Darkside Blues

Genre: Dark
Parental Guidance Recommended
1994 Hideyuki Kikuchi, Akita Shoten, Toho Co., Ltd., J.C. Staff

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Cover Description:
From Hideyuki Kikuchi, the creator of Vampire Hunter D, Demon City Shinjuku, and A Wind Named Amnesia.

In the gothic landscape of the future, the Persona Century Corporation owns 99% of the world. They thought they wielded absolute power. They were wrong. A dangerous and lawless free-zone, Kabuki Town - also known as the Darkside of Tokyo - has become an anarchistic haven for misfits, criminals, and idealistic rebels. Now, a dark mystic with the power to topple the Corporation is aware of the threat he poses. Can one mystic and a small band of rebels stand against a global dictatorship?

A dark anime that lives up to its name. >>> by skysenshi
Dark is not my specialty. Most times I would leave it up to my sister Thundersenshi to write an opinion regarding anime like Darkside Blues, since this is her genre of specialization. Certain circumstances, however (like Thundersenshi still having about 200+ more unwritten commentaries piling up on her list), prevents her from doing so. In any case, I'm not really complaining because Darkside Blues is quite a good watch.

From the breathtaking artwork and animation down to the other-worldly action scenes, there really isn't any room for complaints. The play of counter-intelligence and the mind-boggling twists and turns definitely held my attention for the duration of the film. What's spellbinding in this anime is the person who calls himself Darkside. He doesn't really do anything, nor is he directly involved in the conspiracy against the dictatorship of Persona Century, but his mind games play an important role in the success of those who want to topple the existing power. The rest are just like minor characters of interesting variety--quite underdeveloped, but interesting nonetheless.

The English dubbing and sounds are quite decent, too. If you don't understand blues music, then I wouldn't expect you to like most of the BGMs here. I think this is part of the Darkside Blues' charm because it adds to the appeal of the atmosphere. It's like an attempt at adding spice to an otherwise dreary environment.

What Darkside Blues remind me of? Partly Lain, without the overusage of digital abstractions. Perhaps this is because of the way the characters in Darkside Blues speak, which is almost always in a deadpan manner, with equally deadpan expressions that match their voices perfectly.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation 9; Story 8; Characters 7; Sounds 7