Anime/Manga Gangsta.

[derozio]

Gangsta.​

Synopsis:
In the city of Ergastulum, a shady ville filled with made men and petty thieves, whores on the make and cops on the take, there are some deeds too dirty for even its jaded inhabitants to touch. Enter the "Handymen," Nic and Worick, who take care of the jobs no one else will handle. Until the day when a cop they know on the force requests their help in taking down a new gang muscling in on the territory of a top Mafia family. It seems like business (and mayhem) as usual, but the Handymen are about to find that this job is a lot more than they bargained for.​

Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Airing
Aired: Jul 2, 2015 to Sep 17, 2015
Producers: Manglobe, Funimation
Genres: Action, Drama, Seinen
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)​

It looks like a dark and gritty show. I have the first episode just ready to be seen. Will report back with my impressions once I'm done with it. What about you guys? Anyone got any plans to follow this one? :3

​

 

[Kenchiin]

This is the show I have been waiting for. I am really excited! It will be out in 4 days! :D

 

[derozio]

What? The first episode is already out lol. And it was just like I expected it to be! Awesome!

Dat OP doe. So friggin sexy. I'll write a proper impressions post tomorrow. 3am nao. But yeah, go watch it asap kenchiin!!

 

[Sonata]

That OP was nice, the first episode wasn't bad either. The first half of the episode was pretty much uneventful and unexciting but that's to be expected. Wait and see what the next episode brings.

 

[Kenchiin]

Oh damn, I was looking at the wrong place, on my way!

 

[Bounsweet]

This is one of the few shows I'm looking forward to this season, didn't realize the first episode had already aired, I'll have to check it out!

 

[bill flibby]

I only just found out about this one today, watched the trailer and I'm stoked about this one already. Going to watch it as soon as I get home from work and can stop being responsible :D

 

[derozio]

Oh damn, I was looking at the wrong place, on my way!

This is one of the few shows I'm looking forward to this season, didn't realize the first episode had already aired, I'll have to check it out!

I only just found out about this one today, watched the trailer and I'm stoked about this one already. Going to watch it as soon as I get home from work and can stop being responsible :D

You three need to get on with it. Watch it asap, people! And c'here with your impressions once done! :D

Anyway, impressions from first episode:
Definitely not your average anime - much darker and grittier. The art seems a little rough and it suits the show imo. Animation was a little choppy but smart choreography and good direction prevented it from making it look very awkward. Even during the fight scenes.

But yeah, getting back to its dark tones - I literally can't watch this show around my family lol. That aside, I really like the world it has managed to portray so far. We haven't been shown much but we already know that the world in Gangsta. isn't the ideal crime-free place you usually live in - the place is brimming with prostitution, murder, gang-wars and whatnot. The initial section of the episode, although slow paced, does a good job of depicting these aspects of its world and establishing it. Second section is where shit hits the fan and we get some action. I can't say I was a fan of the fights - what with them being very choppy for my taste - but there were a few really cool moments in there. One moment in particular that highlighted our MC's sole "handicap" to a degree. Good stuff.

Coming to the "handicap" itself - Probably the first time I'm watch an anime with a deaf MC. I'm excited. He can speak but does it in a slightly broken manner - fitting since for him to be able to speak clearly, he'd have to have heard stuff clearly. Which he can't. So the broken speech comes off as a nice touch to underline his character trait. Also, it sounds unbelievably cool when he does it too. <3 Dat kick omg. So fucking boss. :DDD

Alex. I fucking love Alex. She's beautiful. I like both her design and the kind of character she is. Here's to hope she does some badass stuff in the upcoming episodes. She's suffered quite a lot and I definitely wouldn't like it if she ends up being treated like a third wheel and doesn't get her time to shine. That'd suck.

The other eyepatch'd dude. He's pretty cool too. Liking him quite a bit so far. Seems like a very stylish person. And, going by what I read in the second chapter of the series, it fits too.

Very, very curious about the "dogtags". Wonder what they're all about? Either way, seems like a top anime contender for now. But it is too early to say anything. Just the first episode, after all. High hopes, though!

 

[Crizzle]

I saw the first episode. It was decent. About what I expected it to be.
I prefer the manga but I'll keep watching.

 

[Kenchiin]

Sorry for the delay! ~~~

Anyhow, I loved the first episode! Some comments on spoiler due to spoilers :P

Spoiler:

It took me five seconds to notice that Wallace's seiyuu is Archer from FSN. Sugoiinyan~~~

I didn't notice Nicolas was deaf until he made a signal. That explains why he wasn't picking up the phone! lol!
Good action scenes, I wish we had a little bit more gorish stuff, but it's not really something necessary.

And now the girl who used to sell her body is the secretary! That's what I call a promotion!

I didn't get what is so amazing about the 'tags'. I hope they explain a little further later what's the whole thing about.

 

[Dter ic]

The OP is ok, has a eelctro feel to it which was not quite what I was expecting considering the more gritty nature of the show. Like Kenchiin, I noticed Wallace's voice being the same as Archer's which is pretty cool. The more interesting parts happened in the second half - Nicholas was badass as fk, though I expect more detail on the whole tags thing. My only wish is that Alex doesn't end up being sidelined like Lisa was in Zankyou no Terror.

 

[derozio]

Episode 2:
Sooooo, they just shed some more light on the tags and how they are ordered in ranks. Still, no proper explanation about where they're from or who started using them first or anything. :p

Either way, I read a bit of second chapter from the manga and I was surprised to find out that they'd gone ahead and skipped a big portion of the second chapter - Nick's and Worrick's backstory. Also, the kawaii small chick's "I thought she was Worrick's..." comment would've made sense had we seen that part of the chapter that got skipped over. Maybe they're just rearranging things. Because I'd hate to see it get skipped over. Talking about their backstories will give them more depth and letting us know about things like *what that chick meant when she said the dialogue above (since the implication of the statement is important here)* helps in characterization of the characters.

Either way, we see a duel. And the fight was good stuff. It was brutal and well done - just the way I like it. :D Alex's reaction to it felt very natural. Also, loved how she's using her charms to their assistance. <3; Alex besto grill. <333

Looking forward to the next episode and the appearance of more people - want to see who those silhouetted people were at the end. :3

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I read some people saying Nina sounds like HanaKana.
How can someone have such a bad hearing? =D It was the Aoiest Aoi there is =D

 

[Chikara]

Can't wait to be back, this one is my kinda show. There wasn't much seriousness last season, so this'll be a nice change :)

 

[Kenchiin]

#2

Another great episode has been delivered to us!
I will just point something out: The female cast is really pathetic...

Spoiler:

Hopefully, as we could see one of the shadows of a killer girl, this will change later :)
It's not that I have a problem with Alex, but her character it's kinda lame out from her main story...

I'm not even gonna talk about Nina.

 

[donavannj]

#2

Another great episode has been delivered to us!
I will just point something out: The female cast is really pathetic...

Spoiler:

Hopefully, as we could see one of the shadows of a killer girl, this will change later :)
It's not that I have a problem with Alex, but her character it's kinda lame out from her main story...

I'm not even gonna talk about Nina.

Spoiler:

Strong female character is definitely missing. Focusing too much on the badass male lead duo.

Here's hoping we have a strong female character that's fun.

 

[derozio]

I don't know, people. I don't exactly see anything wrong with Alex's portrayal. As for the other kid, we haven't even seen much of her to comment on her or anything. Don't see where the complaints are coming from.

Sure, we definitely haven't seen any character that remotely resembles, say, Motoko Kusanagi or Balsa Yonsa, but seeing as how even the OP concentrates more on Nick running around and the other dude looking cool than the measly few seconds of screen time Alex gets in there, I don't think it is realistic to expect what you people have been expecting. I just knew this show will concentrate more on the main duo more than anything.

Still, it has just been two episodes. Things can still definitely change for Alex, if not for any other character.

That reminds me. There's still one chick yet to be introduced (not one of the shadows. She's present in the OP. Oh, and she's the blonde chick in the first post. In the middle). She might just be that character.

 

[Kenchiin]

It's just a small flaw I noticed, they will surely fix it in upcoming episodes.

 

[MrDrPants]

The first two episodes blew my mind.
The grungy, dark atmosphere really helped the characters pop.
I'm dying to know what the tags are and why they have enhanced powers.
Maybe they're the byproduct of human-experimentation?
Maybe they're mutants from birth. Who knows?

I can see where you're coming from with the comments about Alex and the lack of a prominent female role.
However, not every show is required to have one.
I think this is going to develop into a story about Nick and the Tags in general.
I can't complain about that if it happens though.
He is a vastly intriguing character with a shit ton of mystery behind him.

I can't wait for episode 3. ❤️

 

[Kenchiin]

#3

Aha! This was not an action-packed episode, but we did have a lot of character development.

Spoiler:

WORICK IS A GIGOLO. LOL. Best character ever. Defying all logic of tabu topics, I loved it.

The flashback was confusing. I didn't re-watch it, but it showed somehow Nico killing someone (or he seems to be Nico) but it was Worick's memory, so makes no sense to me. If I remember correctly he was crying for his dad...?
I didn't expect this plot and character development slapping my face in episode 3, it was well received.

And I think I'm starting to like Alex (even though I'm still waiting for a strong female character to kick some ass).