Gangsta: ANIME REVIEW

Okay, I really don't know how I am seeing right now, because you have no idea how sick I am. But since I haven't written in some time I said: "Come on Lejla, you can do it", and yeah. Here I am on this lazy Sunday evening writing a review on a new anime that finished airing just today. I asked other anime lovers whether they have watched this anime or not, and as expected 64% of all answers in my poll were YES! The anime became immediately popular, and as I saw its popularity in forums and communities I knew I had to watch it. So here it is, for all you anime lovers, my review on GANGSTA!

Plot and Story Line

The whole Gangsta story is set in a small town named Ergastulum. When it comes to the city, it is a very dark, shady ville full of thieves, whores, corrupt cops and gangs. I think you all can imagine it in one way. In the heart of the story we have the two main characters: Worick and Nicolas. Two partners that do all kinds of odd jobs that nobody else wants to do. Now the thing that makes Gangsta different from other shows are Twilights. Twilights posses enchanted abilities due to their predecessors' use of Celebrer (some kind of drug). They are noted for being incredibly violent and destructive and as such mostly hired for killing jobs. One of the Twilights in this anime is also Nick.

In the show, a new character is introduced right in the beginning. A prostitute called Alex. She meets after Worick and Nick were assigned to kill Alex's boss. In the end Alex ends up as the one killing her boss, and kinda teaming up with Worick and Nick. 

I know you might be asking "Is that it?", and yeah that's basically it. That's the whole plot, but it is not a bad one. Here's why.

The plot and story line are really slow. It is a step by step, firstly character introduction, then a "setting introduction" and at some points a flash-back story. The story gets all interesting in the ninth episode when so called "Anti-Twilights" appear. A battle between them starts and is still ongoing but the first season ended today. There are still no information about season two, but have hope, because the anime is actually manga based. We don't know for sure, but I think that season two will be aired because of the huge popularity that this anime has. "Fingers crossed". 

Now the main thing that kept me watching Gangsta. The flashbacks and backstories. The story about Worick and Nick and how they meet is outstanding. I loved it and it really gets emotional in some parts. It's a story about friendship, humanity and family relations, so I recommend you not to miss it. There are also two more backstories that have my attention. The first one  is the backstory of Delico (Twilight) and his sibling sister Erica (Anti-twilight). I just think that for now the anime didn't give them the limelight they deserve. One more is also a sibling story, but now of Alex and her brother Emilio. These two backgroundstories have on thing in common (except the sibling part). They are still unfinished and left some questions in the first season, and that's exactly why I think that we can hope for a second season to air. 

Also an important thing that has to be mentioned is that this anime is perfect for all you action lovers out there. Epic and interesting fights. Guns, axes, swords...There are all kinds of weapons. It has some bloodshed, but  hey, as if you are not used to it. 

Characters

The characters in Gangsta are just a bunch of badass gangsters, killer machines and ordinary characters that are there "just because". Some of them develop in one or the other way, and some of them are interesting due to their past, Delico for instance. Now here for you our two main guys, and my personal favorite in the show. 

Worick Arcangelo is a damn clever and brilliant person. In his cruel childhood he escaped his horrible reality trough books. Now he possesses the ability to read incredibly fast and the ability of photographic memory. Although being rich and having everything "served on a silver-plate" he just wanted a place to belong to. He finds a place next to Nick, or so he thinks. But does he really belongs in the world of Twilights by pretending or acting like one?   

NIckolas (Nick) Brown. This guy is a Twilight. He is an incredible fighter and a killer machine, but he has a huge heart. A very considerate and nice person but not looking like one. The most interesting thing about Nick is his inability to talk. The way he uses sing language to communicate and how others interact with him is awesome. He is a "Fake", meaning he reaches his tag of A/0 by overdosing. He is actually ranked as B/5. Still his swordsman skills are outstanding. I loved seeing him fight. 

Doug looks like a 14-year-old kid, but is actually a grown up. Looking innocent but actually wearing an A/0 Tag. Quite dangerous. Doug is a side-character in Gangsta but I loved him because he looks so cute but is a killer machine in the same time. I have the feeling that I just want to squeeze his cheeks and say: "You little devil, stop killing people". I just wish we could have seen more of him in Gangsta.

Animation and Style

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to 2015. You can clearly see the difference, or easier said, the better animation in the anime of 2014/2015. Gangsta is one of those. Awesome animation. Smooth, good contrast, clear, good colors and outline. In short, I loved it. 

The style is also from a new generation. The high contrast shadows gave it a good taste and the good work with details made it incredible. 

Now one more thing that has to be mentioned is definitely the music. It is epic. As an example I have here the link to the opening theme song. Opening Link. It is catchy and the only anime-opening I didn't skip while watching. 

Conclusion

Conclusions were always my favorite part of every speech, essay and review because I put all my thoughts in a few sentences and as if you will remember everything you read above. 

Now to conclude, Gangsta is a dark anime that tells a story about friendship and humanity. It is realistic in some parts but becomes an "anime" after some time. Full of action, heart breaking stories and interesting characters. I rate it as a 8.45, minus points for the slow story development, but on the whole definitely worth watching it. I'd give it a try!

Your AnimeGirl <3 

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