Director: Keitaro Motonaga
Starring: Mutsumi Tamura, Micah Solusod, Sayaka Ohara, Carli Mosier, Shizuka Itou, Anastasia Munoz, Unshou Ishizuka, Christopher Smith
Running Time: 300 minutes
Certificate: 15
Kids with guns is always up for a bit of controversy. Funnily enough though, Jormungand attempts a more satirical take by presenting the world of arms dealers as a fun and frantic world filled with Hollywood style action. It’s an interesting take which sits neatly between enjoyable nonsense and uncomfortable commentary, equating to one of the most mixed viewing experiences around.
The show follows a team of arms dealers who are also exceptional soldiers and warriors. Ironically enough, simple business transactions usually result in all out carnage to ascertain who the best in the business is. Amongst these warriors for profit are child soldier Jonah, who is a ruthless murderer. What sets Jormungand apart is that it doesn’t look for retribution for characters or itself. The show is cruel and expects you to route for the villains. Those who should be heroes are crude, annoying and corrupt, whereas the villains are at least likable and humans. Their leader, Koko, is a fun loving woman with a lot of personality, despite leading a group of trained assassins who benefit from death.
This absolute refusal to include morals will certainly put many viewers off, but even they might approve of the viciousness in which show handles its main points. Can shows that appoint violent characteristics to heroic cops and the like be excused? And if they can, can we apply it to more antagonistic characters? It’s an interesting point which is simply allowed to fester in the background rather than interrupt the furious action sequences. Lovers of action will lap up the incredibly animated sequences which provide interesting shootouts and car chases ever episode. What starts off as an episodic formula soon allows some breathing space with double episodes of backstory and even more violence.
Whether Jormungand intends to seek redemption or purpose in future seasons has yet to be seen, but as it stands, this is a delicious pleasure in which you can leave morals, ethics, and responsibility at the door. The character design may not add anything new, and some of the accents in the English language dub feel too stereotypical and distracting, but when most of the dialogue is done through gun shots we can forgive such faults.
[usr=3]Jormungand is released on DVD and Blu-ray from 21st July.
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