Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko

By: ThunderHeavyArmAn alternate universe world, where strange creatures called Aradama appear in Tokyo and cause death and destruction. The only thing that’s able to stop them are teenage school girls wielding katakana. That’s what caught my attention when this anime was announced for release and immediately peaked my interest.Etou Kanami, a second year middle school girl at the Minoseki Academy, a religious task force training school. Her greatest passion is sword fighting, looking to challenge her classmates to get stronger. Incredibly disorganized and scatterbrained, her friend, Yanase Mai, is her perfect foil. While Mai is not as skilled as Kanami, she is heavily organized and detailed.Oddly enough, after a short introduction to how the Maidens deal with the [name] we’re thrown into the final round of a dueling competition. Which is odd, given that these are usually kept for the second season. Kanami and Mai, being the top two from their academy are sent to the national tournament as representatives. At their destination they have an encounter with a representative from the Heijou Institute involving a tense moment where blades are nearly drawn after Kanami introduces herself. All coming to a head during the tournament, where the same girl attempts to attack the leader of the Katana Maidens. Thanks to the intervention of Kanami, they escape from the guards and are now on the run.As a new series, I thought that it opened a little dryly. I would have much preferred if there was more story before we got into the tournament. A look at their school life and getting a chance to get to know our main protagonist before hand. They are also overpowered humans, able to move at high speeds and jump incredible distances. Something that a more developed opening might have been able to help with. Also, a bit more world building could have helped. I was able to get a sense that there is a rich history to this world that explains the need for the Katana Maidens, but at no point were we told any part of it. Which likely means there's going to be a big background update within the next few episodes.  That said, for the actual sword fighting, it looks very well done and actually made me want to rewatch my old favorite Kenshin for more some play afterwards.