Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review: Akudama Drive (2020) by Tomohisa Taguchi

Change demands sacrifice

Considered one of the best anime of 2020, “” is another title that follows the recent trend of not being based on a manga (instead, actually spawning a manga), while also of interest is the fact that the original draft, which was written by Kazutaka Kodaka, was inspired by Tarantino's “Reservoir Dogs”, particularly in the portrayal of the villains who are the protagonists.

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In a dystopian future where Kansai became a vassal state of Kanto, multiple highly skilled criminals, called Akudama, are considered enemies of the state, and are hunted down by the Execution Division. Four of the most dangerous ones, Courier, Brawler, Hacker and Doctor respond to a challenge to free another Akudama who is about to be executed, Cutthroat. However, once inside, they discover the job was part of a larger scheme by their client to make them work together on a bigger job: to infiltrate the Shinkansen and steal precious cargo from a vault at the front of the train. Roped into the job are an ordinary girl arrested on a minor charge but forced to keep up the appearance of a Swindler, and a low-level Hoodlum who was accidentally broken out of jail during the initial heist. The team must work together to finish the job and earn their large payday, all the while keeping ahead of the Executioners from the Kansai Police on their tail. Eventually the “package” proves to be two kids.

The first thing one will notice in the anime is the impressive technical aspect, with the coloring and the detail of the background, the animation by particularly during the action scenes, and Cindy H. Tamaguchi's character design being top-notch, maybe with the exception of the protagonists' eyes, all of which look annoyingly similar.

On the other hand, in the beginning, the script and overall narrative look cliche in the way the events unfold. The innocent passerby being sucked into an adventure she could not even imagine, the enemy of the protagonists in the face of the Executioners who occasionally prove more than a match for the Akudama although not to a point to shut them down completely (in the style of “Code Geass”) and the two young children who are to be accompanied only to be proven something completely different than anyone imagined, all elements that we have seen repeatedly both in Hollywood action and various anime. Furthermore, the concept of reaching the engine of the train (“Snowpiercer”), the cat that is something else (“Bleach”) and the kawaii interruptions to explain things not depicted, are also “loans”.

However, starting with episode 7, the title shows its quality, as the true colors of everyone involved finally emerge, while a number of protagonists undergo transformations that change the narrative completely. Furthermore, as more of the back story is presented, also includes comments about eugenics, friendship, violence and human nature, adding much depth to the narrative. As the episodes pass, the series becomes even more rich contextually, by commenting on the concept of police brutality, religion, and the mentality of the mob, all of which are tied impressively together, thus adding psychological, philosophical and political aspects. Lastly, some iconoclastic elements are also impressively portrayed, as the main comment on how change demands sacrifice, comes to the fore.

The overall characterization is also top notch, with the protagonists' and the antagonists' being rather well analyzed as intently different human beings, and their interactions being quite intriguing. In that fashion, Courier is the epitome of cool and his relationship with Swindler one of the most appealing traits here. Brawler is the typical brute with a good heart that sets him up to be exploited, while his relationship with Hoodlum, probably the most hilarious of the series. Cutthroat's paranoia is the main source of violence, with his affection for Swindler actually adding to it, while Doctor seems rather cunning, and she is also the main source of fanservice here.

The villains also emerge as rather interesting. Master with his chaotic good mentality, Pupil, with her desperate effort to satisfy her Master, and Junior, with his misplaced dedication that eventually proves both misguided and useless are all great additions to the story. Most of all, however, it is Boss the one who is the most interesting, with her will to sacrifice innocents in order to retain her fame and not lose her place in the hierarchy being a rather pointy metaphor for politicians all over the world.

“Akudama Drive” is an excellent title, with its sole flaw being that it takes a while to truly “begin”, while the title of ‘one of the best of 2020' is definitely accurate.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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