TOKYO UNDERGROUND
By YAKISOBA
Published: Zen Caballa
General Information:
Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Romance
Original Run Time: 02 April 2002 – 24 September 2002
Animation Studio: Studio Pierrot
Directed By: Hayato Date
Total Episodes: 26
Plot: 6.5/10
Characters: 7.25/10
Animation: 6.25/10
Music: 7/10
Voice Acting: 7/10
Total: 6.8/10
Synopsis:
The protagonist Rumina Asagi is a high school boy hoping to change his reputation of being a fighter. When his plans to change his reputation fails, he meets two strange girls who seem to be on the run from something. He dies trying to protect them but is miraculously revived by one of the girls who goes by the name of Ruri Sarasa. It is here when his world changes as he discovers that there is an underground society beneath Tokyo’s railway system. This world called the Underground houses a society of people who have the ability to manipulate the elements. They are called Elemental Users. With his recently gained ability to manipulate wind, he sets off on an adventure to protect Ruri from The Company who wants to sacrifice her for their revenge on the surface dwelling people.
Plot:
The show had typical adventure elements of a hero, a clear and typical villain, a damsel in distress, with the hero saving the damsel. Even with its formulaic nature, the show still had a lot of potential to be a good anime. Although there have been anime featuring an underground society, Tokyo Underground did well in presenting and explaining the world to the viewers, such as how things came to be and how the powers work. The world was built adequately and the viewer would get immersed in the world presented to them. However, the execution of the show was not really well done. The earlier episodes tended to drag on, but the later ones felt highly rushed and the viewer is left with an unsatisfying ending. Otherwise, the storyline is engaging and the concepts used, such as the Elemental Users and their powers, were interesting. It was really enjoyable to explore the underground society and see the characters overcome their struggles. It was a rather simple show.
Characters:
Rumina is your typical shounen protagonist – strong, loud, and reckless. Ruri is the typical damsel in distress – sweet and kind-hearted with special powers that people are clamouring for. Chelsea was refreshing strong female character and Ginnosuke has his own adorable dorky charm. Although the main cast fit typical stereotypes in anime, they still meshed well with each other to give the viewers a good, diverse cast. The antagonists of this show are also rather interesting that give the show even more flavour.
Animation:
For a show that sets itself for a lot of fight scenes, the animation is rather disappointing. The animation is rough and there are a lot of style changes that do not go along with the rest of scene. Even close ups of a person’s face where one would expect a nice image because there isn’t much motion going on is very subpar. There are times where the eyes aren’t done properly and the character looks cross-eyed while trying to be cool. It really deducts a lot from the overall experience.
Music:
The opening song by [iski:D], Jounetsu, is really well done. It really fit the theme of the show and set the mood well. The second opening song, still by [iski:D], Hey You!, was also well done though was not as cool mood-wise as the first. The anime’s ending, Kakusei Toshi by Arai Akino sends chills down ones spine when one listens to it. The BGM of the show, however, is not really as striking as the opening and ending.
Voice Acting:
Fans of Haruhi Nanao would appreciate her performance as Ruri. Tomozaku Seki did a good job of voicing Rumina. Ikue Outani, most famous for her voicing of Pikachu from Pokemon, did the voice of Shiel Messiah, a supporting character that greatly helped Ruri in the show. Other notable voice actors are Kaoru Morota and Souichiro Hoshi voicing Chelsea and Ginnosuke respectively.