Alternative Title: アクダマドライブ
↓ Spoilers Ahead ↓
「 A quote from this series 」
"I don't know who's bad anymore."
「 The Review 」
SynopsisSix criminals and one innocent girl were dragged into a mission where they must retrieve cargo from a highly secured location.
Story
This anime started at a really high point, its pilot episode was really badass. At first, it might look like just an action anime with catchy visuals, but no, it's more than that.
As the series progresses, you'll notice how this show can be relatable in our current times. Especially when you came across the scenes showing police brutality. You'll realize it's something that's happening right now, in different parts of the world.
Aside from the pilot, I can proudly say this show's finale was, if not the best, one of the top five endings in the history of anime.
It had a great conclusion and at the same time, it gave the audience room to visualize the events after the heart-stopping runaway final scene.
Characters
Swindler was no doubt, had one of the best character development. Her transformation, not just physically, but also in her attitude, showed how she became tougher and more mature.
Hacker probably did the most help, from opening all the doors in the Shinkansen, getting Courier and Swindler back to reality, saving the twins from the Quantum supercomputer in Kanto, up to shutting down the power in all Kansai.
The best duo was no doubt Hoodlum and Brawler. Their bond was filled with pure trust and respect. /Salute!
The biggest surprise was Doctor, if you think she's the weakest, think harder. But then again, none of them can be called weak. They're all strong in their own field.
The storyboard was impressive, with great fight sequences in almost every episode. It's like this anime's goal was to never let its viewers get bored.
A lot of scenes were really breathtaking...
The one where Cutthroat was being psychotic and trying to kill Swindler was the scariest.
While the part where Courier stopped to take on three battleships was the most dramatically gripping.
And the scene where ordinary citizens rallied and fought back against the Executioners gave me goosebumps. It's a people power revolution.
For the writing of our main character, when she died, I was like: "That's not possible, right? She doesn't have plot armor?" But, as I continued watching, and saw the last Akudama dying as well, for some reason, I didn't feel cheated. Everything felt satisfying, they fulfilled their jobs and didn't have any regrets. That for me was enough to accept their fates.
Artwork / Animation
Production Design was the very first thing you'll notice, cause it's that overwhelming. Mechanical Design was good too, but it's the Character Designs that blew me away. The look for the seven Akudamas was very fitting for their roles.
What I also liked was the fact that even the characters in the background have amazing original designs -- that for me was a sign of dedicated visionaries. They don't just want something typical, they wanted something extraordinary.
For the scene with the best animation... let's just put it this way: Any fight where Brawler was involved, looked amazing.
The opening sequence was also filled with fantastic visuals and ideas, although it had some spoilers regarding each character's destiny.
Music / SoundThe background music was terrific, but what I really want to applaud were the Sound Editing and Mixing. All those sounds in the jaw-dropping fight scenes required plenty of intense work, and the people behind it really did a splendid job. Just take the fight scene between the Akudamas and the gigantic mecha in episode one as an example, and focus on the sounds there. That scene alone was a magnificent work by the sound department.
When it came to the opening and ending themes, sadly I'm not a huge fan. But I somehow understood why those were chosen. I just wished the ending song was purely instrumental. However, in the finale, they used ballad piano music, and I thought it was just perfect.
Episode Ratings- 1 - Se7en - 5
- 2 - Reservoir Dogs - 5
- 3 - Mission: Impossible - 5
- 4 - Speed - 5
- 5 - Dead Man Walking - 4
- 6 - Brother - 5
- 7 - The City of Lost Children - 5
- 8 - Black Rain - 5
- 9 - The Shining - 5
- 10 - Babel - 5
- 11 - War Games - 5
- 12 - Akudama Drive - 5
PS: There were after-credit scenes in episodes 4, 6, 8, 10, and 11.
If you were wondering why the puppets Bunny and Shark flipped sides in the final episode, take note of their attire, you will see Hacker's logo in them:
And if you don't know how the video of an Executioner killing Swindler was recorded... Well, this was just my guess, but the last gift of Hacker seemed to have a camera in the back:
Then after that, the countdown to shutdown Kansai happened:
Lastly, before Swindler's last breath, she was able to have a flash-forward of the twins successfully leaving Kansai. Here's the same shot in the opening sequence with better quality:
「 Series Rating 」
About the Author
An otaku since the mid-90's. I consider Evangelion as the most influential anime. My favorite classic films are Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.
anime review
