No Guns Life – 01

Madhouse has had a quiet year, but they weigh in with authority this season.  Chihayafuru is certainly their headline project (which is something I never would have guessed I’d say when it first premiered) but No Guns Life seems like it could be worth keeping an eye on.  Seinen anime are not all that common to begin with, but this one seems pretty interesting based on the premiere.  And it has a rather distinct Madhouse look to it, too – which we don’t get to say too often these days.

Suwabe Junichi is almost as omnipresent as Tusda Kenjirou lately, and ironically the role of protagonist Inui Juzo is one I could easily imagine Tusda being cast for.  Juzo is an “extended”, a human that’s been modified into a kind of living weapon – in his case one with a revolver for a head.  We see a lot of this sort of plot in anime these days – modified soldiers who become dangerous outcasts once the war is over – but NGL seems to offer a fairly gritty and sober look at the theme.  Juzo has fallen into the role of a sort of enforcer, dealing with cases of extendeds causing trouble in the city.

All this is – naturally enough – the product of the work of an evil corporation, Beruhren.  And they have some connection to the young boy Tetsuro with the special “Harmony” ability which allows him to control the body of an extended for a period of time.  He and Juzo are clearly going to be linked, as the latter fails in an attempt to rescue Tetsuro fail from the nasty corporate nun (the worst kind) intent on taking him back.  None of this is absolutely riveting or unique, but it’s engaging material and well-executed.  I see some sleeper potential with No Guns Life.

Shin Chuuka Ichiban! – 01

Cooking Master Boy returns to our screens after 21 years without much preamble.  That’s all well and good, though for those of us without much knowledge of the source material it does rather feel like we’ve walked in on the middle of the story.  Which of course we have – this new adaptation takes on Shin Chuuka Ichiban!, Etsushi Ogawa’s sequel to his original manga.  While it’s not hugely well-known in the West this is quite a legendary franchise in Japan, which may help explain why this sequel looks as good as it does.

Indeed, if anything struck me about this premiere it was how sharp the visuals were – fluid animation, lovely backgrounds.  They may be partnering with NAS here but it seems clear Production I.G. is an important force, as NAS has only ever really been a lead studio on the various Chuuka Ichiban projects.  The story of the young “super chef” Mao and his culinary journeys through China in the company of love interest Mei and bozu chef-in-training Shirou, Shin Chuuka Ichiban! is an energetic and straightforward shounen in a very old-school way.

As someone who loves food and cooking and not what Shoukugeki no Souma has become, it’s nice to have a cooking anime (not just an anime with food porn like Golden Kamuy, but one really about cooking) to really get behind.  This intro story about “cursed” black chickens and their true nature is interesting enough, but it’s really the cooking itself that stands out.  Next week dim sum takes the spotlight, so have a pot of tea ready and settle in for 22 minutes of anime that should entertain thoroughly without asking too much of the audience.