Senkou no Night Raid (Night Raid 1931)

The year is 1931. The city is Shanghai. Ten years before America will enter World War II, the hydra's teeth planted by the first great global conflict are beginning to germinate. Hatching like spiders, they weave the complex web of plots and conspiracies destined to inevitably draw entire nations to the brink of destruction. Caught in the heart of these webs, desperately seeking to separate lies from truth, is "Sakurai Kikan," an ultra-secret intelligence agency staffed by extraordinarily talented individuals with abilities far beyond those of normal humans. Their duty: to stop the darkest plots and eliminate the greatest threats. But in a city built on intrigue, can even a team of clairvoyants, telepaths and espers stand against the ultimate forces of destiny?

(Source: Sentai Filmworks)

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Background

Alongside Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin and So Ra No Wo To, Senkou no Night Raid was part of the "Anime no Chikara" project, a project to create more original anime, not based on any existing media.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Side story:	Senkou no Night Raid Specials, Senkou no Night Raid: Aruku Hako
Summary:	Senkou no Night Raid: Yogen

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Miyoshi, Aoi

Main

Yoshino, Hiroyuki
Japanese

Sonogi, Yukina

Main

Ikuta, Yoshiko
Japanese

Iha, Kazura

Main

Namikawa, Daisuke
Japanese

Kagiya, Natsume

Main

Hoshino, Takanori
Japanese

Ichinose

Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko
Japanese

Kuse

Supporting

Miyauchi, Atsushi
Japanese

Takachiho, Isao

Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki
Japanese

Fuuran

Supporting

Fujita, Saki
Japanese

Ichishi

Supporting

Yusa, Shizune

Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Adachi, Kazuki

Producer

Oomatsu, Yutaka

Producer

Matsumoto, Jun

Director

Yamada, Minoru

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

"Yakusoku (約束)" by MUCC

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Ending Theme

"Mirai e... (未来へ…)" by HIMEKA

Reviews

Jun 28, 2010

xxxholic_wing

Recommended

With the series ended (but ongoing in North America), it's seems that Senkou no Night Raid (or Night Raid 1931 in English) is not just about Japanese spies with superpowers (a la Darker than Black). It's more than that since it goes deeper into pre-WWII history which also touches sensitive content (e.g.: Mukden Incident). In contrast to what most people claimed that it whitewashes history, it's not.

Story: 7

The six episodes are just tasters on who are the characters and what direction will the story be, considering its episodic formula. The rest of episodes...well, let's just say that where the real story is as the episodic ...

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Dec 8, 2015

Minster122

Mixed Feelings

Senkou Night Raid is a nice historical anime that centers on the time period between the two World Wars. The chosen time period is somewhat rare for animes since Japan did a lot of questionable stuff during this time period and actually still try to hide it today. It's definitely nice to check out since it tries to depict what happened during the time in Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War.

Also adds a nice twist by adding ESPers to the time period, making them superpower spies. It's actually kind of vague as to what side they're on, but it gets a little clearer overtime. Adding psychic ...

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Jun 6, 2017

Lambda_Delta

Not Recommended

Art (5/10):
It’s pretty average as far as Chinese cartoons go: nothing really stands out and nothing looks that bad either.

Sound (7/10):
The OST fits well. The opening and ending themes are also nice. The Indian caricature who had a white voice actor and the British dude who had an American voice actor was a nice meme. Although the guy who portrayed the Indian dude was far more skilled in expressing his emotions convincingly.

Plot (3/10):
It’s like Darker than Black. Except in China. In the 1930s. Look, it’s pretty interesting actually. But, some of the events do feel a bit wonky. You'll know what I mean when you ... watch it. It's the kind of shit that makes you say to yourself "I'm fully aware I'm watching a cartoon and it characters don't feel realistic (in terms of actions and responses)." But it’s not that bad. Read the synopsis or something.

-spoilers-
The ending was shit. If you think otherwise, think about the character's actions and the time of those actions during the last episode. It's fucking retarded.
-end spooilers-

Setting (10/10):
This anime takes place in the early 1930s – an interesting period in Japan’s history. During this time, Japan is already a world power, occupying Korea and “leasing” parts of Manchuria. However, we can witness the imperialistic mindset of the Japanese developing aggressively, leading to the autonomous Kwantung Army of Japan to stage the Mukden Incident and initiate the invasion of Manchuria. Also they add a bit of a supernatural twist in, which is kind of cool.

I find Japan’s place in this time period to be one of the greatest yet saddest ironies I can think of. By defeating the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japan was seen a shining beacon of freedom, a liberator so to speak, by many Asian nations at the time who were devastated by Western colonization. However, Japan didn’t share such a perspective. Japan sought to gain power by emulating the West, doing so by invading, colonizing, massacring, and raping the populaces of many other Asian nations in the years following. And it’s interesting to think that the Japanese encouraged modernization out of a fear of being dominated by Western powers, but by their own efforts, they became just like the colonizers they once feared. It’s kinda like the ending to Animal Farm.

The anime doesn't go into all this detail, but you really should know this stuff before watching it.

Characterization (6/10):
A good amount of the characterization is done through flashbacks without much context, but it’s not too difficult to figure out what’s going on. It also feels a bit clumsy, as if the writers weren’t too sure of how to portray these scenes well. Also, that episode with the cat and the bag felt ridiculous and out-of-place compared to the rest of the episodes. But if you appreciate it as some form of comic relief, be my guest.

I do enjoy the conflicting ideologies between Aoi and Kazura and also the conflict between Isao and Yukina as well. In the case of Aoi and Kazura, Aoi is quite critical of his country’s imperialistic attitude while Kazura responds defensively out of his sense of nationalism. This kind of conflict gives life to these characters, as it shows that they are clearly responding to their setting in a meaningful way. As for Yukina and Isao, Yukina is torn from having to fight against her brother, who is fighting for what he believes is right, even though he is radically misguided. Who is truly morally correct in this situation (in terms of ideology)? Also, sibling fighting is cute, isn’t it? ^^

My verdict: meh

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Poll: Senkou no Night Raid Episode 5 Discussion ShanaFlame - May 3, 2010	42 replies	by Dywei »» Jan 29, 5:06 AM
Poll: Senkou no Night Raid Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 ) tsubasalover - Jun 28, 2010	54 replies	by SlammyHammy »» Apr 19, 2023 8:26 PM
Japan's War Propaganda and Crimes guyklc - Apr 12, 2010	38 replies	by Neostorm-X »» Jul 18, 2022 4:28 PM
Poll: Senkou no Night Raid Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 ) ShanaFlame - May 17, 2010	68 replies	by oooo3333 »» Apr 24, 2022 11:11 AM
Poll: Senkou no Night Raid Episode 9 Discussion tsubasalover - May 31, 2010	26 replies	by oooo3333 »» Apr 22, 2022 10:32 PM

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Miyoshi, Aoi

Sonogi, Yukina

Iha, Kazura

Kagiya, Natsume

Ichinose

Kuse

Takachiho, Isao

Fuuran

Ichishi

Yusa, Shizune

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Senkou no Night Raid

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Information

Statistics

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Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

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