Babylon

Babylon is quietly becoming (one of) the best anime of the fall 2019 season. That’s because it’s taking itself seriously, in a way that is not pretentious or quirky. Two common traits that are recycled time and time again in psychological/thriller based anime.

One of the key themes in Babylon is the dichotomy between what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong.’ This concept is fleshed out in episode 2, when Seizaki is interrogating Ai Magase, and he agrees to answer her questions in exchange for her confession. Seizaki — a good intentioned, self-sacrificing prosecutor — discovers that his ‘firm’ beliefs, are quite ... fragile upon Ai’s philosophical probings. It’s a crucial reminder to the viewer that ingrained social norms (i.e. Seizaki’s core beliefs, as he upholds the laws/ideals of a ‘good’ society) are not essential in any regard. Sure. They help to create a safe environment in which the majority can prosper, but we must also recognize the flaws of such systems, and how they disenfranchise certain individuals.

Thus, we have the introduction of the Shiniki initiative, which hopes to ameliorate the defects of the current political system. Shockingly, though, we find out that Kaika, the new mayor of Shiniki, embraces the idea of death, and with his first declaration, permits the citizens to kill themselves. Now, the resulting mass suicide where the group of people leap off the roof to their deaths, was a bit heavy handed to emphasize the ‘craziness’ of such a law; however, the concept is intriguing, nonetheless.

That being said, if Babylon elects to demonize Ai and Kaika for their ‘flawed’ reasoning, then much — if not all — of the appeal will evaporate. Morality is not black-and-white, nor should we expect it to be in a fictional work. Therefore, if Babylon can continue to challenge the resolve of Seizaki (by flipping his ideals on their head), then Babylon will be a huge success.

As a side note, the plot of Babylon is intricate, with numerous moving ‘parts.’ While it may seem daunting to keep track of all the plot threads, it gives the viewer the experience of being a member of the investigation, and the frustration that Seizaki is experiencing as he plods along. Also, the promotional poster for Babylon is a nice piece of symbolic imagery, that gives insights on future events. All in all, a nice start in what I hope will be a memorable series.

After just finishing Babylon I am honestly at a lost for words, this show is actually amazing and still love it after it's ending. It leaves you with many questions which are open to different interpretations depending on how you look at things. That is generally what a good mystery does, granted the first half was more intense and the second half went into a different approach focusing on another character but It was still as good.

After thinking about the series for a bit I can't really find and complaints I had, it was interesting, raised themes which left me thinking and hearing the ... other character talking about it left me wondering to myself what I think about it. Talking about themes with other people is fun hearing their thoughts on these questions, the show just left me intrigued and thinking throughout it's entire run time, I do also think the answer to the final question was actually amazing and I didn't even think about that answer, nor people I talked to, usually when I watch mystery type series like this the answer or conclusion is usually not to my satisfaction or I don't care for it, but I generally love the answer they gave.

---Will have spoilers for the ending past this---

Now with the ending I was very confused and wondering, "WTF IS THIS", and I still do but there is only a few things that can happen to Zen after he killed the president on live Television. One: He goes to jail, Two: He dies (Either from Magase finally getting to him so he commits suicide or someone else shoots him), Three: This is not very realistic but the presidents agents who he was with during talking to the girl on TV helped Zen knowing some of the situation and he was able to go free under certain circumstances.

Obviously after the credits we see that nothing happened to Magase maybe Zen didn't shoot her because he didn't want to fall to evil and stick with his ideas of good, but either way she is still free in this world to end more people. I really like this ending cause usually it's the good guys winning but this time we have the villain win and in a very insane way. The ending leaves you in awe, with many questions, dumbfounded, and also disappointed if you didn't like the ending.

---End of spoilers---

Now overall I love this series, I think it has amazing themes, interesting and a wide range of characters, and for me an amazing ending I will be thinking about for awhile.

This show was written by the guy who made "Kado: The right answer". Although these are totally different shows, both have the same structure... A very interesting premise, gradually becoming a disaster of story telling and destroy everything it stood for.

Please read my view on the show and it's structure:

It is not as clever as you think it is. It's really not. It just gives if the illusion that it's a good show. Nothing more.
The only character which undergoes an character change is the main character, but it shatters all it's development... For what? For a catastrophic anticlimactic ending.

To give the positives, the morality it ... explores is really unique. Something which is not explored in traditional shows. But it overcomplicates itself, thus concluding nothing of substance.

It's not above having bad ends. There are plenty of shows which features a person's loss of sanity in a much more better manner. Like Death Note, Psycho Pass etc. But the difference in this is Babylon didn't even give closure to most basic stuff. What happened to Major decisions? Like the suicide law? The summit? Leaving everything to viewer's interpretation is poor writing.

That being said, Babylon is not a totally bad show. It doesn't bring anything to the table. It hides it's mediocrity by creating an illusion of moral debate, which ultimately comes to nothing.
You will wonder what was the point of it all, but sadly there is none. But it is very intriguing.
You will find your heart beat racing sometimes. Which will cause you to get frustrated even more.

My analysis as follows:

Music: 10

Art: 9.5

Character development: 7

Story: 6

Enjoyment: 7

Overall: 7

Have a nice day! This is just my opinion.

This is my first time watching something new of this genre as it's been airing, and I'm so glad it's this.

The characters and setting are really great, and the plot points just leave me wondering what else is going to happen. I honestly get the same vibes as I did while watching Death Note. Not that I'm saying it's the same. But the type of shows in general. I also get the same vibe as a recent movie, but won't mention it for spoiler reasons. I'd say if you're into crime, drama, and mystery, then you should give this one a shot!

The main character ... I feel personally is a great character too. Which bodes well for the anime in general. Having a great lead to progress the story forward. With his strong sense of justice, and getting to the bottom of what is going on. A strong headed character that I do enjoy.

So I'd say give it a watch! It's a great anime, and I cannot wait to see what else happens next through out the show itself.

I have never written a review, and I do not know the lingo or really have much to say. However, I felt compelled to write this review based on the ending of episode 7.

This anime is the first good psychological thriller I have seen in a while. It does a good job creating characters and inter-character relationships, and the story is very intense.

I have watched a good amount of anime, and in that anime is a lot of gore and other concepts that are not for the faint of heart. What I really came here to say though is: 𝚍̲𝚘̲ ̲𝚗̲𝚘̲𝚝̲ ̲𝚠̲𝚊̲𝚝̲𝚌̲𝚑̲ ̲𝚝̲𝚑̲𝚒̲𝚜̲ ̲𝚊̲𝚗̲𝚒̲𝚖̲𝚎̲ ... ̲𝚒̲𝚏̲ ̲𝚢̲𝚘̲𝚞̲ ̲𝚌̲𝚊̲𝚗̲ ̲𝚗̲𝚘̲𝚝̲ ̲𝚑̲𝚊̲𝚗̲𝚍̲𝚕̲𝚎̲ ̲𝚒̲𝚗̲𝚝̲𝚎̲𝚗̲𝚜̲𝚒̲𝚝̲𝚢̲. Despite my experience in anime, western media, and in real life, I have almost thrown up several times so far.

Babylon is like a plane crash. It takes off well, flies in the air for a nice while, but in the end it just couldn't stick the landing and it just flopped down in an explosion. What could go wrong for a show with such potential, lets find out.

Story:
Babylon is about a detective who is trying to catch a woman who can kill with her voice. That is it. Imagine Death Note flipped where the main focus is on L who is trying to catch Kira but we never get Kiras perspective. He is just a character who stays in the background. That is ... exactly this show. And that might have been its downfall.

The rest:
Everything besides the storytelling is very good. The sound, art, and characters are all well done. If it was written better this could have been a great anime.

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this show until episode 7 where it takes a narrative shift so immense that it wouldn't surprise me if it have been written by a different person. Then it becomes boring and dumb.

Overall:
I can't forget that 1/2 of it was really good, but that last 1/2 has me switching from a great show to an okay show. What happened to make it change so drastically?

The Problems:
1: Like I said before, this is a flipped Death Note. Change the perspective to only the main character Zen Seizaki (L) and don't focus on the villain Ai Magase (Kira). Ai can instead of using a death note can use her seductive voice to control people to kill themselves. Cool, right? However it is never explained. It is hinted that there might be drugs that she is using on her victims but that is completely forgotten about and instead suggested that she is like the snake of the garden of Eden (pure seductive evil). In a realistic show you can't just make up reasons for powers. Use the drug angle, or introduce her as the devil from the beginning of the show. Make her a main narrative character to give us some insight. But no, instead make it seem that she just has the power to turn on every possible gender so much that they get so aroused that they just need to kill themselves. That seems legit!? And why would she do it? Because she was born like that? That is terrible writing. They had her go to a shrink, they showed a little back story. That could have been used to see how she turned out like that from a psychological standpoint, but instead, she is the devil and she can apparently shape shift into whoever she wants. That is just lazy writing. Unlike Death Note where you might root for both characters, here there is no perspective from the antagonists, thus there is no reason to be invested in Ai besides for the mystery to be solved and her caught. But since neither happen, she wasn't used to her full potential.

2: The narrative shifts from catching her to a political debate over if you can kill yourself. The show depicts this in such an unrealistic and dumb way that it is hard to put it to words. The concept and execution of the debate are just badly handled.
I don't like talking about politics because no matter what you say you will cause a fight but I believe most people can agree that this show didn't do a good job depicting the debates between what is good and evil.

3: The ending has no satisfying resolution. After the president and Zen confront each other in the last scene before the end credit scene with Ai enjoying the show from the sidelines, it is like they knew they messed up so they just quit trying. I am sure that the White House had plenty of time to find a way to save the president from the possible jump, but besides that, Zen could have shot his leg or arm to stop him from jumping but shoots his chest instead?! Why?! And how would the president not only not fall backwards, but fall forwards instead? If he only injured the president who only afterwards fell because of the shot then the result of suicide wouldn't have been considered because it was murder, and if he didn't fall, then he would have saved his life. There was absolutely no reason to go for the kill shot and he had everything to gain to go for a minor injury. After that, he could of killed Ai right away but he hesitates for no reason. The end is left up to interpretation but the way I see it, Mai not only gets off scott free (because escaping from the White House is as easy as sneaking into it apparently) but there is never any resolution for her character. She just continues her life. The president also didn't get any resolution because he was stopped by Ai before he could benefit from it. The only resolution is for Zen but it was poor because if he did kill himself at the end then not only did he not catch Ai, but he also failed in the narrative because the show was going for the angle of letting go of anger but it also goes nowhere.

4: In the end, I didn't see a point in what the show was trying to say. First a mystery thriller which isn't even told in good detective fashion, then a political mess of suicide talks all without a solid piece of perspective from the angle of the antagonists. What were the creators trying to say with this anime? Don't do suicide? You don't need to make an anime about it, but if you do, direct it better than this show.


Score: 8 (good and had some great elements but I wouldn't rewatch it).

Its been a long time since I've seen a good psychological show so I didn't expect that much from this show, but after the first 3 episodes I knew it had potential to be the best this season, and so far at 7th episode, it is still that good. as it is on amazon prime not many people are watching it and its not as famous as it should be, but its actually better than most of the anime this season
its psychological detective mystery and our main character is Seizaki-san, he's in some kind of special investigation force and is investigating the case we are ... seeing in the anime, his character and the villain's (magase in my opinion) character are polar opposites in my opinion, seizaki is a type of person who stands beside justice and works for it and thinks about what rightful justice is, and whenever someone meets him they get encouraged by his rightful character and starts to become rightful themselves(his teammates), on the other hand AI-magase , the villain, is true evil , she is a type of enchantress that forces anyone she met into suicide. the first encounter between the two was really interesting , both trying to force each other's philosophy on other, and the best thing happening in the show could be the change in seizaki due to Magase, well something has to change when true evil meets true justice.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Story: Psychological thriller anime are so few and far between, that if you like the genre it is possible you have seen most of them to date. Babylon provides a twisted, dark, yet philosophical story that easily sucks its watcher in deeper with each passing episode. I can't recall ever seeing an anime quite like this one. The pacing for episodes 1-7 is flawless, but 8-12 can feel slow at times if you are only in it for suspense. Personally, I didn't mind the slower episodes since I found the topics of discussion interesting. The storyline's clarity (especially the ending) ... was what I struggled most with, since at points it's was very vague. Of course, I think it's highly possible that the level of uncertainty was intended by the writers, but it can leave viewers disappointed. Still, there is a lot of merit in the way they left the ending, especially if you enjoy shows without a concrete wrap-up (like 91 Days).

Story: 9/10

Art:. The animation for Babylon was absolutely incredible, and it always created the desired atmosphere. It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock movies like Rear Window or Vertigo. Darkness with oozing from every scene in the first half of the show, and when things took a change around episode 10, so did the art. It lightened up a bit, which was a bit of a bummer, but it still looked gorgeous. The character designs were awfully pretty too. Especially that of the MC and the main antagonist.

Art: 9/10

The voice acting was superb and background music was really atmospheric. There isn't much else to say, since I have nothing but praise for both of these areas. Other sounds like rain, cars, guns - all were exceptional as well.

Sound: 9/10

Characters are the make it/break it feature of many shows, and Babylon is no exception. The way these characters acted was probably the best I've seen in any psychological thriller anime. The MC shows that each dark thing that happens is having an effect on him; while the main antagonist could perhaps be my top anime villain of 2019. Only a few of the side characters felt a bit weak (the US President and the MCs Assistant), but the main ones more than make up for that.

Characters: 9/10

My enjoyment for Babylon is considerably higher than other psychological thriller like Erased, since it also brings into question important philosophical problems that still plague the mind of ethicists today. As someone who studies Ethics/Philosophy in University, I think the topics were discussed well; however, I know they aren't for everyone. There is plenty of suspense (at least in the first half) for people just seeking thrills, but if you are looking for a brooding, dark rollercoaster that makes you question good/evil, look no further than Babylon.

Enjoyment/Overall: 9/10

The suicidal theme is not addressed in many anime, and sometimes it is not addressed properly. But this anime approaches this theme very well.
In "Babylon" , the time location is in what I can say is a contemporan Japan ( so the contemporan world ) which is perfect for this theme. As for the location itself it's a made up one, so by herself it can't really give us more context about the actions ( Shiniki - that means the new city )
The suicidal theme is approached in a legal way which makes it really interesting as suicide is ... not legal ot illegal . In the anime , what can I say is the secondary antagonist, tries to make suicide legal by any means ( mostly legal means ) and he succeeds.
  The interesting part here is not necessarily the characters, the action , etc ...  What is important here ar the ideas and the arguments. The ideas and  the arguments that are used in making the suicide act legal. These are so important from the perspective that with them suicide had legalised ( ofcourse those ideas/arguments are taken to an extreme and sometimes utopic thinking). (a thing that really scared me , was that this could actually be possible in real life )
   Besides this look at the anime by only it's , let's say dialogue, it's not the full "look". "Babylon" has to offer thrilling action scenes ( here , viewer discretion is advised as many scenes can be found disturbing ) , a mostly original protagonist design ( a prosecutor ) ,a very interesting main antagonist ( a woman with a ability that's borderline fantastic, the ability to make anyone suicide with just a few words )  and side/episodic caracthers that actually matter and don't have just some bland personalities.
   Overall , I recommend this anime for watching,  with the short notice that it isn't for everyone.
 

I want to address three points with this review. If you should watch the show; defending the show; criticizing the show.

Should you watch the show? Pretty simple: Yes. This is the best psychological anime I've seen since Psychopass. I think it's even good outside of the realm of just comparing it to anime, but it certainly does things in a way that only anime can.

But, the show is graphic. It deals with a lot about suicide. If suicide upsets you in any way, do not watch the show. Otherwise, please go in blind.


The rest of this review will contain minor spoilers, but ... not in a describing the things that happened kind of way, however it's worth noting that even the premise of the show could be perceived as a spoiler to some degree. Unlike some other anime , it's not a genre bait and switch but an unraveling mystery that causes the spoilers.

I'll start by addressing the current top review on this site. No, this show is not pro-suicide. I can see why someone would think that way, but the entire conflict is between characters who are attempting to stop the mainstreaming of suicide and antagonists who have nefarious plans. The very end of the show itself is the rejection of suicide as an option.

There are some criticisms people have about the show ignoring the mental health component, and I think that's fair. I would counter that the mental health component may be overstated by some people, and that it is somewhat addressed. You have to remember that this is a Japanese show, and it addressed concerns in Japan and with a Japanese understanding. In Asia (and in the rest of the world too) the reason people commit suicide is not always mental health. Monks in Tibet light themselves on fire and burn to death to protest China. In 'ancient' Japan, Samurai would kill themselves and engage in duels to the death purely for honor. In Japan there is the infamous "Suicide Forest". One aspect of how it got its name, is that the elderly people who were unable to care for themselves care for themselves and believed themselves to be a burden to their families would go there to die.

Some would cite that last example as depression. I can agree that depression may play into a decision like that, however this is a topic that has been examined in western media as well. In Star Trek: TNG there is an episode called Half Life. It deals with a planet in which the culture of the society is that those over a certain age will kill themselves in a public ceremony, which is considered good and even virtuous. In the film Midsommar there is a cult where the elderly kill themselves, and this cult is not necessarily framed as entirely evil. I don't like Star Trek or Midsommar and how you feel about them isn't that important either. I'm just saying that the concept of killing yourself due to being incapable of contributing to society and to stop old age is not some radical, new, Japanese fringe idea. Many people have experiences in which they state they would rather die than continue on with life, such as dementia.

The anime does also bring up a number of other points in which someone might, without the aid of mental illness, kill themselves. One example I felt was pretty compelling was father donating his organs to his dying son. Is that really even his son? Is his son dying? You could argue we don't actually know but it's something of a mute point. The actual argument itself is very adequate regardless of the showmanship around it.

Mental Health is brought up when they reference "running away". That is the mental health take on suicide, and I do believe that is the common societal view on it in the west as well. However, I don't think that suicide is ALWAYS a matter of running away. That is almost the definition of a controversial take, but we can look to countries in which assisted suicide is being discussed or implemented. There are conditions in which some do consider ending your suffering to be a reasonable conclusion to some issues.

I also believe there is some element of satire to some of the anti suicide arguments that were brought up. Discussing the GDP of your nation and the effect of suicide on the economy may technically be a valid argument, however it's obviously as abhorrent to some people as the idea of being pro-suicide.

In general the conversation skewed towards a very Japanese view on things. For example, giving your life for war isn't brought up because modern, current day Japan says war is bad. I think that you have to center your criticism a little bit when you're remembering this is a Japanese work aimed at Japanese people from a Japanese point of view. It doesn't mean you can't leverage criticism at it, but you should keep in mind why something is occurring in the first place.


There's a more general criticism by people that the entire premise of the anime is stupid because you can't criminalize killing yourself. Well I'm sorry to tell you, you're wrong if you believe that. In some countries suicide is literally illegal, and you can be punished if you live. Even putting that aside, some would say that locking people up and controlling their right to bodily autonomy is akin to a punishment as well, we just call it treatment or rehabilitation. And if you do believe that suicide is someone's right, then it is in fact a punishment. We also often call prisons and parole "rehabilitation". So for all intents and purpose to someone who wants to commit suicide, it is illegal. That's before you even get into the case of assisted suicide. The Suicide Law in the anime is about more than just rather or not it's illegal however.

It's about government support. Itsuki says it several times and he is very clear about it. He wants the government to create pills which facilitate a painless, clean suicide. He wants there to be facilities which assist people with their choice to end their lives. He wants a social acceptance of suicide, which will promote the ability for people to publicly discuss rather it's the right choice for them without fear of reprisal. Itsuki would like the entire institution and our thoughts on suicide to be changed.

Once again, we've entered a Japanese perspective that some westerners are not familiar with. In America at least, we have a very individualistic view towards things. We don't like to think about how the state, or law, or elders influence us. However, we do often look to the law as a sign of morality. Many people consider morality and obeying the law to either be the same thing or morally linked. People say things like "I'm not breaking any laws am I?" Beyond that, people look to others for their cue on what is socially acceptable and how to behave. Japan is a society that values how you contribute to it and gel with it possibly more than how you feel as an individual. From a Japanese perspective, doing right by your family and society is more important than your individual thoughts. This is reflected in many anime in which the main character breaks free of those shackles and does whatever he wants. This is reflected in this anime by characters doing the exact opposite of the typical shounen protagonist.

Sekuro is just one embodiment of this. She is like the main character. she does not want to be involved in an unlawful conspiracy that goes against her INDIVIDUAL sense of justice. In spite of this, she is pressured by society and her family relations to work for the main character. She does not want to do this but she must. It is both literally and metaphorically her job. The anime is full of people playing their roles, and doing what they believe is right by society in an attempt to find what is right for them. It is most thoroughly reflected in the young girl who commits suicide on the train tracks though. (To address another criticism, this is an actual kind of bridge that exists, not just crazy anime design).

Gay rights are brought up a lot in this anime as an example and a counter example. I do not think this is a dig at LGBT people. If you listen to the arguments made for and against suicide in the anime, several of them are arguments previously applied to gay rights. IN AMERICA no less. "If you legalize or decriminalize homosexuality, then everyone will be free to do it and people will think it's okay." Crazy! "You might even encourage children to do it on accident," "Children will be confused," "If children see their idols doing it they will want to imitate it," "It's not our place to decide what people do with their bodies," "Times change".

I realize a lot of modern anime viewers are not very old, so some things in this anime don't really hit home with them. I'm 30, I lived through these conversations. In my lifetime you could literally be prosecuted, or treated to electroshock therapy for being gay or transgender. In my life time, I have seen politicians do things similar to what they have done in this anime, to address another criticism of the series. Characters behaving in a way that isn't the way you would behave, or a way that you don't think is realistic, is not unrealistic or a plot hole. It is a thing that happens in real life. What's important in my opinion is that the characters actions are internally congruent and not completely out of place, so let me address some plot specific points (which will contain minor spoilers).

There was no security camera in that interrogation room. That is why they had to write everything down, that is why they could not check the security footage to see what Ai did. The reason the main character tolerates the antagonist sending threatening stuff to his house is because he literally has to. At that point not only is he a broken man, he has no authority to go after her. The police and government are covering everything up, and she's on the side of the ruling power in the city which even the nation of Japan does not want to go against. This is not a battle shounen, the main character cannot rise up and fight the authority, or overthrow it. Anime of this genre often deal with the system being too powerful to fight against or escape (Ghost in the Shell, Psychopass).


There are several points in the show I don't care for. While the show is not sexist, it does partake in somewhat sexist writing. The female characters are generally wives or exist to be murdered or flaunting their sexuality. the show does not do any favors to pretty much any female character in it, which is really just frustrating to see. It falls into a lot of bad tropes that plague fiction in all countries and really suck if you're a female viewer, or just if you happen to like any of the female characters in the show.

The show did skip over some aspects in which I think would have aided its points. It presents the stereotypical ethics questions that plague everything that discusses ethics now (trolley problem, organ transplant lottery), and it handles them fairly well. But, It does not bring up the fact that we celebrate people giving their life every day. If a fire fighter willingly runs into a burning building and gives their life to save a child, would we stop that person from doing it. No man, it's not worth it. What about on larger scale issues? In 9-11 and Australian bush fires, fire fighters and first responders literally did give their lives. Regardless of how Japan feels about war, I'm pretty sure they still have fires and other natural disasters. in a famous Russian nuclear disaster, a diver gave his life on a mission in which he would receive so much radiation poisoning he wouldn't survive after to stop the reactor from causing an even more widespread problem.

The change to philosophical discussion in the last few episodes is kind of a jarring, potentially even unwelcome change. It really does change the pacing of the show in general. While I felt the debate segment was riveting, I didn't really feel that way about the president's philosophical musings.


Overall though, I think the show handles philosophical questions better than MOST other anime that try. It blows something like Madoka's flimsy handling of many topics out of the water. In addition to that, the pacing for most of the show is excellent. It's very hard for me to watch TV series these days, and this made me want to binge. I understand the extreme that delays between episodes during its run were incredibly agonizing.

The art direction gets very playful at times, and I really found it enjoyable to see a show both with interesting art and substance. I loved the VHS effects during the interrogations, and the way the episodes play with transitions. The use of music was probably better than the music itself, it really punctuated and heightened a lot of moments. The character designs are somewhat bland, I think that really contributes to the normalcy of the world. For much of the anime you wonder rather this is paranormal or not, I think that helps greatly.

The characters were all very compelling, which is rare. I even found the antagonists to be people I wanted to know more about. I thought I would hate Nomura and Itsuki, but I didn't. While I don't care for Ai, I don't wish she wasn't in the anime (unlike someone such as Fllay in Gundam SEED). This show has a particularly hilarious portrayal of Americans that I think is underappreciated. I can't say how well it nailed other countries, but I'm guessing the people involved have actually been to America. The way the American characters conduct themselves and the conversations they have, even the historical misunderstandings are very... Relatable. Yes, we do eat Pizza on the bed.

When the president asked the mayor why he enacted a law, the mayor's response killed me. A long diatribe about how Christopher Columbus founded America and the spirit of pioneerism... Then the president just says "Ah...". Perfect.

The political systems themselves are a little questionable, but if we're being real, they aren't more questionable than when American films portray any non US government body.


The aspect I'm most ambivalent on is the ambiguity present throughout the series. It's used very well to disguise who characters are and what's going to come. I almost never knew what was happening next. At the same time, we never learn a lot about the antagonists. A question I saw pop up a lot was "When if ever is Ai controlling the main character?" We don't even know if she's controlling Itsuki. We don't know if they're equal partners, if someone even can be truly equal to Ai. We don't know if that is his son, or if anything Itsuki said is true. We don't truly know Ai's motives either. That's a lot to think about.

This ambiguity is reflected even in the ending. Still, I do think you can piece together the ending. Ending things on an ambiguous note is something common in anime and games. Lain, FF7, and Gantz all have very obtuse endings which seem to make little to no sense at first. Each one does have an explanation for it though, which you can either understand by inspecting the series, or the source material. I do believe there is something of a concrete explanation for the ending hidden within the series, but to explain it here would be spoiling it. Several people do have some very good takes though.

All in all, this is probably one of the best anime I've seen in a long time. I highly encourage people to watch it, because even if you disagree with things presented in it or don't care for the pacing of the last few episodes, you've still seen one of the best thriller/psychological/mystery anime in years. If this were a movie it'd appear on click-baity top 10 lists for its genre for decades to come.

What is good ? What is evil ? What is the meaning of life ? If any of these questions pique your curiosity, I recommend you watch this show.
But if you wish you have a wholesome comprehensive dark tale which with a satisfactory conclusive narrative, you are in the wrong place.

My reviews would contain spoilers from this point on.

So, the ending left people really disappointed. But honestly, the kind of direction this show was going, I was anticipating precisely this. First of all, this is not the kind of story with the most unique premise of 30 episodes with several seasons where we invest ... your hearts into. This is a 12 episodes series which is very direct with its philosophy.
The idea as it presents is that for the determination of good and evil is not possible, no matter how much science,logic and religions we add, we will keep finding gaps in our explanations. There is no definite answer, a definite truth which answers these questions, there are layers and layers of chaos and imbalance which keeps piling up one after another. What this show attempts is to give generalized answer to the idea of 'good' and 'evil'. A simple and direct truth to this issue.




And the entire premise is "have the protagonist go on this journey of discovery" based on this philosophy. And the entire show executes that through different characters. Notice that almost all the character had this conversation on 'the meaning of GOOD or JUSTICE' and their perception on the matter.
Now, the suicide law itself is not the point of the show but its implications, under the concept of good and evil.

The third act of this show is where it genuinely starts to fall apart as the show tries to address it's theme of with a bigger scope, but in the grandiosity of the setting loses the authentic and grounded touch. Nevertheless the final scene itself is what pulled me back to it.



Why did Zen shoot the president ?

So, we see that the president just moments ago convinced the the girl to wait, wait until he comes up with an answer to her question. Now, let me emphasis on the point that this is the freaking POTUS. The most powerful person on this planet. More than just a human, He is a symbol. Is it better to live or to die ? That was the question she asked. Him jumping from the ceiling means he is validating the idea that "YES, it IS 'good' to die". In his last moments he looked at Zen and apologized, because he is putting the burden of killing the president on him because that was the only way to stop him from jumping.



And now about Magase Ai, she constantly kept asking Zen, the same 2 questions. What is good ? What is evil? And in the final scene Zen finally came up with an answer, good means to 'continue' and evil means to 'end'.
That's what it all comes down to in the end. Keeping all the sense of self, moral ambiguity,preconceived principles and complexity aside. THIS is the final and direct answer he came up with.

Prior to this Magase also said to Zen that evil and good are not that different. To 'continue' and to 'end'. They are quite similar actually. It's just about what you value more. Magase is pure evil who values the act of ending and Zen values the act of continuation.



Also, I ask you as a viewer to throw all your previously conceived beliefs of what good and evil is or this show won't make any sense to you. The show tries to make a simplistic statement down to it's bare bones, and that may be unsatisfactory to some, I like to see it as another twisted yet primitive outlook of the protagonist.

Now, this is show consisted of 3 arcs. And the end of each felt like a conclusion. An end.Everything went upside down. Now what ? is the question I asked after each arc. Zen, a 'good' guy has been constantly being forced to confront the end, the evil, and in the final episode he took a person's life thus finally realizing how closely related these two are.



I believe he did shoot Magase in the end. Magase is NOT human. She is an evil incarnate who can possess the body and mind of any woman on this planet. Why do I think so?
The little kid in the post credit scene to me looked like the son of Zen, which implies Magase took the body of Zen's wife.
Zen was not killed either. He is a guy with a gun with literally no one around. He is not a madman. He posed no danger to anyone at that moment after the shooting. The only logical thing the authorities would do is apprehend him,take him into the custody, and interrogate him.

But all the things I just said about the ending is MY interpretation.



I don't know what actually happened to him because the screen cut to black. His character arc was OPEN ENDED which in turn means 'having no predetermined limit or boundary' which is roughly synonymous to CONTINUATION which is ironically what this character stands for.
On the other hand Magase only prominently appears in the very end. Throughout the show, only in the end of the episodes and the end of each arc. Thus, it's fitting that the show also ENDS with her.



And by this show's same logic, I'd like to say: the time a viewer spent watching this show, it was good ( a lot of people kept calling it an underrated gem). But the end was not conclusive, but it nonetheless is the end. (It is ironic that people are disappointed too by this ending, it cements the very idea it presents). And no matter how you put it, THAT IS EVIL.

You gotta ask yourself if you really want more seasonal schlock, or ambitious titles doing things differently, at the risk of doing them better.

The only legitimate grievance I’ve read so far is episode 11 will suck if you don’t want a fairly substantial departure from the pacing and style of the previous episodes, as well as arguably disappointing discussion on fundamental morality.

That’s it. Literally everything else about this show remained a solid 10/10 for me throughout.

You can tell a show’s starting off STRONG when more happens in the first six minutes than other shows in entire episodes. The pacing propels the viewer forward and doesn’t ... let up. Ever.

The vocal direction in BABYLON is just superb. A lot of the annoying “anime grunts” are cut; the only noises you here are the necessary ones. When a character says a name real slow, he’s focusing on it to benefit the story. When a character stutters before blabbering a weak excuse for poor performance, he’s expressing himself to benefit the story. This show doesn’t have time to waste on filler dialogue and extra sounds. It’s got 12 episodes and it’ll tell its story by the end of ‘em.

The two protagonists are good men with very different qualities and skillsets and critical flaws that their wives help them overcome. They are supported by good staff with distinct but not cliché personalities. The antagonist is not only a strategic foil, but a fundamentally moral foil as well.

BABYLON’s story starts small, growing to touch towns in major countries around the globe. Political leaders struggle to maintain the spread of the antagonist’s influence. Learned experts grapple with the moral quandary presented to them, unable to dislodge it from the public’s conscience. The mental/moral virus spreads invisibly, easily communicable to random people who showed no warning signs previously.

Just sayin’, does this at all sound like the world’s response to this little global pandemic of early 2020?

The ethical questions the show asked aren’t supposed to be answered for you by the finale. They’re answered for the characters, yes, but it’s up to you, the viewers, to munch on those thoughts awhile afterwards. It’s not pretentious; it’s provocative.

And the show just, looks, dang, artistically interesting. The sex and violence are portrayed with an unnerving lack of gratuity. The imagery complements the themes and the emotions just so well.

I got similar vibes to Death Note, but BABYLON does everything better than that. Everything. There’s a mental aspect akin to Mr. Robot. I saw hints of calm, reasoned socio-political ramifications like in Ghost in the Shell. And there’s a cast of characters here with the viability, maturity, and complexity of a Tom Clancy novel. BABYLON’s taken a lot of right choices from other media and stuffed them into these 12, quick episodes.

I understand the last 5-ish eps didn’t go over well with most viewers. Fine. But this is the kind of material I want more of, will happily support, will ardently argue in favor of. Would prefer an ambitious title that misses some people, than regular mediocrity that misses me. So, here's my 10.

Alright (no spoilers)
1. This show will fucc you up
2. First mystery anime i've watched.
3. Don't listen to the people trashing Ai's power saying "ughhhh its so unrealistic" like its a fucking anime not a True Crime documentary. Power in anime isn't black and white. Some people have powers, other people don't. Literally the isekai mainstay, (MC has no powers, everyone else does)


A lot of the people giving this show bad reviews see powers in anime as black or white. Either everyone has powers or they don't. All of them think that just because a show has one "OP" character and everyone else is regular it ... makes terrible and unrealistic.
Or they just find one small ass "easy mystery" that doesn't get solved as fast as they would like it to.
I honestly think that this show is an absolute masterpiece.

Story: Shows like this literally rely on story instead of action so this is gonna be a long bit. (Tl;DR below)

Top tier. Ep 1 starts out as a generic detective cop show with a touch of realism, stuff happens, people get arrested, it's one whole "mystery of the week" you think to yourself. Then in the last couple minutes OF THE FIRST EP, everything you thought about the show is completely wrong, and you think "What the fuck." As I kept watching, every single prediction I made was incorrect and I eventually just gave up and braced myself for the next episode. Every single plot twist that happened was so unexpected yet made so much sense at the same time.

TL;DR, Story: The ability to masterfully insert tons of plot twists while leaving the entire story factually intact, and the fact that they can do plot twists so much better then some "I Am Here" or "Heres a new character" type bullshit is the huge main highlight of the show.

Music: I thought the piano at intense scenes really stood out and didn't distract from the visuals. Thats completely subjective though.

Visuals: In later episodes, these guys really go and ANIMATE A WHOLE ASS COMPUTER GAME. The attention to detail is impeccable and the visuals match the tone of the show so well.

i just finished the 9th episode and WOW i love this show , it gives me the same vibes as psycho pass .
The soundtracks in this show are amazing , the visuals are GREAT , but i think the only good character is the main one and i like him a lot but the rest don't have enough screen time to like them and it is a shame since i was interested in some of them .
episode 07 is one of the few episodes that i was scared while watching it and i love it , i don't want to talk about the ... Antagonist till we see the end of this show since i don't know how or why they do this .
i can't wait for the rest of the episodes .
9/10 overall

I'm loving this anime.

First, let me say that I've always been the type to not really enjoy the extravagant anime intros because of how cheesy and the fact that they sometimes tend to indirectly spoil parts of the show, so seeing how great yet subtle this show's intro is, I got excited.

I'm also someone who hates the anime stereotypes. If the anime is incredibly stereotypical, it's going to be hard for me to focus on the show without a grip of disgust or irritation. It's a little harder to find these stereotypes in this show, which I'm happy to report.

Now, what you care about:

The story ... is pretty great at the start of the show. They introduce the show and its main characters pretty well, and the progression of the story isn't extremely slow or too fast; it's pretty easy to grasp onto what's going on and apply it to what you already knew about the story.

The art is pretty much what you'd expect of an anime in 2019, but I gave it a score of 9 because they put a tiny bit more detail into objects that other artists typically don't in the animes I've seen, (i.e. cars.)

The music in the show is recycled, but done very well in my opinion. I find that these songs are very great for both people of Japan and the U.S, because they're sort of a mix of what you would hear from both countries (Though I'm severely uneducated, so take that with a grain of salt.) Some of these songs I could easily see being used as samples for rap songs when they're released for consumers in the future. Great job Yutaka Yamada, you never cease to impress.

The character development is very well done, especially in the main character.

Overall, this anime is pretty great and I definitely recommend it. You will enjoy yourself.

'Babylon' is an intelligent,logically taut series that asks important & profound questions about virtues,ethics & life itself.What starts out as a show focusing on corruption in the political & corporate world,turns into a much more complex series.The writing is brilliant.The dialogues are great.The characters are well chalked out & they remain consistent throughout the show.I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that 'Babylon' has one of the most terrifying villains in anime.Someone who would give tough competition to Johann Liebert.Our villain functions at a mental level...even without being physically present,they are able to achieve their objective just through their conversational skills.The introduction of ... this villain & their backstory is top notch.The way the anime showcases the mental state of some characters is very creative.The animation is pretty good.I have no complaints here.I liked the music too.


While tackling these difficult questions,'Babylon' doesn't offer easy answers.In fact,the characters are themselves after these answers alongwith the viewers.The show makes us question things we just don't pay much thought to.This ability to put it's themes across without being preachy in the least is one of the big wins of 'Babylon'.It handles a controversial topic in a way I have never seen handled before.The anime takes a level headed view of the world...not being too sunny & not being too cynical.It manages to capture our attention by making us invested in the characters,most importantly the protagonist.I have never felt as much sympathy for a character in a long while.

This is a damn good series that will offer enjoyment to anyone willing to think about stuff that we take for granted.

Highly recommend it!

First thing this is my first time to review an anime.
For somebody who are planning to watch a kind of psychology or detective anime, this might be yours and seriously u may prepare your mentality becuz this anime may bring u to a view that u would never forget it. And yeah, as u guys see i have watch til ep 7 becuz this scence may the climax of the series. The character, specially the voice actor or actress are very hard-working with there character, make my mind always remember this episode. Its actually unlike other kind detective anime such as Pyscho pass or Detective ... Conan, this main hero in this drama was actually stucked at the momment that he couldnt do anything to solve that problem, also I was very shocked at this episode for the horror that it brought.
note: if u are thinking this just a normal kind of detective anime, u shouldnt watch this because u may not forget the 7th ep of this drama.

Basically, it's about justice boy trying to stop a girl who can "talk to people and convince them to kill themselves within 60 seconds no matter who they are, man or woman" while also being a prostitute?

It's just too far fetched, by episode 5 we have large groups of people committing suicide because she apparently talked to them for a few seconds, so they all magically agree to jump off of a building in one big group.


It's too unrealistic of a premise for me. I know it's an anime where anything can happen, but for anything to happen it would be nice if it actually ... made sense within the anime world's logic. It's not like they wrote this girl to have mind control powers or anything, she's just a normal prostitute lady doing unrealistic things within the world they've written.

And they keep abusing the die mechanic that shakespeare was so known for abusing. They kill off random characters and seemingly random times just to try to make the audience "feel" something.

No spoilers ahead.

First things first, don't watch after credits, just assume the ending. It makes the anime feel more satisfying rather than watching the after credits.

I dislike reading and writing too much so this will be brief.

The story is interesting. It is quite catastrophic but gives slight hope meanwhile.

The characters are not too unique but they're not bad.

... The enjoyment... I don't feel the joy but I would feel a lot better if I didn't watch the after credits. Therefore my first comment is for your enjoyment.

Now my thoughts on the anime's goal. I'm certain it is due to the suicide rates. I believe the author's goal was to make us despise the concept of ending one's life. It was a kind way of saying "No" to suicide (although I almost hated the story).

There is a possibility that this anime will frustrate and make you want to say it was a bad story as the main idea of the story gives you that right to say so(this was an inside joke for after you watch Babylon).

But I can't dismiss it. It was a good anime. Frustrating but still good.

Babylon is a psychological thriller that emphasizes the psychological factors that the MC (Zen Seizaki) faces in his investigation of the unusual suicidal deaths that have occurred during the mayoral election within the fictional new Shiniki district in Tokyo.

Zen Seizaki the MC starts off the anime surrounded by his pack (fellow investigators) and then ends up as a lone wolf, he grows more and more as a character that no longer thinks with logic but with emotion and ends up becoming a character whos only aim is to eradicate Ai-Magase. He has his heartfelt moments like the drinking scene at the bar that shows ... how Magase has broken him mentally and physically as a man.

Moving onto Ai-Magase, who I believe is a top tier villain in my eyes, has the ability to use her sexual presence and voice to manipulate others into suicide that is difficult to resist. Ai-Magase can also pose as other characters within Shiniki making her extremely hard to track down in order to integrate. As a result, she makes you question every female character that is newly introduced into the anime. You don’t know whether to trust her or not for the basis that she may be Ai-Magase. I believe that she’s possibly referenced to the “whore of Babylon” a symbolic figure mentioned in the book of revelation in the bible who could corrupt people to do evil deeds. Hence, I believe this is where the actual name of the anime came from.

The anime does take a very dark turn in a certain episode that is visually depicted like one of those creepy pasta’s you read about that is shown on the dark web. The way the scene was directed and communicated to the viewers as well as seeing Seisaki expression and body language you can’t just help and imagine what emotional pain he went through during the live stream of the event and the extreme pain and fear that the victim must have felt made it even more difficult for me to witness.
In the later episodes of the anime after the dark scene, it does take a slow turn with a new character being introduced as the President of the United States, who himself doesn’t know whether the suicidal law is beneficial or detrimental to the human race. Unfortunately, this is where I believe the anime goes slightly downhill after the promising first half of the anime. During these last few episodes, political leaders are gathered during a summit to discuss the implications of the suicidal law and discussing what makes a choice good or bad which in turn provides knowledge to the president who then gets the answer that he was searching for.

The ending for the anime is anti-climactic and does not provide us with a satisfying conclusion, we also never end up getting the true explanation as to how Magase powers worked, was she a supernatural force or just a regular person using drugs to hypnotise her victims into committing suicide. I guess that’s the mystery element to the anime. We will never know unless explicitly mentioned in the future by the writers.

Overall, this anime should definitely be watched by viewers who love psychological thrillers and are a fan of political discussions on important social policies and their implications. Babylon was one of the anime’s that I didn’t watch until midway into the Fall 2019 season. And boy was I glad that I found it, a good story presented in an intricate fashion minus the obscure and disappointing ending.