Review of Ikebukuro West Gate Park
DISCLAIMER: I'm not a manga reader so I always come absolutely blind to every anime I watch (that applies to any source material not just manga), so take into account that I judge only what's presented in the animation and/or season story-wise. OVERALL: This one knew it wasn't special and exploited that in an inteligent execution! This anime feels like Durarara!! if it was stripped off the supernatural elements it has and that's actually smart. Being settled in one of the most rough neighborhoods in Tokio it may come up as unoriginal when covering the "gang" concept. It has nothing that stands out, but it was smart aboutthat too. If the story was being focused on the main characters and their stories it would probably be really boring, but it doesn't. IWGP adds an slice of life format with everyday stories, everyday drama, all scattered around many people. From long time inhabitants, to turists from outside and inside of Japan, so we don't have to think of just one person that is just casually involved in many events of his life, rather an outsider that just wants to get to know these events. If you want action and deep mystery, this is not the anime you need. But that doesn't make it bad, a slow paced story with unrelated events each episode is a format really common in the slice of life genre and is executed smoothly in IWGP.
ABOUT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
The only characters we meet regularly and actually get some backstory from are the ones who are actually interesting. Not everybody has this dramatic and intense backstory. Look at Makoto, our protagonist, he is too basic of a guy when we talk about backstory but he's still an educated, humble and really caring human being.
ABOUT THE OPENING SEQUENCE: 「NEEDLE KNOT」
The song ain't a masterpiece but it's really fitting, since it describes Ikebukuro as that place you know is not paradise, but you love because of that. I believe that it's really fun nonetheless. The art and animation ain't great either, but investing on a really neat and elaborated opening sequence would've made this apply to "The Best Opening of the Year", but it ended as wasted potential. The scenery references a lot of elements of the anime and of the real Ikebukuro neighborhood, the melting pot created makes it realistic without branching far off the plot.
ABOUT THE ENDING SEQUENCE:「AFTER SONG」「OMŌ MAMA」「BŌKYAKU NO SORA」
They all have a really similar vibe to them but it's again really smart how the animation has really sutile changes dependeing on the episode and how it ends. Unlike the opening, this one is just... Fine... It's a chill sound, a chill sequence, like the credits you stick around to but never really remember or even pay close attention to.