Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「ERGASTULUM」Worick – The One-Eyed Gigolo: After the first episode focused on Alex, and the second on Nicolas, it only made sense to have this one shed some light on Worick. I’ll admit that the past two weeks had me liking Alex and Nicolas a lot more than Worick – but with this third episode, I can now say that I appreciate them all equally. Each has their own distinctive personality, mannerisms, and general vibe that they give off; but when placed together, they are a fascinating trio in trapped in a disturbing, ugly place. And it’s brilliant to watch. I certainly never expected Worick to be a gigolo. Now it makes more sense now why he would sympathise with Alex’s situation so much. There’s a difference between being a well-off male escort and an abused prostitute in a back alley, but the connection between these two seems so much more genuine now. I said last week that I would prefer no romance between the three main characters, but if it had to happen, then I feel it would only make sense that Worick and Alex end up together – Alex is still intimated by Nicolas, after all. Still, I could do without that sort of pairing if it puts focus on Worick over Alex’s narrative. Maybe my bias is showing, but I want to see more of Alex as an individual, and not a potential extension to Worwrick. But that’s just words in the wind. Right now, we’ve got a good look into who Worick really is. I’d say he’s come off as confident, flirtatious, and very worldly. As evident by the glimpses of his past, he’s gone through some hardships – losing an eye being one of them. At least we know that eyepatch wasn’t just for show. Add in the fact that he’s willing to sell himself like he does, and we’ve got another dimension to him. He’s charming, and he knows it, but deep down I think he’s a troubled soul who puts on a convincing smile. Nicolas and Worick’s History: We see some flashing images of a younger Nicolas and Worick at the start and end of the episode, and more references to the past via the newspaper article. Obviously, we’re building up to some big revelation that ties these two together after all these years. From what I could make out, it seems like Worick looked fairly well-off, compared to a much rougher looking teenage Nicolas. Someone appeared to lunge at Worick left eye, and it seems like Nicolas reacted to it. It will certainly be interesting to see what truly went down – it’s only a matter of time before we see it in full. We also get some more references to the Dogtags – this time about how it’s apparently medically-induced, and for some reason they cannot walk down the main street. It’s pieces of a puzzle at this point, but now it makes sense why Nicolas chugged down Dr. Theo’s pill last week. Within a few weeks, we’ll likely understand the bigger picture. Chances are, it’ll come at the same time as the flashback. Alex and Ergastulum: Yet with all this focus on Worick and his history with Nicolas, this all feels like it’s from Alex’s point of view. If GANGSTA. were a novel, it definitely feels like it’d be from Alex’s first-person perspective. She’s watching everything that’s going on, reacting to the horrors of this city (like bloodied faces in body bags), and trying not to be so terrified of Nicolas. She reactive more than proactive, but I appreciate that we’re learning about Ergastulum along with her. It’s an unfortunate place, and Worwrick clearly wants her to get away from it. Will she, though? Plot dictates that she will stick around by her own decision, and hopefully grow from it. If that’s the case, I hope she adapts to the brutalities around her and finds her place in the world. Overview – What’s Next?: I just realised that I haven’t mentioned how much I love Tsuada Kenjirou’s voice acting. Whenever Nicolas speaks, I can feel the scene halting, as if commanding that we listen. It’s just one part of many that I’m loving with GANGSTA. Looking ahead, there are plenty of mysteries waiting of us in the shadows of Ergastulum, and I’m anticipating seeing their true faces revealed. |
I’m glad people are liking this series since I really loved the manga. However, I’m not impressed with the animation since I had high expectations with Manglobe, and not so much on the VA cast although like you, I’m impressed with Tsuada Kenjirou’s voice acting of Nicolas.
By the way, from what I recall, it’s Worick Arcangelo.
That was your first mistake. Animation is almost never Manglobe’s best feature. However, I do love the composition and framing of this episode in particular.
Also, fixed my misspelling of Worick’s name. I’ve somehow manage to spell it every way apart from how it’s actually written.
Albeit late in response: thanks for your input. I liked what they did with Deadman Wonderland, Samurai Champloo, and Michiko to Hatchin (with the latter being one of my favorite series) hence the so-called expectations. It never crossed my mind that animation was their weakness. Maybe my views on animation are a bit bizarre..
Everybody has different views on animation ! I will my take ! I like the animation it’s dark and dreary ! Fits the mood! Like a good old TV crime drama !
It’s a fine episode but that’s all I can say about it: better than the first’s half exposition, half-action spectacle but inferior than the second’s fight festival. However, I have a terrible feeling that it will do the drama route and I pray to all kami-samas that it will not happen.
PS: I got a melancholic vibe in this episode for Worick, am I the only one who felt that way?
If you look at the arrest poster of 17 year old Worick from last week, the very first offense listed was prostitution. That he’s still doing it 18 years later is the surprising part.
Just finished the manga, and I can say that if the anime manage to follow the source material, even if the small changes he’s doing right now, it has a LOT of potential. I don’t know if it’ll be 13 or 24 episodes, but if they manage to cover the current arc (which I doubt it’ll happen if it’s not 24, unless they rush like no tomorrow) it can probably be one of the best (if not the best) anime of this season. I think it has been a while since I raged and wanted a couple of characters to have the most agonining death possible in a manga, besides all the feels that comes with it.
Personally, I’m a fan of the NicxAlex couple, ‘cuz besides the link she has with Worick (and all the nice moments they’ll have in future episodes), after reading all the 36 chapters available in english I can say that Nicolas and her have the best chemistry among the trio. Of course, is a matter of opinion.
Level of Detail:
https://randomc.net/image/GANGSTA/GANGSTA%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2012.jpg
You could read nearly the entire English Article. They really put heart into write this fiction Newspaper article
They also put a lot of heart into finding random Wikipedia article and machine translated them into English for other parts of the newspaper! The ones for British Royal Guard, Italy, and San Pietro were all quoted from the Japanese Wikipedia. Somehow in one part they translated Welsh Guards into “well sugar”…
The grammar is terrible though…
But with every Episode so far progression. I get some old “Noir” vibes. There was some similar cases. Yes, this Anime with females assassins that are under some kind of secret church
Reminder OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch8QLdBiDqI (remember its from 2006)
with powerfull vocals:
example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqGeT4PiJko
example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDs_PZaSkFo
After I’ve read the manga I must say that I’m all for AlexXNic… I really want this to happen <3
And on another note, I saw that this anime only gets 12 episodes… I wonder how they will wrap it up
Cant really add to your review ! All I can say you can easily pin down this anime to other anime genres! Yes it;s crime drama but stands well enough alone
Amazing how good this summer season is !
Alex is so pretty. In my opinion I think she’s the prettiest girl in this series
Gangsta’s mangaka is more unique than her contemporaries in that she mostly draws her males as much older, grizzled and rugged compared to the youngish ikemens/bishounens favoured by the majority. Here’s some samples from pixiv.
http://touch.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?id=332799
Oh boy, they do love to tease us with little bits of flashbacks & backstory. And to make it better, we see & learn more about Worwick & Nic, and about how things work in Ergastulum in general through Alex – she’s the eyes & ears of the audience.
This step-by-step exposition is also great, avoiding excessive info dumbs like certain other shows do…
I wouldn’t say it’s romance, but I’m not ruling this possibility out. But right now, the relationship between Alex with Nic or Warwick is just mutual respect and platonic. Alex, is in fact in a state of fascination and curiosity of the people she’s living with at the moment (and yeah she’s still a little frightened of Nic, but this decreases as the series progresses because she finds out more about his past).
Very spot-on description about Alex’s POV, it is actually wired that way because she really hasn’t been in Ergastulum for very long. It should be pretty obvious by now, but our main characters all have broken pasts and on-going trauma (even for Alex), we’ll probably be going back and forth among the three.
it seems Twilights are victims/byproducts of some “soldier enhancement program” involving drugs…
Makes me remember “Pumpkin Scissors”
Ergastulum of GANGSTA. reminds me so much of the lost paradise of Roanapur of Black Lagoon!
And Nicolas and Worrick reminds me so much of Gungrave’s Harry and Brandon.