Ikebukuro West Gate Park

So far, IWGP has got me excited especially on EP. 6 & 7. It has gotten more interesting.

EP. 1 - 7/10
EP. 2 - 8/10
EP. 3 - 6/10
EP. 4 - 8/10
EP. 5 - 8/10
EP. 6 - 8/10
EP. 7 - 9/10

... WILL RECOMMEND TO WATCH? YES!


> IWGP took a brave move to have different stories on each episode. At first, I was so hesitant to continue after Ep.1 due to the pace of the story and the unconvincing plot. But still, mystery and thrill excites me.

> I honestly like this kind of anime: the street vibes, city/urban setting, gangs and some action scenes. I like the art style and its animation.

> The characters have unique descriptions and characteristics. In some point, I feel like I'd like to know more about those characters of who really they are. I'm waiting for character development showing their purpose and a bit of their life story.

> The thrills and mysteries in each episodes got me hooked and wanting more especially on Ep. 6 & 7. The story of Ep. 3 is a let down for me as it feels so shallow and ineffective for a 'gang' anime.

> I enjoyed some music played like jazz on Ep. 4. The opening and ending themes suits the anime really well and its so good!

> Though IWGP revolves on gang stories, I still love the way they put some slice of life moments or realistic scenes that would touch the heart of the viewer. Brotherhood, family, and kindness are just some few topics that viewers can relate to.

> Overall, IWGP is a good anime that can be improved and shows a lot of potential to be at the top. The story improves as each episode goes by, so far. I am wondering: What stories could be the next episodes are? Or, What could be the main plot of the series? Really interesting!

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The anime that is in every sense of the word, akin to Durarara!!, yet the majority of the people make the assumption/mistake that this series was a rip-off of the former. In actual fact, this show came FIRST (debuted in 2001), and the former (debuted in 2004) was merely inspired from it (that was leaps better in every way). If you're watching this show, please take note of this pointer.

I do have a legitimate worry for people and studios trying to capitalize on decades-old source materials that were lost in time. If you remember the 2 shows that aired in Spring 2020: Yesterday wo Utatte ... (produced by Doga Kobo, based on a manga) and Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro (produced by Liden Films, based on a novel), both were late-90s source materials that if were adapted right and close to their original magic, could usher in the new revival of old-school adaptations. Sadly this wasn't the case, with the former getting a rushed adaptation (for the 2nd half) and the latter being better in its original material (because it's so boring to watch). Fast forward to Fall 2020, and Doga Kobo is back with adapting another early 2000s classic: Ikebukuro West Gate Park (or IWGP for short), written by Ira Ishida and based off a novel, a live-action TV series and a manga (that was a loose adaptation of the live-action TV version).

But what is this show about, you ask? In a nutshell, as mentioned in the beginning, think of it like Durarara!!: the crime-ridden city of Ikebukuro, where majority of the city is ruled by violent gangs and frequent clashes of turfs for the taking, only less refined. The MC is the city's gang mediator-cum-troubleshooter, Makoto Majima (who's living together with his single-family mother). A 20-year-old guy who often sees himself getting caught in frivolous acts of crime from seemingly both related and unrelated cases, and has ties with the gang that has a majority stake of Ikebukuro: the G-Boys, lead by his old schoolmate, the goofy and serious two-faced Andou "King" Takashi. In this aggravating city where crime does not pay, the single-family supporting son must tread through the vast wilderness of violent outbreaks that range from rival factions to sporadic situations, and even requests from strangers and close friends requiring protection to loved ones being victimized for revenge in the process, solving these various cases and resolving them faster than the local police could, before more lives are lost.

Now here my problem with this adaptation: Ira Ishida's material undoubtedly gives off the old-school vibe, but to adapt the 4 volume manga seems like a waste in comparison (as akin to just watching the 2000 TV version instead, albeit with a few differences). So, I'd presume that the scriptwriters made up their own version of IWGP by composing entirely new story scripts to reflect the modern-day standards of Japan in the classic episodic story format, and truth be told, the execution is both hit-and-miss. There are some instances where the episodes are really good (I love that one story where they focused on Japan's treatment of foreigners), but the rest were just the same-old cardboard cut-outs of unlinked, repetitious self-contained stories with mindless rival gang fighting over turfs that maintain the power balance of the gang environments (if you don't count the episodes featuring another formidable gang: the Red Angels). If you're looking for a story to be worth investing your time into, this show will most likely turn you off from its episodic format as there are little overarching plots (that span 2-part episodes at max).

Unfortunately, there is little to highlight about character development, as most of them tend to be 2-faced: neutral, or (un)necessarily triggered. For the few (like Makoto's mother), they do have personality and past histories to back their hard-lived environments and growing-up circumstances that shape their "organizational behaviours" to both friends and strangers through kinship, but sadly those are far and few in-between for a setting like this (that I'd really like to see more of). Most of the gang members (between both G-Boys and Red Angels, save for the respecting leading duo of King and Kyouichi, along with troubleshooter Makoto) are one-note, and is about what I'd expect of the typical one-note bad rap of gangs that are in for the violence and overflowing revenge.

Doga Kobo's in-house director Tomoaki Koshida is back from Senko-san to direct this series, and the visuals are just about as expected: replicating Yesterday wo Utatte's old-school palettes of art and animation to match, only this time, adding the dark mystery vibes that are associated with drama-type shows, and I have to give some good credit to the studio for a pretty good and consistent production from start to finish. Sure, there isn't as much Sakuga that you can cherry-pick with some decent action, but at least the action was solid, no questions asked. Good job Doga Kobo, double thumbs up.

The music...is another hit-and-miss department, I'm sad to say. I remember watching the horribly-made adaptation of "Junji Itou: Collection", and THE PINBALLS's OP "Shichiten Battou no Blues" (that screams "ISOLATION DOPE!!!") was so freaking excellent, it has remained memorable to me (even to this day). So to my amazement when "Needle Knot" came out, it was...OK at best. The same "in-your-face" bombastic quality signature of the group, but kinda missing the "OOMPH!" factor somewhere in between. A good effort, but nothing close to the quality that was once hearkened. And what better way to reflect the gang setting through the rapping ED by INNOSENT in FORMAL, but to be frank, the more I hear this song, the more I relinquished it as pure white noise. Their 2nd ED song "Omou mama" on the other hand, it's a calm and collected, but fantastic sounding song that I'd wished had appeared more. Maybe it's my personal preference of a bias to have heart-warming songs that are in stark contrast to dark and mystical shows like this, but in this case, along with the fine line of different story plots, this payoff really worked well.

In a season full of many average-to-decent (and few great) shows, this show I can only classify this as part of the middle-road package of being decent. Nothing eye-popping really stands out (other than the lore of gangs/crime aspect), and since this show hasn't had a clear direction (other than both start and end points), it's easy to be distracted by boredom, even if you tell yourself to "stick to the end". Let this sentence ring true: "If it ain't CGDCT (which is Doga Kobo's work ethos), you're gonna be hung about a 50-50 chance of watching a good or bad show." Nevertheless, for the 3 of you who likes gang/crime settings like Durarara!!, this is the show for you, otherwise, give this the unquoted 3-episode rule treatment.

Tell me, what did you expect after reading synopsis? I expected a criminal drama, where our mc tries his best to find out the truth while being caught between two fighting gangs. What I did not expect was to see a bunch of boy scouts instead of a gang who do such horrible gang crimes as dance performing, helping single mothers and immigrants and guarding peace in the neighborhood. If it does not sound even remotely close to crime drama - you are not the only one confused. 10 episodes out of 12 are wasted on showing how mc is a good "fixer" guy. I ... may be wrong, but that kind of introduction should only take an episode or two at best, not most of the season. I could get it if those stories were linked in any way to the actual drama, that is shown in the last two episodes - it would be some insanely long build up, but if executed correctly it would justify all those unlinked meaningless stories. But you see, when you put a bunch of those stories and forget to give them any link to or place in the main plot line - what is even a point of having them? It felt like the first 10 episodes were a giant filler, and they are here just to waste viewers time instead of showing them the show they came for. As for me, cause of this mess I arrived at ep11 already bored and there was not a single chance that anything would redeem this huge waste of time. I doubt I have ever seen such big problems with pacing before.
If we move from discussing the plot - things are still pretty bad. Characters for example - there are lots of them. But only a few have a constant place in this show, and even those few are pretty undeveloped and feel more like the tools that mc uses to solve problems in the neighbourhood. Like what do we know about the King, who is literally the most influential character around and a great pal of our MC? Well, he is cool and respected, basically it. The rest of the cast either gets that kind of treatment or even worse.
Visuals? They are fine, being a real world it is not really hard thing to draw adequate, but nothing more is done to make the visuals stand out and be something above mediocre.
Sound? Well, the choice of tracks fits the theme, but it is not my type of music so I can't call opening and ending good. For bgm in episodes themselves - I can't even recall if there was a bgm to be honest.
Enjoyment? Story and paicing ruined any enjoyment for me.

Conclusion: a huge unfun waste of time. You may like it if you like unconnected shallow stories, but for most people I would advice skipping this anime entirely.

While the anime is about two gangs in Ikebukuro, you could be very mislead if you think that the"gangs" in the anime are gangs of criminals or actual Yakuza. The term gang definitely has a negative connotation, but in this series a gang is merely a group of people, that protect each other and can be hired for certain services. It actually shows that a gang can also be a good thing. Even though the gangs in the series become agressive very quickly, which is definitely a flaw that they still have, their main intentions are to make their district a better place and provide ... security for thir members.

I think this concept was very interesting, but the thing that definitely carried the show the most was its Main Character. The outside perspective that he has on these gangs gives the perfect angle to narrtate the story, which is honestly otherwise not that great. His role as problemsolver shows what a genuinely good guy he is. He helps people just to make sure as many of the citizens of Ikebukuro as possible are happy. And the thing that deifferentiates him the most from alll the other "good guy" characters is that he neither brags with his good deeds, nor does he talk excessively about his philosophy. He just helps people because he wants to and doesn´t make a big deal out of it. But he has also a very impressive side to him, which he shows in the way he solves all the problems he is confronted with. The way he makes use of his connections to all kinds of people (including the gangs) and his way of thinking make him a very cool and admirable character.

That alone managed to make the series great for me.

So far this season has plenty of outstanding series both in action and episodic slice of life, such as Majo no Tabitabi, Tonikawa, Jujutsu Kaisen and Akudama Drive. Considering that Ikebukuro has exactly this same two genres, and maybe drama, as it's main highlights, it's covering a niche that is fulfilled with other shows that I consider better overall, and that makes for a pretty mild and average show for the season it's airing, and that I would only recommend for people that really like the 'street gang' vibe or that are here just to see some hot dudes having badass and beautifully animated fights ... against some bad guys that no one cares. But well... the series is not unbearable either.

Story - 5

The anime follows episodical conflicts that somehow involve our MC, Makoto, and the street gang thematic. So far we've got some drug dealers, some vandals hired to put pressure on exploited employees of a restaurant, the cringiest youtuber that you'll see in your goddamn life and a retrospective murder case of a gang leader that was so far the best and most human. Structure of 3 first chapter is almost the same, like 'there is a trouble, we investigate the trouble, some twist happens and it ends up with the badass gang beating the shit out of the bad guys'. In the first two chapters is acceptable, and the ending scene of episode two might be the more cathartic so far in the anime, but by the third episode it got really tiring. Thankfully, it changed on chapter for so maybe we can hope for more variety on new stuff. By now, it's just mediocre.

Characters - 6

Excepting Youtuber-san from episode 3 that I don't even dare mentioning here, the characters are pretty neutral. I mean, they're mostly cool, and some of their design makes me really question my heterosexuality (specially Red Angels leader), but the only glimpse of development to anyone of them just showed up on episode 4, so not much to highlight here.

Art - 8

Doga Kobo is one of the studios that, when I see their making an anime, I'll made sure to check it out, since they almost never miss (btw two of my three favourite anime, Yesterday wo Utatte and Yuru Yuri, are produced by Doga Kobo). The studio may be mostly known by moe and comedy such as Nozaki-kun or Gabriel Dropout, and having director of Senko-san in charge of the anime must seem to confirm this impression, but they're more mature and serious style is just as good, if not better, as the moe one. Direction is not stellar, but it's incredibly solid, and animation is always consistent and fluid. The anime is not as sakuga-packed as Jujustsu Kaisen, but it does never feel lacking either, so it looks genuinely great.

Sound - 8

OST is very nice, specially enjoyed the jazz tracks on ep 4. Sound desing is correct too, nothing special but pretty consistent from what I noticed. The thing that made me classify sound as very good was the incredible opening, Needle Knot. The song has a punk rock style which I really enjoy and the psychodelic visuals are a great complement to it. Prossibly best op of the season.

Enjoyment - 5

As I said before, the anime is just fine at the best 'till now. I really disliked ep 3 but the others were a fine watch, nothing outstanding but nothing that made me drop it either.

Overall - 6

I'm not going to do a whole breakdown of each character, story, plot, music, etc sort of thing. I am enjoying it with what it has so far. It maybe because I am a sucker for gangs in anime and this is around that alley. I also kind of like the real life look on things. Synthetic marijuana, possible gang beef, workforce stress. Sad to say, the youtube one as well even though that was truly awful to watch that really shows how these Youtubers are and how viewers eat it all up. That kind of "real" about the show is entertaining. I see why ... the 3rd episode was the reason why the show was dropped but I'm happy I watched the fourth episode. I am hoping for an actual story/plot to come along though, I'm not a huge fan of the little stories on each episode but it could be worse. I'll stay hopeful and continue to watch. It's not that bad minus the cringey 3rd episode.

The most important thing to think about while watching this anime is to take note of the story and the small things and relate it back to todays society. I wold say this is for those who would focus on storytelling over anything else, the story is very well told and i cant wait to see what will happen next in this compelling story. Its not as fast paced as some would like but thats what makes it so good as well, you get very well developed characters with this slower pace. In my opinion this kind of storytelling us well worth watching if you ... are mature and patience enough to take the time to reflect on the story. So with this anime, focus on the story, nothing else, this is a perfect piece of fiction close to the real world yet keeping the flare of being a work of fiction. As that its maybe not for everyone i can see how this would be something for me as a movie nerd rather than the casual watcher. I would strongly suggest this anime for those willing to go deep in to the story.

IWGP may not be everyone's top pick this season. That's ok. For me it's definitely up there. When I started it I figured it was 'just another gang anime', I was sorely mistaken. It's about dealing with real life issues that many watching probably don't experience. There's very little linear story, it's more of a collaboration of short-stories told through the protagonist's pov.

As of writing I just finished ep.5. One of my favorite points is each episode has a lesson to it, like fables (Short stories that teach a lesson). In ep5 the lesson was something akin to "Even though where you are ... may have problems, you are blessed because others have it far worse." I found this to be very relatable.

In short I think IWGP is well suited towards an older audience, and I applaud the breaking of the mold of the writers and producers. I gave it a 9 because it's different, and I enjoy different.

Now.... For the silly sausages that are giving this a low rank, its mainly because you was mislead by the trailer and tags.
IWGP was hard to judge on what sort of anime it would be, based off the trailers shown and provided to us before release, as so, it shocked me. I was expecting fighting every EP, however this was not the case.
Each EP provided different stories to the viewer, lore and also emotional attachment to each character.
The last few episodes is where it all kicked off, and left it open for a second season.
Yes i agree, in some stories provided, it seemed rushed ( ... information leading up to the reason WHY was missed out for the viewer ). But in general some of the stories was funny and incredible.
I would highly recommend giving this show a watch, as it was one of my favourites of 2019.

This is the very first review i'm writing and its for one very specific reason, I want more people to enjoy this GEM of a show. (9 eps in so far)

This isn't your conventional anime and the genre tags really don't make much sense but let me tell you was this show a ride. It made me scream with exciment, cry(ep 9 hit hard), laugh hard. This show's got it all.

The Soundtrack and the OP/ED are bangers too.

The duality of Majima and the underground of Tokyo plays very nicely with the shows atmosphere and the way Majima goes about doing things is ... just too satisfying. Even though the show is semi-episodic, it gave me closure after each episode and there was very noticeable character with Majima.

Give this show a try and you wouldn't regret it!

I watched this all today and I really hope for a season 2 Makoto is one of the most interesting characters I've had the pleasure of watching and when joined by Takashi you know that you're in for a great experience I absolutely loved every episode excluding number 5. The art style is pretty standard but appealing to witness while the main interest in the series at least for me is the relationship between the characters and how that reflects Ikebukuro in general.

The story was a unique spin on the gangsta trope.

The art style fit the story perfectly.

All the characters were pretty well rounded excluding ... some of the more minor characters which the series didn't take the time to develop. They were relatively grounded.

I'd rec this to anyone looking for a fun action series if they like things like Tokyo Revenger or the Yakuza games or films like Why don't you play in hell? They'll love this.

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (IWGP) was one anime I was really looking forward to watching. The synopsis sounded amazing. Quote: "Crime-ridden Ikebukuro is a haven for violent gangs, the Yakuza, and home to Makoto Majima -- when a rising tide of violence results in Makoto losing a loved one, can he ride out the storm, or will he drown in all the spilled blood that floods his streets?"

Does that not sound amazing? Gang warfare, intrigue, mystery, blood and violence. Complicated criminal and gang activities while following the perspective of a 3rd party. And while there were certainly moments that had aspects of this, they're incredibly ... watered down. To the point of near non-existence. And what little there was had such wasted potential. It wasn't bad, but there's very little I could recommend. Very much style over substance, and it will not leave a lasting impression.

In summary, I would not recommend this anime. It's mediocre personified at best and a let down at worst. For a spoiler free explanation and recommendation for similar anime, please continue reading.

From what I understand, IWGP was an urban mystery novel produced in the late 90's. And again going by the synopsis I figured this sounds like a great premise for an anime. My major worry however came when I read the synopsis above, and saw the show with no rating (I believe this has since changed to PG-13). There was a massive disconnect to what was happening in the show and what the description of both the original novel and anime. Ultimately this had led to the disappointment that most will feel when thinking back on this show. This however was not the only negative I found when watching. The actual structure of the anime was in my opinion, lacking. For a 12 episode anime I was expecting rather tight story telling. But after finishing I feel like I've watched 9 episodes of fluff and filler (emphasis on the fluff as a lot of these episodes completely contradict the synopsis), and barely 3 episodes of the main story. And I say the story very loosely as most of it was pushed through in post episode narration. A lot of it was told at the end of an episode through exposition and flash forward. There was no time given to reflect or to think about what had happened and effects these may have. But worse is that most episodes had no lasting effect or any play in future episodes. It was very episodic in nature.

Further to this, it felt like the story was shrink-wrapped down and only the bare minimum was allowed to seep through the cracks. There is a wide cast of interesting looking characters. Perhaps in the novel these are expanded upon but in this show they are mostly for window dressing. I couldn't really tell you any of their names other than the MC, and even the ones that appear more regularly are not given any time to be fleshed out or explained. At most, they are just there to turn the tide over while the story is told around them. There was a lot of wasted potential here.

I wouldn't say the entire show was bad. The art direction was OK with interesting characters and the show had a catchy intro and outro. That being said I wouldn't say there was anything standout, and any BGM playing throughout the show is forgettable.

In all I was hoping for a lot more but in the end they were all dashed. I was hoping for an in-depth look at interesting characters in a gang warfare setting. There was very little of that latter and the parts we got to see were not that interesting. I was hoping that the episodic and sporadic nature of the show would come together for an amazing ending. While it did try to do that with the final 2 episodes, it again felt rushed and wasted compared to what it could have been.

I can not recommend this anime to anyone interested in it unless they have a lot of time, and even then I would likely say to watch something else. For an alternate recommendation I would go with:

Banana Fish - Similar setting with gang warfare and intrigue, but a slower paced feel giving you time to breathe. A much better fleshed out story and overall more enjoyable while hitting all the notes I was looking for.

Thank you for reading.

I am a fan of the Ikebukuro west gate park, the live series. It was amazing. Characters with actual personality, a very realistic approach to a social problem Japan used to have (the colour gangs), mental issues, illegal immigration, drugs, prostitution, relationships, hikikomori... All of those issues were very present in the series. I was so excited about it becoming an anime that I rewatched it for like the fifth time.
Turns out, I was excited for nothing. I can tell they were trying to adapt the series to the modern times and that's fine... But whoever wrote the script seems to have very little real ... life experience with the issues at hand. Probably not even second hand experience... I watched the whole thing expecting it to get better at some point... To be fair, it did get from an overall 1 to an overall 2.
Huge waste of time. It's the opposite of what the live action version was.
If gang series are your jam, you're better off watching the live series.

I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed to how this show ended up turning out. I feel it had potential to be very good, but in the end, it didn't. That being said, this is still a decent show, that could potentially be enjoyable for many (either way, OP bangs, so at least check that out~)

The story is relatively straightforward. We have our MC who is involved with a gang (but not actually a part of it). You get introduced to some interesting characters, and then you see some examples of the ways our MC helps Ikebukuro with the help of his connections that ... he has for some reason. Except that ends up being the entire show. Every episode, we get a new problem come up, or a new person to help, and Makoto (the MC) works to solve them. Rinse and repeat. Some of these solved issues end up being somewhat relevant in the future, in the sense that some character interactions develop, but that is essentially limited to small interactions. Their influence on the overall arc (which exists, don't get me wrong) is relatively small. Thus, this is essentially a slice of life, following someone that has a bit of an uncommon daily life. I will add that there are some pretty dark themes, which you may expect from a setting involving gangs, but it gets quite serious in some episodes, so keep that in mind. So at this point, you can gauge whether or not you would enjoy this. I was expecting this to be a longer story where we'd be able to explore the setting and the characters because that was the vibe I felt from the first episode. If you are expecting something like that, then you'll be disappointed. However, if you go into this knowing that the format will in fact be essentially a slice of life, then you may get more enjoyment out of the show, because there are things to like about it.

Because of the set up of the show, we don't end up with any actual fleshed out characters. Actually, that may be slightly wrong. There are actually some character development, but it's pretty much entirely reserved for the side characters who are helped in each episode. They may start with a problem, and develop and grow by the end of it. And then we don't see them again for the most part. But the actual main characters don't change much. They are pretty interesting, but we don't learn enough about them, so realistically, they end up being a bit bland. The setting itself was interesting, and there are many moving parts in the background that culminate in the final arc (which is two episodes), but I don't personally feel like enough was done in the setting.

So, should you watch this show? If you're expecting a complex story and fleshed out characters, this may is likely to disappoint. However, if you're up for a sort of "slice of life" in a pretty unique setting (with gangs and some dark themes), then this is a pretty interesting show that does that.

The main reason for writing this review is to get people to give this show a try. Right of the start, let me be clear - it's by no means extraordinary and a must-watch, but I do think you shouldn't just skip it without giving it a try.

Story 7/10
The story revolves around street gangs in Ikebukuro, with the main protagonist Makoto Majima not really belonging to any of them (even though he is the best friend of the guy leading one of the gangs).

Each episode so far (5 episodes as of writing this review) is a stand-alone one in terms of story, but I wouldn't ... be surprised if some of them connect in the future episodes.

That being said, the main tone of the stories is exploring social problems, such as bullying, overworking, discrimination, drugs... A person with a problem approaches Makoto and asks for help. The solution to the problem at times may be obvious, but the process of getting to the goal and social interactions are in the focus. Each problem is presented from several perspectives which really gives it some depth and room for thought, which is the main thing getting you invested in the show.


Art 8/10
The art style fits the setting. Characters have a nice and distinct design and there is some fluidity and natural feeling to their movement. The animation is consistent and at the level you'd expect for a seasonal anime.


Sound 8/10
While there are no soundtracks that really stand out, every scene is accompanied by a fitting one which I find most important. As an analogy, imagine sitting in a bar with someone you want to hang out and have a chat. The ambient music is welcome for the mood, but you don't want it to be distracting you from the conversation. Well, in the same sense, this music here fits just right. It gives the right vibe to the scenes, without really standing out.


Character 8/10
It's early in the anime, and already we have a lot of characters and each one from the main cast had some development or small side story. There are quite a few very charismatic characters and I look forward to seeing more of them. I like the approach of developing characters through specific situations, instead of just giving a backstory for each individual character.


Enjoyment 8/10
Regardless of the mood I find myself in at the time of watching the episodes, I enjoy watching them.


Overall 8/10

There are a lot of shows coming out this season, and I wouldn't really say that this one stands out as something special, but the same could be said about a lot of the other ones as well. I feel that the overall quality of anime has skyrocketed in the past few years, making the standards higher then they should be.

I personally try to judge the anime I watch in the context of what it wants to accomplish, and not by comparing it to others, as I really think that each story is it's own thing and can't be easily compared to another one. Basically, it's just a matter of expectations. I have certain expectations for the show I'm watching based on how much potential the initial setting provides. If I feel like the potential is well used, I consider it a job well done, regardless of how it fairs to other anime.

That being said, I look forward to seeing how the story will develop and am pleased with the current progress.

Mediocre at best.

I was hyped for this anime as I thought it would add to the already great original show, but what it did instead was dilute everything into a shallow narrative lacking any form of character or significant (and believable) development.


Please watch the original IWGP, and not this Netflix-like adaptation which takes the names and location, and then changes everything after washing off every bit of interesting parts the original TV show had.

Imagine you have your favorite anime, e.g. AoT, then you think "Right, let me check out the action movie". You finish watching it, big yikes.
This is how it goes for the IWGP ... anime, but this time it's the "live" TV show that's the good part. Again, go watch it, much better.

I really liked this serie. Having a main character helping out delinquents and the like despite not being a part of a gang himself was super-intriguing.

The layout of the eipsodes was nice where one person got help each episode. And they still mangaed to tie the episodes together for a wholesome storyline that made sense. Many people we got to see again and it was nice to see they hadn't been discarded immediately as supportive characters when they had fulfilled their purpose in one episode.

They went back and forth with different issues and morals and showed how thoughtless actions can have (very) severe ... consequences.

The characters felt realistic despite the fact that they exist in a different world, in the sense that they are mostly a violent bunch of delinquents. They weren't "just" violent, but could show kindness and reason with people which I like since sometimes characters only show one side to themselves, and that's not realistic at all imoho.

There were few parts I didn't appreciate as much, but all in all, Makoto made a super nice main character that was levelheaded pretty much all the time. It was a nice breath of fresh air. Their design was nice and the colour scheme of the gangs, while kind of classic now, spiced it up.

I recommend it a lot ♥

With Fall 2020 coming to a close and having seen all the anime I wanted to see, Ikebukuro West Gate Park (IWGP) was not of the initial anime I thought about when entering this season. I pretty much only started watching it when episode 10 aired after a friend told me he was watching it and I decided to give it a shot after reading the synopsis. Here's my review of Ikebukuro West Gate Park.

This is my first review on MAL after 4 and a bit years of using this site and I know I wanted to write one about this anime because I honestly ... enjoyed the episodes I watched. Essentially, IWGP follows our mc Makoto Majima who lives in Ikebukuro and he is the Mr. Troubleshooter, going around fixing different problems. Makoto is involved with the leader of the biggest gang operating in Ikebukuro, King (Takashi Ando) and he helps them out as well while not officially being part of his gang which is called G-Boys.

What I think IWGP does well in is the representation of the gang life, which I found to be relatable, as I come from an area with prominent gang activity and basically being like Makoto outside of the fact that I don't risk my life doing half the stuff he does. It's so common to see youths getting revenge on their opposition because one of their own got attacked/harmed in some way and IWGP shows this happening consistently with the turf wars between the G-Boys and the Red Angels (the main rival gang) and the G-Boys getting back at the antagonists of the episodic structure IWGP uses with Makoto dealing with different individual's problems. So yeah I enjoyed that.

Like any series or medium, IWGP does have its cons, which I don't think are game changing, but hold it back from being a super good anime to me in my opinion. I mentioned earlier about IWGP's episodic structure of Makoto being handed a problem he has to solve and the episode is spent with him resolving that issue. That is all fine and dandy to me but the synopsis does not highlight this at all, when that's how the majority of IWGP. That is not the fault of the anime, but by the person/organisation that wrote the synopsis. The event where Makoto "losing a loved one" and the "rising tide of violence" doesn't even happen until the latter episodes, when the synopsis makes it seem like that's the series is going to focus on, I don't know, just lets my expectations down a little bit. I feel like they could've spent much more episodes on that conflict when at this point, we've seen a good amount of how and what Makoto does in Ikebukuro so we didn't need more "Hi Makoto, I got a problem for you to solve."

Concluding here, Ikebukuro West Gate Park was a fun watch for me, I enjoyed Makoto solving problems throughout his town and how he deals handling with the chaos that ensues in Ikebukuro's ongoing gang activity. I'm now obsessed with the opening which slaps.

Sometimes you don't have to check review or rates to dig into something , and this anime provide the right example about a good show with low rate , I know everyone has a taste but let's be honest sometimes animes aren't just for fun sometimes can be for relaxing and chilling and this one really made relax it's enjoyable it's interesting and perhaps the story not that deep but it has really good moments , the anime can be a god damn emotions sometimes

if you looking for some action or shounen bullshit this anime definitely not for you and I'm not gonna suggest ... this like watch it when you bored , I'll say watch it if you interested in it . and yeah its episodic and everyone one kinda has a story

additionally I liked the opening and ending song so much , and lemme tell you rap isn't my taste at all I'm into jazz but for some reason I found myself enjoying this vibe , and the anime has really special atmosphere i dont know how to explain it exactly but it's just not other things you have watched before , ppl said it's sucks because they thought something deep , well lemme tell you not everything simple is boring .

This is one of those shows I gave a try on a whim, just to give something a try. I wasn't sure what I'd make of it. Turns out, the answer to that is quite a lot.

Conceptually, this is pretty simple. It's a show about gangs in Ikebukuro, a guy working as a troubleshooter doing his best to keep the peace, and solving the various problems that get pointed at him on a regular basis. There's plenty of fun to be had with this premise. Think 'Durarara!!' without any of the fantastical aspects. And those parts are well done. Ikebukuro feels like a well-fleshed out ... setting, with the titular park being a great central location, and the other recurring settings feeling lived-in and distinct. The two main gangs we see both feel like they have some substance to them, we get to know a handful of members of each, and generally find everyone interesting and likeable. The two leaders, Takashi and Kyoichi, feel unique and distinct, and both the mutual frustration and respect they have for each other is really compelling.
And, of course, there's our protagonist Makoto, the man who stands in the middle of all of it and makes sure it doesn't blow up in everyone's faces. He's perhaps not the most unique protagonist in the world, but he still fits the bill perfectly; charming, caring, a little awkward, but incredibly smart in the ways he needs to be, always coming to the best solution to any problem. It doesn't always quite go to plan, but he makes the best out of bad situations and always comes out on top.

With all of that, there's a clear and simple show that comes out of it, which is, in a lot of ways, more or less what you'd expect. But, as I watched it, I found something sitting under the surface, and I find it absolutely fascinating.
Because this show, about the grimy world of crime, about gangs and con-artists and hitmen, manages to be one of the most wonderfully kind-hearted shows I've seen in a very long time.

I know that sounds ridiculous, but, honestly, what this show is about, more than anything else, is empathy. That's probably the key thing that I tactically ignored that makes Makoto the protagonist he is; a deep sense of wanting to understand people, and an acceptance of who they are. Through that, the show engages with a variety of social issues; immigrant workers' rights, the difficulties of single parenting, far-right nationalism, as well as taking a nuanced look at themes of justice and crime and forgiveness; hell, it even takes time at one point to specifically state the validity of sex work as a form of legitimate labour. It's a small thing, but I don't think I've ever seen that in an anime before. Maybe not a TV show

And what all of this gives us is a show that is deeply invested in some really important ideas; be curious about people, do what you can to learn about them, and there are no misunderstandings that can't be cleared up. This show about small-time gangs is about empathy, and about the importance of seeing things from someone else's perspective, about learning to accept others for what they are and learning to live in community together. To make a show about criminals, about people at the fringes of society who don't always behave in ways we can entirely approve of, and to make it about the reality that humans are so much more than 'good' or 'evil', that even hardened street thugs can be people you can understand and accept... It's the sort of story you don't see often. It's certainly not the story I was expecting.

Honestly, I think that this messy show about messy people living messy lives is, in its own way, kind of radical. And it's the sort of show I want to see more often.