[This review is based on the No. 6 Blu-ray, which is already shipping.]The 11 episode No. 6 anime is based on a dystopian young adult science fiction novel by Asano Atsuko. Its two main protagonists are 16-year-old boys, Shion and Nezumi (aka "Rat"). The backgrounds of these two could hardly be more disparate although they share a very strong bond from the time that first meet as 12-year-olds. Shion is a genius and one of No. 6's elites while Nezumi is equally brilliant but comes from a background of nightmarish suffering. Their childhoods have molded their vastly different personalities. Shion wants to save No. 6 from itself; Nezumi hates it and wants to destroy it.
Bleeding from a severe bullet wound and thinking that he is about to die, Nezumi sees Shion standing on the balcony outside his bedroom, screaming passionately into the face of a monster typhoon. With the last of his strength, Nezumi scales the wall to Shion's balcony and holds him at knifepoint. Instead of being terrified, Shion invites Nezumi in, treats his wounds, and then provides him with a meal and a bed. They fall asleep holding hands and for the first time in his life, Nezumi thinks, "humans are warm." Nezumi vanishes before Shion awakes but from that day forward, he never leaves Shion's thoughts.
Although the two have no direct contact from the next four years, Nezumi watches over Shion out of a sense of gratitude and obligation (and perhaps something more). When Shion let Nezumi in without reporting it to the authorities, Shion committed the crime of harboring a fugitive. This results in Shion's being kicked out of a school for No. 6's elites and his family's being moved into a much more downscale dwelling, where his mother now operates a bakery. Shion is forced to take on a low-status job operating janitor robots in one of No. 6's many parks. It is here that he witnesses a mysterious death and is arrested shortly thereafter on a trumped-up charge of murder. Nezumi then reappears and their reunion sets the densely-packed plot in motion.
The anime moves along briskly and coherently for the first 10 episodes. Unfortunately, 11 episodes are insufficient to cover the material in the nine-volume novel. Episode 11, which veers away from the novel, suffers from excessive plot compression and the fact that some crucial emotional beats are skipped over lightly or missed entirely. The episode contains a hard-to-accept deus ex machina and a denouement that anyone who has not read the novel will find utterly bewildering. That being said, some critics have accused episode 11 of being unprepared or random. This is unfair; there is nothing in episode 11 that has not been previously foreshadowed although most viewers will have to watch the anime twice to appreciate this.
This series is imbued with Studio Bones' usual high production values. Backgrounds are detailed and beautifully colored, characters are uniquely designed and fluidly animated, and there are plot points that are startlingly fresh, although Asano-sensei can take credit for most of the latter. Some visual symbolism rises to the level of fine art, transcending this anime's pop-culture genre. Only the musical score is a bit of a letdown although it rises to the occasion during the emotionally-charged, beautifully eerie climax at the end of episode five. (In the category of "impossible dreams," I would have loved to have heard a Ralph Vaughn-Williams score in the anime.)
The Blu-ray's 1080p picture is flawless and the Japanese voice actors, both veterans and newcomers, are at the top of their game. One of the Blu-ray's greatest strengths is a running commentary by the Japanese voice actors who play Shion and Nezumi, along with various guests. Gratifyingly, English subtitles are provided for all 11 episodes of the commentary. My only complaint is that a key title card, shown at the end of the Japanese broadcast version of episode 11 and essential for the closure that it brought, does not appear in the Blu-ray version being reviewed.
All too often in anime, English-language dubs are cringeworthy, offering deliveries so wooden that one wonders whether the actors could even get hired for third-rate dinner theater. There are no such problems here. Shion's English voice actor is excellent, Nezumi's is nearly as good, and most of the rest of the cast is competent or better.
Although its main component is science-fiction, No. 6 also has an understated BL/yaoi* component that has made it controversial, dividing its audience into two groups: those who appreciate it as pure science-fiction (although science-fiction that is far more "chamber music" than "space opera") and those who value the anime's unusual character development and subtle BL components above its purely dystopian science-fiction aspects, the last being the least original parts of the plot. Fans of pure science-fiction shouldn't worry; the "blink and you'll miss them" BL aspects are so underplayed that, compared to the main thrust of the plot, they are unlikely to make any viewer uncomfortable. Audiences can watch No. 6 in at least two ways: as an above-average science-fiction anime or as perhaps the greatest BL anime ever, precisely because the BL aspect is woven into the overall story in such a low-key and organic way.
If it weren't for the weak ending, this would be a five-star anime. As it is, it rates a solid four.
* For some people, No. 6 casts an alluring spell. It shares a certain "theatrical" spirit with the TV show "Glee," but No. 6 is darker and more melodramatic. (There's nothing wrong with melodrama per se--when well done, it merely distills action and emotion for dramatic effect.)
No. 6 is not an anime for prom kings or jocks, who will find it perfectly serviceable as science-fiction but who are likely to miss the subtext as it whizzes over their heads. No. 6 works its magic on outsiders--those who feel they don't belong, those who have fallen in love with art and literature while being indifferent to sports and proms, and particularly those of amorphous or unconventional sexuality. In Nezumi, they have an antihero who overcame appalling adversity to become beautiful, strong, and courageous--a skilled, scarred fighter, but also a snarky, sarcastic intellectual who loves music and books (Shakespeare most of all), and whose normal apparel and behavior are perfectly masculine--yet he also looks stunning while wearing flowers in his hair and a frock. (For once in anime, the cross-dressing appears briefly, is integral to the plot, and is not played for laughs.)
No. 6's most powerful subtext is that Nezumi, an alienated outsider and one of anime's deepest and most fascinating characters, is worthy of being loved by someone equally as intelligent yet utterly different--someone who illuminates Nezumi's darkness and who never gives up on him even in extremis.
Susceptible people fall for No. 6's protagonists, hard. Despite its mere 11-episode run on Japanese television, No. 6 has inspired a plethora of beautifully wrought fan-art and over 600 stories (mostly in English) on Fanfiction dot net. The No.6 manga was recently licensed for the U.S. and will appear in English mid-2013. In addition, a very well crafted fan translation of the original novel has been completed (by 9ave), and a translation of Asano's follow-up book of side-stories (No 6: Beyond) is underway. I highly recommend the novel because it illuminates the characters' inner lives in a way that the anime does not. The novel deserves to be licensed and published in English, but until that day comes, the fan-work will have to do.
Buy No. 6: The Complete Collection (2012) Now
My fiance and I really liked this fairly new anime: No. 6. The animation is breathtaking and the quality is amazing. The music score happens to be awesome too! The storyline is okay, definitely not the best, but I've seen much worse. It started out really great and then went downhill toward the end. Though, I feel like this is just because it's only 11 episodes, I'm sure it could have been epic, had it been longer and more developed. The characters are very interesting and well-created, considering an 11 episode run. It's a bit pricey at the moment $40 or so for an 11 episode anime is steep (personally I'd say a good deal would be if it was $20-25), but if you are itching for a new anime that's beautiful, engaging, with great music and cool characters, and the price doesn't scare you, you can't go wrong with No. 6.Read Best Reviews of No. 6: The Complete Collection (2012) Here
i cant stop watching it! It's in great condition! I can't stop watching it! It got here so quickly too! thank you! i would purchase from them again!Want No. 6: The Complete Collection (2012) Discount?
Civilization,for the most part, live in walled cities. Life is good in the cities, you have all the luxuries you could hope for. It was a dark and stormy night and young teen is out on the balcony screaming to vent. In the woods his voice is heard by another whom is not much older. This other person is wounded and manages to enter trough the balcony. It turns out that this wounded person aka Rat is a fugitive.I will not tell you all that happens but after dressing his wounds the two develop a friendship. Rat explains that he lives outside the city and that what the residents of the city are told and what reality is are two different things.
Time passes and Rat reappears and now saves the teens life. At Rats side he leaves all & everyone that he has known and if he returns he will be killed. No longer in the lap of luxury his eyes are opened to the horrors that comes with living outside the city.
These are not stand alone episodes so it plays like a movie and since this is not out yet I can say anything about the extras that will be on the disc.
There is much, much more to this story but that is the premises. How do you right such a terrible injustice to those outside the city? What difference can two people make?
My feeble explanation does not do the show justice. Will I but this show...yes,but more around the 30-40 dollar range.
I can not say "You should buy this" or "this is the best I've seen"...etc. I can tell you it was good show, just over 4 stars. Animation is good from start to finish and ranges from average to slightly above. This story moves forward from start to finish and never gets bogged down. There is blood but nothing over the top. Some of the shows that I like are Broken Blade..Black Blood Brothers..Corpse Princess...Steins Gate...When They Cry...Claymore...Trinity Blood..Deadman Wonderland...etc. If you like some of those then you should enjoy this...I streamed it via Crunchyroll.
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