Souten Kouro

A slightly different Sou Sou (Cao Cao) comes to life in Souten Kouro. Based mostly on the Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou and slightly on Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, the series is an ambitious portrayal of the most brilliant man in the chaos of the Three Kingdoms era in China.

Cao Cao, foster son of Cao Teng, is an ambitious young man with the brains and prowess to back it up. His ideas are far ahead of his time and he never fails to astound everyone even his closest friends and relatives. Merciless, smart, and witty, not only did he distinguish himself in the field of battle but in governance and literature as well. The ladies loved him of course and his friends adored him. Consequently, he makes enemies along the way but nothing seems to faze him, even the glory of the emperor.

This 26-episode series is fast-paced and covers barely half of what Cao Cao accomplished in his lifetime. It begins with a background of his childhood, his first experience in falling in love, and his rise to becoming one of the feared men China. His last fight in the series is with Lu Bu's (Ryo Fu) army.

Some people hate him for his overconfidence but he always wins in the end; not only because he is resourceful but because he has loyal followers. Despite Cao Cao's gifts as an administrator and leader, he has a weakness for women. Some strategists also find him difficult and dangerous. This serves as a balance to a seemingly invincible character. 

Viewers already familiar with the story will not drown in the information provided by a narrator and will certainly enjoy seeing familiar names when they are introduced for the first time in the series. The battle scenes did not disappoint. This is one of the few series that showed large scale fights, particularly siege battles. One on one fights may be exaggerated but I appreciate how it doesn't sugarcoat these life and death situations unlike the other adaptations of this historical event. The numerous supporting cast didn't take the spotlight from the lead character, a tendency I have noticed in most adaptations of the Three Kingdoms. The pace was okay in the first half of the series but in the last half Cao Cao's screen time lessened because of all the information that needed to be shown. Nevertheless, I think the story was executed well.

Before I started watching the series I was apprehensive about how they're going to take on an elaborate story with so many interesting characters and numerous battles. Newbies to the Three Kingdoms craze will certainly drown in all the information given at once even with the help of a narrator. The fans of Wei in particular will appreciate the spotlight long deserving of Cao Cao who is mostly portrayed as a villain. This 26-episode series is awfully short; ending in an epic standout with Lu Bu. Souten Kouro is bloody (literally) awesome.

Rating: 9 out of 10