Drifters

Being a fan of anime series, finding stories about a person sent to another world is no new occurrence. From classics to the recent animes, this kind of action-fantasies caught us in awe, however, most of these stories had become repetitive and mostly predictable. So, what if someone adds a twist in it? Instead of sending helpless teenage boys and girls into a world of magic and chaos, what if we actually get to see some skillful people, masters of their field, who had created history, show off their insane abilities in a different world?

The author of Hellsing (Kouta Hirano) presents Drifters. The story starts the moment Toyohisa Shimazu gets transported in a corridor of doors, facing a salaryman-looking person who then immediately sent him to another world.

From here we get to know more about Drifters. The Drifters are a group of people who made a name in history because of their great achievements and individual skills, that were sent to another world at the moment of they were supposed to have historically died. On the other hand, the Ends is another group of historical figures; however, they have monstrous powers and their goal is the destruction of humanity. The Drifters have no particular goal set on them, they are more free-spirited. So much that our protagonists, Toyohisa, Nobunaga, and Yoichi, decided that they are going to take over the empire. What could be more amusing than having three highly skilled men decide to take over an entire empire like they are just deciding that they are going to have ramen for dinner? Spare me the emotional dramas and psychological struggles of not being able to cope with an entirely new environment. These men adapt quickly, making this new world as their own.

With a fairly new studio, Hoods Drifters Studio (under Hoods Entertainment), the animation team sure gave a good first impression. The transitioning from impactful fight scenes, intense conversations, into the characters' deep thought processes, and then sudden comical skits, requires precise and smooth timing and build up so that it would not feel out of place. The flow of each cut is lively and unbroken. All of this is thanks to the Animation Director, Kinichi Suzuki, the same man behind Hellsing Ultimate. Then, add the show's OSTs that livens it more, building up the tension and the mood. "Gospel of the Throttle" by Minutes 'Til Midnight really sets the mood. The moment you hear it, you know it's going to be epic. It awakens that thrill and excitement as it introduces the viewers to a world of fantasy and a bunch of people with insane abilities.

If you are in for smooth and artful animation, intense bloody battles, war of strategic minds spiced with a lot of dark humor, then this is something you should definitely check out.