Touken Ranbu -Hanamaru-
刀剣乱舞-花丸-
A TV anime produced by Doga Kobo, based on the browser/smartphone game Touken Ranbu -ONLINE- by DMM Games and Nitroplus. Broadcast October–December 2016 on TOKYO MX, BS11 and Kansai TV over 12 episodes, it was the franchise's first anime adaptation, favoring comedic depictions of the sword warriors' daily life over combat.
Description
Overview
Touken Ranbu -Hanamaru- is a TV anime produced by Doga Kobo, based on the browser and smartphone game Touken Ranbu -ONLINE- by DMM Games and Nitroplus. It aired October through December 2016 on TOKYO MX, BS11 and Kansai TV over 12 episodes, and was also distributed on roughly 25 streaming platforms including DMM.com and Niconico Douga. It was the first anime adaptation of the Touken Ranbu franchise.
Setting
In the year 2205, "touken danshi" — the strongest of tsukumogami spirits awakened to protect history — gather at a base called the honmaru under the command of a "saniwa" who summoned them. Set against a backdrop of conflict with the "Time Retrograde Army" seeking to alter history, Hanamaru focuses less on combat and more on the sword warriors' comedic daily life at the honmaru.
The Swords Behind the Characters
Touken Ranbu characters are personifications of real historical swords, including famous blades such as Mikazuki Munechika (Heian period, forged by Sanjo Munechika, a National Treasure housed at the Tokyo National Museum). In Hanamaru as elsewhere in the franchise, each character's personality and relationships are built around the historical provenance, craftsmanship and associated figures of the sword it represents.
Relationship to History
Although a work of fiction, the character designs draw heavily on real sword facts — smith, era, cultural-property designation and provenance — giving viewers an entry point into interest in the actual historical blades.
Cultural Impact
The Touken Ranbu franchise as a whole drove the "sword girl" (toukenjoshi) boom after the game's 2015 launch, contributing to rising visitor numbers at museums and shrines holding real swords nationwide, along with numerous collaborations. Hanamaru was popular as the franchise's slice-of-life spin-off and spawned a manga adaptation serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump+ (2016–2019, five volumes, art by Saru Hashino).
Real Swords Featured
Mikazuki Munechika (Heian period, crafted by Sanjo Munechika, National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum)
The historical blade behind one of the Touken Ranbu franchise's flagship characters, counted among the "Five Greatest Swords Under Heaven."
See authentic Japanese swords
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This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.