| I've long suspected that there's a tremendous supply of delicious story material within the seemingly limitless number of Golgo 13 manga volumes, but I have neither the time nor money to take on yet another hobby. So, I was delighted to learn that a Golgo 13 anime TV series was finally in the works. When Duke's distinctive face first emerged from the darkness of his prison cell, I giggled with delight. This show definitely has an unusual visual style, making use of split screens (at one point four different images were playing, each on 1/4 of the screen), and lots of darkness and shadows--"film noir" is the term that's often used to describe it. It contributes to a feeling of this being a dark, gritty tale of the underside of society. Watching Duke work out a solution to a seemingly impossible ballistics problem was fun; I hope they'll stay original for 50 episodes. I won't claim that this episode was brilliant, but it captures Duke's silent badass attitude admirably. The dialogue could've had more depth; I'd have preferred that over the gratuitous sex and violence at the hotel. Defeating one serious opponent is better than whipping a hundred nameless gunmen, but I suppose Duke's prowess and (lack of) personality has got to be established for first time viewers before moving on. All things considered, my impression was that the series wouldn't reach my highest hopes, but would be fun nevertheless. |
