Aug 8, 2020
I found this series as a recommendation sometime in my searches for "dark" anime, anime with a dystopian theme and/or interesting characters. I'd seen it recommended from multiple sources and finally plunged in and just finished the show last night.
I know nothing about evaluating technical aspects such as the artwork,lighting, character designs, etc. As far as overall animation goes, it's fine, standard anime fare in my eyes ( as a rare example of something I don't like, Mononoke was a recent example if that helps my view any). That being said, I'm going to focus on the two things
...
I noticed most about the series. The characters and the writing.
Rainbow is a great series in the fact that it makes you care about the characters. Without going into spoilers it strengthens bonds through hardships, both experience together and separately as the guys come to know one another and the environment around them. It comes as both a whole and in the form of episodic storylines. I know friendship and human life aren't exactly uncommon topics in anime, but I don't believe that something has to be original to be good, it's all in the matter of how it's executed, and in Rainbow it's executed well. This is the series' greatest strength in my opinion, and the reason why I did like it. Music placement is splendid in regard to characterization as well. Although there's not a not of variation, they pick the best moments to bring in an insert song that's far more moving that I expected going into this.
The main thing that hurts this show is the writing. Again I can't go into details for fear of going into spoilers, but the characters are as much a victim of the writing as they are of other characters/situations. Such writing often revolves around the reasons for such and such character doing X action, and although this is a bigger problem for the first half of the show, you can still see it in the second. I can't lie; I did get angry and almost wanted to quit at one point, but the fact that Rainbow executes its characterization so well was a major saving grace.
I guess my final verdict is to go into this series not for cinematic perfection, but as a glimpse into human suffering and success, and in ways I won't spoil, a feel-good moment or three. Suspend a little disbelief, and follow the boys for a bit.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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