This was a series that got me hooked from the first episode. This dystopian vision of the future gave a very strong film noir feel, and presented characters that were not necessarily likable, but very human.
The first few episodes had very strong production values, and its animation and art is on par with the best the industry has to offer. Blood, guts, explosions and sex are depicted beautifully.
Which becomes a bit of a letdown the further you progress into the series, as inconsistencies with the animation become evident halfway through the series. Characters that were beautifully done in the first few episodes, such as Suitengu and Ginza, end up looking like stragglers from a really low-budget hentai production by towards the end of the series, both in terms of artwork and animation.
I watched this with the Japanese dub, which overall locks in well with the story and theme. There are several American characters here, particularly during flashbacks of Saiga's wartime career, and they all try to speak English with American accents. Conversely, Japanese characters who speak English, like Saiga, do so with very heavy Japanese accents, adding realism to the whole thing.
Again, the inconsistent production values mar this aspect of the anime, as they obviously hired Japanese seiyu, who end up straining with their pseudo-American accents. It would have been more immersive had they instead hired native English-speaking dubbers for the American characters. It also comes off as weird when African American characters end up sounding like old white guys.
Overall, stronger production values would've pushed this hardboiled anime to a 10.
The first few episodes had very strong production values, and its animation and art is on par with the best the industry has to offer. Blood, guts, explosions and sex are depicted beautifully.
Which becomes a bit of a letdown the further you progress into the series, as inconsistencies with the animation become evident halfway through the series. Characters that were beautifully done in the first few episodes, such as Suitengu and Ginza, end up looking like stragglers from a really low-budget hentai production by towards the end of the series, both in terms of artwork and animation.
I watched this with the Japanese dub, which overall locks in well with the story and theme. There are several American characters here, particularly during flashbacks of Saiga's wartime career, and they all try to speak English with American accents. Conversely, Japanese characters who speak English, like Saiga, do so with very heavy Japanese accents, adding realism to the whole thing.
Again, the inconsistent production values mar this aspect of the anime, as they obviously hired Japanese seiyu, who end up straining with their pseudo-American accents. It would have been more immersive had they instead hired native English-speaking dubbers for the American characters. It also comes off as weird when African American characters end up sounding like old white guys.
Overall, stronger production values would've pushed this hardboiled anime to a 10.