Gangsta
Short Synopsis: A deaf man and a gigolo take on a job to wipe out a small time crook getting too cocky
If it’s one thing this show has got, it’s style. Mangalobe always had a talent for great openings and this anime is no exception with a opening with a catchy theme and a very manga style colour scheme. But the music throughout the first episode was just as catchy and sleek which is good as I found that the music never really stopped playing throughout the episode. At times it was somewhat overbearing. Art and animation are good though some far away shots of people had some bad faces and a small bit of animation looked off during the sword fighting near the end. But all things considered this is a very strong start to the season and everything here was more or less a perfect adaption of the manga. We already have an unconventional cast of characters and an amoral setting so all things considered we have all the ingredients for a very good anime. The only reason the potential rating isn’t 90% is because I don’t have much faith in Mangalobe for this. There is high probability of the animation getting limited at this rate and whether they can stop themselves from adding their own material to a story that doesn’t need it. It’s a good start, keep it up.
Potential: 80%
Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace
Short Synopsis: A Student wakes up in a classroom with his dead teacher and now must work to prove his innocence.
Well now that’s one way to start an anime. The opening was unique to say the least and after that we are greeted with a feminine like boy waking up in a classroom to see his teacher dismembered into a meditation pose. I did a double take when this character who looks like a girl in every aspect was in fact a boy. But at least from research, Kobayashi was said to be adept at posing as young women so it’s accurate to the character at least. What isn’t accurate is the title of this episode which was called the human chair. Now Ranpo did write a story called “The Human Chair” but that story was about a crazed carpenter who build a compartment inside a chair and hid himself inside it so he could rob the hotel the chair was sold to. The story eventually led to the chair getting sold to a rich couple and the carpenter growing obsessed about the man’s wife. It was a disturbing story that had no murder in it though this episode looks to have just taken the title and ran with it. The main character is interesting to say the least, seeing as he reacts to his teachers death with an unnerving calm and proves to be a highly observant. Akechi looks to be a good detective, already channeling a more depressed and somber Sherlock Holmes. I am still at odds with making the characters high school students and the show itself seems to be going out of it’s way to excuse it with Akechi’s ridiculous exposition on why he can solve crimes for the police while still being a student. I also cringed at the sight of a teacher who dressed herself up and had cat ears with a try hard cute act. They made her a little more interesting by showing her scars from cutting herself in a handshake but I don’t understand why she had to be so….peppy. Another thing was that all background characters were represented as gradient silhouettes which I understand what they are going for but I don’t think it works. Still those things aside we have the ingredients for an interesting anime, one I plan to keep an eye on.
Potential: 85%
Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There
Short Synopsis: A medieval fantasy world attacks the modern day world.
It’s a solid start to the series but admittedly not the most engaging. In the manga the attack on Ginza was only covered briefly whereas here it was made into a full episode. This may be because the light novel put more detail in the event or simply because the anime wanted an exciting pilot episode. My opinion is fairly mixed at the moment. I really like the fantasy vs technology aspect of the story and the real worlds reaction to the Gate. But I find the comedy to be pretty terrible and the main characters Otaku traits to be rather irritating. There are definite positives such as the absence of a school setting and that the cast is well over their teenage years. Music is not the best with the opening and ending themes being out of place in their bubbly J-Pop and the soundtrack rather mundane. Animation and art are passable, nothing really special. The big question is how close the adaption is to the original work and whether they can keep a good pace going. So far it’s promising.
Potential: 70%
