Golgo 13 (TV)

For this review it felt appropriate just to analyze the character of Duke Togo, or Golgo 13. Who is he? His background is intentionally left mysterious but if I had to make a pragmatic guess I'd say he was a military sniper. Other anime military dramas I've seen have always painted war veterans as being unable to assimilate back into civilian life, and always end up finding their way back into a world of guns and killing. Indeed we see many other characters in the show who end up in the same line of work as Golgo with that very background.

Golgo is always painted as ... being somehow different from his criminal counterparts, though. He has his set of rules that he always abides by. #1 is to kill or otherwise leave dead every woman he's slept with. That's a joke, but it's seriously suspicious how often it happened. The only time I can think of where it didn't happen was in the first episode where he has the guy making the gun for him and finds a girl to bang while he kills time waiting for it to be finished. It's supposed to show that this guy fucks and this is the sort of thing he does when he has time to himself, but damn after watching the rest of the show I can only feel sorry for that girl because she's probably going to meet Golgo again sometime years later and end up getting shot.

Getting back to more serious stuff, though, you may be tempted to think Golgo a callous murderer who feels nothing at the deaths he causes. I think that the dude just has the most intense poker face ever, because his actions certainly say a lot more about what he's really feeling than his expression ever does. He does show affection for some of the women in his life, despite killing most of them. In the rare moments that he speaks he delivers poignant messages that give us a peak at the true man hiding behind that mask of stoicism. In an episode where he finds out he might have a son he goes out of his way to make sure the child lives even when literally everyone else at the scene gets shot. He isn't even sure it is his kid, but has that modicum of compassion just on the off-chance that it is.

Many many episodes end with that same jazzy riff as Golgo drives off into the sunset like a modern-day wild west hero. Often it's just after having to do something that, were he capable of showing human emotion, probably would have left him sobbing uncontrollably. I think he's been surrounded by death so long that he tries to numb himself to the pain that can come from it, but some of the things he does he wouldn't be able to if he truly felt nothing. In one episode he's attacked by people who have been conditioned to not feel fear. He tells them that fear it what keeps people alive.

This is interesting because his constant caution and paranoia when looked at through a different lens could just be seen as fear of dying. He is so terrified of the idea of death that he does everything in his power to stay alive at all costs, and it works. Some other assassins may look at death as an inevitability, an occupational hazard of their line of work. Golgo views it as nothing more than an end to be avoided.

He's like Batman, the Punisher and Sakamoto all in one. It's a fun ride if you like gangster movie aesthetic and shooting things. 8/10

Golgo 13 has an episodic structure in which each episode revolves around Duke Togo, a well-known killer who is very much in demand. Even with the absence of central narration, these episodes still provide a coherent viewing experience. However, the cookie-cutter narrative, which usually contains clichéd difficulties and explicit sex scenes, may be not enough for those who are looking for more of a story to follow.

However, the series is well-thought-out in the variety of its missions and the way Golgo has to improvise to face different situations. He knows he will be victorious, but the tension does not disappear. It's as if the viewer ... is looking at the victory and at the same time getting into the action, and this makes the viewer involved into the story. The fact that they are hammering on the cliché manliness in a fun way is not lost on anyone.

Characterization is mixed with Golgo portraying machismo without much detail. Different characters have different extent of being developed, and some episodes achieve this aim, while some others fail.

The visual aesthetics of Golgo 13 stun with elaborate drawings and gripping action scenes, but some animation flaws are impossible to ignore.

The voice acting, particularly, Tachi Hiroshi as Golgo, is praiseworthy, the music of this series is also in accordance.

All in all, Golgo 13 has both pros and cons. Though its formulaic nature and occasional narrative weaknesses may put off some, others would find its imaginative ideas and machismo engaging. It's worth having a look, but if you're watching in droves, it's probably not for you.

Golgo 13 is THE PROFESSIONAL at seinen-flavored, satirical camp; much like Kazuo Koike’s Wounded Man and Crying Freeman. An extreme portrayal of masculinity that is meant to revel in as it unveils its strange sincerity. Whether he’s in the bedroom with a woman or sniping an enemy, Golgo’s mask of an expression is stuck in a frozen ennui of eternal botox. This series probably wouldn’t have received any sort of cult following if it hadn’t been for Golgo’s face!

• Golgo is similar to Daisuke Jigen from Lupin III, in the way that he’s the best hitman who ever lived and whatnot―while Jigen is praised as the ... best shot, Golgo is an uncomplaining “gary stu,” in the way that he’s good at everything that he touches, whether that be weapons or women! There’s not much to say about this iconic, stone-faced MANLY MAN other than JESUS, HE’S MANLY. Golgo’s characterization is some of the worst writing that I’ve seen for a protagonist, I truly believe that Kirito (from Sword Art Online fame) has more memorable character traits.

• The Golgo 13 (TV) is an unneeded sequel to the multi-part OVA series; the series practically recapitulated the same story over and over again with a hilarious English dub, if you don’t know what I’m referring to, see the: “you’ll shoot your blind eyes out” scene on YouTube! Don’t watch Golgo if you’re not going to make fun of it! This series is not quite on the level of MD Geist, but it’s close!

• The Queen Bee OVA is, hands down, the best and actually characterizes a female lead without making the main memorable asset to her personality being that she bangs the eternally stoic Golgo! The original OVA is fun in its own right: there’s a B-movie assassin duo, one of them screeches like a banshee, and the cheapest CG helicopter scene that you will ever seen―an old Windows screensaver is more technologically advanced than the computer graphics in this “memorable/highly iconic” scene! The original OVA was my induction to the weird iconicism of the emotionless-manly-man trope; thereafter, I evolved into my spirited Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star/“at-ta-ta-ta-ta” phase.

Overall, Golgo is an atypical rough-around-the-edges alpha male with the lingering, beleaguered implication that he might be a (somewhat) good person when he occasionally does the right thing… especially if he’s sleeping with the person who needs help, otherwise, fuck you, he’s a hitman. Life lessons be damned, I suppose. If you do watch Golgo 13, I would stick to the OVAs; I found the TV series to be a yawn-inducing addition to the franchise, with a few good episodes. I give the TV series a 4/10, the first OVA a 3/10, and Killer Bee a 5/10.

SN: I bought the BD collection for the TV series from Sentai Filmworks and the set isn’t worth purchasing, it’s not a good series and there’s no special features included in the set.