Ranked #69

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

After finishing episode 1 of this series, a deep breath was taken. I was so engrossed that apparently I had forgotten to breathe while I was watching.

After finishing episode 26, I finally exhaled. This series was a rush of nonstop emotion all the way throw and never faltered for a second. Everything I said here over a half a year ago holds completely true and I can't flaunt my glowing recommendation for this series enough.

Rainbow is definitely one of the best things Japan has put out in a long time, and not in an ironic "Oh, Japan!" flashy comedy/campy/ridiculous way. It's a serious story. So serious that the first episode starts off with a disclaimer about explicit content. Think about that for a second. In a medium like anime where there's blood, tits and who knows that else in so many shows, what are they warning you about? Real stuff, that's what. Unlike Lucy ripping the head off some moe girl in Elfen Lied, Rainbow is constantly presented as a brutal, depressing series where the violent content is required to present the story in a proper way.

But don't be put off because it sounds too depressing or even boring(I don't know how anyone could think this, personally), because Rainbow is also a story of true bro-ship. Like Gungrave before it, Rainbow will be bleak. It will be depressing. But through all that, a heartwarming tale of friendship will shine. A tale that's under the perpetual threat of being crushed by the blackened circumstances around it, and that's what will keep you engrossed.

The animation is terrific, as expected of Madhouse by this point. This includes the great still art that pops in during narrated scenes, as seen by the series' title art to the left. The whole episode, and most likely a good portion of the series was depicted with very few colors other than shades of grey and dark blue. Any bright things on screen are bright things in the eyes of the story, like the sunshine outside or the end of a lit cigarette shared between the beaten characters. This was a very fine touch and does nothing but add to the heavy atmosphere of the series.

The audio and the animation work beautifully in tandem, with the music bringing scenes to life by boosting the dank atmosphere. The opening by Coldrain is especially great, bringing a badass touch to the show. Similarly, the voices are gruff and work very well with the rest of the presentation.



The above was stated after watching episode 1, and now that the series is over I think it's time to address these issues. Firstly, Rainbow finished excellently. It did not, however, cover the entire 22 volumes of story and instead opted to stop around volume 12 or so. This is no reason to not watch the series, as the stopping point they chose was pretty tactfully chosen and very satisfying. When it comes to negativrs, Rainbow suffered from two things at certain points: Pacing and over-emotion. Even if you haven't read the manga, there's a good chance you'll notice that certain parts, mostly in the second half, seem rushed or like they crammed too many chapters into an episode and that makes it seem like the story skips around a little too much. It's not a big deal at all and very rarely detracts from anything, but it's a factor you'll probably notice. One of the bigger factors that may not sit well with some is that the series can come off as a little too over-dramatized or sappy at points. Sometimes the manly guitar solos and power ballads work incredibly well and you'll be clenching your teeth with streaming down your cheeks, and other times it doesn't work too well. That's something that'll vary a lot from person to person though. The final thing that bothered me was that one of the characters never gets an episode or arc devoted to him, which is pretty unsettling considering the other six boys got the spotlight multiple times. That was the main casualty of thelong manga->short anime transition, but what can you do?

In closing, Rainbow's definitely in the top 10, maybe even top 5 shows of the year 2010. Not watching it should be a crime.

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'RAINBOW - The Seven from Cell 2-6' is about seven teens who spent time in same cell of Shounan Disciplinary School after committing separate juvenile crimes in 1955.

This series is one of the purest example of Japanese "Yankee" or "Furyou" (high school deliquent) Drama . Although prominent in Japanese films, this genre is extremely rare in recent anime series possibly due to lack of interest from typical otaku demographics and decline of furyou in Japan. As far as I know, 'Sakigake! Cromatie High School' being the only other one (and many other series in lesser extent, such as 'GTO' and 'Gokusen'). 'RAINBOW' is a hard-boiled furyou drama in its purest form.

Story/Character: 7.5/10
'RAINBOW' is a very character-driven series with at least two solid episodes dedicated to development of each cellmate.

The story start out a bit too fast and forces viewers to accept convenient plot developments. Typical furyou drama of this type would take about a quarter of the story to introduce the gang and better half of the screen time to establish the bond between each member. In 'RAINBOW', however, all seven are gathered in the very first episode with light introduction by the narrator, and immediately form a strong bond. By ep4, they've become inseparable friends with absolute trust.

Although such rapid formation of trust is hard to swallow, it allows larger portion of the story to challenges and hardships that awaits them.

The first half is mainly about the seven's time spent in prison. As one would expect of a furyou drama, all the characters start as troublesome and selfish individuals until being united by a leader. That leader in this series is 'An-chan'. As a senior in the disciplinary school, he teaches his juniors true strength and importance of friendship as they overcome various hurdles and eventually "graduate" from the school and form new goals.

Whereas most furyou drama end there, 'RAINBOW' continues on to the second half, tackling issues such delinquents will encounter in society beyond the protective environment of a school. They face corruption, discrimination, and exploitation by adults, but with the help of friends and hard work, they find new hopes.

All the main characters have distinct personalities and dark pasts, but all of them are either falsely convicted or had good reasons to commit their crimes. The story once again forces us to accept such convenient premise for plot development and melodrama.

The story in this series is very heavy and emotional draining, but at the same time, too convenient and ignores character motivations from time to time for the sake of drama. All characteristics of traditional drama in mid-1900s Japanese storytelling.

Animation: 9/10
Every episode begins with an explicit warning. While this series is nowhere near graphic as some other anime series I've encountered, this warning is very appropriate since this series faithfully follows traditional seishun/furyou anime qualities other than the violence.

As expected of Madhouse, artwork and character design successfully captures the gloomy and depressing atmosphere of the post-war Japan. Animation in general was nothing fancy, but consistent throughout the series and relatively pleasing to the eye.

There was a lot of frozen manga sketch scenes to enhance drama. This is a signature technique in classic anime that worked very effectively in establishing retro atmosphere of this series.

Visually, it lacked detail sometimes, but the atmosphere is great, and it's an excellent example of old style animation with modern improvements.

Sound: 9/10
The seiyuu cast did a great job, pretty much everyone sounded like they should and none sounded annoying at all. What's significant about the cast was that it uses many major Japanese actors as voice actors. Oguri Shun, who starred as the protagonist in furyou film and manga adaptation 'Crows ZERO' plays Mario. Waki Tomohiro, who starred in many movies and TV drama as a fat delinquent student plays Cabbage. Also a major actress Kanjiya Shihori as Setsuko.

The narration in this series by the veteran voice actress Hayashibara Megumi was absolutely phenomenal. Retro female narration voice in rough, delinquent talk further sets the atmosphere, and was a highlight of the series for me.

BGM was sparingly used, but significantly added to drama and inspiration in crucial scenes.

OP including the animation was amazing. I usually don't like foreign-language theme songs in Japanese shows, but it was fitting for the despair and toughness of the characters, and the opening animation in itself was exciting and had all the major qualities and symbolism of this series. ED, once again, is very retro Japan.

Enjoyment: 9/10
'RAINBOW' is one of those serious anime that's becoming increasingly rare in recent years. Like all furyou drama, it focuses on friendship and trust among friends, but it doesn't shy away from the the toughness of real life. It's a classic drama that depicts cruelty, corruption, sorrow, and eventually hope in depressing post-WWII Japan.

The story feel forced and melodramatic at times, but then again, that's pretty common classic Japanese storytelling. This is a series that really feels like you're watching a retro piece, but offer values that modern viewers can still relate to. As long as you allow yourself to connect with the characters, this will be a very enjoyable series.

I feel this is the most neglected series of the season (ending Summer '10), and definitely a must-watch for serious anime viewers. read more