Is Dakki's ploy to steal Joka's body and merge with the planet a way for her to achieve the ultimate power or is it a Heroic Sacrifice made for the sake of the world? Was it a combination of the two? Did she act so horribly because she was naturally evil, or because she was following Joka's commands to bring down the Yin Dynasty so that history conformed to what she wanted?
Is Ko Kibi an Obliviously Evil person who only cares about the people (or beings) she likes, or is she, as a yokai sennin, someone with Blue-and-Orange Morality?
Americans Hate Tingle: Soul Hunter was very unsuccessful in Brazil mostly because of its dub, which was done in United States with an amateur cast of immigrants who hadn't too much experience with voice acting at the time.
Angst? What Angst?: Taikobo rarely angsts seriously or for very long. Lampshaded by Ki Hatsu, who resents not being allowed enough time to mourn the passing of his father.
The main theme of Soul Hunter. It's a bit calm and soothing to the point you remember some good nostalgia with the song but it also has the energy and passion to the point you're wanted to do some adventure. It helps that the singer, Chihiro Yonekura (of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team fame) is also known for her captivating voice.
The main theme of Hakyu Hoshin Engi wasn't that bad either, given the one who sang it is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and it's a pretty nice and energetic song if you get past the typical grunges from the band.
Broken Base: Hakyu Hoshin Engi. While this anime aims to follow the manga unlike the previous series, it has one of the most rushed pacing ever, considering the studio aims to adapt the manga's 23 volumes in only 23 episodes. Although initially ecstatic at the long-awaited remake, the fans' enthusiasm cooled down within the first four or five episodes, and they began to complain about the downright ridiculous amount of material that has been skipped, the mediocre animation and character models and even the music.
Ryogaku is an assassin that was sent by Chokomei in order to stop Taikobo and the Zhou from revolting. To this end, he injects the heroes and Dakki's father, So Go, with a virus in order to make them surrender and fight each other, hiding the cure. By their next fight, he took one of the heroes' mother as a hostage inside a monster's belly in order to prevent attacks. The monster is actually his son, Bagen, who he made into a mindless monster under a false pretense that Bagen would be made stronger.
Soul Hunter: So Dakki lacks any redeeming qualities of her original manga counterpart. Taking over the kingdom of Yin, Dakki enthralls King Chu to her, having the people starved and worked to death while she happily kills those she deems "traitors", including slaughtering civilians en masse. Dakki has one minister imprisoned for opposing her and later murders his eldest son, before cooking him into steak and feeding him to his father. In another incident, Dakki manipulates the disgrace and suicide of the king's lawful wife before attempting to purge his family. Finally, Dakki mutates King Chu into a monster, having him massacre the people of Yin for a laugh, and attempts to torture his most loyal retainer to death in their fight, caring for nothing but her sadistic whims.
Hakyu Hoshin Engi & manga: Joka, the Signpost of History and one of the original inhabitants of the world, is an ancient being manipulating all the misfortunes of the planet. After losing their homeworld, the alien beings traveled to Earth, where Joka became obsessed with human evolution, manipulating history before exterminating all life when it failed to conform to her wishes. Despite being sealed away by her fellows for her evil, Joka reaches out and guides more and more death and destruction, even empowering the wicked Dakki to bring the Yin empire to ruin and kill countless innocents before attempting to exterminate all life and start the cycle anew.
Though spending much of his time observing the major events, Shinkohyo proves himself to be one of the strongest and most compelling rivals of Taikobo. Defeating Taikobo for mocking his fashion sense, Shinkohyo leaves his Worthy Opponent ecstatic at facing challenging combat. Trying to stop the crown prince of the Yin from fleeing, Shinkohyo gives him and his brother a Motive Rant so enlightening that they betray Taikobo. Though seemingly villainous for much of the story, Shinkohyo is truthfully a neutral Trickster who switches sides based on which he finds more entertaining.
Chokomei is one of the strongest of the Kingo Islands' sennin under Tsuten Kyoshu and the instigator behind a battle between the aforementioned and Kongrong Mountain to test his super paope, destroying the relationship between the two groups. Teaming up with Dakki, Chokomei puts a series of maneuvers in play to stop the Zhou from revolting against Choka. Kidnapping Taikobo's companions to get him to fight, Chokomei takes advantage of the former fleeing from combat to turn his spirit beast into stone, forcing him to confront him. After seemingly defeating Taikobo, Chokomei attempts to change the story by making another manga to replace it and when Taikobo is resurrected, Chokomei turns himself into a plant and tries to drain the Earth of its nutrients. Even when finally defeated, Chokomei remains cordial, proving himself to be one of the most respectful and interesting opponents of the series.
Narm: It's a little hard to take anyone seriously when 90% of the cast are wearing these giant-ass clown shoes.
Dakki and Kokibi making Hakuyuko into hamburgers (in cooking show format, no less) and then feeding him to his own father. This becomes a plot point when Sho Ki eventually dies of malnourishment after he refuses to eat anything after that incident. To make this worse, the last shot we see of the confrontation between Dakki and Hakuyuko is her standing before him holding a knife. In the novel, he dies a slow, agonizing death by receiving a thousand cuts.
A shot of Dakki eating the flesh of corpses of the snake pit victims, looking like she was in ecstasy.
Dakki's torture devices, such as the Horaku.
Bagen the human paope's appearance will give you nightmares.
Joka has been shaping the world according to her wishes and mercilessly destroying it every time something goes in a slightly different direction. And she has been doing it for millions of years.
The last line of the manga manages to switch the horror to our side by implying that the real world outside the manga is still under the influence of the signpost.
Tear Jerker: Despite being a light-hearted story with plenty of comedy, the entire second half of the series fits this trope.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Some fans were not pleased with the direction taken by Fujisaki's art in Hoshin Engi Gaiden, feeling that he lost his distinctive style.
Too Cool to Live: Bunchu, Hiko, most of the 12 Kongrong Elite Sennin, Tsuten Kyoshu, Hakuyuko, Chokomei, Tenka and Sho Ki, basically anyone who overshadows Taikobo as a hero.
Unconvincingly Unpopular Character: Taikobo is an adorable, hilarious, good-hearted, young-looking immortal that's insanely smart, and manages to come up with genius tactics to save the day. Yet absolutely no halfway decent woman has any romantic interest in him throughout the entire series... save for a hideousGonk that disgusts everyone (including and especially him). Sure, he's a Celibate Hero that has no interest in romance... but it's not like he's always announcing it and letting everyone know, and there's no real reason why no one is interested in him.
Unfortunate Character Design: You'll rarely see a review of the series that doesn't grumble about the entire cast's massive, oddly-shaped feet, which are far more heavily stylized than the rest of their designs (which are of the semi-realistic variety typical of shonen manga) and bear a distracting resemblance to clown shoes.
The Woobie: Sho Ki is one of the four rulers that pledge their loyalty towards the Emperor of Yin, King Chu. However, after discovering the decadence and depravity committed by King Chu and his current wife, Dakki, he was taken as a captive for 7 years. When one of his son, Hakuyuko, tries to save him from the Yin Kingdom's clutches which resulted in Hakuyuko getting brutally executed by Dakki and his flesh was made into hamburgers, Ki Sho was forced by Dakki to eat said hamburgers which resulted in him seriously traumatized that he has serious trouble ingesting food afterward and eventually dies in his older years.
of Soul Hunter. It's a bit calm and soothing to the point you remember some good nostalgia with the song but it also has the energy and passion to the point you're wanted to do some adventure. It helps that the singer, Chihiro Yonekura (of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team fame) is also known for her captivating voice.