GANGSTA. – 05

Awesome Fight & Twilight Confirmation:

I’m sure most of you know by now, but GANGSTA is no longer airing in its previous Wednesday timeslot. As a result, it’s been bumped back to Sunday, which makes it considerably more difficult for me as a blogger. All three of my shows this season come out within 26 hours of each other, so you can expect the GANGSTA posts to be delayed from here on out, since it’s the last of the bunch. However, schedule changes aside, this episode was just as great as the those before it – it was the perfect balance of well-handled exposition, impressive action sequences, and an introduction to some powerful players that are sure to make waves in the story to come.

Having a TV broadcast continue on from the information we were fed last week was a a really smart move. From there, we learn about the Three Laws that were put into place to abolish the slavery of the Twilights. Not only that, but the drug that we’ve seen Nicolas downing in previous episodes is confirmed to be Celebrer, and Nic seems to have a habit of overdosing it, dulling his pain. It’s nuggets of information scattered throughout several episodes that make the current fight that much more enjoyable. It’s genuinely refreshing to see a series that doesn’t present its audience the force-fed info dumping to get its point across. As for the fight it self, it may not have the prettiest art, but the animation and choreography was seriously impressive. More fights like this in future episode, please!

The Paulklee Guild Arrives:

We’ve focused mainly on the Monroe family these past few episodes, but this episode gave us a proper introduction to the Paulklee Guild. As it turns out, Doug is a member of that faction of Ergastulum, but despite his impressive combat skills he displayed, he was completely overshadowed by his boss and her right hand. Gina Paulklee (Sakakibara Yoshiko) is the personification of badass. She commands attention in all the scenes she’s in, and seems like she could easily overpower the rest of the cast if she really wanted to. Her getting rid of the celebrer in Nic’s system was enough to gage how powerful she is already. We only really saw her intimidating front in this episode, but it’s enough to label her my new favourite (after Alex).

Ginger (Komatsu Mikako) was also a sweet surprise with her shifting expressions – seemingly awkward and nervous, yet utterly capable of taking aim when her boss is threatened. I’m eagerly awaiting seeing more of these two, and how Doug fits into this dynamic.

Alex’s Trauma Escalates:

As masculine as GANGSTA is, it’s amusing to me how the women are the most interesting characters so far. Maybe that’s just me projecting my own bias and favour for well-written and sympathetic female characters, but I’m really liking how the women in GANGSTA are being represented (maybe that comes down to the author being female as well). The sexual violence was too heavy in the first episode – that I still stand by – but the lingering psychological damage is still prevalent in Alex’s current storyline; and I appreciate it being focused on. The horrid way of life she had to suffer through wasn’t just for shock value, but has actual lasting effects that matter to the character. The final minutes of this episode were equally tragic and haunting, especially the buildup to the last scene. The mystery of Alex’s disappearance is sure to be a major talking point next week.

Overview – What’s Next?:

Another stellar episode, from the fight scenes, to the smart dialogue, to the introduction of the newest badass in town, Gina Paulklee. GANGSTA hasn’t missed a single beat these past five episode. Things are becoming clear now, which has me excited to find out even more. Alex, in particular, is on my mind after that cliffhanger. It looks like it was Dr. Theo coming to see her at the end, so hopefully he’s going to help her with her trauma. I’m rooting for this girl, as I am for everyone else wrapped up in this grimy city.

Full-length images: 24.