Sugarless (2012)

"Every time like a soldier."

Directed by Takashi Kubota and written by Hiroyuki Yatsu and Kei Watanabe, Sugarless is a Japanese yanki/delinquent series based on the manga of the same name written by Masami Hosokawa.  Sugarless follows Gaku Shiiba, a freshman at Kushima High School AKA "The Windmill" - named after the windmill which sets atop the main building, but also a symbol of greatness as the strongest fighter of the school displays his name across the windmill signifying themselves as the TOP of Kushima. The current TOP of Windmill is a well-known senior revered by all - the man they call Shake. Shake conquered Kushima in only his first year and has been the TOP of Windmill ever since. While many have tried to overtake him no one has ever come close. Gaku Shiiba enters Kushima and vows to be the first student to defeat Shake and take the TOP for himself. To do so he'll have to contend with powerful rivals such as the leader of Hydra Osamu Urabe, the undefeated first year Shiro Mukai, and the monstrous Taiji Marumo. Shiiba may aim for the TOP of Kushima, but the question is whether or not he'll even survive the journey to get there.

 

"Anytime like a fighter."

If you've read my reviews on Crows Zero, Bad Boys J, or Kamen Teacher then you know I'm a big fan of the yanki/delinquent genre where high schools operate via survival of the fittest and students compete to be the manliest of manly men. These works tend to be filled with BADASS fight scenes and characters often overcoming adversity through strength. When that's the genre in a nutshell you have to ask "how does Sugarless stand out from the pack?" The uniqueness of this series lay in its characters.

A wild dog appears.

Played by Alan Shirahama, Gaku Shiiba is a character who is best summed up in a quote from Mark Twain: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." From the opening scene Shiiba is in way over his head. He's far from being the strongest freshman, he doesn't know the pecking order of the school and quite frankly he doesn't care. In Shiiba's mind he's going to be the TOP of Kushima and he won't stop fighting until he achieves his goal. His determination sets him apart from many of the other characters and serves him well throughout the series as it makes up for his most dire flaw: he can't fight. Unlike his manga counterpart who is a total badass, this take on Gaku Shiiba is a hilariously terrible fighter. Even so, regardless of how many times he's beaten he's never defeated because he never gives up. I found Shiiba's "flavor" of determination to be not only inspiring but humorously underhanded because Shiiba claims he's undefeated. Despite losing pretty much every fight, Shiiba believes he's never been beaten because he's never given up. He makes up for his dearth of physical strength with his strength of character and he inspires many of the students around him. Even Shake comes to view Shiiba as a threat because of his charisma. Shirahama's portrayal of Shiiba paints a much kinder and in some ways more admirable character than his manga counterpart and he humanizes the other characters.

Hail Hydra

Keita Machida plays Osamu Urabe, the leader of Hydra and one of my favorite characters in the series. Urabe is a complex character. Once one of the most powerful fighters, he lost his old gang as well as a his pride. Believing that victory or defeat is decided by numbers, Urabe resolved to make it to the top his way. Rather than relying on his own strength he monopolizes the power of others and overwhelms his enemies with sheer numbers. In only a single month he has amassed the largest gang in Kushima and nearly all of the first year students give him a wide berth. He's an excellent foil to Shiiba because they have different beliefs not only in how a person should fight, but how a person should live.

The Beast

Nobuyuki Suzuki plays Taiji Marumo, the sleeping monster of Kushima. When Shiiba first meets Marumo, Marumo is essentially just meandering without any real purpose. He doesn't aim for the TOP and doesn't really have anything in his life outside of his routine. Of course Taiji Marumo is carrying a huge weight on his shoulders that none of the other characters can really understand and he appears to have good reason for removing himself from the battle against Shake. That is until he meets Shiiba who points out that in hiding his power, Marumo is actually hiding his true self from the world. Shiiba inspires Marumo to live up to his full potential not just in fighting to claim Shake's position, but to be all that he can be. He proves himself to be a fierce fighter and the vanguard of Shiiba's own ever-growing army. Despite being a nice guy his raw power makes him a devastating fighter.

The Undefeated First Year

Reo Sano plays Shiro Mukai the strongest first year at Kushima who currently stands undefeated. Shiro is at odds Shiiba, Marumo, and even Urabe all for different reasons. Contrary to Urabe who believes strength in numbers holds the key to taking the TOP, Shiro believes power can only flourish in solitude. Perhaps even more so than Marumo, Shiro walks the path of a lone wolf and he believes he doesn't need anyone or anything to succeed. When compared to Shiiba, the two are as different as night and day. Shiiba is more hot blooded, tending to act on his emotions and will go out of his way to help others. Shiro is cold, calculating and he would sooner step over someone than help them on his way to the top of Kushima. He sees his goal and nothing else in between and lays waste to his competition with merciless efficiency.

The man they call "SHAKE".

SHOKICHI of the Japanese supergroup EXILE plays Shake, the ruler of Kushima. I feel he was a perfect choice for this role because much like SHOKICHI himself, Shake has a unique allure and is quite charismatic even though he's rarely seen. The students of Kushima both admire and fear Shake and whether they bow to him or challenge him, everyone is drawn to him. He radiates an aura of power and even the toughest students make a path for him when he goes for a walk - assuming they're not paralyzed with fear. Interestingly enough Shake doesn't control the school with an iron fist. Despite being the TOP of Kushima he's easy-going and seems more bored of the students' antics than anything else, but when Shiiba's arrival at Kushima shakes up the status quo (no pun intended), Shake takes a keen interest in him.

Shiro vs Marumo

Any yanki title worth its name has to have badass fight scenes and Sugarless has that in spades. These fights are easily on par with, if not better than the fights in Bad Boys J. These are some fierce knock-down, drag-out fights and even the fights themselves have personality. The battle between Marumo and Shiro stands out because it's not only a fight between the strongest first years, but their personalities could not be anymore different and this can be seen in their attacks. Shiro almost seems dead-set on not only beating Marumo but injuring him as well because to Shiro anything less than a complete victory is unacceptable, while Marumo only wishes to end the battle quickly before Shiro forces him to cut loose. After all Marumo may seem like a gentle giant, but if pushed too far no one can stop him.

Rest in peace K. You are missed.

As you can tell from the fight scenes the music goes a long way in giving each fight a life of its own. Alternative rock group Pay Money to My Pain provides the soundtrack for Sugarless and I felt these tracks really added an emotional weight to almost every scene. I was really impressed by these songs and how well they were used which says a lot because I'm not a fan of alternative rock.

Brave It Out

Of course the series has its flaws. Fans of the manga may take issue with the show as most (if not all) of the events in the drama are different. Shiiba's antics may irritate some viewers and the show does suffer from a mild case of Naruto syndrome - every character is cool but the main one essentially. Some of the episodes do require quite the suspension of disbelief as some developments are absurd even for this genre. For example, Shiiba's friends almost always being in the right place at the right time to bail him out of a jam - even if they were clear across town and had no idea where he was. These flaws aside I found Sugarless to be quite fun to watch and a really BADASS show every action fan should watch.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (2004 - 2005)

Let the die be cast.

Written by Natsuko Takahashi and Tomohiro Yamashita, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is an anime loosely based on the classic French novel  "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. This science fiction themed retelling opens on Luna which is enjoying a carnival. Two childhood friends, Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Épinay, are taking part in the festivities and endeavor to close their evening with a trip to the opera. While there, Albert catches a glimpse of the enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo, a charismatic figure who is the talk of the town and the focal point of many rumors. Some say he isn't actually a count but a ruffian who made it big in outer space, others say he's a conman, some say he's an alien, and there are even talks that he's a vampire or worse yet, something which is neither man nor beast. These rumors and the protests from Franz does little to deter Albert from trying to befriend the Count and when a messenger from the Count himself appeals to Albert for a meeting all seems to be going better than expected. However, it soon becomes apparent that Albert is a pawn in the Count's game of deception, ruin, and revenge.

Let the games begin.

Gankutsuou is quite different from most anime out there. First it's not based on a manga, game, or visual novel, but rather a French novel. The anime is also quite a ways more mature than many anime out there as it mainly emphasizes drama, social and political intrigue, and a fair amount of reflection on how people judge themselves and those who are different from them, as well as dealing with the demons from ones past, and the lengths men will go to for greed, power, and revenge. While it's not exactly action packed it's certainly quite sophisticated and it steps outside the box by centering much of the narrative around a villain protagonist.

The Count contemplates why it's hard being a pimp.

As anyone familiar with the novel is aware, the Count is not a good person. He isn't above using any means to achieve a certain end, whether the means in question include money, influence, or people. And he's not above destroying families if it means fulfilling his objective. Simply put, if the Count is out for revenge he's going to get it. What's especially interesting is how the Count takes revenge on those who have wronged him, often times by using the very things they cherish most to take everything away from them. Also of note is that the Count isn't comically or flamboyantly evil. He's affable, soft spoken, and far more refined than many of the characters who hail from high society. His outer character hides his villainous intent so well even the viewer will find themselves doubting whether or not he's one of the bad guys. Unlike many villains in anime who have cliche reasons behind their heel turn or some Freudian complex behind their villainy, the Count has a very striking background and one heck of a good reason for a heel turn if I ever saw one. I won't spoil it but I will say I found the Count very easy to relate to given his past, but I can't say I felt any similar connection to the other characters.

Franz (left) and Albert (right) The Ambiguously Bland Duo

Albert is the other main character in this anime and at the same-time he's also one of the larger detractors from the story. Albert's character arc is a coming of age story and while that is a fitting position for him to be in on the other side of the coin, Albert seems to only serve to test the viewer's patience. He's very naive in the ways of the world and human nature and while a certain level of ignorance among society's upper crust is to be expected, one would never think Albert could be this unwise in the ways of the world given how much he travels and how often he parties. We start to understand why this is as Albert is the type who seems to be unable to learn many of life's lessons. For example, Albert gets kidnapped on Luna because he wanted to have a fling with a girl who had "easy" and "trouble" written all over her. After Albert is rescued and Franz advises them to leave Luna, Albert protests because he already made plans to make a second attempt at a fling with the same girl. Eventually, Albert does start to show some signs of maturity but the anime is roughly three-quarters over by the time that happens and it was far too late for Albert to enter my good graces after he had fallen out by the fifth episode.

Franz is there to balance out Albert's immaturity but he doesn't do this by being wiser or more learned in the ways of the world, rather he is simply more prejudice in nature than Albert. In essence Franz doesn't assert himself as a better person but is at the opposite extreme of Albert's disposition towards others. Whereas Albert will trust anyone and befriend anyone naive though it is, Franz does not trust anyone different from him and if an individual is outside Franz's social class he regards them with prejudice and outright disdain given his interactions with the Count. Long before it becomes apparent that the Count is a villainous sort, Franz clearly disliked him because the Count was different from him. Albert actually called Franz out for this. Our heroine isn't exactly endearing either.

If Eugenie was your fiancee you wouldn't want to marry her either.

At the risk of exciting the feminist crowd I'm going to be blunt and say Eugenie's character is defined entirely by her mood swings and I'm just as upset as you are. When we first meet Eugenie she's yelling at Albert and deriding him for being friends with someone outside their class i.e. the Count who she wrote off as a conman before she even met him. And then when Albert points out that she shouldn't judge someone without knowing them (rightfully so Albert), Eugenie calls Albert naive. And while it's true he is, she labels him this only to justify her own prejudice of the Count which is quite a despicable character trait to have. When Albert ignores her she gets angry and acts passive-aggressive and when Albert does respond to her taunts she regards him as a child. While she could have the classic dog syndrome (she bites him because she likes him) it doesn't come across that way as Albert seems to be infuriated by her behavior and finds her less endearing than the viewer does.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

When Eugenie and Albert do fall in love with one another it not only comes from left field but one wonders from where did these emotions magically come about. I've seen this anime more than a few times and I still don't see how these characters got together outside the fact that they had to because the narrative says so. When Eugenie's father ends her engagement with Albert and Eugenie is outraged, her own father asks, "Why are you upset? You didn't want to marry Albert in the first place." Eugenie counters with a solid "You don't understand at all" and it's just left laying there. Now with all these characters I can only tolerate you'd think I wouldn't have too many good things to say, but much like the novel Gankutsuou succeeds at building a striking drama because even though not all the characters are endearing, the cast is rather large and there is so much suspense, backstabbing, and intrigue that kept me riveted especially because the characters are affected in different ways by the developments within the story.

Money In the Bank

As mentioned before the Count will often use a person's most cherish possession to destroy them but the action thereof and the result therefrom will affect a character in different ways. Baron Jullian Danglars for example often has his mind on his money and his money on his mind. When the Count targets his financial well-being it remains Baron Danglars sole focus, eventually becoming his obsession and his actions to hold onto as much of his wealth as possible causes him to not only neglect his family but take actions which actually bring his family to ruin.

Chaos is fair.

Eyes honed on revenge rarely see anything else and the Count is not above harming even the people who love him if it means bringing about the downfall of his enemies. I feel that this pathology is fascinating because not only is it very telling of the type of person the Count is, but it also gives the drama weight and leads the viewer to ask what could this character have possibly endured to make him go so far. The actions of the Count affects so many characters, building a believable drama that kept me watching. While the dialogue between some characters can sound melodramatic at times the script is solid overall with some very powerful lines delivered by the Count in particular.

Gankutsuou: King of the Caverns

"I am no longer alone in abject solitude. For I am surrounded by the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance. In the darkness, I awaited the dawn. And once dawn came, I cursed my flesh until night fell once more. I even prayed that I would lose my sanity. But those prayers went unheeded. I strove for death, but the Devil’s cold, pitiless hand held me back".

The score is impeccable, featuring several classical pieces as well as some which have been altered for the anime. Additional music has been provided by Jean-Jacques Burnel of English punk rock band The Stranglers. It doesn't sound at all out of place and it fits the setting really well. The animation itself is absolutely stellar which has numerous jaw-dropping backgrounds and some unique character designs. According to Wikipiedia: "Gankutsuou's unusual visual style layers Photoshop textures into digital animation, with backgrounds often rendered in 3D."

The Count and Haydee

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo won't appeal to everyone. As previously mentioned the anime has little in the way of action as it's almost entirely dedicated to drama. There are a few violent encounters between various characters but if you're expecting action in a traditional sense you won't find it here. Also, how the Count comes into possession of an nigh endless number of resources to destroy his enemies is a bit perplexing as it's never explained. The futuristic science fiction setting may also be a turn off for traditionalists who enjoyed the original novel. I'm a traditionalist myself but I still found this anime very satisfying because even though liberties were taken the drama remains authentic. Brilliant performances from the Count's Japanese and English voice actors kept me hanging on his every word. While I didn't care for all the characters, the soap opera esque content of the anime made me invest my full attention into this series. A mature anime for a sophisticated audience, I thoroughly enjoyed this take on a classic novel.