Skarvalin

No Guns Life shines brighter than most of its surrounding competition thanks to its central themes of corruption and dehumanization, strengthened by it’s gritty noir style. But the execution casts a strong shadow on the whole show, loaded with mediocrity. It has a good foundation to improve from though. Most of the first season is dedicated to world-building and does so with modestly good results. But it often felt like it went all over the place and never really resolved many of the plot threads that it had built up. The characters especially took a bullet due to this. Most of them were blander than stalebread because of how severely lacking their development is as of now. Our main protagonist Inui Juuzou is an Over-Extended and former gun slave unit that was used during a war. His backstory from that time is only mentioned briefly, teasing you to keep watching and find out more later. Other characters fall into this as well, which is quite frustrating since besides their backstories they have almost nothing going for them. They are at least not painfully generic like many of the villains turn out to be, who basically scream in your face about how evil they are. Though they only become a hurdle when the story needs them to be. What ended up making me stay throughout its entire runtime was the same reason I picked this show up in the first place, it’s aesthetic. The bleak and gritty dystopian future the show throws you into is very refreshing. It’s heavily noir inspired which is something one rarely sees these days but I would gladly see more of. Aesthetics aside, the visuals are alright for the most part. There's a heavy use of CGI but it blends in with it's 2D counterpart enough to not become too distracting. Character movement was solid most of the time and they were very consistently on model throughout. The action scenes were the visual highlight and were pretty fast-paced and enjoyable. The CGI is also implemented well here and at times used to the show's advantage. The noir style was amplified thanks to the smooth jazz soundtrack that really helped give the show it’s own identity. I can't say it did a lot for me emotionally, but was overall pretty decent for what it was. I feel pretty much the same way about the voice acting which was also decent and fitting to the characters personality. Not any outstanding performances but they did their job well and made the characters feel more real, aside from some of the villains that just sounded ridiculous. But overall I can't say I'm satisfied at all when the characters and story haven't been properly fleshed out. I think the most harmful problem was the lack of story and character progression which makes it hard to recommend. If it’s style is not enough to make up for it then I can see many finding this quite dull. However, at the end of the day, I think it’s at least worth a shot.

Stark700

Walking down the dark metropolis is a man with a gun head. A man without conviction. A man filled with righteous. A man with unrivaled pride in his work. From the cyberpunk world where cyborgs exists, this man is a private detective and resolves to rid of it of corruption. He is Juzo Inui, a gun head who is here to help the helpless. Mangaka Tasku Karasuma is not fairly well known to most audiences although some of his work incorporates the usage of futuristic worlds and science fiction. No Guns Life is no exception as we are introduced to a cyberpunk setting. Humans are nowcyborgs and are called “Extended”. Crime is rampant and on the loose in the city. With such technology, you can just imagine how chaotic society has become. Juzo is an Extended problem solver who relies on his mental and physical skills to deal with other Extended. From the very beginning, the audience should pay full attention to Juzo’s character behavior. Despite being an Extended, he has the personality of a private detective and always seeks to complete his tasks for the right price. With the motto of “wipe your own ass”, Juzo prefers to work alone and isn’t afraid to take big risks. From a personal perspective, Juzo is not just the poster boy of No Guns Life but also a symbol. He is a symbol for people to take their own responsibility for their actions. Now I won’t deny No Guns Life is somewhat of a niche anime. Even as a paranormal detective show, the anime leans more into sci-fi and action. The story flows with each episode introducing ongoing problems in a city and corruption. We also meet characters who Juzo associates with including Mary Steinberg and Tetsuro Arahbaki. These two collaborates together with Juzo although they also have their own personal goals. (for instance, Mary hopes to reunite with her brother) Nonetheless, Juzo acts as more of an anti-hero throughout the series. Even though he performs heroic deeds, he’s also a mercenary who takes cases for money. For the right price, Juzo does his job regardless how difficult it may be. But on some occasions, he also helps the Extended in need with his own conviction. In essence, he helps the helpless and comes across as a fairly reasonable man. Some associates occasionally assists him in his tasks although the main course of his job is undertaken by the gunhead himself. Speaking of which, how likeable are the other characters? The bottom line is that Juzo overshadows them but they do possesses unique roles in the show. Mary works as a mechanic and is important to his well-being. Tetsuro has an ability to control other Extended’s bodies making an invaluable asset. Even Olivier Vandeberme, a law enforcer, provides freedom for Juzo so he can work without disturbance. The fact is, these characters are important to the core of the show and without them, Juzo would have a harder time to achieve his goals. But an important question remains. What is your goal for watching No Guns Life? What are you hoping to get out of this science fiction story taking place in this deluded cyberpunk world? It’s ambiguous question because No Guns Life is an unconventional show with its own identity. Sometimes, you have to wonder what the author wanted you to experience. Juzo, the gun head reminds us how the potentials of Extended and their limitations. I mean, isn’t it funny how he can’t actually fire the augmented gun on his head without assistance? In fact, many Extended in the series carries some sort of burden in the aftermath of the great war. A major social issue relating to poverty also exists as some Extended resorts of violence to survive. On the other hand, we have mega corporations such as Behruen, standing as a symbol of power and bureaucracy. It reminds of the old classic 1987 Robocop where futuristic technological inventions are treated differently than others. Crime remains a major issue in the story as Juzo deals with corruption. He finds out the hard way after facing off against rogue cyborg Gondry, the very first Extended. Standing out as a powerful individual but also victimized by the result of the war, Gondry is a poster boy of experimentation. An arc dealing with him is one of the climatic clashes exploring the ethnics of technology. And to be honest, I think it’s one of the highlights in this season. Meanwhile, No Guns Life also gains support for eliciting emotional appeal to the audience. Characters such as Olivier has their own motivations and in one of the later episodes, we find out her purpose in the story. If you made it this far, then I can say it’s safe that you’ll be staying the rest of the way. Serving as a celebration of Madhouse’s creative works, No Guns Life has distinctive elements in its artwork. The dark and noir-style backgrounds inspire a cyberpunk look for the main setting. Most noticeably, the backgrounds are animated with the Unreal Engine to make them as polished as they can be. By rendering the visuals and fuse them with the character models, it makes both parts stand out sharply. It’s not too often we get to see a game engine being used for an animated series so perhaps this opens doors more to future projects of similar nature. The Extended are also decorative with unique augmentations and modifications to the body, so much that you’ll see them more than regular humans. Characters that stand out the most includes Juzo, Gondry, and perhaps Olivier. Their character expressions sell a variety of human behavior ranging from comical, emotional, and diabolical. And if you’re in for some light comedy, there’s that too. Character interactions sometimes goofs around with their cartoony expressions. Then, there are also light jokes thrown around that pokes fun at technological themes with dry humor. We can’t also ignore how often Juzo needs help to fire his own gun, can we? No Guns Life is a unique piece of work with its own identity. As someone who has read the manga, it’s easy to get used to even if you’re not familiar with its ideas. The more I watched No Guns Life, the easier it became to understand what the author wanted to show us. Trust me, go watch No Guns Life and experience a hallmark of unorthodox beauty.