People will do a lot for their vices.
What They Say:
“Night of the Murder”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After Hayao Miyazaki himself, Taku Kishimoto is currently my favorite anime writer. Having already written masterpieces the likes of Boku dake ga Inai Machi, both seasons of Haikyuu!!, and Usagi Drop, he’s only just beginning his career, making him the biggest name to watch with each coming season. He has a talent for writing character dialogue that feels far realer than the norm for TV anime, and that’s something that can make or break a series all on its own. As all of his works up to now have been adaptations, I was intrigued by the idea of him writing an original series for the first time and how it would measure up to the strength of his adaptive writing. 91 Days is the first example of that kind of series for him, so it’s time to see how he does on his own.
The studio behind this series is Shuka, previously having worked only on the Durarara!!x2 series. Following up on the first Durarara!! series, the studio was formed from the Brain’s Base staff that worked on it, although the production quality suffered from this brand-new studio trying to step into the big shoes of its predecessor. Fortunately, it seems that after having finished up all of Durarara!! the season before last, the studio is a little more together, or at least the material isn’t on a level that demands more, as was the case for those sequels. What’s important about this connection is actually that the team that worked on Durarara!! of course also worked on Baccano!, its spiritual predecessor in all respects. This series almost instantly looks perhaps more like the Baccano! anime than anything else, and it won’t take long to discover how appropriate a match that is. This is another Prohibition series, starring bootleggers, the mafia, and all the 1920s slang you could ask for. It’s a rare setting for anime in particular, so having this studio attached is definitely a nod to that fine series that we’ll sadly never see more of even though its less fantastic cousin got to be fully adapted with five cours to Baccano!’s lowly one.
In a sense, 91 Days is Baccano! without any of the elements that make it similar to Durarara!!, which are certainly plentiful. As a result, it interestingly has essentially nothing in common with Durarara!! aside from the studio. The unique narrative style that those series share is what makes them fun and special, but with a premise that seems to be treated a bit more seriously, the atmosphere in 91 Days simply allows more subtle character study. And it has the best man around for the job, right? This episode is naturally full of setup, but a few moments here and there imply some potential. That’s hardly high praise for the first original from my favorite active writer in the industry, but there’s hardly anything to go off on right now. Is it likely to be listed alongside his adaptive masterpieces? It seems doubtful, but if it can at least make good use of his talent, I could hardly ask for more. Just having a writer I can be this excited by is a gift I’m thankful for.
In Summary:
Taku Kishimoto’s first original is here! It feels like a more subtle take on Baccano!’s setting than the stylistic chaos that is Narita’s trademark, complete with the studio that formed from the people who brought Baccano! to the animated format in the first place. It’s an intriguing time and place to set a story, especially since it’s so rarely used for anime, and with the focus appearing to be on a more serious mood and eventually the inner workings of its characters, there’s hope for Kishimoto’s finest skills to be put to use to make it something truly worthwhile. Until then, it’s at least appreciated that it looks a bit better than the studio’s first attempts with Durarara!!’s sequels.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Roku 3, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.
