Eat-Man

This first EAT-MAN adaptation has a veeeery abstract atmosphere, and I see a lot of people shitting on this anime and trying to understand the pseudo symbolism behind each episode, when in fact not everything there has or needs an explanation, and what happens during the series is up to your own interpretation, just like our dreams, for example. Could it be that the director really wanted to say something in all this batshit crazy stuff? Maybe. But it could also be that he was simply out of his mind when he decided to adapt a manga that hadn't even started being serialized. YEAH THAT'S ... RIGHT, EAT-MAN STARTED OUT AS A MANGA AND A SIMPLE BUNCH OF CHAPTERS WAS ENOUGH TO CONVINCE A PRODUCTION COMMITTEE TO ADAPT IT INTO AN ANIME! FOR ME THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE AND AMAZING!

It's as if the director, Mashimo Kouichi, wanted to tell his delirious stories but hadn't yet managed to create a character for it, until he found his ideal protagonist in Yoshitomi Akihito's "Bolt Crank", a strange mercenary/adventurer who can eat metal and can also transmute any weapon with the palm of his right hand. Mashimo most likely read the first chapter in the magazine where the manga was being published in and thought "THAT'S IT, THIS CHARACTER IS THE WEIRDO I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!", and thus, ladies and gentlemen, the EAT-MAN anime was born.

EAT-MAN, both its manga and its anime adaptations, mixes science fiction, noir and fantasy in a cyberpunk universe that still has a bit of mysticism. From space battleships, mutants and cyborgs, to ghosts and even divine entities. Here we follow the previously mentioned mercenary/adventurer known as Bolt Crank, and all we know about him is that he can eat ANYTHING, especially things made of metal. Despite following almost the same episodic premise as the manga, the first anime has many differences from the original source. There are many rumors that Japanese fans of the series at the time were not satisfied with the final result of the anime, and so its "second season" was made to be more faithful to the manga. There's a bit of truth to that, but as I said above, the anime practically started to be produced together with the manga and the first volume was published on the same day the anime premiered. There wasn't much to adapt, so they chose to explore something different with the author's supervision. In fact, today the first EAT-MAN anime in Japan is considered a cult classic lol.

"And what would be the main differences in relation to the manga?" Well, we can start with the mysterious ghost floating ship known as "LAVION". A ship that, despite being destroyed years ago, continues to roam the skies thanks to its anti-gravity system that continues to operate with the help of a mysterious crystal, which also emits electromagnetic waves and destroys any other ship that tries to approach or explore LAVION. During some episodes we can see the ship floating on the horizon, and it's Bolt's final destination in this adaptation, where he will help to rebuild the ship with his powers. While in the manga Bolt Crank enjoys his dirty work and adventuring around the world, here he doesn't seem to be very interested in his life as a mercenary, and sometimes even considers trying to live like a "normal" human as much as possible. In this anime, Bolt can only transmute weapons because of a red crystal that he has in the palm of his right hand, while in the manga he does not need it to perform his feats. His appearance in the anime is also very different from the manga if you pay attention to the details. In the anime, Bolt keeps his hair tied in a ponytail, while in the manga he leaves it loose; In the anime he wears red sunglasses, while in the manga, his glasses are dark purple; His green coat and the blue vest he wears underneath are also quite different in both versions, and here his skin tone is also darker. Ah, and all the supporting characters that appear here are also exclusive to the anime, with some of them returning later in the novel "Eat-Man: Koroshi no Idenshi", that serves as a true and direct sequel to this first adaptation.

And that's basically it. Now speaking of sequels, the '98 adaptation works more like a remake than a sequel to this first anime, because, even though they are both episodic series, they have no relation to each other. Yoshitomi Akihito even used the difference between the two versions of Bolt to establish that they are from different universes. When the complete series Blu-Ray was released in Japan, a special one-shot called "EAT-MAN Double Bolt" was published as a bonus to the collection, where the two Bolts meet and briefly duel with their transmuted cannons, like old-west gunslingers.

Honestly, the best way to get to know EAT-MAN is through the manga, but I highly recommend its anime adaptations too, especially this first one. Obviously the first anime isn't perfect, it has some flaws and issues here and there, but I LOVE its aesthetics and all those surrealist themes. It's visually beautiful, the direction of most episodes is incredibly well done (with a good example of this beign the 7th episode, which is easily my favorite one), and the soundtrack (OH BOY, THE SOUNDTRACK) is an absolute BANGER (you can find it complete on khinsider lol). Now, if you want something with more action, fast pace and that's more faithful to the source material, then you can watch the '98 anime first without any problem. Overall, EAT-MAN is very creative and quite different from anything you've ever seen before. I don't use the rating system and EAT-MAN deserves a 7 at most, but for personal reasons, I give it an 8/10.

Eat-Man. The title alone is provocative. As you watch Eat-Man, you may ask yourself several questions. Here are some questions I asked myself.

1. What is this? 2. Who is this lumbering fool of a protagonist? 3. Is there an overall theme tying this show's episodes together? 4. What is the point of the broken flying airship? 5. What is the point of all this?

To answer these in order:
1. This is the show Eat-Man from 1997. Not the 1998 one.
2. Bolt Crank, greatest mercenary of all time in the world and universe ever.
3. Bolt Crank, greatest mercenary of all time in the world and universe ever.
4. ... Yes.
5. Yes.

With these questions answered, I basked in the horrendous, edgy, and hilarious glory of this show.

This show was a random encounter for a friend and I, and watching it would change our lives forever. Eat-Man, per my research, is not a direct adaptation of the manga. After viewing Eat-Man '98 and witnessing the sheer difference and sharp incline in quality, I can say Eat-Man is just as enjoyable, for all the opposite reasons to Eat-Man '98.

Something you need to know, I love shlock (ie. action, dialogue, whatever). I also hold no nostalgia for this show as this was my first viewing. When I state this, I mean it in terms of my perception: Eat-Man goes beyond shlock and becomes what I'd consider the ultimate "so bad that it is terrible, but also absolutely hilarious" anime I have seen thus far.

STORY:

There isn't much. Just know this: each episode is different and the only linking chains between them are Bolt Crank, the episode's girl of the week, and the ruined airship L'avion (which is still afloat throughout the series). In fact, sans the final two episodes, there is nothing connecting the episodes at all. It doesn't even feel like the same universe, or even the same show half the time until we see our hero, Bolt Crank, standing and staring off into the distance, waiting for the plot to happen to someone else, so they can bring him in and have him intervene in a minor way. Bolt Crank exists just because the plot needs him to do something each episode, whether it makes narrative sense or not.

Sometimes, the plots of each episode can seem intriguing, but sometimes they are dealt with so lazily or so unexpectedly it just seems so ridiculous. There were moments I looked over to my friend in stunned disbelief that the plot was unfolding in such a way, with Bolt Crank being made to appear badass but arguably comes off as incompetent or non-sensical. Absolute comedy gold.

The writing is laughable and lacks any context to the world or motivations. Episode 6, in particular, is so lazy writing wise and is without any real indication or attempt to construct a plot that makes sense, and reusing a 4 minute asset twice to pad out the length...it is lazy, but it is also very remarkable at how baffled I was watching it. Any questions you have about the world will go unanswered. Any questions you have about plot relevance will go unanswered. This is Eat-Man, damn it. Enjoy the half-baked symbolism.

I did find it funny, to be honest, that this came before Trigun. At least it doesn't seem like a ripoff.

Rating: 3.

ART:

Bog standard. Very dark, very 90's feel to the art, what they show of it anyway. The animation lacks fluidity, wirh extreme closeups and odd editing ruining any sense of gravitas (but they sure do make me laugh). There is some visual flair here or there, but overall the animation is serviceable at best and underutilized at worst. The character design for most denizens of this world are relatively generic sans Bolt Crank, who dons a large totally badass trench coat and super cool red sunglasses (that remind me of The Professional) and a strange haircut that doesn't make sense the more I look at it. In fact, the reason you recognize Bolt so much is his design; the man looks like a giant box with his shoulders that fuckin' square.

Rating: 4

SOUND:

One point of uniqueness for Eat-Man is that it does feature some pretty snappy music; the OP theme (while lyrically cheesy) does a good job to hype the viewer as well as the music heard throughout the show, mixing in ambient to rock to electronica to blues. It's not bad and I quite liked it when I heard it (unironically).

Rating: 7

CHARACTER:

The aforementioned design of the character is merely one aspect of the enigma that is Bolt Crank. When he is not eating literal bolts or metal objects (hence the title of the show), Bolt walks the wasteland in search of fun and excitement...I mean, mercenary work...I mean, places to stand for a bit and stare off into the distance. His other gimmick aside from eating metal is the power to reform any material in his right hand. In this show, it really underutilizes this concept as Bolt will usually just form a gun in his hand.

Almost all other characters are there but forgettable. There is a female each episode that will often find solace and comfort in the Frankenstein's monster-esque Bolt Crank or somehow involve him into the proceedings. It feels forced, rushed, and not fleshed out for most ideas here, but the characters especially are.

It's clear they wanted to make a badass character out of Bolt...this would be achieved in Eat-Man '98. Here, Bolt Crank is about as badass as Neil Breen is in his films. Also; both play mercenaries walking in the desert searching for jobs and are extremely deadly badass killers...I hope a live action version of Eat-Man stars Neil Breen, he would kill it.

Rating: 4

ENJOYMENT:

And here is why I feel I am a hipster; combine all I said from the previous sections. This show does so many things wrong but with such aplomb that I am amazed at how much I just wanted to see it through. Never is it boring. Never did I want to stop watching. Each strange choice and misstep just made the experience that much more fun. Enjoyed ironically it's a damn fantastic time, and unironically it's honestly such a baffling show with such a weird protagonist that I kind of love it.

Rating: 10

Overall, I was going to leave this unrated but you have to rate it. I think it is simultaneously a 10 and a 1, constantly riding the line between awful and amazing. Perhaps Eat-Man is both amazingly awful yet also awfully amazing, and I'm not giving this show a 1 after being struck with laughter so hard it made me cry. Perhaps I'm overselling the potential hilarity there is here, as humor is subjective and this is not intended to be comedic, but the sheer amount of baffling ideas and choices alongside cheesy action shlock just make me laugh and filled with happiness. If you have that mentality, this is a great show to gawk at and make fun of.

If you want a quality show, check out Eat-Man '98 instead.

10/10 best new music also 1/10

Eat-Man is a fascinating 90s anime that bewilders from the very start, doing whatsoever it pleases and never apologizing for it, which is an admirable thing, even if the end product is a pretty eclectic title that won't be everyone's cup of tea. Beginning with the story, I must be immediately clear that there isn't one. Eat-Man is an entirely episodic compilation of vignettes, these self-contained sci-fi short stories that sometimes touch on certain themes, but most of the time happen just because the dudes putting this together thought it'd be cool. Even though a good coherent story is always a good thing, Eat-Man still ... manages to make this a fun ride from start to finish, even if you are left wondering why or how certain things work every now and then. Regardless, you can always count on the protagonist Bolt to eat some metal and kick some ass, and at the end of the day, that is exactly what this anime should be delivering to you. Interestingly, it's based on a manga, but this anime has essentially nothing to do with it. It just took the concept of Bolt and some other stylistic elements and made the rest up as it pleased. They did make a later adaptation that's more faithful to the manga, but from my understanding this one has a lot more character and creative spirit.

The art is the strongest aspect of the anime, for pretty simple, straightforward reasons. It embodies that 90s warmth and detail that makes that decade of anime so loved, complete with fascinating visual worldbuilding, solid character designs, and some really strong examples of good animation. Having said this, the animation is sometimes lacking, but not in any places that necessarily matter. It is just a solid visual experience, and a fair bit more consistent than the story, and for that alone it is the central pillar of this show.

The sound is good, with a fun synth-based soundtrack, voice work that meets all the standards of quality for the time, and sounds of life that give the world a sense of gravity and impact, especially during action sequences.

The characters are interesting, though none of these single-serving secondary characters recur at all, leaving the inimitable Bolt Crank standing alone as the mysterious, sometimes oafish, and consistently badass main character that makes this show what it is. Throughout, he really does feel like he's driving the story. He sometimes completely transforms a situation he's in, and sometimes he's pretty much just an observer, but whatever the case, it almost feels like the world exists just for him to explore and get lost in. Overall, Eat-Man is a weird anime. I enjoyed my time with it, but you have to like the story format if you're going to get anything out of it. That last part's pretty much up to you to decide, but as for my part, I'd definitely recommend it, even just on the grounds that it's a thoroughly unique, maverick title in a time period and genre that has the tendency to get kind of same-y by way of sheer volume alone.