Publisher: Sentai Filmworks (USA)Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 16 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2010
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes
Shanghai, 1931. A Japanese spy agency called Sakurai Agency was formed to weed out threats and problems that may hinder Japan’s influence in Manchuria. There are four main agents; two young men, the rash Aoi Miyoshi and the more conservative Kazura Iha who’s cover is running photography studio, and a young woman named Yukina Sonogi and Natsume Kagiya, a gentle giant of a man who is like a protective brother to Yukina. The four work under a middle aged man named Shinichirou Sakurai, who was a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army. They are sent on a variety of missions such as stopping a sex trafficking ring, to thwart a kidnapping of a Japanese business man and to stop a suspected spy from leaking classified information. What sets the four members of the Sakurai Agency apart from other spies is their powers. All four have a different type of supernatural abilities ranging from telekinesis, remote viewing, teleportation and telepathy.
One day Yukina receives a letter from her missing brother, Isao Takachiho, presumed to be dead, saying he wants to meet her. However a bomb threat on the four biggest department stores in Shanghai brings Yukina in contact with her brother’s offsiders. The bomb threat was part of plot to sprit her away in order for her to secretly meet her brother. Isao’s subordinate also has supernatural powers like the Sakurai Agency, which surprises the team members. Isao is plotting something very big which could destabilise the region. To add to the chaos, Aoi discovers someone close to him has mysteriously returned and seemingly has links to Isao.
This show is certainly a refreshing pace from the other stuff I’ve been watching lately. There’s a number of really interesting elements to this show. First is the fact its set in a historical context and for the most part the show's story fits in really well. It does divert off into an alternate history slightly towards the end, but it is quite plausible that the events, bar the big one at the climax of the series, could have taken place alongside real life history. The characters, situations and stories also fit in really well with the time period. The show looks really well researched and correct in almost minute detail to the era. I did think Aoi did look a little too causal for the period and sort of questioned some of the lack of headwear when out in public on some of the characters. But I guess that this is Asia and not the west and men and women weren’t so socially inclined to wear hats in that period. There was also a secondary character, a young Chinese woman who works in a restaurant called Feng Lan, whom I though was a bit too much of a stereotype. The supernatural powers are also handled well in the show. It’s all rather matter of fact and they are sparingly used. The powers most certainly aren’t the focus of the show; it's the political machinations.
In that regard, it was all rather intriguing, but I sort of lost my way a bit with all the factions and who had swapped sides and for what reasons. However by the last few episodes it had pretty much settled down and was a lot clearer. Another great thing about the show is how languages are handled. People not only speak in Japanese, but Mandarin, English, Russian and German. The Japanese actors handle both the Mandarin and English fairly well, but are not so great with the Russian language. The only one out of place was an Indian character who seemed to speak English in a perfect American accent. That sort of destroyed my suspension of disbelief for the few scenes he was in. Also be on the lookout for a tall thin man named Ichishi, who is Shinichirou Sakurai’s offsider. He plays quite an important part in the show. But his part is done very subtlety. The series has three OVAs spread throughout it, which I thought add a bit more depth to the characters and the period. Even the postscript OVA at the end was really quite good. It really felt part of the story, not some tacked on bonus created for the video release. In conclusion this is really good antidote to the rather mediocre and fan pandering anime out at the moment. It’s really well produced, is really intriguing and suspenseful at times, portrays the period very well and is practically nothing like anything else out there at the moment. I did however get a bit lost with the political machinations at some points though and some of it I really did find had to suspend disbelief considering the historical context, but a lot of that stuff was pretty minor. I’m really surprised fandom didn’t warm to this show as much as I thought it would. It’s good, solid entertainment. 7.5 out of 10.
Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).
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