Buso Renkin was adapted from a manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The anime was produced by XEBEC, and was directed by Takao Kato. The twenty-six episodes of Buso Renkin aired on TV Tokyo from October 5, 2006 to March 28, 2007. Viz Media holds the licensing rights to Buso Renkin in the United States.

The series begins with a high school student named Kazuki Muto being killed after saving an unknown girl from a monster in an abandoned building near his school. Then, Kazuki wakes up in his dorm room and believes he just had a nightmare. After school the next day, Kazuki and his sister are attacked by a serpentine monster, which turns out to be the same monster that Kazuki saw earlier. Tokiko Tsumara, the girl Kazuki saved, rescues him and his sister from the monster.

Tokiko explains to Kazuki that he had rescued her, and in fact had been killed by a homunculus monster. However, Tokiko felt responsible for what happened, and revived him by placing a Kakugane medallion in his chest; the Kakugane serves as a replacement heart. The Kakugane is an alchemical device that takes a certain form based on the user when it’s activated; it forms a unique Buso Renkin. A Buso Renkin is the only thing that can destroy a homunculus monster. Kazuki creates his own Buso Renkin, and it takes the form of a giant lance (which he eventually names “Sunlight Heart”).

Kazuki is enthusiastic, friendly, and caring for his friends and his sister. He tends to put himself into difficult situations in order to help or protect others. He also has strong feelings for Tokiko.

Tokiko is an alchemy warrior who was assigned to take care of a homunculus problem in Kazuki’s hometown. She is very dedicated to her job and quit going to school in order to be more efficient. Tokiko is serious almost all of the time. Over the course of the series, Tokiko falls in love with Kazuki.

The main antagonist of Buso Renkin is L.X.E. (which is short for League of Extraordinary Elects). This group is primarily made up of humanoid homunculi.

Buso Renkin does include some violence, but overall, it is not overly gory. However, with the violence that is included, along with the subject matter and the age of the characers, I would personally recommend this series to anime viewers who are fifteen or sixteen years of age and older.