I wasn't sure what to expect from this anime, going in. I think I was hoping for an inverted history of Japan, where women have taken over, and all is right with the world, with a bit of erotica and "I told you so" thrown into the mix.
That's not what I got, though. Sure, it's about a world where women do and decide everything; but nothing is without its consequences. It's not all fun and games. In fact, I might even venture a politically incorrect opinion that it's worse.
Men are still men, with all their urges, needs and shortcomings. Women are still women, with all of their fallacies. It's just an upside down version of the world as we know it, and everything that that would realistically entail in a medieval setting.
There is a trigger warning to this anime - sexual violence. I was expecting it to be graphic, in true anime style. Nothing of the sort. And yet, violence abounds, in ways I never expected to see it. It spares no-one, regardless of gender. It's not the presence of violence, though, that is key. Is how people deal with it, react to it. What they choose to do afterwards. This violence serves an important plot purpose. It is a rite of passage for the characters and isn't there just for fan-servicing purposes.
This anime is so much more than it lets on at first glance. It takes real-life qualities of people and applies them in inverted-power-dynamic circumstances. It has been a while since I came across something so mind-bendinglly captivating on Netflix. I literally could not peel myself away. The story doesn't impart any superpowers to anyone, it doesn't create unrealistic relationships, or unrealistic characters. It does however show how people deal with extraordinary circumstances in a believable way. I can see myself in the characters' decisions. This could have very well been the top secret, completely justified reason for Japan's utter isolation policy back in the Edo period.
