Kiba

Title:Kiba
牙-KIBA-
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Madhouse
OOKI Tamio
R1 License - ADV (Renamed)
Zedd is a 15-year-old boy who lives in Calm. He is frustrated by his current daily life and feels that somewhere out there is a place where he can live more fully. One day, at the invitation of a mysterious wind, Zedd dives into a space-time crevasse, seeking the "answer" that might be there. Riding on the wind, he arrives in a world where warriors called "Shard Casters" fight endlessly with each other, using magical crystals called "Shards".

With the power of the Shards, the Shard Casters are able to use magic and control monsters called "Spirits". Fascinated by that power, Zedd also aims to become a Shard Caster. However, he still doesn't know that residing in his body is "Amil Gaul", a mighty Spirit with the power to influence the world's future.

{Translated from the official Japanese site} (Source: AniDB)

51 TV episodes (~24 min)
Animation by MADHOUSE
R1 Licensed by ADV Films
Series began airing on April 2, 2006


"牙" ("kiba") = "tusk, fang"
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 8 9 8 8 10 9 Xenoknight [series:1352#2967]
HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - Among The Best Of Stories

As per a request from the man whose life is so savage (DC Savage Life from Xbox Live), I will give this title my utmost attention.

completed... 51 English Dub eps watched...

Final review soon...

Ep 46-51: Amazing series

Ep 41-45: The truth comes to light: Ginga's story and tragic conclusion, Sigiri's involvement with the seekers and the key spirit Shadin (coolest one besides Amil), Sarah's ambition for power and tremendous back story, a boy's resolve to be with his mother, Tusk makes a move towards their goal, Myrid finally sees the outside world, Zico's past mistakes are revealed, everyone's will to obtain the Amil Gaul, the story of Zed's father, Roya's inner feelings and worries, Zedd's answer to everything, Tusk acquires more power in a new member. Zedd's new resolve will be amazing to see now that he understands everything. This story is one that everyone should experience and to that end....winner.

Ep 36-40: Pure storyline. 3 key spirits vs. EX machina, Neotopia's castle falls, a bunring pheonix key spirit transformation, Hiram's absolute law comes to a dramatic end, a strange team with one familiar face moves out to secure Sigiri/key spirits, The summoning of Neotopia's real key spirit, Noah finally snaps under the pressure, Templer's answer to Hue, Amil Gaul's final transformation (cool as hell), Hue's reign ends, the bread shop biz is still growing, Ovarks has need of protection, the newly upgraded EX-machina, a new savior (?), and an old rivalry comes to surface once more. The final end-credits is played and all seems to be drawing to a powerful and drama/action/story filled ending. I can't say anything bad about this anime and I think it deserves a promotion. Awe-inspiring developments...

Ep 31-35: Amazing storyline. The joust comes to an end, spirit rejection, the result of those who survive absolute law, Zico and Hiram meet again and talk about important matters, an attempt on the Holy Father's life, Kira's past is revealed, Ovarks reasons are revealed, a great spirit (Ex-Machina), the conjoined attack on Neotopia, and the result of death and mass kiling. How's this for a ridiculous story - The good guys (Zedd, Pellack, etc.) want Hiram killed/absolute law to be stopped and the bad guys (Hue, Tusk, etc.) want the same with all of Neotopia to be destroyed! What does that mean when the good guys and the bad guys want you stopped/destroyed? This story is too beast!!! Jaw-dropping developments...

Ep 26-30: A recap of events for Noah, Zedd's first real battle against a tactical opponent from another land, an emotional Roya battles with everything she has to settle her trembling heart while a seemingly unbreakable friendship begins to crumble at the seems, Templar's shard champion (in the usual fashion) proves his skills yet again, and a legendary bout between old friends results with an unfavorable victor for reasons of sympathy and the will to protect others. The new intro/end-credits (ep 27) signifies greatness as the Neotopian joust rages on. Ep 28-30 had me on the tip of my toes! This series is a dangerous contender for 'one of the best stories in anime'. I'm lovin' it.

Ep 21-25: Roya's connection to Tusk, the story behind her parents are revealed, the dramatic conclusion to Roya's emotional arc, Mickey becomes a hero, and casters from around the world gather for the Neotopian joust as Zedd and Noah are finally united again. I shed a tear for Roya in ep 23. The next few eps are going to "knock me out" according to Savage. I can't wait.

Ep 20: Noah's new power is unholy indeed, A flashback of Roya's mother reveals that someone is holding back the truth, the ritual takes place but not without Zedd crashing the party, a dire situation turns for the worst, an old friend helps Zedd get out alive, Hue has seen 3 key spirits now, and those who break the law must be punished whether it be ally or foe! Amazing ep...

Ep 19: An escaped Neotopian must be returned, a shift gone bad reveals the way to Tusk, Noah receives a mission to retrieve the captive in Tusk, Hue senses his new prey in Tusk and decides to pay a visit (too many superpowers in one place), the blood of a shard-caster for the birth of a God, and a sudden separation leads to unfavorable encounters. Great ep...

Ep 18: All quickly realize the beast's ridiculous power/strength, the brains and brawn become one, a past treaty becomes null and void, Rebecca releases a bit of her pain on her enemey, Zedd and Hue square off only to find that their 'key' spirits have more in common then one could imagine, and a futile resistance as well as a certain death both marks a new chapter in the fight for freedom. Amazing ep...

Ep 17: A massive battle, the request for more power, Neotopia finds an ally in Noah, defenseless unborn pay a heavy price as a result of this war, and the sound of the Siren in the people bring about an uncontrollable God. Great ep...

Ep 16: A new battle rages, the former princess is born anew, a talk of impending danger ends in disagreement, disobedience allows allies to unite, a messenger arrives to hear an answer of submission and returns as a corpse, and the opposing leaders rally their men for war. I can't get enough of this title. Great ep...

Ep 15: The battle with a controlled friend rages on, a lost soul struggles with his own fate, Noah makes a faulty promise that he knowingly can't keep, a new spirit of evil descent makes contact and wipes out the immediate area (people included), a close fight ends with favorable results and a new spirit companion, the bread biz becomes a huge hit, and a shady character appears before Zed. The story kicks it into full gear yet again. Great ep...

Ep 14: A return trip home results in some rewards and some failures, plenty of talks about the impending war, the appearance of Pronimo (ranks up there with Amil), Noah develops a shard pattern (!) and struggles with controlling it, lots of bread making/selling, a gift of great power, and the promise to get stronger at any cost. This series is too much and we get new end-credits to congratulate this notion. Great ep...

Ep 13: More past stories are revealed, a planted love seed finally blossoms with evil intentions, a missed opportunity to meet an old friend, the brutal recapturing (again) of the princess, a past rivalry is finally put to the test, the dead walking among the living, a silent wedding, more betrayal/death/depression, and the ultimate realization of Zed's new powers. Zed kicked so much A-- in this ep that it was ridiculous. Tide-changing ep...

Ep 12: The reality of life after death, the test of courage in a spring of corpses, a small hint of romance, more betrayal and death, and the birth of a new spirit - Rambos. Every episode is better then the last. Fantastic ep...

Ep 11: The leader of the 3 is introduced as Hue, a past event is revealed resulting in the death of a powerful king, a plan of betrayal and marriage to unite the people, and the notion of a slave becoming a king in the matter of seconds. This story is getting real good. Great ep...

Ep 10: OMG! Savage told me ep 10 was the breadwinner of the series, but I had no idea. Every instance of the ep was packed with quality elements: Rebecca and Zed's interactions, the brutality of the underground battles, Roya and her team's encounter with 2 of the shady 3, Noah's recovery status, and Rebecca's rage in seeing the leader of the shady 3. Amazing ep...

Ep 9: WOW! Now this is what I call insane. There were so many things going on in this ep that it made my head spin in excitement. The main points included: Zed and his spirit (Amil Gaul), the results of Dumas' actions, a princess fighting to rebuild her kingdom, and her request for Zed to assist her in her quest! I was pumped to find out what more is in store for Zed in this new realm where he and his new-found 'power' can be of use. I can sense a 'champion of the kingdom' - type of deal for the future and Zed is hardly the hero type. Ridiculous ep...

Ep 8: This ep was crazy: allies betrayed their friends, a new villain surmounts the old one, and a small scale battle breaks out to right what was wrong. Zed (being the only unpredictable factor in everyone's plans) now stares down a very familiar opponent and has little power to defend himself. Great ep...

Ep 7: The joust ends unfavorably for our heroes and Zed becomes fueled now more then ever to get stronger. The new champion (as twisted as he is) meets an unexpected surprise of his own that may lead to his downfall. During all of this, a second joust was being held, but one can only guess for evil reasons as those in charge put off plenty of shady vibes. Good ep...

Ep 6: The story gets worse (in a good way) as more extreme acts are performed in order to uphold the law. A past friendship is torn to ribbons and it results with multiple fatalities. An inner demon is born in Noah as he comes to new understandings of how things work when people come into power. The desert part also clicks into place. Meanwhile, Zed is still struggling in the joust. Great ep...

Ep 5: The fight begins, but the action is (wrongly) quickly replaced with what happened to Noah that night with two different takes for that matter (one in the desert and one in a nice rural village). The one in the village takes priority and we are treated to a story of kindness, military service, and fleeting friendship. The end of the ep shows that family is no exception under the law as a grave tragedy is about to take place. This story was good, but they should've finished the fight first. Mixed ep...

Ep 4: Zed catches wind (no pun intended) of the joust competition (shard-caster tournament) and wants to enter to test the limits of his powers. Taking advantage of multiple opportunities, he enters and soars through the ranks, only to meet a dangerous foe. Good ep...

Ep 3: Zed learns more as he sees the social differences between the people and just what truly powerful shard-casters are capable of. Interesting ep...

Ep 2: Zed meets the locals of this new world and learns first hand about shard-casters and spirits. Good ep...

First Impression: This was a great intro. A boy (not yet a man) named Zed defines the word delinquent and if he only took some time to explain himself without always being on the defensive, he wouldn't get into so much trouble all the time. There is a method to his madness of breaking doors and gates however, as he is ever searching for freedom and hates being confined in the desolate city this title takes place in. His mother isn't in the best of mental condition, so she is of little help in Zed's guidance. The only person whose looked out for him the majority of the time is his childhood friend Noah. Zed believes he is destined for greater things and is somehow granted his wish. With 51 episodes to get through and a premise as solid as this, I already know I'm going to be in for it on this one. Let's see what you've got Zed! Good ep...

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Never forget Xenosaga.

Last updated Tuesday, March 02 2010. Created Friday, February 12 2010.
Rent 8 8 10 9 9 10 Anonymous #3013 [series:1352#3013]
I seriously enjoyed Kiba. Probably more than I thought I would. I'm not normally into tournament style-anime, but this is the exception. It is marvelous. It's a lot more mature than I had expected it to be. The premise sounded like it was aimed at young teens, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. It's more mature than I believed it would be.

I watched it a few months ago, and I'm seriously thinking about watching it again.

Last updated Saturday, January 31 2009. Created Saturday, January 31 2009.
Unevaluated Jan-Chan [series:1352#967]
Episode 9 is out as a fansub.

Last updated Monday, May 29 2006. Created Monday, May 29 2006.

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Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.ki-ba.com/

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