Golgo is an elite sniper. Man with a mission. All you need is 3 million USD and he will make any of your wishes happen. Need to embarrass a violist during his play? No worries! Golgo can shoot the string of a moving instrument from 500 feet away, eyes closed while parrying flying katanas. Here's a meme. Who would win? Bulletproof, 30 inch thick class wall or one big boy with a toy gun? There is literally nothing this dude can't make happen.
Story-wise, Golgo 13 is entirely episodic show. One man, one mission, one episode. The best part is how consistently fucking amazing the writing is. For example, during one episode, he trolls the police forces in 5 different ways and they all fall under his master troll, but it is not a keikaku doori tier meme, everything is planned, shown to the viewer. and works because the police officers are doing their job in the exact way they are supposed to. This other time, our dude got a life sentence in prison just to break out of the "unbreakable" jail with an inmate, purely to shoot him moments later. There are only 7 episodes that were more mediocre than amazing, which leaves similar shows such as City Hunter in absolute shame. Nearly every episode is unique and so different from one another that watching the show becomes nothing less than hooking. It's impressive how knowledgeable the writer is of so many different subject and how he manages to create such successful episodes around all of them.
During the run, the amount of times Golgo smiles is 0. He does not smile. This is a serious anime. So. Damn. Serious. No matter how ridiculously awesome and amusing the events get, there is absolutely no room for character centric comedy. He also has sex with something like 34 different women during the run, and no matter how much he likes these women, he never shows it in any other way than sex. He never speaks, he never answers their feelings nor shows an expression of any sort, and in case they happen to witness him practicing his profession, there is no soft spot in his hard. Any witness dies. There is no limit to how Man and how loyal to himself this dude is. If there ever was a person who doesn't break his character, it is him.
What really serves this series is the English dub which made the thing incredibly enjoyable to watch. Golgo himself is voiced with a guy who sounds like a real professional killer. Especially meaningless side characters have been voiced according to their character archetype. Different English pronunciation have not been left out as there are everything from "oi m8" aussies to Irish drunktards. Some of the dialog has been seasoned with insane puns and more of the witty side banter. Like in one episodes, there is this guy - who is paralyzed below the weist - being targeted by Golgo 13, so he flees on an island and covers the entire island with bulletproof matter. When Golgo 13 arrives there with his helicopter, this dude's friends and bodyguards go to him and say "Looks like you can't even take one step out of this island." Pure comedic gold.
Art-wise, here's a tip: the bluray is a disaster. Not as bad as, let's say Death Note remaster, but it was a failed attempt. Get the DVD instead. The art itself follows the more classic side seen on mature anime series that were made with 90's style without the typical anime bs. Gungrave, Speed Grapher and practically every old Gonzo production are good example of the familiar and welcoming art style this anime has. In terms of animation, compromises are rarely ever made. Story telling and visuals are prioritized over cheap effects and atmosphere killing tricks that mainly would remind the viewer that they are, indeed, watching an anime.
I highly recommend Golgo 13 to people who like their anime manly and mature, served ice cold with nothing but respect towards the audience.
