Directors: Jun Matsumoto, Masashi Ishihama
Starring: Daisuke Namikawa, John Gremillion, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Andrew Love, Hiroaki Hirata, Greg Ayres Nabuhiko Okamoto, Josh Grelle, Ryusuke Oobayashi, John Kaiser
Running Time: 400 minutes
Certificate: 15
It isn’t often that an anime series arrives as a completely original offering, but NIGHT RAID 1931, is not only not based on any pre-existing material, but it’ also a brilliant series. Taking place in Shanghai between World War 1 and World War 2, NIGHT RAID 1931 is a glorious recreation of a conflicted time period, where poverty and depression was leading into yet another crisis. Everything in the series is beautifully animated, with epic attention to detail bringing to life the period setting. Cars, buildings, and clothing all help generate a realistic and faithful representation of life in Shanghai at the time.
The plot follows a group of secret agents who each have a different power. Whether it be teleportation, mind reading, or something else, their power comes in handy in a range of episodic missions before developing into a larger storyline. The series also explores genuine historical events and treats such backdrops with respect. The scripts are obviously well researched and mention of all manner of historical events are addressed and play into the plot..
Most impressively, the series doesn’t flinch when it comes to criticisms of Japan during this time. Having the main characters are Japanese agents working in China is a masterstroke. They each find themselves having to question the morality of their government, and also come up against prejudice from the locals. It’s a brave step, especially with anime obviously being a Japanese medium. The serious issues don’t get in the way when the show wants to let its hair down though, with even filler episodes such as photographing food and chasing a cat being enjoyable.
The animation helps to bring to life the fantastic designs, and when the quartet of agents unleash their powers, the animators always find inventive ways to heighten the tension and keep the pace. Although the characterisation arrives rather late in the show, something to really enjoy is that the colleagues are exactly that. They can pretty much be divided into two pairs, but aside from that the show doesn’t force them into contrived relationships. They work together and they’ll say “Hi,” on the street, but they never feel obligated to get too close to one another. This came across as a lot more authentic and also allowed missions to be the primary focus at first.
NIGHT RAID 1931 takes on many strong issues, adds in history, contains action, and is overall a bloomin’ decent series. There’s a complete arc over the course of the 13 main episodes and everything is wrapped up neatly. Those who have come to feel too familiar with the art form of anime, or have had everything ruined by the manga, may very well wish to give this show a chance.
[usr=4]NIGHT RAID 1931 is released on DVD on 10th March via MVM.
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