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Year: 2015
Genre: Action, Drama
Episodes: 12
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
When a person thinks of the word “gangsta,” what comes to mind? Is it the Al Capone and John Dillinger era during the 1930s with the Tommy Guns and three-piece suits? Do people think of people in the mafia or movies like The Godfather? People cut off horses’ heads, family-oriented structure, and making people offers they can’t refuse. How about the likes of Scarface? Extremely violent and the mindset they want nothing but the world and everything in it. The term gangsta can be used in a variety of ways. A gangsta comes in many shapes and sizes, but one thing seems to be true about them. They love money, violence, and live in a world that craves both. The anime, Gangsta, uses the term lightly to make a new world where the mafia and their enforcers strive to keep the balance together in a city about to erupt.
Overview
Gangsta revolves around two “Handymen” by the names of Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo. They both live and work in the city of Ergastalum. Ergastalum is full of mafia, hoodlums, prostitutes, and dirty cops. Yet, the city was once a safe place for a group of people known as Twilights. Twilights are superhuman beings born as the result of a special drug. They can only be identified by the dog tags that they wear.
Nic and Worick take on jobs for both the mob that runs the city and the police force that sometimes have their hands tied. They usually do the job that no one else can handle. They are contracted by the mafia and police to eliminate a local pimp who has his eye on expanding his territory. After completing their task, the duo decided to take Alex Benedetto, a prostitute who was under the local pimp’s control.
Gangsta follows the trio as a new threat soon comes and tries to change the very world they are accustom to.
Review:
Gangsta is a pretty good anime but fails to be a great and awesome anime. I would say that only being 12 episodes is a downside with this anime, but that isn’t it. It needs a second season as this season was one that set up the setting and characters. Actually, to be really honest, the anime tries its best to be like Black Lagoon but fails in many areas. Black Lagoon is an all-time great anime, and this anime attempted to mimic the style and characters, and it came off as cheap and not up to par.
The story follows two “Handymen” who take on jobs for both the mob and the police force that no one else can handle. Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown work in Ergastulum, which is full of mafia, hoodlums, prostitutes, and dirty cops. Doesn’t that sound like Black Lagoon to you? It sure does to me. Now we meet a prostitute named Alex Benedetto, who is saved by the men, and we see her story. That is what most of the episodes are—backstories on the lives of the main characters.
One of the different aspects and is unique with this anime is the concept of a “Twilight” or someone with superhuman abilities gained from a drug called Celebrer. There is a ranking system on the abilities of each Twilight. First, before I forget, how do you identify a Twilight? They wear dog tags with their ranking on them. The anime never states the ranking system and how one rises up it.
Now I would say the fight scenes are pretty interesting, but they are actually not that impressive. All the fights and action scenes are pretty substandard. Towards the end, they were getting to be annoying and not that entertaining. I wasn’t expecting mind-blowing fight scenes like in Fate/Zero, but damn give me something good.
The highlight of the whole anime is the three main characters. A few other characters are somewhat worth the time, but we will focus on the three primary characters. First, there is Worick Arcangelo. Worick is a fascinating person. The dude has been a gigolo since the age of thirteen. Yep, been getting a** since before his little thang could get up. Also, it is pretty NASTY getting it on with a thirteen-year-old kid. Now we learn that Worick came from a pretty wealthy family, but his dad was beyond abusive. His dad even burned out one of his eyes with a cigarette. That is not the father of the year material right there. Worick also Hyperthymesia, meaning that he can recall the vast majority of personal experiences and events in his or her life. Excellent little skill to have.
Then there is Nicolas Brown. The dude is my favorite and an absolute beast when he is fighting. Dude gives zero f***s when he is fighting. Nic, for short, is a “Twilight.” His childhood was absolutely s****y! We will leave it at that because it is pretty crazy about his life. Nic is actually deaf and communicates primarily through sign language even though he has some of the best vision ever, and his lip-reading skills are off the charts.
The last character is the lovely Alex Benedetto or Ally. Ally makes her way on the screen as a prostitute. She joins Worick and Nic after the two men pretty much annihilate the gang she was part of and spare her life. She stops working as a prostitute and starts working for the two Handymen. We learn that she was under a potent drug that kept her in submission to her former pimp. While staying with the two Handymen, she is trying to learn sign language to communicate better with Nic. We also know she is a very talented singer and has a younger brother she hasn’t seen in years.
Overall, Gangsta is a show that one can watch but ultimately skip. Maybe if there was a season two, it would be better, but it’s not really worth the time. The characters are exciting, and the setting is intriguing, but it doesn’t save this episode. Once again, might as well watch Black Lagoon.
