Supernatural Anime Brings Psychic War Fable To The Modern World, Stream Right Now

K, the anime, focuses on Yashiro Isana, or Shiro, who is overall a normal high school boy. One day, he is accused of being the newest Colorless King and killing a clansman of the Red King. Tensions rise between the already hostile Red King and Blue King members while the followers of the previous Colorless King, Kuroh Yatogami, and a cat-girl named Neko try to determine Shiro’s connection with the kings.

Underneath the short skirts and indecent cat girls, the show delves deep into the price of power and the pressures of being a leader. Though the first season of the K anime focuses mainly on three kings, there are a total of seven. Each of the seven kings has something called a Sword of Damocles, which appears when they use their abilities and can cause great destruction if too much power is used at once.

These swords are a nod to an ancient war fable. In Greek mythology, Damocles was a courtier to King Dionysius, but he was jealous of the king’s power and authority. Dionysius offered to switch but first hung a sword above the throne, held by only a single hair from a horse’s tail.

Damocles lasted only a short time before he asked to switch back, realizing that while being a king meant having great power, it also meant constantly being in danger. The swords in the K anime represent that similar burden. When the burden becomes too much, the swords can fall, killing the king and destroying the surrounding lands.

The K anime has a 7.43 on My Anime List. It’s not ranked very high at #2167, but its popularity is much higher at #255.

Though I usually shy away from fan service, I love this series. The story is a little chunky at first, but it all comes together with a neat little bow at the end. Additionally, the characters all have quite a bit of depth underneath their more jokey surface level, which I enjoyed.

REVIEW SCORE

K is one anime I always try to get others because I’ve yet to meet someone who recognizes this anime despite its rather high popularity level. I give it a 4.5. It’s definitely not an anime for everyone, but it’s a good choice if you want a show that leaves you guessing until the end.

K is an original anime from GoRA (Ayaka) and GoHands (Princess Lover!) that first aired in 2012. If you want to give this show a try for yourself, it and the movie are available to stream on Hulu, or Disney+ through the Hulu bundle. Don’t worry if you don’t pay for either of these platforms, Tubi also offers the show for free if you’re willing to deal with some ads during your stream, though they only have Season 1.