Totem Warrior is a visually epic Tribe-based fantasy adventure anime.
The Chinese anime has a familiar style, with a unique story, in a world where only a select few individuals are given the opportunity to become a ‘Totem Warrior’.
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The series is set during a time when villages are the core form of civilization. These villages are only protected by warriors of unique skills from various threats, including the local beasts and fabled creatures. The whole aesthetic of the show seems like a combination of One Piece and Hunter X Hunter, if they were set in ancient China. The art style itself looks very similar to most anime that fans enjoy, which makes it really easy to get in to without knowing the full story yet.
Totem Warrior Synopsis
The series takes place in ancient times, where people worship totems and several unique tribes exist. The highly respected Totem Warriors have utmost faith in their beliefs and protect their tribes. The protagonist, though not initially set to becomes a Totem Warrior, is eventually placed on that path. And thus, his adventure begins.
The first couple episodes, you don’t find out about how these ‘Totem’ powers work. This is because you only get a sample of it in the first fight you see with a mysterious warrior. Already from this first fight involving a Warrior and a Dragon, you get sucked in as you witness an epic transformative Power, while also an unexpected and brutal wound inflicted to the hero. The show has a great combination of humor and combat, especially scenes involving the protagonist. This humor includes using a massive rock to defeat opponents in a opportunistic manner.
The lore of the show is focused around the use of Totem abilities, which are called from the Totem marks that can appear on a warrior’s body. It does suggest that the kind of Power you may get is defined by what tribe the user comes from. This is because each tribe worships a different Totem God. There are also other barbaric tribes that have their own Totem marks, which are seen when you get a few episodes in to the story.
Aside from the first fight scene with the dragon, the first demonstration of this abilities is used by a Totem Warrior examiner, who you see run the beginning of the exam the protagonist takes part in. It is in episode 3 where you see the Totem Warrior summon Black wings, that appear on his back, by calling upon the ‘Three-legged Crow’.
Totem Warriors primarily follows Xiaoyu, who is from the Western Fish Family Tribe. Nicknamed ‘Little Fish’ by his people, Xiaoyu is quite short compared to others. However, what he lacks in size, he makes up for with attitude and stubbornness, which often leads to conflict with others. Although he is a loudmouth, he is cunning, which makes him a really intriguing character to watch. Sometimes these tactics are ‘dirty’ and childish, but its refreshing to see a protagonist that isn’t bound by common integrity. You soon learn there is more to his story but that is revealed later over time.
Along with others from different tribes, Xiaoyu is sent to take the Totem Warrior exam as he manages to defeat a sabretooth Bear. This is significant as not only has the tribe not sent a candidate for 5 years, but the sabretooth bear was stopping the village from fishing. Meaning the bear was a core threat to Xiaoyu’s tribe. Due to beating the bear, through devious methods, the elder decided to set ‘Little Fish’ on the path to become a Totem Warrior.
The first season only has 12 episodes that are around 10 minutes long. This does seem to be the popular duration set by some of the Chinese anime on the iQIYI platform. One extra part on the end of every episode is peculiar as it has a un-subtitled mini-show called ‘Stomach of God’, which seems to feature the host combing and trying different food. Even though the Totem Warrior episodes are short, there is already Season 2 of the show available to enjoy for fans to dive right in to.
One issue discovered was that episode 3 didn’t have English subs. However, the issue was quickly fixed the same day it was reported, which was done through the options menu found on the episode interface. This unexpectedly demonstrated how efficient and effective the iQIYI team are when responding to reported problems.
Only the first two episodes are free for all users, so if you wish to watch the whole show then a iQIYI membership will be required. To begin watching, use this link to watch now on iQIYI.
With the awesome and hilarious moments featured in this Chinese Anime, it’s fair to say that Totem Warrior will become an instant favorite. It’s also clear that fans of the show will surely move on to season 2 with haste.
What do you think of Totem Warrior? Do you like the ancient Totem Mark lores? Have you got a iQIYI VIP membership yet? Let us know on social media, or in the comments below, and keep following The Illuminerdi for more Anime dives.
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