Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- (Season One) – Rokka no Yuusha
Adlet Mayer, the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world, has been chosen as one of the six Braves to fight the Demon God by the Goddess of Fate, however, when he meets up with the other Braves, there are seven of them!
Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- (Season One) – Rokka no Yuusha
What did you watch?
There are a lot of shows that I’ve seen and never reviewed. Some will probably never get the chance and that’s for the best. Some, however, are shows that I loved and for those, I am keen to rectify this oversight. If nothing else, it’s a great chance to revisit some shows that managed to grab my attention. After all, if I’m going to continue to learn about storytelling, what better than to look at the things that inspire you? Well, this time, I revisited Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers-, a fantasy story with an interesting twist. Let’s just dive straight in!
What happened?
When the Demon God was revived, the Goddess of Fate chose six Braves to fight for humanity and ensure that chaos does not rule the world. Adlet Mayer, the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world was keen to prove his worth by crashing a fighting tournament. He did defeat everyone but was promptly thrown in jail for his efforts. However, the Demon God’s revival shook the land and when the dust had settled, Adlet had become one of the Braves. Together with Nashentania, the crown princess and Saint of Blades who was also chosen, they travelled to the Land of Howling Demons to meet up with the other Braves before attacking the Demon God.
However, soon after arriving, the Braves were trapped in a barrier that was meant to keep the Fiends from helping the Demon God. To make things a little more confusing, there were seven Braves. One had to be an imposter. If they could work out who it was then they could remove the barrier and continue on their adventure. Adlet was keen to put his skills on show and hoped to discover the identity of the imposter, however, he soon found himself in a position where everyone else suspected him and the evidence was pretty damning. He had to run if he wanted to live. But the barrier prevented him from getting far. His only option is to discover the identity of the imposter and show everyone else the truth.
What did you think?
So, this was my second time watching this series and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t love it as much as the first time, but this time I came in with a more critical eye. The first time, I was swept away by the intriguing mystery that dominated this fantasy adventure. I loved the way it brought the elements of a who-done-it into this world and kept us guessing until the end. When I rewatched it, I was hoping to see more clues and hints that were not immediately obvious when I didn’t know the ending. Sadly, it didn’t really deliver on that account and many of the assumptions made by the characters were flawed and frustrating. I think the idea was good, but the execution could have been a lot smoother. It’s still a fun story even if I remembered it being better.
What was your favourite moment?
My favourite thing about this series is that it merged a couple of well-established genres. At first glance, it’s a fantasy adventure in a fantasy world that is inspired by Aztec, Inca, and Mayan civilisations. That alone was a fascinating idea and immediately made me want to see more. Then, the story shifted from an adventure to a crime drama. Adlet took the role of investigator but soon found himself as the primary suspect. The thing that I loved about this is that I’ve long held the belief that fantasy isn’t a genre on its own. The same can be said for science fiction. I think these are elements that explain the world in which the story takes place. When you realise this it opens up these genres to be anything. There really isn’t anything that couldn’t be combined in this manner. It just reminds me how much freedom that is with storytelling.
What was your least favourite moment?
One of my biggest issues with this series is that there were a lot of ass-pulls. The biggest one is the way Adlet made a theory about the Saint of the Sun being used to make the fog. While the theory was solid, the fact that Hans then magically found her inside the corpse of a giant Fiend who hadn’t been in the original battle was laughable. Then, to make matters worse, Nashentania’s reactions to everything were a mess and made little sense. She was trying to kill the Braves but missed several opportunities. She seemed to be surprised by everything that she knew had happened. There were no real clues to it being her beyond the fact that she seemed the least likely suspect. The beauty of these sorts of stories is how everything slots together to reveal the outcome. The audience needs to be able to solve the problem along with the main character. That didn’t really happen.
Who was your favourite character?
Another interesting aspect of this series is that the characters, despite being selected as the six Braves were all deeply flawed. I mean that in a good way. None of them were the obvious righteous hero. There were assassins and murderers. Even the bodyguard was loyal to a fault. Goldov looked like he was going to defect to Nashentania’s side until she said that half a million people would die. Mora was proud and stubborn. Chamo was childish and impulsive. As a party, this promised to be a wild ride as they struggled to get along with one another. I would have loved to see more of this story if only to see how the party works together and if that’s something that they can do. That said, I’m not entirely sure who my favourite character was…
Who was your least favourite character?
I think this area merges with the previous one. There wasn’t anyone who instantly jumped out at me as my least favourite. Chamo seems like an obvious choice since I tend not to like the child-like characters. Hans was annoying at first, but he grew on me. As did Adlet. I think that if I’m pushed I would probably say Goldov, which kind of surprised me. I tend to love the strong and silent characters, but his brooding over Nashentania kind of ruined him. He turned out to be jealous and petty which clouded his judgement of Adlet and Nashentania.
Would you like some more?
Part of me wants to read the light novels, however, another part of me, after reading through some of the stuff online, thinks that this is just a mess of a story. I could be wrong. If they did make another season, I would watch it, but finding the time to invest in six novels for a story that I have a cautious feeling about is harder to justify. I would love to see more fantasy and science fiction stories that borrow from other genres. I love a good quest as much as the next fantasy nerd, but I do love it when a story surprises me.
What have you learned?
This series reminded me of the importance of making sure that everything comes together. I’ve seen movies where the twist doesn’t make sense because of how one character acted at a certain point. In retrospect, it often seems like a deliberate attempt by the director to throw you off the trail. To me, that seems like a terrible idea. Who cares if the audience works out the twist before it happens? In fact, a twist with zero foreshadowing is just about the work thing imaginable. It tells the audience that the creator of the story doesn’t know where to go next. It’s like when a character on the screen sees something or hears something that we don’t. That didn’t help anything or anyone. We need to be a part of it. We need to be able to solve the mystery too. Otherwise, we’re left feeling cheated.
- Season One
- Episode 1 – The Strongest Man In The World
- Episode 2 – First Journey
- Episode 3 – The Girl Who Kills Braves
- Episode 4 – The Heroes Gather
- Episode 5 – The Seventh Brave
- Episode 6 – A Trap and a Rout
- Episode 7 – The Reasons of the Two
- Episode 8 – The Average Man and the Genius
- Episode 9 – Blossoms of Doubt
- Episode 10 – Desperate Situation
- Episode 11 – Counterattack
- Episode 12 – The Time to Reveal the Answer
Series Information
| English Title | Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers |
| Japanese Title | Rokka no Yuusha |
| Medium | Anime |
| Released | Summer 2015 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Animation Studios | Passione |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery |
| Demographic | Seinen |
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