Skull Man

Title:Skull Man
The Skull Man
スカルマン
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , ,
Notables: R1 Distributor - Section23 Films (ADV)
R1 License - Sentai Filmworks (ADV)
R1 License - Subtitled Only
Skull Man centers on Tatsuo Kagura, a man who early in his life was subjected to several mutating experiments which give him amazing powers and skills, but at the cost of looks and perhaps his humanity. Longing for revenge for the murder of his parents, he assumes the persona of Skull Man, a shadowy crusader who battles The Syndicate and its evil leader Rasputin.

(Summary from Wikipedia)

Animation by Bones.
13 TV Episodes.

OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 8 6 6 8 8 Ggultra2764 [series:1626#1552]
I almost chose to dump Skull Man special thanks to the character designs, moments of humor and music. If it weren't for the engaging complex mystery revolving around Skull Man and the mutants causing killings throughout Otomo City, I likely would have dumped this title much earlier on. Before I get to the positives, let me get to the negatives. The character designs are a big one as your mileage will vary on the old-school look they have with their simplistic detail and lining, a homage to Shotaro Ishinomori's earliest work on the manga adaptation of the series in 1970. After a few episodes, I did get used to how the characters looked though. In many instances, the musical choices and moments of humor used to detract from the dark content in the series are hit-or-miss with their timing which does effect the mood of the series.

Now onto the positives. The series has enough twists in its developing mystery of the activities within Otomo that are explored by Hayato and his young partner Kiriko. Several parties with their own agendas are connected to a string of nightly murders occurring throughout the city with their connections, views and histories revealed as the show progresses. Even individual characters have their own secrets and backgrounds that the series hints about and slowly unveil throughout the show's run. The finale will be a shocker for the old-school crowd if they are familiar with any of Ishinomori's earlier work regarding the outcome of a major character.

If you can get past the old-school looking character designs and hit-or-miss timing of musical selections and comedy relief, The Skull Man offers an engaging and complex mystery that will keep you hooked on the series from start to finish.

Last updated Wednesday, May 26 2010. Created Wednesday, May 26 2010.

Other Sites
NameURL
Japanese Series Web Site http://www.skullman.jp/
Wikipedia Entry for this series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skullman

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