Senkou no Night Raid

My first review of anime on MAL so here it goes. Senkou no Night Raid is about the Sakurai Agency, a fictional organizations that leads covert missions with superhuman agents to carry out the interests of Imperial Japan. Now why did I give this anime such a high rating? My reason is because I love Asian history and know a lot about it especially the late 1800 to the early 1900 era. With this in mind, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the story. It sounds smug and biased, but this anime does require a bit of background knowledge tofully appreciate it. Let's got down to the actual rating. (7)Art: I also liked the fact it was historical fiction, ACCURATE historical fiction in which the creators of the anime and story did their best to portray the setting and people during the turmoil of East Asia of the 1930's. The settings portrayed in the anime of China really reflect the changing times of the 1930's, a clash between traditional and Western can clearly be seen and the producers of the anime have done a very good job producing the backdrop and the ensemble. (9) Character: I really liked how the characters expressed the changing attitudes of the times in parallel to the setting in which their action takes place in. Kazura showing his conflicted between upholding his loyalty to Japan as an agent or taking a revolutionary stand in his romantic, utopian belief in "Asia for Asians" (which was a real philosophy back that Japan used to justify their colonization of East Asia), Aoi showing the new, relaxed European attitudes toward living in contrast to the traditional, rigid Asian customs that defined Asia at the time, and Natsume with his understanding and empathy towards the plight and exploitation of the peasant class during the rapid expansion of Imperial Japan (which was horrible: anyone poor or traditional was considered "filthy" in Japan and were expelled to countries, like Korea and China [who were considered even dirtier and did not deserve any human rights], to farm for Japan from land seized from the natives). Yukina is the only character, I believe, that sticks to the usual anime mold rather than the historical one set here, (which is a bit of a disappointment, but not a turnoff). Again I really liked the character representations, but they were indeed stiff and seemed a bit like robots at different times. Overall I give character good rating because of excessive symbolism that only a nerdy historian (me :P!) could really pick up on and enjoy. (8) Sound: I enjoyed the sound track, especially the emotional pieces on violin and piano. I'm not an anime music aficionado (not yet at least), so I cannot give a critical review like I did with the other two sections, but I can say I did like it and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the series. (6) Story: The story itself was not very well constructed. I don't think there was necessarily a structured plot that drove the entire series, but rather the development of character and the stress on the changing attitudes of the new world. Again, knowing the history will allow you to enjoy this anime a lot more than if you were to watch it without prior knowledge. (9) Enjoyment: The Manchu Incident, the Chinese Civil War, the Opium Wars, all of these events during the 1930's era that were included in the anime really give it a realistic aspect that I can really sink my teeth into. It's obvious that the producers are skirting around the pond, they are avoiding heavy issues, such as the Nanking Massacre, that would spur on controversy and arguments between Japan and its neighbors and would have dirtied the name of this anime. I applaud the producers to take such daring steps (even if those steps are baby steps) to create anime that takes place in one of the most hotly debated eras in East Asia of all time. Using the "fiction" naming ploy, I believe the producers have cleverly avoided confrontation with political entities while at the same time, piquing viewers interest in Asian history. (7) Overall: Again, to fully appreciate this anime, you should know your history. The anime is enjoyable on its own, but having the background knowledge of what's going on can enhance the entire experience of the anime being watched. I would recommend it to people who have a keen interest of the history of this era.

Senkou Night Raid is a nice historical anime that centers on the time period between the two World Wars. The chosen time period is somewhat rare for animes since Japan did a lot of questionable stuff during this time period and actually still try to hide it today. It's definitely nice to check out since it tries to depict what happened during the time in Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War. Also adds a nice twist by adding ESPers to the time period, making them superpower spies. It's actually kind of vague as to what side they're on, but it gets a little clearer overtime. Adding psychicpowers to a spy setting just makes the tension go up. Although I think they could've done a bit more on it... The characters have a sort of cliche back story and personality, but I guess that's okay, right? I really wish the female lead stepped up her game (like in most other anime) and I also wished she had a better voice actor. I'm not one to criticize the voice acting, but it just kind of seemed like she was literally reading off the script rather than acting the part out. I don't know, it might just be my imagination, but the heroine has a lot of lines, so it might bother some people... Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable anime if you're into all the war tension, political issues stuff. There was one episode where none of the main characters appear and it's just plot development on the main conflict at hand that nearly lulled me to sleep, but the rest of the episodes are generally action packed with some humor in them. The opening is also not bad, but not superb. The anime is also aesthetically pleasing and really brings out the mood of the 1920s. I recommend it to history buffs.

Art (5/10): It’s pretty average as far as Chinese cartoons go: nothing really stands out and nothing looks that bad either. Sound (7/10): The OST fits well. The opening and ending themes are also nice. The Indian caricature who had a white voice actor and the British dude who had an American voice actor was a nice meme. Although the guy who portrayed the Indian dude was far more skilled in expressing his emotions convincingly. Plot (3/10): It’s like Darker than Black. Except in China. In the 1930s. Look, it’s pretty interesting actually. But, some of the events do feel a bit wonky. You'll know what I mean when youwatch it. It's the kind of shit that makes you say to yourself "I'm fully aware I'm watching a cartoon and it characters don't feel realistic (in terms of actions and responses)." But it’s not that bad. Read the synopsis or something. -spoilers- The ending was shit. If you think otherwise, think about the character's actions and the time of those actions during the last episode. It's fucking retarded. -end spooilers- Setting (10/10): This anime takes place in the early 1930s – an interesting period in Japan’s history. During this time, Japan is already a world power, occupying Korea and “leasing” parts of Manchuria. However, we can witness the imperialistic mindset of the Japanese developing aggressively, leading to the autonomous Kwantung Army of Japan to stage the Mukden Incident and initiate the invasion of Manchuria. Also they add a bit of a supernatural twist in, which is kind of cool. I find Japan’s place in this time period to be one of the greatest yet saddest ironies I can think of. By defeating the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japan was seen a shining beacon of freedom, a liberator so to speak, by many Asian nations at the time who were devastated by Western colonization. However, Japan didn’t share such a perspective. Japan sought to gain power by emulating the West, doing so by invading, colonizing, massacring, and raping the populaces of many other Asian nations in the years following. And it’s interesting to think that the Japanese encouraged modernization out of a fear of being dominated by Western powers, but by their own efforts, they became just like the colonizers they once feared. It’s kinda like the ending to Animal Farm. The anime doesn't go into all this detail, but you really should know this stuff before watching it. Characterization (6/10): A good amount of the characterization is done through flashbacks without much context, but it’s not too difficult to figure out what’s going on. It also feels a bit clumsy, as if the writers weren’t too sure of how to portray these scenes well. Also, that episode with the cat and the bag felt ridiculous and out-of-place compared to the rest of the episodes. But if you appreciate it as some form of comic relief, be my guest. I do enjoy the conflicting ideologies between Aoi and Kazura and also the conflict between Isao and Yukina as well. In the case of Aoi and Kazura, Aoi is quite critical of his country’s imperialistic attitude while Kazura responds defensively out of his sense of nationalism. This kind of conflict gives life to these characters, as it shows that they are clearly responding to their setting in a meaningful way. As for Yukina and Isao, Yukina is torn from having to fight against her brother, who is fighting for what he believes is right, even though he is radically misguided. Who is truly morally correct in this situation (in terms of ideology)? Also, sibling fighting is cute, isn’t it? ^^ My verdict: meh

I am Chinese, and have some ancestral ties to the Qing dynasty, though they are thin. Senkou no Night Raid is a historical fiction anime. It respectfully portrays historical content, and does so in a fair manner, although the circumstances have been fictionalized. While character motivations from different characters range from downright imperialistic to idealistic, the series always maintains a realistic tone. There is love put in between specific character interactions, such as the bond between Natsume and Yukina and the brotherhood between Aoi and Kagura. However, the final few episodes felt lacking in budget and had a storyline, which was fine for the first half, thenunsatisfactory in the second. I felt like I was watching an entirely different series with unsatisfying payoffs at the end; additionally I feel that if more time was fleshed out for the ending, it would have been better. This could have been averted if there was not so much filler in the beginning, yet without the filler the character development would have suffered for the plot and the plot would not have suffered for the characters due to time constraints. For this reason, I am at a loss how to describe this anime. The first nine-or-so episodes has scenery that feels as though it was something out of Rao Pingru's "Our Story: A Memoir of Love and Life in China", anc character motivations that seemed logical and reasonable. The drama and suspense was reminiscent of the popular history novel "Midnight in Peking" throughout. But there are interactions in the final episodes that diminished the careful balance of idealism and realism that manifested itself prior. It may be a pipe dream, but I would like it if this anime was remade with a continuation of the original storylin, as this was still an incredibly well-done series.

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