Rihito is a high school freshman who has returned from Japan after living abroad. He has brought with him his three Shinki, which are 6-inch high customizable female androids that have weapons. The androids have intelligence and emotions and are able to move around on their own. Rihito's three Shinki are Ann, Ines, and Lene; all three of them are vying to be Rihito's favorite. At the end of the first episode, Rihito finds a box that he doesn't remember packing; inside the box is a mysterious fourth Shinki.
As I watched the first episode, I couldn't help but think that the series was taking the concept of CLAMP's Angelic Layer and trying to up the ante. Basically, the concept of the Angels in Angelic Layer was used, except the little androids in Busou Shinki are sentient beings that have weapons.
I also felt that another way the creators were trying to differentiate Busou Shinki from Angelic Layer was to include a "harem" element with Rihito's Shinki. Perhaps it's just me, but the "harem" aspect almost feels forced and awkward. And maybe this is also just me, but I found the "harem" aspect of this series to be a little on the creepy side.
Honestly, I found the first episode of Busou Shinki to be rather dull and boring. While I understand the first episode is supposed to help set the series in motion, there just wasn't enough included in the first episode to grab me and make me want to watch the series further. Personally, I found Rihito's Shinki to be rather annoying, so the discovery of a mysterious fourth Shinki at the end of the first episode really didn't motivate me to want to watch more to find out more about her.
I also found the animation to be rather typical. Basically, while I didn't think the animation was bad, I didn’t think it was terribly impressive, either. As for the visuals in the series, I didn't see anything too terribly offensive, unless you don't like seeing 6-inch female androids wearing somewhat skimpy outfits.
After evaluating everything that I saw in the first episode, I would probably recommend Busou Shinki to anime viewers who are 14 or 15 years of age and older.
| Busou Shinki Moon Angel | 10 | 2011-2012 | Masayuki Kojima | Kinema Citrus | N/A |
| Busou Shinki | 12 | 2012 | Yasuhito Kikuchi | 8Bit | Sentai Filmworks |
