For nearly half a year now, I have been hearing about The Vermilion Mark (Shuiro no Kamen), and the things that I have been hearing have all been good. Thanks to Crunchyroll and one of their PR Partners, 33USA, I had the opportunity to check out the first episode. Was this show worth all of the hype that I had been hearing?

Let’s go!

Peru is a mask maker, one who can bestow powers to the masks. Trained under one of the three great mask makers, Gaston Roux, he travels across the world seeking the masks left behind by his late master; however, he’s not here to collect them; he’s here to destroy them.

His latest stop is the Royal Capital of Lisblanc. He sets up shop along the city’s street, and after a demonstration of one of his masks turns away potential customers, he is approached by three kids looking for an autograph. This is, however, a distraction as one girl, named Sano, steals something from his cart. He catches on, chases her down, and apprehends her, getting his stolen property back.

When he returns, he is called out to by Totoque, the Captain of the First Governing Corps. He says that masks such as his are prohibited in Lisblanc and that he is to hand over all of his possessions. The demand doesn’t go very well, and after making an impressive escape with Sano on his back, he needs to figure out what to do about this country’s mask. Sano claims she knows where it is. From here, we join Peru and Sano on their mission to retrieve the mask as well as dive into the horrifying reason why Peru wants to destroy them.

Normally, I would cover the entirety of the episode, along with its plot twists, but since this was viewed before its air date, I will refrain from mentioning the major spoilers in this episode.

YES – This isn’t just another typical shonen battle anime, even though some of the typical tropes are there. There are some differences with them, though, that I found quite interesting… one of which served as the cliffhanger ending to our inaugural episode.

I will say one thing… this show does not shy away from the gore, nor does it hold back with any of its characters. Totoque is a vile human being; however, there may be a legitimate reason as to why he is the way he is. I also enjoyed Gouro, who is the King who conquered Lisblanc. If there is anyone who gives off Final Boss vibes, it’s this guy. Whether or not he will remain that way, or if the focus of the show will shift elsewhere, remains to be seen, but they already established him as a force that Peru is going to have to contend with.

If there is anything that a good shounen series will do, it will set up a goal for the main character to reach through various power-ups. Gouro is that goal and the reason why Peru needs to become stronger… or at least… those are the vibes they are giving off just based on this first episode.

The masks themselves were pretty cool to see. Peru has several masks for offense, and while we witnessed quite a few in this first episode, it doesn’t seem as if they are going to become plot devices. In other words, I cannot see a situation where he will be stuck dangling above a vat of acid, and he pulls out an anti-acid mask just because he just so happened to have one. While his collection is a bit on the deep side, I feel as if it’s rather static at a fixed number. That means we can see him cycle through the same masks, which makes managing battles easier, and leaves room open for creative strategies.

Of course, since he is a mask maker, I’m sure he will create some masks along the way, and who knows? Maybe in his quest to destroy Gaston’s masks, he might have to wear a couple to get through a tough situation before destroying them?

That’s the biggest hook with this show… the possibilities. As for the first episode, it was highly enjoyable with great pacing, a diverse set of characters, and enough plot twists to not just push the story along, but to set up the overarching story in a way that makes it interesting. Most shows like this will just put the main character in peril, have him power up out of nowhere and win, and while there is some of that to a degree here, the elements are shifted around a little, and the conclusion isn’t known yet. I like how that was handled, and it’s making me want to see more.

So, to answer the question in my opening paragraph, yes… this show was worth all of the hype. It was already on my To Watch list before I was approached to check it out. Needless to say, it’s staying on my list, so expect a full review at the end of its run!

You can watch The Vermilion Mask on Crunchyroll when it begins airing on Saturday, October 10

This preview was provided for review by Crunchyroll and 33USA