review [beck - mongolian chop squad]

Yesterday, I decided to go buy a fresh supply of blank CDs from Greenhills on my way home from QC (from a todo-gimmick weekend at QC). While I was checking a few things out at 2RATS before buying blanks, I saw a DVD compilation of Beck - Mongolian Chop Squad.

4 DVDs at p70 each was an excellent price so I decided to buy them and besides, I had a good feeling the series would be great. I've read the manga, and I remember it sending uhh.. shivers you might say, down my spine (a challenge - imagine making readers 'feel' and imagine how good the main character sings with just panels and lyrics and no sound). I was a bit apprehensive because of the recent failures of manga-to-anime translations of titles like Naruto (gods, the anime is just horrible) and Bleach but then the price, a few previews of the episodes plus residual feelings of euphoria from my previous encounter earlier that day made me feel like I can't go wrong with this one.

And I wasn't - Beck is one of the BEST anime titles I've seen. I watched the first few episodes almost immediately when I got back and ended a few hours later with episode 21 (out of 26 episodes). I give this title 5 friggin well earned stars for the following reasons:

1. being faithful to the comicbook (in fact making it even better IMO).
   
2. extremely well-done (seamless blending of traditional and CG) and consistent animation. I liked how the guitars were done in high-detail CG and blended nicely with the had-drawn panels. the character's movements were also realistic and, I don't know how exactly to put it but.. fluid and laid back.
   
3. a well-written script. None of that no-brainer dialogues you often se in anime these days.
   
4. one great soundtrack which includes originals from the series and a few classics like the Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling" and "Follow Me" from the Rocket Boys. the Dying Breed song "Full Moon Sway" and the Beck MCS original "Slip Out" are also among my favorite tracks from the soundtrack. The voice-actors' vocals in the songs were actually quite good (minus the Engrish of course).
   
5. visual-kei glam/ pop rock bashing. subtle bashing (maling word na yata yung bashing...), hindi naman in-your-face.
   
6. for being a nice inspirational watch. a story of self-discovery, stepping out of the crowd, love, and the passion for real music.

The story of Beck - Mongolian Chop Squad starts when Yukio Tanaka or Koyuki to some of his friends, an uninspired and frequent bully-target middle-school kid with an unknown talent for singing meets and becomes friends (through an unlikely string of circumstances) with Ryuusuke, a talented indie musician and his strangely cute dog "Beck". Through Ryusuke's and his tough-chick younger sister Maho's influence and Koyuki's mission to find a way to impress 'the girl', Izumi, Koyuki gains a newfound passion for Rock and eventually becomes the unlikely frontman for "Beck" - the ultimate rock band.