Ladies & Gentlemen, we’ve finally arrived at the station. The train has stopped, and all of the passengers that we’ve met over the past couple months have gotten off, and are heading elsewhere. However, there’s one passenger sitting right in the back, in a corner of the compartment where few people can see him, and he seems to be a brooding sort of fellow. Before he’s gets off, let’s talk to the one known as Wounded Man, and see what he has to offer this marathon of reviews.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Yuko Kusaka is a Japanese journalist sent to Brazil to do a report on the gold rush phenomenon that seems to be making many people rich from night to day. Rumors say that among the many "garimpeiros" (gold diggers) currently on the Amazon forest, there is a Japanese known as Rio Baraki. Reaching their destination, her crew member is promptly attacked and she is raped as a warning to stop their work and return immediately to their home country. Determined to do her job, she stays and finds out from the attacker that he is none other than Baraki, a white haired muscular man with a large scar on his back. Later she discovers that his real name is Keisuke Ibaraki. Once a promising quarterback, he ended up falsely incriminated by a powerful organization known as GPX.”
Despite looking like a goofy premise, Wounded Man is much more serious than it looks. A very intense noir vibe surrounds the whole thing, as betrayal, tragedy, death, and love come up rather frequently. It feels rather cliched, but I think the series knows that it’s cliched.
Setting
Wounded Man is split up into two areas, Brazil & Japan. The Brazilian portions take up most of episodes 1 & 2, and they look as you’d expect. There’s jungles, villages, gold mines, and rivers to navigate. The rest of the show (And two a certain extent, Episode 2) plays out in Japan. The portions in Japan are also how’d you expect them to be: Skyscrapers, bars, mansion estates, cop stations, etc. I much preferred the portions in Brazil, as that’s a country you don’t often see in anime (Except perhaps, Hetalia).
Characters
Tragically, this series shares the same problem as Windaria did this past Monday, and that’s the characters aren’t the strongest point. This time around, though, they aren’t as weak as the ones in Windaria were: there is an attempt at giving the character’s some depth & emotion, there is an attempt at giving the characters some kind of background, and there is an attempt at getting the viewer to sympathize with them. I definitely liked the characters in Wounded Man more than in Windaria, despite some of the characters in that movie having more charm than some of the characters in this.
Animation
Curiously, this show reminded me very much of Golgo 13: The Professional in terms of animation. Everything looks very similar to that movie: from the characters, to the backgrounds, to the locales, it all looks like Golgo 13. About the only difference between the two series is that Wounded Man seems a little rougher looking. It’s not ugly, but it looks more jagged than the previously mention show, and the colors seems faded, albeit just a little. Other than that, it looks fine.
Voice Acting
Since this was never released in the United States, this has no dub.
Episodes & Episode Length
Wounded Man is perhaps the longest of the shows I’ve reviewed during this marathon. Composed of 5 episodes (Each of which run a little over a half-hour), this series feels quite substantial for it’s size. Makes sure you watch this one at night, as there’s a lot of content that’s not suitable for kids (Lots of blood, and lots of sex (Both consensual & non-consensual)).
Availability & Pricing
Wounded Man is the most curious in terms of it’s availability. The show itself was never released in the United States, so I don’t know how available it is over in Japan, nor do I not know how much it costs at the moment. However, the manga of Wounded Man was released here, although it was years ago. Luckily, the price for it (The 1st volume, at least) starts at about 10 dollars for a new copy, which is fair if you ask me.
If you want to download this show, the click on the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?p=3267
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
Wounded Man was an interesting watch. It has is fair share of problems (mainly not coming out in the states), but there’s a good show underneath it all. If you like a shows that’s gritty, but doesn’t take itself too seriously, then give this one a go.
Wounded Man gets a 7 to 7.5 out of 10.
See you all sometime tomorrow, when I’ll give you a heads up as to what I have planned for the rest of the year. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Sorry about posting this later than usual. The weather around my place wasn’t the best, and I was helping out my Mother with a project. Also, not only is October the home of Halloween, but it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness month. Since I am a big fan of the booby, I thought I might spread the info around. With that said, here are two links to check out (One entertaining, one informative):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11749876/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer_awareness
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