[DmonHiro] Bubuki Buranki (BD, 720p)

10 years after the Earth was almost devastated by huge monsters that fell from the sky Kazuki Azuma returns to Japan to search for his mother. He is immediately captured by the rulers of Japan. His mother is considered the witch that almost ended the world and as her son, he is a possible danger. He is rescued by Kogane, an old friend of his and bubuki user. They join with Kinoa, Hiiragi and Shizuru. The four new allies are the children of Azuma's mother's friends, and they inherited their parent's powers. Azuma has inherited something as well: the Heart of Oobu, the strongest of the buranki. With Azuma as the heart and the other four as the limbs they can summon Oobu and battle against the ruler of Japan, the dreaded Banryuu Reoko and her buranki Entei. But all is not what it seems. Why does everyone blame Azuma's mother? Why can Reoko pilot a buranki by herself? Why are there no other working buranki hearts on Earth anymore? Join Azuma as he tries to find out what exactly happened 10 years ago.

This is one of my personal favorite shows ever. Yeah, it's all in 3D, but the characters are very expressive and the battles are fantastic. The story is great as well. Take note, anime of today: this is how you write a story. A prequel, a beginning, a small climax in the middle, then you amp things up for the finale, deliver a fantastic ending and finish off with an epilogue. Also loved the characters. Almost all of them get some major development including the antagonists. Could not stand the Russian heart, but in the end he proved he could be worthy of being a heart. Reoko's four kings may seem like standard goons at first but man are they ever not. Show is also fairy realistic. 5 kids who's had their powers for a few years against veterans who's been fighting for more then a decade goes about as well as you'd expect for the first half of the show. I mean hell, in the first OP the good guys are shown with their bubuki while the bad guys are shows with their bubuki while beating the crap out of the good guys.
Special mention of the designs. The bubuki are all unique and the buranki are fantastic. I mean, look at this sexy thing:

This show gets a 10/10 from me. I enjoyed it start to finish. The beginning was a bit slow, but the payoff was more then worth it. Subs from HS.

PS: The mad men managed to insert a hot springs episode in a show when, for all intents and purpose it should be have been possible. Yeah, there was a short bathing scene in the fourth episode, but nobody saw a hot springs episode coming.

https://anidb.net/anime/11761
https://anidb.net/anime/12043