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Synopsis: JR has been hunting sacred treasures for a long time and he’s seen things few would believe. But some artifacts are too powerful to be handed over to collectors. The black katana is said to bestow instant divine powers upon its wielder.

Plot: JR is a young, but already jaded, hunter of treasures. His ability to put two and two together is enough to let him find his way around ancient tombs and trap riddled ruins. He is accompanied by Baekho, who acts as secretary, moral support and occasionally a bodyguard when things get out of hand.

New on the team is Ren, who has a vested interest in several of JR’s findings and hopes the capable man can help restore Ren’s family’s good name and fortune with a few lucky expeditions.

Ren’s hacking skills are surprisingly necessary, despite the ancient nature of the group’s targets. More and more, his loyalty shifts from his family to JR, which his self-aggrandizing father doesn’t like to see.

Then there’s Minhyun. JR has worked against rivals a few times, but never like this. Minhyun doesn’t just want to be the first to unearth the black katana – he really believes in its power. For him, it’s a matter of life and death, and he doesn’t hesitate to blow his family’s considerable resources on the cause.

Aron is an American agent. Much more isn’t known about him. Even who he works for seems to change whenever convenient. He’s useful enough for JR to keep around, but Baekho can never entirely relax with the stranger around.

It takes a few episodes for Aron’s role to turn from a “plot device with a utility belt” into a fleshed out character, owing to a flashback episode. He wants the black katana, too, but rather than believing in its power, he merely wishes it were true, having been raised on stories about its abilities. Disclosing his true allegiance is still a long way off by that point, though.

As JR’s group faces off with Minhyun’s thugs and Aron’s loyalty wavers more than once, the possibility that the old stories have a core of truth becomes apparent and JR grows determined to get there first.

But that still leaves an important question. What will he do, if the dark blade is more than empty promises? Now that he’s fighting harder than ever, what is he fighting for?

Reception: The show runs for five seasons.

Initially the anime garners acclaim for ramping up tension within episodes and within the arc at an enjoyable pace. The second season lets the plot grind to a halt as it spends fifteen minutes on flashbacks in every other episode.

Those flashbacks are nobody’s favorite but they tie into the unfolding events so heavily that “shouldn’t have skipped the memory-thing” becomes a fandom meme in response to confused newcomers to the show’s audience.

The supernatural elements start out as easily deniable hearsay and escalate into the third season after which it’s full on demon battles with JR flinging a fireball or two.

Quality of writing decreases rapidly as the anime stretches its fourth season’s plot thin to get another one in after that.

The grand finale the writers had planned rings hollow without the actual conclusion and the fifth season consists of increasingly ridiculous fight scenes that have to cover more screen time than ever intended. Half-joking comparisons to dragon ball become commonplace in the fandom.

Everyone is relieved when it ends, and most fans walk away satisfied, even though the ending’s broad were fairly obvious by the end of season four.

[Honestly, I’m taking myself on a journey every time I write one of these.]