After the world has changed, we see the lives of those inside one of the protected regions and the way life has changed into something calm, peaceful and controlled.
What They Say:
While living in the idyllic No. 6, Sion has a fateful encounter with the wanted fugitive, Nezumi.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the light novel series of the same name that just ended and a manga that just began, No. 6 is the newest show from Bones that really has a strong look about it and engages in a way that many of their shows do, at least at the start. The series introduces us to a familiar world but one some time in the future where we’re shown kids in a special city known as No. 6. The focus is on a bunch of kids in the gifted class, specifically Sion, a young boy who celebrates his twelfth birthday at the start with a sweater from his friends grandmother and a kiss from the girl. There are some interesting little nuggets we get right from the start with how just about everything is provided to those that live here, and especially those in the gifted realm, as the grandmother goes on about how all she can contribute to the world is either some gardening or knitting.
Where his life takes a curious turn is when he returns home and we see him really emote as a typhoon rolls through the area and he yells into the wind and sky in a primal way that really is quite beautiful. When he returns inside, he finds that he’s been followed by a wounded kid that looks to be the same age and suffering from a gunshot wound. Because of the way that Sion and others have been raised, there’s a disconnect from what you could consider the real world in a way as there is no fear or caution even when a situation like this happens. That Sion sutures the wound, gives him clothes and drink and barely even remembers to ask his name, it’s a different mindset. And when the only name offered is Rat, it ties into the story at the beginning about how a drowned rat reacts when facing a bad situation with fear in how it acts out.
Much of the episode explores that single night as Sion queries Rat about things, especially after he sees him on TV listed as a criminal that escaped transport to a correctional facility. He’s more curious than anything else, and Rat reinforces his nature by pointing out that he should be concerned about himself considering all the laws he’s likely broken by not turning him in. But it’s Sion’s nature to be curious like this, and helpful, and it does net him some interesting information. It’s glossed over, but we get a look at how the world has changed due to a great war, the way things are set up into various regions and that it’s largely peaceful since military engines have been put to rest since so much was destroyed. And it also shows that, at least according to Rat, that what’s on the news isn’t the truth since he hints that he’s really there for another purpose and it definitely provides for some intrigue.
In Summary:
No. 6 is very slow in what it does here, but it offers up a lot of information overall that you can put together to get a look at how the world is set up in this future. It’s an interesting one to be sure as it definitely appeals to some of the elements I like about science fiction and science fiction anime in particular. While it deals with young characters here, that’s just the tip of the iceberg it seems from the small reading I did so as to not spoil much, and it has me more interesting to see where it goes. With some solid light novel material behind it that went the distance and a new manga series spun off from it, Bones has a show that could easily build into something and has offered me enough to look forward coming back for more.
Grade: B
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.