for registration. Ryunosuke is a bit odd and has a peculiar sense of humor, but he is nevertheless determined to help out the Mobile Shinsengumi. He seems to also have a crush on Yuko. In the 8th episode of the series he temporarily turns into a girl because Nekomaru killed him with soap and switched his soul with that of a female.

Nekomaru

Anime voices: Mayumi Tanaka (Japanese) Edwin Neal (English)

Nekomaru (猫丸^?) is a bakeneko, a monster cat, who traveled with Ryunosuke from Shanghai to Kyoto. Nekomaru whines and cowers whenever there is trouble, which becomes more understandable as the series goes on because Gennai frequently uses him as a guinea pig.

Nekomaru is 300 years old and seems to have a fair amount of power. His most useful ability is being able to transfer one of his nine lives to someone who has died, resurrecting them in perfect health. He seems particularly fond of Ryunosuke and seems to want the young man to be happy.

Gennai Hiraga

Gennai Hiraga (平賀 源内, Hiraga Gennai^?) is the Mobile Shinsengumi's resident mad doctor who builds new weapons and gadgets to aid the team in stopping unlicensed monsters from destroying Tokyo. Most of his gadgets are useless and/or dangerous, such as the digging machine fueled by monsters' power. However, he is an excellent cook and a few of his gadgets are actually useful.

Gennai does have a ruthless side: he often uses Nekomaru to test his inventions, which frequently has unpleasant results for the monster cat. And if people around him aren't sufficiently helpful, he acquires gleaming eyes and a demonic rumbling voice. Nekomaru claims that Gennai is even more of a monster than he is.

Gennai strongly resembles Dr. Tofu from Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma ½.

The Tsubame Group

The Tsubame Group (つばめ組, Tsubame-gumi^?) are the villains in the Meji Era representing the new government and try to return monsters to their old selves before monster registration was effective. The compose of mean girl Miki Saotome (早乙女 美姫, Saotome Miki^?), handsome and fearless Ukon Tanaka (田中 右近, Tanaka Ukon^?) and the short and strange Sakon Suzuki (鈴木 左近, Suzuki Sakon^?). They greatly resemble Team Rocket from the Pokémon franchise

Notes

References

• Gifford, Kevin. "Moeyo Ken". (January 2007) Newtype USA. Volume 6, Number 1, page 152.

External links

• Moeyo Ken at Funimation
• Moeyo Ken at A.D. Vision (archive)
• (Japanese) Official site (archive)
• (Japanese) Moeyo Ken game - Enterbrain
• Kidô shinsengumi: Moe yo ken TV at the Internet Movie Database