Ranked #51

Beck

First of all, it is much better than expected. The storyline was so interesting and wonderfully executed, that I even disregarded the sub par drawing style . I like the idea of a band struggling to make it big not only in Japan, but as well as in America.

Speaking of the band, the BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad was a good band (I say it's "good" because I am not a fan of rap-rock music). Earlier in the series, when Ryuusuke was talking about chemistry in a band and stuff, I did see the chemistry among the five. First you have Ryuusuke, who reeks of pure rocker, Taira, the mysterious bass player, Chiba, the crazy rapper/singer, Saku, the awesome drummer and even Koyuki, who irritates me sometimes, the wide eyed lead singer/ budding artist.

These guys make wicked music. It's definitely not typical j-rock, it actually sounds modern and americanized. A lot of the songs were in english, but there were definitely a few mistakes in grammar (These grammatical mistakes can also be found in between dialogues with Ryuusuke, Maho and all them americanized Japanese kids). The mistakes are just minor ones anyway that can be overlooked. A few of my favorites are "Hit in the USA", "My world coming down", and "Moon on the water", who are supposedly sang by the fictional band, DyBre. I also like the insert song provided by the band "The Pillows" which makes their cameo as "The Heroes", Taira's 4th band.

I mentioned that Koyuki irritated me sometimes. I just don't like the fact that he gets picked on everywhere he goes. Is there some sort of sign in his head that says "bully bait" or something? I also hated it when he cried. He is such a crybaby. I know he's a kid and all, but I never met a 14-year old boy who would cry at the drop of a hat. He did win me over during the parts when he would sing. His Japanese accent was heavy when he would sing the english songs, but he does have a considerably good voice.

In the beginning of the review I said the drawings were sub par, and that's mainly because the characters were not proportionate, but then again, all anime characters are not drawn proportionately anyway. I did like the different look, cause in a way I was getting tired of the usual way anime are drawn, as well as weird hair and eye colors. As I've said, the storyline does make up for it. Other than that, the inanimate objects are seemingly drawn well. The guitars and cars had very intricate details, and it almost looked life like. Even the electric fan earlier in the series was well designed.

The voice acting was also good. I like the fact that the american characters sounded like americans, and even the italian american guy had the accent going. I did kind of think that Eddie and Ryuusuke kind of sounded like hip hoppers more than rockers, but A for effort anyway.

It was a really good anime, and I hope there's going to be a sequel. I want to know what happens next! read more

I ended up rewatching this series recently to kill some spare time, and -- I don't know why -- I found that I liked the whole series a lot more the second time around. I mean, I liked it the first time... but the second time, I really liked it.

It's about this middle school kid named Koyuki, who finally connects with the world around him through music and what eventually becomes a band called Beck... blah, blah, blah.

Story-wise... it's a little kooky. I don't know how other people viewed it, but being from the U.S., well, I had to remind myself a few times to take it with a grain of salt. I really enjoyed the slow development of Koyuki and the band and the relationships between everyone... I thought that part of the story was really well done. It's just that (especially in the second half), you have to be prepared to suspend your disbelief a little and accept the oddness of the whole Lucille subplot.

The art? I really liked looking at it. There was something very appealing about it. I think I especially liked how the everything was kind of gritty and muted looking to match the mood of the underground music scene. Also, the color palette they chose fit really well with the tone and vibe of the main characters and the story line, I thought.

Okay, the music really, really grew on me. I thought I was going to hate it and I have to admit that the grammar kind of bugged me at first... but I totally hum/sing a bunch of the songs to myself without thinking about it now. Even the opening song is catchy and fun. And even though you do hear bits of a few songs over and over again, it's nice, because I felt like I was getting more and more familiar with their sound... and it gave me a chance to become a "fan" of the band. ;) Also I thought that the people who were singing Koyuki and Maho's parts did a *great* job.

Character-wise... I don't think you get to know anyone as well as you get to know Koyuki. In fact, I think you only get to know everyone else as well as Koyuki himself does. But that's one of the nice things about the show, actually. They don't always like each other. They're bandmates and they aren't each others' whole lives. ...So, it felt okay to be irritated with or irked by some of the characters. And personally, I really prefer characters who are flawed and honest and real, so I really didn't mind not always liking the people on the show because it felt so much more... authentic, in a way.

And I don't know if this is character or story, but I also liked the way the series kind of kept us updated on Beck's rival band and used their story as a contrast to the main story.

I would say though, that if you're not used to the way heavily accented English sounds, listening to some of the conversations and the songs might be a little jarring at first. It didn't bother me since I was watching it w/ subs anyway and I'm used to thick accents, but I know some people who found it distracting... they couldn't concentrate on what was going on because they were too busy listening and trying to figure out what they were saying.

Overall, great show. It's different from your typical perky, funny, energetic sort of high school shows... it's sort of more of a "My So-Called Life" type show, without all the drama and with a band. ;) So, this probably isn't what you're looking for if you want sort of a funny, light-hearted high school slice of life show; it's ...quieter than that. But if you're looking for a break from all the sugar, this is a really nice change of pace. read more

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started watching this show. I had never seen a music themed anime before, and didn’t really have much motivation to try it out. But, I decided to give it a shot since it had a good rating, and I'm glad I did. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s very entertaining and has a lot of great music. This will remain one of my favorite shows for quite a while.

Story – 8 – When I began watching this show I really wasn’t expecting much from the story. I figured that it would focus mainly on the music with the story being secondary, but it turned out to be quite interesting. It seems to portray a realistic road that a band just starting out would have to go through. They don’t just form and instantly become famous, they have to work hard and earn everything they get. There is success, but plenty of failure along the way as well. This sometimes causes the show to drag on a bit, but also adds to the realism. There is also a nice little romance side story with a few surprises. There isn’t very much time dedicated to it, but it is very entertaining.

Animation/Art – 7 – The animation was certainly the weak point of this series. The character designs don’t really fall in line with most anime (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but they certainly weren’t very polished. A lot of the movement animation seemed awkward and choppy as well. There are a few cool shots of the band members playing the instruments, but not nearly enough. The animation may seem weird at first, I personally didn’t like it for the first few episodes, but it grew on me. By the end I started to enjoy looking at something a little different than the norm.

Sound – 10 - Probably the most important part of any music anime, and it certainly delivers in the case of Beck. First things first, the opening and ending themes are great throughout the series. In my opinion, this is an anime were you really should watch both the original and dubbed versions. They are both great, and you can’t go wrong with either one. However, there are some awkward pronunciations in the Japanese version when the characters try to speak or sing in English. It is because of this that I prefer the dubbed version overall, but there were a few songs from the Japanese version that I preferred. There is also a nice mix of rock (very similar to RAtM in my opinion) and slower songs that focus more on the vocals. I enjoyed the songs so much that I still listen to them on a regular basis.

Character – 8 – Though the story focuses a lot on the band as a unit, only two of the characters get a lot of screen time and development. One problem I had was that not all of the members of the band got enough development, even though they seemed to have potential to be very interesting characters. Beck does feature some nice secondary characters though especially Koyuki’s mentor Mr. Saitou. He is the most consistent character to deliver humor and is very likable. Overall a solid cast, but not enough time is spent on the supporting characters.

Entertainment – 10 – You don’t have to be a musician to enjoy this anime. Basically if you like music at all, there is a good chance you are really going to like this. This show was all about entertainment. Every episode had a solid amount of music in it, with humor mixed in along the way. I was hooked after just a few episodes and blew through the series in about 2 days. If you are just looking for a nice relaxing show that you don’t have to think about, this is it.

Overall – 10 – You may be wondering how scores of 8,7,10,8, and 10 add up to a 10 overall. Well, I went into this looking for an entertaining show with good music, and it certainly was outstanding in both of those areas. That is why when looking at overall, I weighted those two categories highest and decided to give it a 10. read more

I Loved this show, but my rating is coming with a bias, because i basically just watched my life in an anime. I am a musician who has had many bands playing clubs and an arena, so this show was a great watch.

Story- My opinion on the story is heavily biased, i was instantly drawn into it through the main character Koyuki (Yukio) and his feeling of emptiness at the beginning about how he didn't see his place in the world, and then finding it by being introduced to a well known bandand falling in love with music. Ruyuuske is the average underground musician in the beginning with his experience. The story is about Ruyuuske creating a new band out of nothing after his old one falls apart and starts a rivalry between him and the other guitarist, which always happens betweens underground musicians. upon the 2 of them meeting they have a rocky friendship which in the end works out as they both complete the new band together and set off to try and make it in scene.

Art- the dark tones and colors really put you in the mood for whats happening. You can see the cold and somewhat dampness to the streets and alleyways. the darkened clubs and bright school atmosphere perfectly give the feel of the true life. Although some people have complained about the art being a little bad, i enjoyed the nice change up. And seeing places named after famous American clubs and other places added a type of comic relief of sorts.

Sound- Sound is a big one, especially for a music anime. I watched both versions, sub and dub, and i prefer the dub solely because of the music. The accents isn't what got to me about the sub it was the tone of voice. During supposed "in your face" songs the Japanese singer seemed lacking. Both versions had the acting done great, and the music quality pushed my rating up to 10.

Character- This is the part that seemed the most realistic to me. The band members being different from one another especially, never have ai seen a band with all the members listening to the same music. You have Chiba as the punk and Rap influenced singer, Koyuki Classic Rock Guitarist, Saku the Hard Rock Drummer, Tyra a New Wave bassist, and Ryuuske the Blues and rock lead Guitarist. Each one brings their own sound and feel and they combine them all for the bands sound. How the characters had their flaws, got on your nerves, and excited you seemed natural, like real people.

Enjoyment- Once again, I'm heavily biased. I enjoyed this anime a lot, I was drawn in and just couldn't stop watching. towards the end it just got better and better as the reality of the scene comes into play even more. The last couple of episodes could be seen as unexpected or a bummer of sorts, but hey, it happens people, take it from an underground musician. lol

Overall- This anime wont be enjoyed by everyone, not even every music fan. It's one of my favorites and its ranked that high because of how I felt wile watching it, as if I saw myself. I doubt anyone will make the connection I made to this anime, but its worth a shot to try and see. You don't have to know anything about music in roder to enjoy the drama that unfolds in this show. read more

Beck, an interesting and intriguing series that I stumbled upon a few years ago, constantly contemplating whether or not to watch it and if I had the time. And man, I didn't have the time, but I made time for this. I went to sleep at 6 in the morning just to get in a few more episodes of this great series. And I had two tests the next day, it just made me do that. I must say that I was very surprised when I watched this series, stunned by how much better it was than first speculated and how far it exceeded my expectations. (Took me a while to get to write this review, with all the crap that goes on in my life.)

The story for this series was actually pretty good, not too spectacular but still noteworthy. Some crazy twists happen in the plot, not going to spoil it but they get sorta crazy and almost random. Most of the time it's just Koyuki getting through puberty and high school life and the band progressing to hit it big, but there's interesting bits and pieces that fit nicely into the plot to make it quite enjoyable.

Animation is not the best part of this series. It's definitely not horrible, at all, but sometimes gets a little choppy at places and not 100% satisfactory. It didn't really bother me, but I did notice it. It's nothing to worry about, the music will get you to not focus on it at all. : D

Sound/Music, man, I don't know where to start. Sure there were problems when the characters spoke English (supposedly they spoke English all their lives and can't pronounce "the" correctly), but apart from that, it was spectacular. The music in this series is where its at. You could say that it's the best part about the series, but what do you expect, it's about a band. The many various genres of music really find their place in this series, being played at the right moments. Overall, just perfect.

Most of the characters were well developed, but some were not. I thought that Taira had a lot more potential, as well as some other members of the band (Chiba and Sakurai). However, these characters still have their rightful place in the band and the story, so they at least worked that out fine. The Mako/Koyuki pairing is so cute!

To me, this anime was pretty inspiring, interesting, and definitely entertaining, all at once. I really enjoyed it, so much that I deprived myself of sleep, and I must say that in my world, sleep almost always has priority over everything else. Just crack open a fresh can of Dew and sitting in the bed, watching this was really relaxing, something I needed from the IB program that kills me day by day, but then again, anime and Asian dramas are probably my best stress relievers. If it's good enough to get me to not sleep, it's definitely worth watching.

I give this excellent series a solid 9, it was very enjoyable, but still has a few minor problems that you and others probably won't notice at all. Maybe you won't enjoy it as much as I did, but surely, you'll have fun watching it, I can almost guarantee it. This goes into my list of "If you like music, then watch this" kind of anime as it is all about music and all about the band. read more

Beck was an title I had come across a couple of times before, but for whatever reason, I hadn't picked up or looked into further. After discovering MAL, I starting devoting some time to discovering new anime to watch, and Beck was one of them. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but this series grabbed me so much I ended up watching all of the episodes over the space of 2 days.

Story:
Falling primarily under the slice of life genre, the series follows 14 year old Tanaka Yukio (Koyuki) after a chance encounter with a strange dog and its owner Minami Ryusuke. In events following on from this, Koyuki is exposed to music and people that inspire him to learn the guitar, ultimately forming a band with his new found friends, Beck. Most of the series deals with Beck's struggle to achieve fame, with their failures and setbacks providing most of the drama to the story.

Art:
The animation in Beck is slightly disappointing. I enjoyed the character designs, they are drawn in a somewhat more realistic style than most anime, but this is let down by occasionally choppy movement. Overall I found that while it doesn't match up to the quality of animation I am accustomed to from recent anime, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the series on the whole.

Sound:
I watched Beck in its original Japanese, with English subtitles. Being focussed on music, sound is obviously a big part of this series. Musically, I enjoyed all of the songs throughout the series, I felt that they were used effectively, without overpowering the storyline. The English dialogue by some of the characters was a bit sketchy, but on the whole not particularly distracting. I have seen parts of the English dub of Beck as well, while they fixed the Engrish of the original script and in the songs, I found I still preferred the original Japanese dub.

Character:
The series focusses mostly on Koyuki, developing him from a somewhat bored, directionless teenager into an ambitious young musician. The other characters aren't develop in the same way, but are fleshed out nicely over the course of the anime, adding depth to the storyline.

Overall:
A large part of why I think I enjoyed this series so much is it's focus on music and the power it has to influence people. Koyuki's character resonated strongly with me and I was really drawn into the story, wanting to know how things would turn out for the band, so much so that after I finished the anime I began reading the manga to see how the story continued. This is a series dedicated to the true spirit of music and something that I feel that any fan of music would enjoy. My only reasons for giving this anime anything less than a perfect score are the occasionaly sub-par animation and the fact it all ends too quickly. read more

Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to this show. I saw it at a pawn shop for a very cheap price so I went ahead to give a chance. Even after having a friend telling me it pretty much sucks. I must say that it was a whole lot better than I expected. It certainly isn't my favourite but there is something special about it.

The concept of the show is fairly simple, just a band trying to gain fame in the world of music. Of course, there's much more to it than that. There are a couple of side stories which do, in fact, spice up the show a little bit. I personally found the show to be a bit dry in some parts because it does have a tendency to drag on. Other than that, it is a fairly good story. It's simple and will be enjoyable for those who are fans of music. Unfortunately, the show did not provide a satisfying ending. The ending felt rushed, far too much happened in the last episode that could've been elaborated. A second season or an OVA would make it feel complete.

The animation really isn't bad, but does have its flaws. It can be choppy and inconsistent with the characters, but the backgrounds can be interesting at times. The style of the show is interesting because it gives us a variety of styles which keep it from looking like the generic anime. No one really does look same which certainly made me happy.

Characters are fairly normal people with their internal struggles. They are not exaggerated and can even be relatable to those carrying a career in music. The relationships between the characters were strong but at certain points we do lose the Koyuki/Maho relationship. I don't know if it was just me, but I felt they kind of left her out for a while. Aside from that, all characters were likeable and realistic. My older brother was in a band, not necessarily to make it big but I did see how relatable it is for a struggling band to at least gain some attention.

I personally didn't love or hate it but its all preference. There is no denying that the music was really catchy, especially the theme and ending songs. Particularly, the ending song was something I could even listen onto an mp3 more than once. Some of the other songs through out the series even reminded me of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and seemed American infulenced.

The English dub was pretty good. All voices suited the characters and the voice actors delivered. You can even tell that there is a lot of love put into the voices because it seemed that they really enjoyed it, especially Justin Cook who performed as Chiba. Greg Ayres finally did a voice that I heard that didn’t sound overly squeaky. I was pleasantly surprised to hear his singing voice too. As for the Japanese dub, I cannot say because I only heard snippets of it.

This show wasn’t the most enjoyable ever, but it did have something I feel that a lot of anime does not have- love. I find that there was a lot of love put into this, it wasn’t half-assed. You can see that there was love put into the creation of the characters and the music. That is why I really enjoyed this anime. It gave me a feeling I hadn’t had from an anime for a while. I hope there's at least an OVA or another season.

Pros- music, developing characters, english dub
Cons-tendacy to drag on, animation can be choppy


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I can honestly say that I have never seen another anime like BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad. Slice-of-life anime is common, of course, but usually it’s that rosy Azumanga Daioh view of high school that resembles real life only in place and time, like a Disney sitcom. The best way to describe this show is that it’s an animated independent film. Except for the patchwork dog and an only slightly far-fetched mobster side-plot near the show’s climax, the series feels grounded not in picturesque reality like a lot of high school slice-of-life, but in the persistently disappointing ennui of real high school life, and the grit of teenage emotions, obligations, hormones, and escapades, much more like someone with a camcorder running around on the set of that aforementioned Disney show capturing the teen stars complaining about the previous take and the director scratchin’ his bum.

This is consequently both awesome and alienating, of course. For those of us who like watching what feels like a real life through a keyhole, it’s a gripping and refreshing experience. For a lot of other people though, it’s probably slow and boring. The writers feed you Koyuki’s life through exciting days and bland ones and while I think the choice makes this a more visceral human story even for the musically uneducated (MEEEEE!), it’s clearly not for everybody. It’s impossible to categorize BECK, and you will either LOVE it or fall asleep in ten minutes. I loved it and I still fell asleep sometimes if I tried to watch at weird hours.

On the technical side of things, the animation is a little weird. I can’t say it’s bad, because the stilted look is intentional. I think the idea was to make this show like one of those blurred picture montages of real life in jerky motion you see in many music videos…or Evangelion’s druggie moments. Greater attention was paid to the character’s band performances than the doldrums of their daily motion, as we get to see mad finger-picking, cymbal-smashing, and sweat dripping down screaming faces.

Which brings me to the music. There actually is no music in this show unless someone in the show is listening to it or playing it in the show’s world, with the exception of some moments where there is ambient noise in its place, which adds to the realism. Anyway, I’m going to cover the music and the voicework in the same breath here, because while you cannot have a show about battling bands and the power of music and have the music suck, with an English dub you have an entirely new hurdle. Even if the Japanese music is great, because the actual characters in the show’s story are singing it…all of the music has to be dubbed. If they left it in Japanese, the voice disjunction would ruin the experience. Besides that, most of the songs are already in Engrish. The music in BECK, all of it, is fantastic rock, from lite British classic to rap-heavy punk, and there is ooooodles of it. So after hearing the dubbed result, I’m going to say something I don’t say too often.

By my personal experience and estimation, I’d say about 60% of anime sounds much better in Japanese, 35% of anime sounds equally good in either language, and the rare 5% or so of anime sounds much better in English. BECK is firmly in that 5%, and while it is due to stellar singing and acting, most of the issue is just cultural. Of course anime is more rewarding in Japanese if you speak Japanese, but this particular show is more rewarding in Japanese if you DON’T know any English, because Ryuusuke, Maho, and several other “American” characters speak a lot of Engrish in-show and it really takes you out of the story trying to pretend that these guys are native speakers and singers. The dub makes very minimal changes, but flavors the dialogue with the natural crassness of how teenagers really speak, real f-bomb patois in all its glory, and tweaks the lyrics to sound like an English song as the creators no doubt intended, something that really would “hit in America.” Performance-wise, well, Greg Ayres, Brina Palencia, and Justin Cook can belt it with the best of them, and acting is stellar throughout, with nary an awkward line or delivery in the whole package. I may be combated on this as some people think the language barrier in Japanese is infinitely more charming, but I prefer realism to anachronistic charm, personally. Such an intense adaptation can’t be missed, because it’s the best and the most dub singing you’re ever going to hear.

No matter what your language, however, BECK’s concert performances, especially the pivotal final episodes at a music festival, have truly captured what it feels like to be at a concert and lose yourself in the passion and the sound, and that’s what’s so important and special about BECK. The diverse cast feels familiar and it’s always rewarding to hear them ROCK.

All in all, this show is incredibly unique and rewarding, a great coming-of-age story that rings so true and rocks out loud, but it has very limited appeal due to its sluggish pacing, dramatic modesty, and pandering to hard-rock fanatics far more than anime fans out for action and melodrama. It really brought the noise for me, even when the show was silent and slow, but it’s such a hard experience to share or revisit in full, so it's really up to viewer preferences.

*THIS IS A PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF MY VIDEO REVIEW WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sSxdgUeL4

Thanks for reading! read more

This works on quite a few levels, the first of which is the characters stories which are well thought out and you never disconnected to there struggles.

The second level is is the music which is the glue that makes this show special you could just like this show just for the music alone, I also like the fact that they reference most of the great in music history. Also every time the band play the volume level goes up like your at a gig or concert.

The third level is its look which is so right for this show, it gives it that rock kind feel. I am not sure about the ultimate band being achievable but you feel it could be possible with Beck Mongolian Chop Squad. I did have to remind myself that they were not folk rockers Beck although I sure Beck would love this to.

This show play to all of us who ever dream about being in a rock band or those who love good music after all rock and Anime never that far apart. It also tries to convey that in the modern world there is a lot of soulless pop, but if you look you might just find most of the best music never makes the charts and makes you feel alive when you here it.

This show is one that anyone who loves anime or good music should have in there collection, the work and love that has gone into it shows through and if you watch it you'll have a respect for that work an how technically hard it must have been to get right. read more

Series about young boys searching for themselves and their place in life are not rare by any stretch of the imagination, but ones that really grasp the viewer and provide something more than a simple coming of age story are astoundingly rare. Beck takes the coming of age story and introduces two characteristics which help to distinguish it greatly from other series of its kind: a deep immersion in the world of underground rock, and a deep involvement with its subject matter, which lends emotional weight and a sense of honesty to a tired premise.
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Koyuki, the main character, is unremarkable at first glance--a currently unskilled boy who shows a lot of promise(unheard of!)--but the major difference is that Koyuki quickly establishes himself as a real person. A kind, determined, hard-working student, Koyuki often finds himself discouraged by his current situation, and is prone to melancholy and bouts of hopeless resignation. As we watch, we see firsthand the profound impact that the introduction of a new form of music, along with Koyuki's growing love of it and rapid immersion in it, has on the young protagonist, deeply rooted in his newfound friendships and initially rooted in a superficial desire to impress and spend time with the girl he fancies. This assessment is true of most of the cast, all of them interacting together in something which often remarkably resembles real life, and at others completely abandons realism but still remains fundamentally grounded in the series' profound sense of humanity.

The characters in Beck's main cast all retain an honest, human feel to them. This is juxtaposed against the fantastical nature of most of the series' supporting cast, and solidifies the sense of close-knit family which develops within the band and the people close to them. This down to earth feel persists even as the characters gain wider and wider success, making what might have been a completely unbelievable and unsympathetic story decidedly the opposite. Bassist Taira is undoubtedly the weakest of these main characters, his stand-offish demeanor and mysterious history preventing him from capturing sympathy like the rest of the main cast.

The animation in Beck is decidedly high quality, with only a few minor complaints to raise. Foremost among these are the often jarring uses of three dimensional models, particularly during some of the performance scenes. These performance scenes represent both the best and worst of the animation in Beck, usually incredible but occasionally clunky and amateur. It is good to note, however, that all of the major performances are almost universally on the better end, leaving only the minor scenes to suffer this fate. Characters' visual design shares the nature of the characters themselves, the main cast simple and real, and the supporting cast fantastic, from black record executives who encapsulate a good percentage of relevant stereotypes to shop assistants resembling Swedish guitar virtuosos. At times this difference is striking, at other times simply odd, but undeniably the fantastic designs of the supporting cast make the main characters seem even more human by comparison.

Beck's soundtrack represents both the strongest and weakest point of the series. Because of the nature of the story in Beck, a great deal rides on the audience's impression of the soundtrack, particularly the tracks performed by the bands within the series. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous position, as disliking the music gives much of the series a false feel, in part nullifying the humanity of the story and the interactions within it. The soundtrack does, however, perform its task admirably throughout the series, and I personally enjoyed the insert songs played by the various bands from the series a great deal. But while the series stands on its strong points well even should you dislike the insert songs, it becomes nearly impossible to view the series the same way, particularly towards the conclusion, if you find the music to not be your thing.

The voice-acting in Beck, while not spectacular and without featuring any performances which particularly stand out, is universally solid, and is bolstered by good writing and expressive animation, thus making the overall experience on the whole remarkably satisfying. It is worth lauding here that the singing voices and speaking voices of the characters who have both are very well cast, and match up seamlessly. Also noteworthy is the handling of English in the series, especially the characters who are supposed to natively speak it. These characters almost actually do sound as if they speak English naturally--an astoundingly unique trait in animes featuring English(watch Negima if you want a good example)--and, although the writing of the English lines is decidedly sub-par compared to the series as a whole, they perform their parts well, in fact making the writing seem not so bad at times. Even if you ignore the fact that English is a second--conceivably third--language for the actors and writers, the scripting and performances are pretty good. If you take these into consideration, they are simply astounding.

The core plot--both the growth of Koyuki and Beck, and the relationship between Koyuki and Maho--stands as Beck's greatest achievement, a remarkable journey through the life of several remarkably real people. Many of the side-stories, however, leave a great deal to be desired. Sub-plots are all well and good, but Beck's sub-plots leave one anxiously awaiting the series' return to its core, and in many cases simply go on for too long. Though generally interesting and still rather well-written, they lack the emotional weight and honesty that propels the core of the story forward, and in some cases cheapen that quality. Especially guilty of this is the story involving Ryuusuke's guitar, which, especially during the times when it takes center stages, drags the series down right when it should have otherwise been strongest.
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Ultimately, Beck rises from the mass of coming of age series by providing solid writing and a uniquely honest take on the whole notion of growing up. It suffers from occasional animation hiccups--particularly with the use of three dimensional models in some of the minor performance sequences--and a heavy reliance on the audience to enjoy the soundtrack, particularly the songs played by Beck, but manages to minimize these weaknesses while bolstering its strong points. The core plot and interactions between characters is highly laudable, but some of the side-stories simply do not compare in quality, and should have been either scrapped, strengthened, or shortened. read more