Posted by OP Sequence
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
OP: 「We’re not alone」 by coldrain
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「After the rain」
MADHOUSE is badass and doesn’t mess around here, so if you’re looking for a dark series that is far beyond the usual stuff, consider this adaptation of Abe George (Jouji) and Kakizaki Masumi’s award-winning manga. Just don’t let the title fool you. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here.
Taking place in 1955 and depicting the harsh reality of poverty-stricken Japan following the end of the Second World War, the story follows the lives of six juvenile delinquents as they get thrown into a prison/corrections facility for various crimes. There, they meet their senior prison-mate, Sakuragi Rokurouta (Koyama Rikiya), better known as “Anchan”. It’s a hellish depiction of grueling prison life, which you can get a feel for immediately from the sexual abusive doctor and the tyrant-like warden. If you’re already appalled by the idea of an old man sticking his finger up these teenagers’ anuses, then you may not be able to stomach this one. However, if you’re marveled by how an anime can branch off into such territories like I am, this may be worth checking out.
In the darkest hours of this series, there is a ray of hope for these seven teenagers as the theme of the story is courage and friendship. This first episode served to prove that point as “Anchan” first beat the crap out of his six new inmates to get them to discard their useless pride, then stood up for them immediately afterward by bearing responsibility for the incident and taking a relentless beating from the warden. The latter scene actually wasn’t in the manga, but turned out to be a really powerful one that reinforced the theme. I was pretty blown away by it quite frankly, especially when I saw the reactions on everyone’s face. Very very powerful scenes here, which are even more so when you take into consideration that these boys aren’t inherently bad kids. Some of them simply led horrible lives and are in prison for stealing and other misdemeanors, while others are here for aggravated assault, except they either got into a fight with their mother’s new boyfriend, beat up a teacher trying to rape another student, or beat up the person that was trying to rape them. Not exactly what you would consider unjust cause in many cases, but they were enough to get them sentenced with some additional false accusations.
Progression-wise, it’s important to note that this first episode is only the starting point of their time in prison and the story extends beyond that when they eventually get out. The opening sequence hints at that already, showing a lot of them more grown up. In terms of production, I really can’t imagine any studio other than MADHOUSE picking up a series as dark as this and was quite impressed with this premiere episode, reaffirming that sentiment. The quality was superb and they really set the tone for the series going forward, most notably with the ray of hope at the end. Cast-wise, drama-actor Oguri Shun (Hana Yori Dango) does an awesome job as lead Minakami Mario, while big name seiyuus Paku Romi, Fujiwara Keiji, and the aforementioned Koyama Rikiya provide excellent performances like they always do. The biggest surprise addition though is seiyuu veteran, the one and only Hayashibara Megumi doing the narration. You can never go wrong with Megumi, even if it’s just narrating.
If any of the above sounds intriguing to you or you’re simply looking for a non-typical anime that will provide you something refreshingly different, you can really do no wrong giving RAINBOW a try. So far, it’s provided a good taste of the emotion-filled drama that’s likely to come, as these seven teenagers try to get their lives back on track. I’m in, are you?
ED Sequence
 |
 |
 |
ED: 「A FAR-OFF DISTANCE」 by GALNERYUS
Watch the ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
nice…great series and the opening Theme is awesome¡¡
Could the title be any more misleading? I saw no rainbows here.
There were a few actually. Check out the picture I used for the opening video for example.
I’m in 😀
I lol’d at the opening paragraph.
“MADHOUSE is badass and doesn’t mess around here, so if you’re looking for a dark series that is far beyond the usual stuff, consider this adaptation of Abe George (Jouji) and Kakizaki Masumi’s award-winning manga. Just don’t let the title fool you. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here.”
Very ironic there, divine 😛
Badass rainbows. Now how’s that for an oxymoron?
You sure that’s an oxymoron? I always thought they were synonymous.
rainbows….= yaoi? : |
If that were true then Divine probably wouldn’t blog it since he doesn’t do yaoi if i remember correctly.
Oh come on Divine, expand your homo-erotic/Man on Man horizons.
I anticipated that this was a grueling drama and it sure sounds like its going to turn out like that. Definitely following it.
I’m still on the fence on whether I’m gonna watch it or not. I’m not saying it looks bad or anything, (for that matter I think like it looks like an amazing drama) but I’m not sure if my heart can handle it :P.
Also, I noticed in the first scene of the OP, one of the boys is missing when it shows the boys seemingly grown up. Maybe some foreshadowing there?
Oh, and the OP is pretty badass too.
I don’t think that one of the boys will die. If you watch the OP again, you can see that they show the adult versions of all of them, but the one who isn’t with them at the start of the op is Anchan. (The long-haired, gloved one is the lead, Minakami Mario) Maybe he will be an antogonist, or something.
Definitely looks like one of the most intense and dramatic shows of the season. Still on the fence on whether I should watch it, especially because I don’t think my heart can handle it 😛
i seem to be having troubles loading the pictures in the new www address
I think i’ll watch this. Just to change the pace ^^
AND BLEACH 265??? No me molesta tantas series nuevas, pero no te olvide de bleach por favor, ahora que está de regresa con la trama original encima T_T, y gracias por los scans de todas estas nuevas series… XD
Divine said he would not continue to blog Bleach, Divine dijo que ya no continuaria con Bleach ya que no es una serie que siga regularmente :/
I’m totally in!
This one looks so cool, and realistic? We’ll see.
Thanks for the peek!
It’s all about Hazing…
This managed to be more impressive to me than Night Raid. Maybe because they didn’t start calling them selfs the X-men…
Finally the first show added to my watch list this season! By the way the opening is awesome! Anyone know what the title translated to?
It translates to “The 7 People of Block 2 Cell 6” in reference to their prison cell.
I’ve been waiting for this every since I read the first few chapter of the manga.
HYPE!
damn, this one looks like quite a badass manly anime.
Manly men being manly and men together and bonding like many men?! I’m so in! (Megumi+Madhouse just made it much better)
And I know I’m gonna cry by this series
Show Spoiler ▼
Hello~
Does anyone know if this show is being subbed and by what group?
i can’t seem to find any group that does.
I’m pretty sure Saizen is planning on subbing this, but I don’t know about anyone else.
As kazukifafner said, Saizen is planning to do it. But well, they really are a slow group.
Also, according to Commie’s TT comment on Heroman 2, they are doing it too, but they need a translation checker.
“We are recruiting a TLC for RAINBOW. Translation is almost complete, as is editting and typesetting and other misc. stuff.”
THIS ONE.
Hoping to see this turn into the show of the season
who thinks plans of this manga adapting into a drama will be announced by the time the anime ends? Definitely going to watch this.
Manly tears…
Nice contrast to all that ecchi and moe stuff.
Hmm I might check this one out. It also helps that Oguri Shun is voicing the lead character.
Man this looks like a cheap series (visually). I’ll wait for a sub before I give my final verdict.
This looks awesome, I’ll give it a try.
Alright, jailhouse blues!
I highly anticipated this series! Great line-up of seiyuu, badass animation production (no other animation production can pull this off better than MADHOUSE!), combined that with an award-winning manga and I was thinking, “Thank God I didn’t quit watching anime simply because of the sh–, I mean- yeah.. just thank God for this!”
*Waits patiently for the subs*
I’ll definitely watch it. Looks wonderful :O I can see only men – it’s 4 me! <3
YES. I was getting depressed with all the moe going on. I haven’t seen an anime ever since Kuroshitsui, which is moe on its own right. I can’t wait for a fansub to pick it up, this looks amaziiiing. All the blood and violence and drama I need in one anime.
I like. I like.
This episode has been subbed now, just so you all know. Also, the sub group isn’t Saizen alone. It’s Frostii-Saizen (and, as such, is on Frostii’s site).
i love this anime. It’s very different. I love the way it shows how life really is after a war. It has lots of morale values. It shows what friendship is. It’s one of the best anime. Recommended.