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Bus Gamer - Anime Review

August 1st 2008 22:58
Bus Gamer - Anime Review



Information:





Studio: Studio Izena
Length: 3 Episodes
Year: 2008
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery


Synopsis:



Three people with one thing in common are chosen to represent a company in something called a "Business Game", where the prize is money. In the invitation there is one particular sentence in a small, fine print: "Furthermore, we are unable to guarantee the safety of the participants in the slightest."


Review:



Bus Gamer offers great potential, but brings viewers no satisfaction due to the complications associated with its short length, mainly little flow and little depth. This should be considered more of a "preview" and not a series in itself.


Perhaps that is to be expected - after all, this series never finished in Japan and there wasn't much to work with from the original manga. Why would someone proceed to create a series from this, then? Because of the popularity of the author's other work, Saiyuki.

The very start of the first episode seemed to promise everything: action, comedy, uniqueness with its storyline. But that is slashed in the middle to the end of the first episode, where Bus Gamer's appeal factor just drops.

Unfortunately, the animation studio fails to attempt to continue the storyline brought by the manga; instead of presenting a series probably exploring the greed of humans for money or about how business corporations merely use others for their amusement/pawns, Bus Gamer comes as flat and uninteresting (except for its battle sequences, which are really not that worth it).


Instead of developing the storyline, Bus Gamer jumps from one battle, to another, to another. Viewers do not even know which battle takes place - the series jumps from the first to the sixth (which you find out at the end of the sixth battle), and then to some unknown number. The results of each battle are predictable and the same, although the animation studio does throw in a few twists to keep the viewer (ever so slightly) amused during the battle sequence. That's all the series consists of - battles with a little bit of humor injected into them. After the first episode, none of the storyline is explained, leaving viewers with the notion that hey, maybe the company CEOs truly just waste their money on pitting pitiful fools who wish to acquire it in a game.

The series also leaves one wondering, "What about the people's pasts?" After all, in the first episode one is introduced to the idea that Saitou, Nakajou, and Toki did not list a reason for wanting the $1 billion prize. However, these are only alluded to in tiny snippets of video, never fully explained. This adds to the mystery factor, but Toki's past managed to garner much more screentime than the others, with no apparent reason.

The characters attempt to bring out the series, and though they are interesting and unique, they remain static throughout and seem contradictory at times. Toki and Nakajou seem quite similar, not allowing the fact that they might actually care about others to show and seeming cold and harsh at times. However, Saitou is supposed to be the opposite, and though he puts on a polite and happy face, he seems to be the most diabolical of the group. For example, (warning, spoiler) he shoots another man, smiles, and then seems to worry more about the gun than the man. A few seconds later, he asks if the man is dead.

Music and sound wise, Bus Gamer is at best average. I cannot even remember the opening theme except for the "Chu chu du du" at the beginning and the fact that it evokes a sense of old time music, such as "Cha la Head Cha La" from Dragon Ball Z. The ending gives almost the same atmosphere, although the singer sounds stranger in the ending than the opening.


Character voices, especially Saitou's, fit, but there is nothing special to be found in this area.

Perhaps one of the saving graces of Bus Gamer is its animation, where the unique art style immediately catches one's attention. In spite of this, the characters look a little flat, and the fight scenes do not bring much justice to the series, even though they seem somewhat exciting the first time through.

Grade: D (plus) - May be good enough to satisfy the people looking for some action, in the end, I can't say it is worth the while. Not even for them.
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