Nov 21, 2017
You know what's worse than a bad anime?
A disappointing one.
The sad truth is, Gangsta was filled with a lot of promise from the start. It looked like it was to be a mix of Jormungand and Black Lagoon, a winning blend of action, drugs, street culture, and violence. The anime I envisioned was going to be a lot more gritty, dark and realistic than what we'd received. Of course, I can't exactly blame the anime for defying my expectations; if it wanted to be more focused on the bishonen and the superpower aspect then that could work too. Unfortunately, here, it just was not executed
...
well.
Taking place in a fictional city where the crime runs rampant, our main characters - a deaf man named Nic and a gigolo named Worick - function as handymen, cleaning up jobs that not even the police would like to sully their hands with. Initially, the environment of the city that we're introduced to is entertaining in its own right; thriving with gangs, prostitutes and seedy dealers, the first episode gives the impression of an episodic series, chronicling the odd jobs of these two handymen and the newly acquired Alex, whom soon is functioning as their receptionist. It's a very promising start, brimming with action, a unique character in the form of Nic and a hip, catchy opening theme that certainly can't be beaten.
Too bad it's all downhill from there.
You know for an anime titled 'Gangsta' I was expecting something, well, gangsta. Instead what we get are drugs that induce superpowers, a ton of characters with absolutely no point or purpose, fizzling plot points put on the back-burner and the culminating finale that eventuates into sheer nothingness. Before I expand upon these elements, however, let's try and get the good out of the way first.
The shining aspect of the series is Nic and Worick, our two leads with quite the haunted past. Nic is a powerful force to be reckoned with and is one of the few characters I've seen in anime to have a properly represented disability. Although not particularly well developed or formed at all, the two make quite the interesting duo and their warm relationship is a spotlight amid a circle of rather bland, wasted potential.
On the topic of great things to come from this anime, the opening theme is as snazzy and catchy as an opening can get. It conveys the 'gangster' aspect better than the actual anime itself, and it's one of the few OPs that you'll have trouble skipping over.
There's also no shortage of entertainment here; it's interesting to see the twisted, slummy world of the city these two inhabit; often I found myself enjoying the ridiculous, logic-defying fight scenes, the small moments where the gangs are given screen time and the bustling clubs and hideouts. It reminded me closely of Black Lagoon, where the cities are as dangerous and unpredictable as can be and even the oldest of grannies will tote guns.
So, what's wrong with Gangsta?
It's less of what's wrong per say, and more about what it wastes.
Firstly, the plot. There's a system introduced early on known as the 'Tags,' which is practically a glorified rating system of someone's fighting ability. From here things get convoluted, with different ranking tags making appearances, then disappearing without even doing so much as a serving to driving the story forward. The side missions are often bland and uninspired, more filler than anything else, and it's as if, while this anime meanders along, it has no clear path to follow.
There's a lack of decisiveness here; directionless, with no set path that it seems content to take, it ends up simply chasing its own tail in one confused loop. Characters will jump in, jump out, only to never be seen again; what was the point of Ginga? Gina? Doug? Hell, even Alex - one of the main characters and a redeemed prostitute we're supposed to care for - ends up as simply being a deadweight; the writers try and incorporate a traumatic past for her arc, but it does nothing to serve the overall story and it feels like her only purpose outside of arm-candy for our leads is to be the big-breasted, humping caboose for all the peeps wanting a slice of fanservice out there. Seriously, those boobs of hers are out of this world.
All of this culminates into a jumbled mess for the last few episodes; again, unsure on where it's heading, Gangsta simply tangles itself further in threads, abandoning old characters and introducing new ones merely an episode before the anime is to end. And of course, that ending, which isn't so bad per say as it is completely abrupt and unsatisfying, hardly even worthy of being called an ending. It felt like the setup for the finale, as opposed to the actual finale itself.
I don't blame Manglobe for this by the way. They've always been a unique studio, unafraid to test the waters with offbeat, unique series; perhaps whilst they do fine in the west, they've struggled to find a footing in their homeland, and ultimately this has begun to lead to a decline of profits. I'm sure they wanted to give more than what they offered with Gangsta; unfortunately, TV executives and producers decide for the company how many episodes they're allowed, and perhaps they were completely rushed to push this project out as a last-ditch effort before bobbing under.
It shows, from the anime's erratic pacing to the ending where it literally just cuts off - and even to the animation which, while fine in some respects, is clearly degraded in quality in others. Apart from the opening theme music is repetitive and background songs simply loop, rather disjointed from the actual scene at hand. Voice acting is fine; the dub is passable, but treads familiar ground with all too familiar voice actors, whilst the original Japanese version's acting is just above average. Nic's voice actor pulls off what little lines he has well, whilst Worick has a snide, almost playful delivery, which meshes well with his character.
Certain action scenes are better in quality compared to others; I can recall one fight where the animation truly shines, being fast-paced, well-choreographed and a thrilling rush to watch. Unfortunately, the rest of the action is mostly jerky and plain; character models are well-designed, but vary in quality from scene to scene, and the rest of the animation simply feels slow and lulling, nothing like the hardcore gangster fights we thought we were to be promised.
My heart aches for Manglobe, it really does; Gangsta shows its budget, from animation to sound and even to the writing; which is truly a shame because, with a bit more faith from TV executives, it really could've been something special. They had a great director on board, an interesting idea to expand off, two unique main characters and a setting brimming with possibilities. Instead, we see Manglobe's last anime start off with a bang and fizzle out into a whimper; an ambitious try, one last risk from the strong studio, though this time it simply does not pay off.
I give Gangsta a
5.40/10
AVERAGE
With a recommendation to Skip It
I normally hate saying this, but if you're so interested in the plot and the characters then read the manga. Gangsta is honestly a waste of time; a harmless waste of time, but a waste nonetheless. If you want hardcore action anime then try Jormungand or Black Lagoon; Gangsta just fails to deliver, even on its title, which is incredibly disheartening. Perhaps a bigger budget and more episodes could've made all the difference - or would even that have simply failed? Is there simply no longer a place in the industry for the risk-taking studios like Manglobe to try and provide something different from the hordes of moe junk we've been receiving?
I certainly hope that isn't the case.
GOOD;; Two interesting main characters, one, in particular, being very unique and fun to watch; a veil of entertainment value coats the series; that kickass opening theme!!
MIXED;; Mediocre animation; disengaging, pointless arcs that go nowhere; a weak storyline
BAD;; Characters with no purpose; directionless; fails to deliver on all that it wants to be; an unsatisfying 'ending', not even worthy of being titled as a finale
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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