PLOT SUMMARY: "In the city of Ergastulum, a shady ville filled with made men and petty thieves, whores on the make and cops on the take, there are some deeds too dirty for even its jaded inhabitants to touch. Enter the "Handymen," Nic and Worick, who take care of the jobs no one else will handle. Until the day when a cop they know on the force requests their help in taking down a new gang muscling in on the territory of a top Mafia family. It seems like business (and mayhem) as usual, but the Handymen are about to find that this job is a lot more than they bargained." (Wiki)
Interesting opening credit graphics, pedestrian animated episode (at times the human anatomy and vibe of "Cowboy Bebop" pops into mind somehow…), character-fueled ending credit sequence, was what greeted me in Episode One, having randomly clicked on viewing this, primarily from the name "GANGSTA." (spelt with a full-stop in it's title too), and I have a weakness for Yakuza-themed/inspired shows too, so why not?
By the time the end credits rolled, I was at odds with my own opinions, and my judgment for this ep wavered unevenly. On one hand, the themes and premise might make for interesting adventures, as well featuring tons of blood spilt, dead bodies with bullet wounds and blade slashes, mixed in with unsavory back alley acts alluding to sex and blowjobs - makes this decidedly NOT an anime fit for children.
But on the other hand, it might turn on it's own world-building and the misadventures become a farce with a serious face, bloodied and in agony, of course …
In place of the Yakuza, we have the Mafia (my fault for "profiling anime"). And as soon as I typed these, I realize if this were a "live" action story-presentation, I might well lap it all up, IMHO :p
Screengrabs for Opening sequence (above)
Ep.1 show screengrabs (below)
In "regular" circumstances, I'd give the subsequent episodes a miss, but for the intriguing main characters, especially with "Nicholas", who is apparently deaf, reads lips and … SPOILER#1 … not as mute as folks think he is! Conversing in sign language, Nic is the dog-tag wearing dude who wields the katana. And for that alone, I might head back for at viewings of at least a couple of eps, "less than stellar" English translated subtitling not withstanding (BUT as ever much appreciated, the efforts are :p).
SPOILER#2 … How & who the 3rd person joins the team, was also - for me - one of the "highlights" of Episode One of "GANGSTA." :)
Official website (in Japanese): http://gangsta-project.com/.
If I ever get further into the series, I'll share more about the characters, otherwise they essentially spoil the story … unless of course you've read the manga, then there is that…
WHAT-IS: "Gangsta. (ギャングスタ?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kohske. It has been published in Shinchosha's Monthly Comic @ Bunch magazine since 2010. The series has inspired a spin-off manga, an audio drama series, and an anime television series.
The series began airing in Japan on 1 July 2015, and is broadcast on ABC, Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, and BS11 in Japan, and is being streamed on the Bandai Channel and Niconico. The anime is licensed by Funimation in North America, which will be simulcasting the series on their website as it airs in Japan. Crunchyroll licensed the series for simulcast in France and French speaking territories (Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, New Caledonia, and Quebec)." (Wiki)
[ More ending credit-sequence screengrabs HERE on FB ]
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