Gangsta. - First Impressions

Gritty, underworld drama anime are a rare breed that seem to get even rarer with each passing season. I can’t speak for Japanese market tastes—I’m just picking at shows that filter in over here—and can’t say if it’s a profitability angle or a timeslot one that makes them tough to produce. In some ways, the sparse playing field in this genre (Black Lagoon and Jormungand being the only two of their kind I can name off the top of my head) is a blessing rather than a curse, since it makes it easier to enjoy such shows regardless of overall quality. Fortunately, Gangsta.’s premier is overflowing with both quality and potential.

In a crime-ridden city (I didn’t catch the location, though for now I’m assuming Eastern European) where mafia politics are the law, two hitmen run “Benriya” as a freelance murder-for-hire firm, pulling off jobs that the crime gangs and local police can’t do themselves due to underworld politics. Not a whole lot happened in this first episode, which worked out just fine as the focus was instead turned on the characters, both the chief trio and what looks to be a satisfying auxiliary cast. Worick and Nicholas are hired to knock off a local gang that has gotten out of line and in the process pick up a new member in the form of Alex, a prostitute working for the doomed gang.

 

Worick and Nicholas both fit the typical gangster mold of the hitmen with hearts of gold, easily dishing out ruthless violence on the people they’re paid to kill but otherwise acting fairly decent in the midst of all the violence and corruption. Eyepatch-sporting Worick acts as the mouth and brains of the operation, handling most of the business transactions as well as the less flashy gun work, while deaf, sword-wielding Nicholas does most of the killing. I get the feeling Nicholas’s past will be the focus of at least some of the plot; the dog tags he wears around his neck identify him as some sort of ex-mercenary and though he communicates via sign language it turns out he’s not mute, he just doesn’t speak the local language. Alex is a bit of an unknown—she didn’t do a whole lot this episode besides stick with the Benriya crew once her “employer” had been killed—but there’s plenty of time for her to be fleshed out.

 

Gangsta. was my most anticipated show of the season and its premier did not disappoint. Though the subject matter is quite dark (Violence aside, it makes no effort to hide Alex’s sexual exploitation) the show doesn’t go too far in reveling in the bleakness of it all. Like Jormungand, I think the theme here is that the people we’re seeing here aren’t monsters, just outcasts doing the best they can within a corrupt system. It’s a good starting point, and I’m very interested to see where things go from here.