Sabikui Bisco

Sabikui Bisco is a prime example of “You had me in the first half”. What started out as a unique and gritty looking story in the first few episodes, became an extremely convoluted one full of plot holes and errors that made it a drag to watch. The build up to the climax of this show was great, but the climax itself was one of the most disappointing things I have seen in a while, and that’s truly a shame. My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20 STORY: 8.5/25 At the outset, this seemed like an interesting concept. Ina dystopian society called Imihama that was ravaged by rust, we see Milo, our character, live his life by investigating this “rust disease” and treating patients at a clinic. We see the seemingly scheming governor of this society, Kurokawa, who seemed like a very intriguing villain. I was thoroughly intrigued at this point. After that, Bisco appears, with a bow and arrow in which the arrows make mushrooms grow on whatever they hit, which was an interesting concept. Following a reveal about the true nature of the rusting and its effect on humans, Bisco and Milo embark on a journey. The rest of the build up you can watch yourself, but the underlying problems are the lack of a general direction of the plot. *SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH The climax of the story is where it all fell apart. Kurokawa is the corrupt governor that has a hand in this entire rust issue, and Bisco and Milo confront him, but he proves tough to outsmart. My gripe with this entire sequence of events is that when there’s a clear opportunity to defeat him, Bisco spares him, and it led to more disasters down the road, including the demise of someone, which was another poorly executed “emotional” scene. Anything after that scene was just not good anymore, with the huge monster Tetsujin and all. It became generic and uninteresting. ART: 7.7/10 The overall art style is good, but it looks very grimy, if you know what I mean. MUSIC: 8.6/10 The soundtrack is pretty good, and both the opening and ending are one my favourites of the season. CHARACTERS: 5.5/20 Much like the story, the characters felt very interesting to start, but either didn’t play enough of a role (characters like Tirol, and anyone from the children’s fortress come to mind), or didn’t get good development down the road. In the action scenes, they made questionable decisions, and much of the character quality dropped with the story quality, which was a shame. Wish we could also know more about Bisco’s backstory and some more details about mushroom keepers and more about rusting in general. For Milo, the developments he got felt out of place, as characters shouldn’t be turning their personality into something that seems like the polar opposite for their personality, it was just a bit much. As for the villain, Kurokawa, he was way too basic, and his demise was very anticlimactic. ENJOYMENT: 7.8/15 Enjoyment declined with the overall narrative, but I enjoyed the first part. THEMATIC EXECUTION: 12/20 This show tries their hand at many themes, and I do think they build the atmosphere nicely, with that dark tone around Imihama, and overall in the story. The adventure element was alright, but the action themes weren’t all that great, especially the last part against the Tetsujin, because of the plot issues there. The emotional side to the story did not pan out due to the tragic situations being clearly avoidable. OVERALL: 50.1/100 It’s really a shame that the climax wasn’t executed very well, and made the story fall off afterwards, but for what it’s worth, the world had a nice vibe to it, and it was definitely an attempt at an unique concept, but it wasn’t flushed out very well. Last bit seemed rushed, but pacing seemed to be an issue throughout. 8/10 for the first eight episodes, 2/10 for the last four episodes. For Studio Oz’s first anime, it was average, and we hope to see some better things from them in the future.

In most shows I've reviewed, I primarily focus on the enjoyment and aspects that I noticed when I watched the show. If the show has terrible characters, then I would state that, if it has sluggish animation, I would say that too. However, most of that is put in particular aspects in which anything referring to art would be talked about the artistic backgrounds and designs of our characters. For this particular case, I want to make a different approach to this anime called Sabikui Bisco and make a full-fledged review, vastly different from what I have written. Without further ado, time to start. "I love you." Ahyes, Sabikui Bisco. When I first looked at the trailer, I thought I was promised an intriguing world filled with mysteries and bizarre details that caused the world they lived into oblivion. The characters had unique designs and stand out, the soundtrack was also quite bizarre, which took a while for me to settle, but I found it to be quite fitting. If I were to remember, I rewatched the preview about 10 different times, becoming one of my anticipated shows this Winter. As I have said, I was hoping for an enriched apocalyptic world that had something to show other than its competitors. Unfortunately, I am filled with sheer disappointment as every episode that came out, it was getting worse the more I looked at it. First, we must talk about the story, the synopsis of the story unravels about a post-apocalyptic Tokyo after being poisoned by the plague-like wind of rust. From the first sentence, it's already a problem. Rust is supposedly a reaction that only happens to anything that is mostly pure metal, which the show is also derived from, which led me flabbergasted, as such a thing would never exist to infect innocent people and usurp people's lives. But hey, it's all fiction, why should it matter if the author decides to make rust a plague? It is an issue because there are plenty of things that I feel like that are overlooked by the author when he made this. If such a thing called rust wind exists, then people who are venturing are not wearing armour that is resistant to rust, which I'm not seeing here. Why aren't the people using metal sacrifice to protect themselves from rust? Does the show has never heard of the term 'electroplating'? I believe all the chemist professionals happened to die on that day. It's not only the fact that it's severely illogical in terms of its setting but how the author decided to introduce a cure right off the bat that can supposedly 'eat' rust, which then again is just a way to turn it into a prophecy. The approach of having a certain cure where there are already things proven to prevent corrosion of metal or even the show's main threat, rust is beyond me. I could not believe it myself. Enough about the stupid lore, now the story. The story is without a doubt inconsistent and convoluted. In the first few episodes, I was not liking how the show was reluctant on showing us the action, one of the things I was highly expecting. Their exposition of dialogue bored me to death until the last few minutes when something actually happens. A mushroom spawner can make himself fly because, for some reason, it can launch him and grow instantly without any withdrawal symptoms from it. They both met and decided to find the rare 'Sabikui', a mushroom that will cure the doctor's sister's disease that has plagued her body. Then, when the first few episodes were finally over, it decided to turn into an adventure between a goody-two-shoes doctor and a screaming archer who don't know where they are heading. From what I can discern from that part, the show shows more interest in going for anything that suits the current tone of the story, no matter how inconsistent and stupid it is. I was genuinely furious when Episode 9 came along, like the author thought he was doing good writing by having us shocked but ended up making more plot conveniences than Dragon Ball Z, a show notorious for its story stretching further because of abundant plot conveniences. The show was so focused on finishing the story it started, everything felt rushed the moment Milo decided to assault the main villain. My next point is about art. There's not much to say about it honestly. The characters from an artistic point are not that bad but their art backgrounds don't practically stand out much. But I realise that the stupid mushrooms spawning out from Bisco's arrows was getting on my nerves as if those are the only things he can do other than screaming and sometimes being a motivational guy when the time is convenient. What had me legitimately done was the Iron Titan, which happened to be the ugliest thing I have seen made in CGI, in which I do not hate CGI animations whatsoever, but damn, I remember the Titan is more disgusting than it being a dangerous threat. Now to the characters, let's say that I was not quite fond of the characters in this show. Their choice of dialogue is so awkward and edgy most of the time. Character development seemed to be forced for the sake of the plot. The villain of the story sounds threatening but was nothing more than a side villain who completely sucks. Kurokawa was as uninteresting as he was annoying, who existed only to make the main character die, yes indeed it happened. A prime example of that is Milo, whose personality takes a 180 during the last few episodes after portraying himself as a well-mannered, compassionate and determined person, decided to be like his counterpart who is known to be childish, aggressive and downright dumb most of the time unless the plot decides to make him intelligent. This for some reason, threw me off and had me confused as it doesn’t make any particular sense in the slightest to have this happen. Not only that, the side characters of this show other than the main duo just feels... fake. Pawoo, a lady portrayed as a sexy fighter with rusts on her body seems to be there for the fanservice and nothing else, despite being the main reason for the doctor to go on an adventure in the first place. Even as the plot goes on, I cannot indulge myself with the fact that Pawoo is supposed to be a character and nothing more than an image of lust. The only decent character out of them was Jabi, who had something to say for himself, but yet again, he doesn't seem to be anything that amazing where the main character has talked about him. Tirol on the other hand had something, but it was disappointing that she doesn't get much attention other than a few particular episodes. In the end, the characters of the show are incredibly poor and easily forgettable. In terms of enjoyment, it felt like my time was wasted on this junk, which successfully fooled me into thinking it's an actual good piece of fiction, which it's nothing more than trash. I regretted not listening to others who knew what they were getting into, its tendency of pulling out plot conveniences, contradicting characters, forced character development, rushed storytelling, and illogical lore. "I'm telling you it's overrated!" Overall, do not watch this anime in any circumstances. You will regret it. Hence, I end my review about Sabikui Bisco. Also, screw you too, Sabikui Bisco.

A horde of ripped hippos with military artillery mounted on their backs stampede across the screen, making aim at a spiky haired archer riding on a colossal crab. An elderly man in the background takes aim and one-shots a hippo, causing the growth of a massive mushroom to rupture its skull. One phrase comes to mind: "What the fuck?" Sabikui Bisco is a hyper-crack acid ride that's inexplicably attractive because of its gritty and insane portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world. I don't want to divulge too much about the premise in light of the fact that there's no point; the entire point of a show like thisis that it takes the viewer by surprise in how "out there" it is. Premise aside, it was really just one hell of a ride the whole way through. Though there were problems present with pacing and there was a small (and quite annoying) retcon at the end, the entire vibe of the show kind of enticed me into overlooking "the small things". Normally, I think things like this may have presented a larger issue, but because of the nature of Sabikui Bisco, there is really no reason to severely detract from the show here. The audiovisual quality of the work was insane. A funky jazz + metal fusion feel for the OST did perfect justice to the inexplicable absurdities occurring on the screen, and a grainy feel accompanied by CG and a bright color palate further added to the immersion that I felt in following the series weekly. Overall, it was an experience that I won't forget for a long time because of its perfect shot at my sweet spot for "funky" settings. I don't smoke or anything, but if you're doing some semi-legal things and you wanna watch some anime, I think this might be the one.

Whether you accept the standards of today's light novel adaptations as they are, we should at least all agree that Sabiuki Bisco attempts to try something different. Rather than high school romances or about a protagonist out to save the world, we get a protagonist trying to find a legendary mushroom with capabilities to devour all rust. This may sound confusing at first but trust me, as the story unfolds, it becomes more clear why Bisco is motivated by his actions. But first, we must ask ourselves if this type of story is worth a follow. Apparently, the light novel series have been quite popular, asit topped rankings on the Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! list. Watching Sabiuki Bisco gave me a peculiar impression at first because the show itself does have a fascinating world setting. It looks like something out of an apocalyptic video game. What's more curious is Bisco's role of attempting to reverse the land to its previous form with his unique talent. Joining him on his quest is young doctor named Milo Nekoyanagi. If this was described as a two-man party in a game, then Bisco would be the main fighter while Milo acts as support with his invaluable creative medical skills and knowledge. The two may be not alike but their roles compliment each other. It's also shown that deep down, Bisco truly cares about Milo's well-being, more than just for the sake of survival to accomplish his goal. With such a premise, this journey takes our characters across a desolate land filled with dangers. Among the earliest threat they face is no other than Milo's sister, Pawoo. With a strong sense of justice, she is known to track down mushroom terrorists in her line of work. Unfortunately, Bisco is branded as a terrorist despite his real intentions. You can put the pieces together and realize that he's practically a target on her hit list. Indeed, Bisco not only has to deal with just finding the legendary Sabikui but to simply survive. It's no easy task when you realize his reputation and he has to adapt with every circumstance. The anime establishes himself as a survivor who relies on clever tactics, his trusty bow, and natural skills to survive. In retrospect, the anime structures the story as fantasy adventure tale with sci-fi elements and survival concepts. While Bisco is the main protagonist, we can't forget about his loyal companion Milo. With a kind heart and gentle personality, Milo serves as the medic. Trust me, his skills are not only invaluable to Bisco but others they encounter on their journey such as Tirol. He helps the helpless and is the type of person just about anyone can trust. This contrasts a bit compare to Bisco because his reputation has been tarnished. There are very few people he can trust in this story. Unfortunately, the anime's character cast is rather thin in numbers and character development is also limited. We don't even get much background storytelling. There are also some characters that can either excite or irriate you. Tirol falls in this example with her somewhat childish personality. Pawoo also entered the anime with an ambition to hunt down Bisco but you may be surprised her change in attitude later on toward him. Watching Sabiuki Bisco doesn't take a lot of thinking to understand the story. The premise speaks for itself while we follow the journey of two characters on such a dangerous adventure. What may catch you off guard later on in the show is a big change of Bisco himself. It may even provoke the question and fate of the anime altogether. I won't spoil it but do be prepared. However, also do be aware that with 12 episodes, the anime scratches more or less the surface of the story. The anime pulls the trigger to get the most important elements of the story in while not adapting a full tale to tell. It's a common trend in light novel adaptations and I think at this point, we just need to learn and accept it. Alright, I admit. I had to actually look up the studio in charge of handling the adaptation. OZ seems to be a brand new production studio and this serves as their first solo project. Watching this show did impress me on the animation front for the unique quality of its production. It sets the feeling of an apocalyptic world with its barren landscapes and harsh environments. Monster designs are also made to look menacing and something you'd expect in a post-apocalyptic world. Human expressions are also captured with care when watching the emotions of the cast, especially for Milo. Finally, the anime makes a clear point abut rust with its character designs. Bisco is the most prominent example for its crude look that gives him the impressions of a rebel. Having said this, I believe OZ made a strong impression with their first project and look forward to their future. Sabiuki Bisco is a show that I can recommend to others even if it seems unorthodox at first glance. It takes on an unique setting that explores the effects of a hazardous environment. Bisco experiences a journey like no other, especially with the obstacles that stood in his way. With every episode, it felt like the anime kept me at the edge of my seat. So sit back, grab some popcorn, drinks, and enjoy the show.