Review of Ikebukuro West Gate Park

I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed to how this show ended up turning out. I feel it had potential to be very good, but in the end, it didn't. That being said, this is still a decent show, that could potentially be enjoyable for many (either way, OP bangs, so at least check that out~) The story is relatively straightforward. We have our MC who is involved with a gang (but not actually a part of it). You get introduced to some interesting characters, and then you see some examples of the ways our MC helps Ikebukuro with the help of his connections thathe has for some reason. Except that ends up being the entire show. Every episode, we get a new problem come up, or a new person to help, and Makoto (the MC) works to solve them. Rinse and repeat. Some of these solved issues end up being somewhat relevant in the future, in the sense that some character interactions develop, but that is essentially limited to small interactions. Their influence on the overall arc (which exists, don't get me wrong) is relatively small. Thus, this is essentially a slice of life, following someone that has a bit of an uncommon daily life. I will add that there are some pretty dark themes, which you may expect from a setting involving gangs, but it gets quite serious in some episodes, so keep that in mind. So at this point, you can gauge whether or not you would enjoy this. I was expecting this to be a longer story where we'd be able to explore the setting and the characters because that was the vibe I felt from the first episode. If you are expecting something like that, then you'll be disappointed. However, if you go into this knowing that the format will in fact be essentially a slice of life, then you may get more enjoyment out of the show, because there are things to like about it.

Because of the set up of the show, we don't end up with any actual fleshed out characters. Actually, that may be slightly wrong. There are actually some character development, but it's pretty much entirely reserved for the side characters who are helped in each episode. They may start with a problem, and develop and grow by the end of it. And then we don't see them again for the most part. But the actual main characters don't change much. They are pretty interesting, but we don't learn enough about them, so realistically, they end up being a bit bland. The setting itself was interesting, and there are many moving parts in the background that culminate in the final arc (which is two episodes), but I don't personally feel like enough was done in the setting.

So, should you watch this show? If you're expecting a complex story and fleshed out characters, this may is likely to disappoint. However, if you're up for a sort of "slice of life" in a pretty unique setting (with gangs and some dark themes), then this is a pretty interesting show that does that.