Bus Gamer

Bus Gamer was made by the same author of the well known Saiyuki series. Thus you can expect handsome men and fun battles, which the anime does provide.

Toki Mishiba, Nobuto Nakajyo and Kazuo Saitou, three strangers in need of a large sum of money, form a team in an underground corporate sponsored street fight. The goal is to steal a disk containing secret information from the opposing team, while protecting their own disk.

The team has its variety in fighting styles and motivation. Each character is shrouded in mystery and the short series slowly reveals hints of why this mismatched trio so desperately needs cash ... to the point of risking their lives in an illegal street fight.

To say anything about the characters would spoil the series, however, the series itself only scratches the surface of those potentially interesting characters. My only complaint is that it feels very much unfinished with only hints of their past being revealed and their main rival hardly getting started on the chase.

Though the series does show enough to let us get a taste of what it's like and leave us wanting more. So if you don't mind being left with the feeling of lack of closure, check this out and you'll at least enjoy what little is available.

I decided to rate it as this...because if there would have been a little more episodes i'm certain it could have gotten not good...but better..much better..

Plot:..not something spectacular..but enough to attract your attention...IF it would have been better developed..3 episodes is just crap...it's like showing us the big candy and then..after they see us drool..they take it away...

Art: It was ok..it could have been better...

Character: Stereotypes ...but it was ok...IF..there would have been time for some development..but because of the lack of episodes...again..it sucked

Enjoyment:God..i could have enjoyed this 3 or 4 times more if there would have been at least 13 episodes...damn..*sigh

Overall:...AGAIN...a good potential....wasted..totally..disappointed

Bus Gamer, another series created by Kazuya Minekura. She is most famously known for creating the ever popular Saiyuki series, which I love with all my heart. I have wanted to dabble in the series ever since I found out about it, but I only got to it today. If I make a lot of comparisons to Saiyuki, I apologize, but since it's by the same creator I can't help but to compare the two series.

Story: 8/10
Even though the series was only three episodes long you cannot deny the premise of it. It's interesting, mysterious and guaranteed to be action packed. No episode is wasted ... with fillers, they get straight to the point whether it's introducing a character, or if they're on a mission. It follows your standard shonen plot, the opponents steadily get stronger and the locations become more interesting. They managed to stick a different fight in each episode which was appreciated. I do wish that there would have been more episodes so it can get more into the underlying plot, but then you must consider that this is an anime based on a pilot manga. Minekura continued the series in 2008, but I think her illness prevented her from getting into it (along with Saiyuki :( ). All in all the story did its job, it entertained me and had me wanting more. That being said, if you don't like anime with lackluster or loose endings then this probably isn't for you.

Art: 7/10
The art style is classic Minekura. It looks like Saiyuki or Wild Adapter and personally I love it. But Bus Gamer has something visually that Saiyuki or Wild Adapter doesn't have, rather unique looking characters. Now if you're a fan of hers then you'll probably know what I mean; every series she has ever created has pretty much the same looking characters from Saiyuki. It was pretty much her first series, except Just!! which debuted in 1995, so you're bound to find characters that look similar. However, most of the characters tend to look like Hakkai, Gojyo or Sanzo. There were only two exceptions; Hachi no Su and Bus Gamer. From hair style to color, Mishiba, Nakajou and Kazuo are slightly different looking from the Saiyuki boys; although if I had to make comparisons to the two series, I would say Toki is Sanzo, Nobuto is Gojyo, and Kazuo is Goku. I've seen some complain that the series looks like it was made in 2001 and it kind of looks cheap for the time it was made. The fact of the matter is, the pilot WAS released in 2001. However, I do not mind as much, because 2001 was when her art improved significantly. It's cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than Gensoumaden Saiyuki, her first Saiyuki series. Bus Gamer gave way to Saiyuki Reload and more so I can appreciate it for that step foward in art, and personally if I had to choose between Minekura's art from 1997 and 2001 I would gladly choose 2001. Another welcome was the coloring, which seemed to have mellowed down from Saiyuki. It's not overly bright or overly bold; it fits with the atmosphere of the city while retaining that nostalgia from Saiyuki. I was disappointed with character consistency though, they looked rushed and choppy in some of the scenes, a problem which I thought they would have fixed from the Saiyuki anime. Another problem was the animation, although smoother than Saiyuki it was still stiff and rather behind the times compared to other anime of the time. Consistency and animation were the reasons I gave it a seven and nothing higher; but the art, despite it being lacking compared to other animes, is what got me hooked to Kazuya Minekura in the first place, which is why the score isn't lower.

Sound: 7/10
I don't have much to say about the sound, because it is pretty forgettable. It just blends into the background too much and it doesn't stand out. The only parts where I remembered where in the beginning when it showed the scenery and there was no dialogue to distract me. It just seemed like a cheap 90's action music soundtrack, no quirky banjo music or chilling character theme songs to capture my attention. The opening was fun to listen to and I actually sat through the opening each time to listen to it (something I never do). The ending was okay, but I didn't bother listening to it but once. Overall, it was okay.

Character: 7/10
While three episodes isn't enough to really get a feel for the characters I can say that they're pretty interesting. They're definitely more mellow versions of Sanzo, Gojyo and Goku though. Mishiba Toki is the "Main character", the story starts out pretty much from his point of view and it ends from his point of view. He is silent and rather unfriendly (such as Sanzo). his weapon of choice is himself as he had taken martial arts in the past. Despite his cold exterior he has his moments, from enjoying the salmon riceball to being caught off guard by Kazuo. Overall he's rather thoughtful even though he doesn't make it known. Nakajou Nobuto weapon of choice is a lead pipe, and he is often compared to Mishiba because he also appears to be a silent and unfriendly archetype. However, in my opinion he's rather different. He voices his opinions more, he's more firendly and easier to approach, he's the planner in the group. He's also cockier than the other two, blatantly stating in the beginning that he was stronger than them. He carries a smug expression and often complains about having to work with his partners; but underneath he cares about them, especially taking Kazuo under his wing. Saitou Kazuo is the comic relief in the series. His weapon of choice is-...well...he's pretty useless in a fight. He states in the beginning that his only talent was being healthy and boy is this true. He is mostly entrusted with the disks and told to hide, which he will gladly do in a heart beat. However that doesn't mean he doesn't come in handy now and then; when the others find themselves in a pinch he kind of comes through. He's naive, loud and friendly. He tries to get Mishiba and Nakajou to open up and constantly pesters them. He definitely doesn't fit with the other two, but that sure as heck doesn't stop him from trying! They're a funny group of guys and although not as in depth as Saiyuki, it probably would have grown if the series had been longer.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Yes, a 9/10. It was entertaining and it kept my interest from start to finish. It made me crack up when it was supposed to be funny, and kept me on my toes when it was supposed to. I wanted to learn more from these three but can never be satisfied (sigh). I loved especially how they snuck Saiyuki into show, that was great, showing that you can never escape product placement.

Now time for the Happy Panda and Sad Panda award; this is my little quirk where I point out the best and worst part in the anime and give them an "award".

Happy Panda goes to: The Story! Although short, it has room to expand and become something bigger

Sad Panda goes to: The music! It just wasn't anything special and it fizzled into the background; the opening was nice, but it wasn't enough.

Overall:
37/50
7.6/10= 8/10

The series is only an hour and a half total, so at least give it a try. It's a great short series if you just want to kill time or if you're looking for a quick fix in anime. If you're a Minekura fan, I would definitely recommend it.

Bus Gamer is an excellent way to spend an hour and leaves you really wanting more. The manga and anime are both cut short or canceled or something but the story was never finished.

The premise is that rich business tycoons are bored so they each hire a team of three street thugs to represent them. Once a location is chosen, a battle ensues to capture the opposing team's disc, that contains secrets that could potentially ruin the company, before they can get yours, kind of like capture the flag. The teams progress in tournament style ... and each round they win they are given more and more money until the final round in which they are given 1 billion yen upon winning.

I've said too much already but I'll finish it up with this. The characters are what create the show. They all have their own unique personality and seem to be an unlikely match but they are brought together for the same purpose, they all need all the money without the courtesy to tell why.

(Damn, I spoiled too much. Go watch it NOW!)

I'm gonna keep this short... as apposed to the other who saw this anime, I very much enjoyed it, despite the fact that it was canceled before it finished.
Good Watch... + It will only take an hour to watch them, so you don't have much to lose.

In my opinion this was a ver good anime considering that it was only 3 episodes. The maker of the anime got a whole bunch in the story line for a 3 episode anime which sadly after Comic Rex, the magazine in which it was serialized in went under, no more episodes were ever released. Though there is a small glimmer of hope for Bus Gamer fans since Kazuya Minekura may pick up the anime though since the anime was made in 2008 it maybe at 2-3 years till there are more episodes.