Human trafficking is just fun hijinks, apparently
At first glance, this show should work. It has a fun, colourful and expressive artstyle. The jazzy score by Yutaka Yamada is excellent, bringing to mind the work of Yoko Kanno on "Cowboy Bepop". And this show feels like it really wants to be Bepopesque.
Unfortunately, the show collapses upon any closer scrutiny. It is plagued by many issues, the most serious (in no particular order) being: 1. The crew has obviously made no research on cultures foreign to them, leading to Arab charaters named Abigail and Clark, and a portrayal of Baghdad (as a liberal democracy of tailored suits and ballet recitals) that is just baffling.
2. Heists and schemes which are supposed to be geniusly complex instead end up being impossibly contrived and nonsensical. We are not impressed by the prowess of the con artists, but instead ask ourselves what the heist-success-equivalent of "plot armour" is.
3. The character writing is all over the wall, with the main character Makoto in particular becoming whatever any given scene calls for. There are several times in the series were upon seeing his contradictory actions we assume that an explanation is right around the corner, but then it never comes.
4. Several choices made means that previous scenes intended to be dramatic and even touching become entirely pointless.
5. Most upsettingly, the series tackles serious real-life problems like human trafficking of minors, and then forgets about them in favour of whacky hijinks... making it so that the writers fail to realize that our supposedly likeable protagonists themselves becomes guilty of some of the worst crimes imaginable. Yes, you read that correctly: our main protagonists aid and abet the enslavement and selling of children, so that they can scam the human traffickers at a later date.
In conclusion, this - quite surprisingly - ended up being one of the worst animes I've ever seen.
Unfortunately, the show collapses upon any closer scrutiny. It is plagued by many issues, the most serious (in no particular order) being: 1. The crew has obviously made no research on cultures foreign to them, leading to Arab charaters named Abigail and Clark, and a portrayal of Baghdad (as a liberal democracy of tailored suits and ballet recitals) that is just baffling.
2. Heists and schemes which are supposed to be geniusly complex instead end up being impossibly contrived and nonsensical. We are not impressed by the prowess of the con artists, but instead ask ourselves what the heist-success-equivalent of "plot armour" is.
3. The character writing is all over the wall, with the main character Makoto in particular becoming whatever any given scene calls for. There are several times in the series were upon seeing his contradictory actions we assume that an explanation is right around the corner, but then it never comes.
4. Several choices made means that previous scenes intended to be dramatic and even touching become entirely pointless.
5. Most upsettingly, the series tackles serious real-life problems like human trafficking of minors, and then forgets about them in favour of whacky hijinks... making it so that the writers fail to realize that our supposedly likeable protagonists themselves becomes guilty of some of the worst crimes imaginable. Yes, you read that correctly: our main protagonists aid and abet the enslavement and selling of children, so that they can scam the human traffickers at a later date.
In conclusion, this - quite surprisingly - ended up being one of the worst animes I've ever seen.
- artur-artborg
- Feb 14, 2024