Gangsta. Review – It Sucks There’ll Never be a Second Season (Anime)
Gangsta. looked interesting when it began airing as part of 2015’s Summer season, but I failed to make time for it. Despite studio Manglobe, sadly, going under with Gangsta. as their last work, I’m thankful to the series for getting me interested in the on-going manga.
Worick and Nicolas are known as “handymen” who take on dangerous, bloody jobs on behalf of both the police and the mob because nobody else is able to handle it. Worick has known Nic since his youth, where Nic was hired to protect Worick who is one son of a wealthy family. When Nic murders Worick’s family, they run away and become close friends who work together as the handymen. Nic is known as a “twilight” and he has superhuman powers. He’s currently ranked as one of the highest known twilight with an A/0 rank, despite his handicap of being deaf.
If anime is supposed to be an advertisement for its source material, then Gangsta. has fulfilled its purpose.
Gangsta. is very violent, but much of the violence happens off-screen. There’s still a lot of blood though, so I wouldn’t recommend this to anybody who’s a bit squeamish. Gangsta. has one glaring issue that makes this a hard recommendation, though — it’s never getting a second season. That wouldn’t sting quite so much if it wasn’t for the fact that so many plot lines are started in the last couple episodes and left unresolved, and there’s a cliffhanger ending which is begging to be explored.
Sure, you can check out the manga (and I will), but not everybody reads manga. Anime is easier and quicker to digest, and it’s a shame that we’ll never see this story continued via anime. I watched all 12 episodes in a day though, and I’ve not done that for a long time. I still enjoyed it despite knowing it’d never get a continuation, and it wasn’t a waste of my time as it got me interested in checking out the source material. If anime is supposed to be an advertisement for its source material, then Gangsta. has fulfilled its purpose.
Gangsta. is clearly set in a European country (my guess is Italy, but it’s set in the fictional town of Ergastalum), and so this has already helped it to stand apart from its peers. It looks lovely and its visuals played a huge role in how it gripped me so easily. It’s cast is predominantly made up of adults, and it’s an anime which is clearly aimed at an older crowd. Manglobe have always put out stunning anime and Gangsta. is no exception, and seeing the world that they’ve brought to life is impressive.
I’m a little shocked that this one got dubbed, especially due to Manglobe going bankrupt in 2015, but there’s an English dub here and it’s wonderfully befitting of the anime’s characters and locales. Ian Sinclair and Felecia Angelle voice Worick and ex-prostitute Alex with such enthusiasm that it’s refreshing, especially as they likely already know they wouldn’t be reprising these roles. They played a huge role in my love for this anime, though.
Brandon Potter voices Nicolas, who is deaf, and does a tasteful job of it. I imagine he must’ve worn a mouth piece or something, and I was worried about how it would turn out, but I was left pleasantly surprised. It’s a solid dub all around, and one I wish would return. The soundtrack is equally as sublime, and one that I’m eager to listen to. The opening and ending themes are splendid, sure, but it’s the background music that really peaked my interest.
Masterful piano and string performances capture the emotion of Gangsta., and I can feel the composer’s and artist’s passion in their music. There’re a lot of solemn and soothing tracks mixed in with the adrenaline-fueled action tracks, and Gangsta.’s soundtrack has quickly become one of my favourites.
Superb, and one of Manglobe’s finest efforts.
Is it worth watching Gangsta., despite it’s cliffhanger ending and lack of a second season? I’m going to say yes, because it intrigued me enough to convince me to check out the manga. You could just start with the manga, sure, but if you need a little push, then you should check out the anime. It’s superb, and one of Manglobe’s finest efforts.
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