Review of Gangsta.

Welcome to Ergastulum, a city crawling with criminals and outcasts. Hiding in the alleyways are people known as Twilights, victims of a drug called cerebre. Twilights are individuals who have either used cerebre or whose parents used cerebre, and as a result, their physical abilities are enhanced but their lifespan is severely shortened. Nicolas Brown is one a deaf Twilight, who works together with a man named Worick Arcangelo. They call themselves Handymen, and handle odd jobs ranging from fixing up buildings to killing people. Gangsta is a breath of fresh air from all the moe, the monotonous try-hard comedy, and the excessively melodramatic series wesee all too often in the anime industry. It has characters who have suffered immensely--no, not because of some supernatural phenomenon or a freak accident, but because of things that happen every day to real people. Gangsta, while exaggerating how bad things can get in one city, addresses multiple horrible atrocities that happen to people every single day in real life, including rape, physical abuse, abandonment, drug abuse, forced prostitution, racism, and discrimination. It's rare for any form of media, much less anime, to address all these issues without sugar-coating them or offering a half-assed solution.

Gangsta gets off to a great start. The OP is great both audibly and visually. The first episode introduces our main characters, Nicolas, Worick and Alex, all of whom are unique and complex. We see what they do, we see their relationship. We appreciate the friendship between Nicolas and Worick. We sympathize with Alex, who suffers from PTSD. And even though they kill for money or sell themselves, we can see that they're not necessarily bad people. They're just trying to find whatever happiness may exist in this god-forsaken city.

However, despite the great characters and awesome OP, most episodes move at a very slow pace. There is plenty going on, as I know from reading the manga, but somehow the anime does a bad job of getting it across. After the first couple episodes, it feels as if nothing significant happens until the last few minutes of each episode. I appreciate the flashbacks to our main characters' pasts; their pasts are so tragic, and they do a great job of endearing the characters to the viewers. Unfortunately though, the present is not nearly as engaging. For the most part, villains come and go without even getting to prove themselves. While there are so many things going on, the hints are subtle, and the anime fails to convey these hints well. The pace of the anime, despite starting off fast, slows to a crawl.

I believe the main reason the pacing feels so slow is because of the soundtrack. While I can guarantee the laid-back soundtrack will be nice to listen to outside of the anime, it often doesn't complement the anime's mood well. Even fight scenes have the same slow jazz music in the background, so the fights feel anti-climactic. The OST works well in episode 8 when Alex sings, but overall it does a horrible job bringing out the show's intensity. A perfect example is the death scene in episode 11--that scene should have been accompanied by really sad music. A sad violin or cello solo would have been perfect for this scene, and yet we got the same snapping beat we always get.

While soundtrack is a huge issue for this anime, there's an even bigger problem. Gangsta is the perfect example of an anime that failed because of its awful animation. Whether due simply to low funding or inexperienced animators, or perhaps a combination of both, the animation and art in Gangsta suffered greatly. Even the still drawings of characters are inconsistent, and the fight scenes are horribly animated. The low visual quality of this anime detracted a lot from viewers' experience, and only exacerbated the already slow pace.

It pretty much goes without saying that Gangsta's ending was unsatisfying. I actually had to make sure Episode 12 was the last episode, because it certainly didn't feel like it. The producers decided to combine two arcs from the manga (which I will call the Monroe Arc and the Connie Arc for simplicity's sake). The manga is currently in the middle of the Connie Arc, having already finished the Monroe Arc. For whatever reason, the anime producers decided to mesh these two arcs together. I believe that was a bad judgment call, as neither arc received proper closure at the end of the series. We never figure out the truth behind Ivan Glasglov (and believe me, it is awful and INTENSE), nor do we ever find out where Connie is and whether she is okay. Those factors, coupled with Worick's state at the end of the episode, culminate in a very unfulfilling end to an unfulfilling anime.

As with many of the anime this season, Gangsta had a lot of potential. The opening theme and first episode set it up to be the Anime of the Season. Unfortunately, due to a lackluster soundtrack, slow pacing and mediocre animation, it fell short of its potential. That being said, I love the relatable nature and complexity of the characters. I believe the manga does them much more justice. If you liked this anime (or were interested, at the very least), I would strongly recommend checking out the manga. But maybe in a couple months, because it's currently right in the middle of the Connie arc, which is pretty damn painful.

Story: 6
Art: 4
Sound: 6
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 6
Overall score: 6/10
Do I recommend it? Just read the manga.