|
Post by Lyss on Oct 21, 2010 16:43:18 GMT -5
DOGS Bullets and Carnage Animanga Review The DOGS Bullets and Carnage manga/four episode OVA are a prequel to the ongoing series DOGS. The manga contains six chapters, and the aforementioned anime contains four episodes. Each episode/chapter revolves around a particular character.
Total Episodes: 4 Total Volumes: 1
The first chapter, “Weepy Old Killer”, introduces Mihai Mihaerrof, a former assassin/hitman who must confront someone from his past, specifically the son of a mob boss whom he had tutored. This boy, Ian, killed Mihai’s lover, Milena (who, notably, was a prostitute). The chapter reaches its high during the final argument between Mihai and Ian. The first episode of the anime adapts this chapter very well, sticking with everything to the letter. As far as I can remember, there were no additions or subtractions based on the manga. Everything was followed very well. The second chapter, “Gun Smoker”, introduces Badou Nails, a chain smoker and a freelance journalist/photographer. I believe he also sells information for money, making him an informant, although I might be mixing up my animanga a bit. Badou takes a rather convicting photograph of a mob boss, causing him to become a wanted man by the rest of the mob. He is saved by Mihai and later on singlehandedly defeats the mob boss’s army simply because he lacks nicotine. (Take Badou’s cigarettes away and you die.) The anime adaption handled this very well.
Chapters three and four, Blade Maiden Part One and its Sequel, centres on Fuyumine Naoto, a sword-wielding young woman who seeks revenge for her parents. As a young girl, an assassin murdered her mother and father, and branded her with an X marking on her chest. She was saved by an elder swordsman who she begins to consider her father. Later on, she finds out that she was named after the assassin who killed her parents – “Naoto”. The anime combines these two chapters into one episode, episode three, entitled “Blade Maiden”. The adaptation of Naoto’s story is done quite well, just as the other episodes were. In the last two chapters of the manga, five and six, entitled Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark Part One and its Sequel, the main character is Haine Rammsteiner, an albino man who was experimented on and genetically altered. He rescues a fourteen year old girl with wings from two men who would have forced her to become a prostitute. The head of the brothel hears of this and sends men to kidnap her. The anime also compounds this into one episode, the fourth and last one. There is one small alteration in the way they kidnap the girl (whose name, we find out later, is Nill), but this is so minor it can go unmentioned.
The setting is obviously post-apocalyptic. Genetic manipulation, violence, crime, and other cruel things have become rather common and almost an aspect of everyday life. All the characters (Naoto, Mihai, Badou, and Haine) are antiheroes, a refreshing change from the stereotypical goodie-two-shoes that tend to dominate the protagonist role. In fact, many of the characters (even “good” ones) were involved in crime, violence, and underground groups at some point in their lives. From what I remember, Nill is really the only truly “good” character, and is the only woman/girl Haine is not afraid of. (He has gynophobia.) The animanga is more mature than most others, in the range of Wolf’s Rain, mostly because of the genre, “seinen”, for men, which WR is also a part of. There are many German influences, particularly in characters’ names, and this is even more prominent in DOGS.
The animation overall is a tad choppy in some places, but otherwise good. The adaptation is very well-done – I was quite pleased with the way they followed the manga. The only thing I’ll really nitpick at is the fact that Nill has a seiyuu, when she is mute – but perhaps it had to be done. Said seiyuu is reduced to making affirmative noises when Nill is being spoken to, or gasping in shock/horror at the appropriate times. I can’t help but wonder how the episode would be affected if she had no seiyuu at all.
The animanga, as stated before, is a prequel to the manga DOGS – the art changes slightly in the sequel (primarily a lack of screentones), but is otherwise very much the same. It is important to mention that the OVA/manga has no real ending, as it is merely a prologue to an ongoing series. Therefore, if you’re looking for a short, one-volume manga with a solid ending, this is not an anime or manga you can turn to. If, however, you intend to delve deeper into the world of DOGS and learn how all the characters are connected, feel free to watch or read DOGS Bullets and Carnage.
8/10 stars
Credits This review was written by me, Lyss. Please do not redistribute without my permission, or claim as your own. Thank you. DOGS Bullets and Carnage is the property of Miwa Shiroo-sensei and Shueisha.
[/sup]
|
|