First Impression: Hakuouki drama Eps 1-3

Hakuouki drama - 10 episodes 25 mins. runtime | Available on Crunchyroll

Chizuru meets the Shinsengumi while in search of her father disguised as a boy. Her father's disappearance seems to be connected to the blood-crazed men she encountered in Kyoto. The story is set in the Bakumatsu era of Japan.

If you are new to the Hakuouki fandom, let's do a round-up of the main characters who are based on historical figures. Toshizo Hijikata, the vice-commander of the group. Souji Okita, first division captain who's fierce but loves to tease Chizuru. Hajime Saito, the quiet master swordsman, and third division captain. Heisuke Toudou, eight division captain and the youngest of the group. Sanosuke Harada, tenth division captain who prefers spears. Shinpachi Nagakura is the cheerful second division captain who loves to drink. And Keisuke Sanan, the other vice commander who also serves as tactician. I can't vouch if they are the only romanceable characters as I have not played the otome games but I have watched almost all of the Hakuouki anime excluding SSL drama.

Hijikata's voice is distracting at first. Of course, it will be different with the anime's voice actor. But as I watched further, I see him perfect for the role as well as Chizuru. Overall, I don't have any problems with the casting. I just don't remember Heisuke looking happy crazed when fighting. Was he? And I can't stand all the eavesdropping scenes one after another.

Like in the anime, the political and historical parts of the drama are not exciting but I live for their mundane everyday life and the moments where they show how much they care for her. It's not all out reverse harem but those little moments are priceless. I don't remember now if this is a running joke in the anime but it's cute when Hijikata and Okita keep on threatening to kill her if she escapes and Chizuru energetically agrees. Same girl, same. I'm still waiting for the spark to happen from my other favorites: Okita, Saito, and Kazama. Okay, I think I'm starting to get the spark from Okita now when he said he'll lavish her with compliments. All is well until you realized where the story is going when Okita started coughing. Oh no...

I can still remember the very first time I posted the news of Hakuouki anime in 2009. It was in the wee hours of the morning and I was so excited as I admire the wallpapers. Thirteen years later, it's still going strong with a live-action series adaptation, anime ova, and more recently a fan disc announcement. They really milking this huh? And even if it doesn't offer drastically something new except that it's live action, it stands to reason that I will finish this and consume anything that is Hakuouki.

The new Hakuouki anime OVA is still fresh in my mind so it is unmistakable that the drama faithfully recreated the first scene. But the comparison ends as the drama followed the anime storyline while the OVA skips on to a bit random timeline. And it's not a good idea to watch the OVA and drama at the same time as two is mixed up in my head now.

How'd you find the drama? What can you say about your favorite characters? Holler in the comments.

Purchase titles/ related to the titles mentioned: (as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases):

Hakuoki SSL-sweet school life- https://amzn.to/3h9QuIA

Hakuoki - Season 1 [Blu-ray] https://amzn.to/35lU93y

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