Reviews

Mar 28, 2022
Anime can be anything it desires: fun, excitement, unhinged, and vice versa, that showcases itself as an intriguing enigma that goes left, right, center and out. That's even more so for shows that have cool and creative post-apocalyptic worlds that are a dime a dozen, especially for those Mad Max-esque sand-blast wasteland worlds from Trigun; Now and Then, Here and There to the more recent hit of Deca-Dence. And to properly describe what newbie novelist Shinji Cobkubo has done with Sabikui Bisco, is anything BUT simple. And being the very first LN to rank No. 1 in Takarajimasha's Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! a.k.a "This Light Novel is Amazing!" annual guide book back in 2018, it's safe to say that an anime adaptation of this is pertinent at any point, and we got it, courtesy of some very notable people that I'll explain down the line as we go.

If you look at ANN's interview done with creator Shinji Cobkubo, series composer Sadayuki Murai and director Atsushi Ikariya, it's actually very interesting to know how Sabikui Bisco was conceived and brought to life by some of the most talented people in the staff team. Shinji Cobkubo states that this is his first time writing a novel, and being an amateur, he's gotta weigh all the factors when considering the story and the world-building that's never yet seen before, but striving in all ways to give the comforting feeling of “something you haven't but also have seen before” with the sense and joy of discovery. He also knows that plotting and narrative structure are his weak points, and thus the anime prominently showed where Cobkubo himself have faltered (more towards the final stretch). But more than anything, he never once felt agnoized about it and the reception that it would receive, and where the story went, is how Cobkubo will drive that narrative despite of the issues. And for someone being raised by timeless stories like Makoto Shiina's sci-fi novel Ad Bird, Buronson's Hokuto no Ken a.k.a Fist of the North Star and Hirohiko Araki's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, his work that was perceived as as a "counter" to the trends. That presented an opportunity for him to concoct a story that while "counter"-ing trends, respects the stories that use that narrative to run for years on end to create fun for the readers, which yes my man indeed, Sabikui Bisco IS the definition of fun.

But let's hold up and go back to the beginning of Sabikui Bisco's foundations. Set in a post-apocalyptic world of sand dunes and most particularly Rust, a plague-like wind that decays everything of contact from items to humans, and the origin for this is said to have come from mushroom spores, and unforuntately, people like Mushroom Keepers are mistakenly maligned for being terrorists because they were believed to be the source of the epidemic. And one such Mushroom Keeper goes by the name of Bisco Akaboshi, an archer whom shoots arrows that instantly grows mushrooms, is well-known in the Gunma-Imihama Prefecture with a price on his head. Bisco's the infamous Man-Eater, which adds notoriety to his name, and everyone wants a piece of the reward pie for capturing this criminal. On the other side of the spectrum in the city of Imihama, we have Milo Nekoyanagi, a mild-mannered doctor whom does the duties of a doctor of serving the people and finding out the reason for the Rusting disease by cutting deals with the government and secretly buying mushrooms on the black market to save the Captain of the Imihama Watch, Pawoo, who's his older sister, also infected by Rusting. The two meet out of coincidence, and amidst all the propaganda made from concealing information with a territorial mindset with closed walls and border inspections, and as such, together with another Mushroom Keeper (Jabi) and Bisco's transport animal Actagawa the crab, set out on a journey to find the legendary Rust-Eater (Sabikui) Mushroom, which is said to be the All-Cure to this lingering disease.

And for two, how Shinji Cobkubo develops this story and narrative, there's a lot of references to be had. There's the obvious tense of religious depiction, and Cobkubo places both Buddhism and Hindu mythology as a motif to drive the story, which actually complements sci-fi and fictional religions, and is a cinch to create. That's why the anime displayed many of these such motifs from the animals and creatures used as weapons, something that is very unconventional for AniManga standards.

In terms of characterization, Bisco and Milo have a relationship that is dubbed hot-blooded "Shonen manga" like quality, so the idea of love is something that at first glance, seems like an odd choice of input, that gradually turns into character traits all on its own. Going back to the religious motifs, Bisco is his own man, he trusts himself with the actions he's done, and that's how he values his own "faith". And on the topic of love (as seen in the anime's final quarter), this may look off-putting, but it actually derives from Shinji Cobkubo's own life experience, where human beings decide to sacrifice their lives to attain something greater, that is their most shining and beautiful moment, and deep from his heart, this is his moment of extol to signify that "love". And nowhere is it more prominent than Bisco and Milo, more than treading though every trouble at corners loose, their bonds ever growing as the series progresses on, embodying that "love" as a sacrifice and protection of all the things they hold dear. Even to the antagonist that is the Imihama Prefecture Governor Kurokawa, his fight as means of a stranglehold on the region with an iron-clad fist, employng bunny-masked enforcers to carry out his will, that is also "love", even when faced with adversity to confront Bisco and Milo, knowing that all the power and control that he had was just a pretense of an act. This also trickles donw to other characters like Pawoo, Jabi and Tirol, they are tied by strong love as partners, teacher and disciple, and siblings, with responsiblity at their necks as they act according to their own principles. It's certainly a work of art that's different from what you'd expect to see.

Given director Atsushi Ikariya's effort on this as his first directorial debut from being character designer and animation director of acclaimed series like Fate/Zero and ID:Invaded, Shinji Cobkubo's light novel was certainly something else, more akin to a Mad Max-like premise. Add to that, there's the lore of unique things from mushrooms to huge creatures and even pseudo-fusions of machine and organism (i.e. escargot aircraft), which adds nonsensical WTH moments that only adds to the fun. Animals are notoriously difficult to animate, and Ikariya has to consult newcomers to actually help him realize the vision of the series on screen. Not to mention that Sabikui Bisco is rife with a lot of real life references, such as the Black Hawk helicopters drawing experience from war films like Black Hawk Down, handguns from Italian mafia films, and even Terminator references (the most famous one will be the iconic "I'll Be Back" catchphrase). Along with series composer Sadayuki Murai's solid scriptwriting to avoid confusion for the viewer, and technically Shinji Cobkubo's story is mostly untouched with almost all of the settings intact, translated into anime of the fullest potential.

Also, while new studio OZ was commissioned to produce this show, most of it actually came from the co-production from another studio, NAZ. Remember that I mentioned about ID:Invaded? That series is completely produced by NAZ, and it's no wonder that some staff came back to help produce this show, from the likes of color designer Emi Chiba, animation director Ai Asari, key animator Daisuke Mataga, to even director Atsushi Ikariya himself. Needless to say that Atsushi Ikariya really made use of all his experience to flesh Sabikui Bisco out as this weird-rando post-apocalyptic world of endless possibilities that doesn't detract and betray the source material.

This high-octane action also delivers in the music category, and it's a bomb blast of insane proportions. Sound director Kisuke Koizumi is a man of insanity, having produced music for series like The God of High School and Shadows House, and his role in Sabikui Bisco is nothing short of amazing. While JUNNA's OP song does fit the overall narrative, on its own I find it to be a bit lackluster and something that is not of her standards, so this is a miss for her. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Bisco and Milo's VA-centric ED song, and that is really where the banger goes to make such a compelling ending song that retains all of the tension of the episodes. And if you think that wasn't enough, there is a version of the ED with just Milo's VA Natsuki Hanae's vocals, and that was purposefully made for a section of the anime that had death flags thrown boldly and wittingly.

Even with its missteps, Sabikui Bisco is a source that is very ambitious in what Shinji Cobkubo is trying to concoct, that with the anime, Atsushi Ikariya makes this ambition grow exponentially times infinity. And when will be the end of that madness, we will never know since the LN for this is quite the ride that's still ongoing, and with the anime, people are noticing that this work actually exists. If anything, I hope that this won't be the last time that we'll see of Sabikui Bisco, the one true dark horse of the season that is one hell of a roller-coaster ride. Definitely gonna slide into the LN to see what the hoopla is all about, and see if this holds up. It's an acquired taste for sure that feels niche, when it's not.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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