Anime: Honoo no Mirage

Mirage of Blaze is based on a popular 40-novel series written by Kuwabara Mizuna. Unfortunately the 13-episodes of this anime adaptation can barely bring to life the intricacy and depth of Kuwabara-sensei's highly elaborate plotline, but they do provide a suitable introduction to the world of Japanese feudal warlords and clan battles on the supernatural level, as well as an insight to the turbulent relationship between the two main protagonists, which is essentially the core of Mirage of Blaze.

Animation
The animation is generally pleasant on the eyes, as one can expect from Madhouse Studios, often rendered in slightly muted hues with very little use of bright colors to fit with the darker themes of the anime. A considerable amount of detail was put into backgrounds with very few repeated shots. There were a few instances of choppy sequences but they don't really detract from the overall fluidity of the scenes.
Character design was kept to a rather realistic level, ie. no characters with eyes that take up 3/4 of the face. Due to the sheer multitude of characters introduced in this series, the casual viewer may be a little confused at first as some of the characters look rather similar.

Sound
The Japanese voice actors are perfect for their roles. Seki Toshihiko brings the fiery yet vulnerable personality of Takaya to life while Hayami Sho compliments this with a passionate portrayal of Naoe's obsession and insanity. The supporting characters also feature other well-known seiyuus such as Seki Tomokazu and Hideyuki Tanaka.
The English dub, while passable, was lacking on the emotional front, especially when compared to the Japanese version.
The opening song, 'Blaze 2002', may seem odd to viewers new to the world of Mirage of Blaze, however it ties in with the slightly rock-esque image albums that have been released to date. The ending theme is a beautifully haunting violin solo that is befitting of the darkly complicated relationship between the two main characters.
The background music was relatively subtle but effective.

Story
Due to the fact that the creators attempted to squeeze 8 books worth of plot into 13 episodes, the story can be highly confusing to the first-time viewer. For one, there is a lot of Japanese history involved with the main plot as well as some references to Esoteric Buddhism. Mirage of Blaze is a complex alternate take on Japan's feudal era and requires full attention or perhaps several viewings to fully digest all that it has to offer. There is also the twisted relationship that exists between Takaya and Naoe, their past, slowly revealed in a series of flashbacks as the series progresses. It is impossible to summarize the entire plot in this review, however, it is a fascinating story of love, betrayal, obsession and war.

Character
The characters are, for the most part, fully likeable and sympathetic. Particularly with the character of Naoe, where quite a few aspects his obsession and insanity were touched upon and explained. Takaya's vulnerability and confusion was also portrayed very well. Because all the focus and character development were on the main protagonists, some of the supporting characters may lack a bit of depth however, it doesn't really take away from the story as their motivations and intentions are more or less covered in the main plot.

Value
This anime would probably improve on repeated viewings. There are a lot of subtle hints, found in both the dialogue and plot, that would actually help the viewer to understand the story better but might have been missed on first viewing. Mirage of Blaze would appeal to anyone looking for a BL/yaoi anime that is more character- and plot-driven. However due to it's light BL content, casual anime viewers who have an interest in Japanese history and supernatural elements, may also want to check this title out.

General comments
This was a thoroughly enjoyable series. The characters and story are beautifully complex and dark with a near epic historical background to add more meat to the overall plot. Mirage of Blaze is the best BL/yaoi anime I've seen so far, which relies on the strength of its characters and plot, including the compelling relationship that spans 400 years resulting in complicated love/hate bond between the two main protagonists.

Highly recommended.