IT'S A SHOW! IT OPENS WITH A SHOUTY ANNOUNCER! JARRING!
Blimey, this is a very excitable opening for a series, something I don't think I've actually seen before. The show opens detailing the exploits of Itou Kaiji and the games he is forced to partake in thanks to his indebtedness to the Teiai corporation. It's announced like the opening of that old TV show, Gladiators (which really takes me back!). From the outset it seems that he'll be facing off against the titular Mr Tonegawa Yukio, but that's all to come - before we can get to this epic confrontation, we're taken back to the beginning of the story.
The opening is 10 minutes long. That's right, we don't get to the opening titles until halfway through the episode because of all the exposition being dropped on you. Strangely, it's actually quite enjoyable once you adjust to the bonkers tone of the whole thing.
As soon as I saw Tonegawa, I liked him. He looks like a gangster, which I suppose is the point. He's very muscular, he smokes, he never rushes. He's a man's man, and in today's climate that's surprisingly refreshing. He's a hero from the 80's school of tough bastards.
The design, with it's thick black lines and almost Flash-animation style reminded me heavily of Archer, with it's dynamic angles and separation of the characters from their backgrounds. Also, everyone on this show is curiously ugly. No two faces look the same, and that's a real achievement in a medium where oftentimes characters are only differentiated by their hair and body type. Safe to say that the standards of corporate excellence employed by Mr Tonegawa's design team has impressed.
The humour in the show is on top form too - in an introductory meeting of a new division, it's made clear that even Mr Tonegawa can't tell the members of his new team apart, dressed as they are in the same suits and sunglasses. It's an old joke about G-Men, but it's played out wonderfully here, especially when he asks for their hobbies to make it easier to remember them, and to a man they all like bowling. Love it.
So episode one is really a prelude. Not much actually happens outside of setting up the world, upcoming conflict and giving us a feel for the tone. The narrator is mad and I adore him. I think I'd like him to MC my wedding.
Overall then, this looks splendidly nuts. I'm quite excited for the next episode, and if you like your anime macho and in-your-face, then this is for you. Go get your black suit and shades on, Mr Tonegawa requires your obedience!
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