Legit, serious yakuza anime are few and far between, and I'm happy to say Sanctuary handles the genre very nicely. I'm really bummed that all it amounted to is one 60 minute OVA, as the quality is very high and seeing as the manga is 12 volumes, there's much more material to pull from. Considering the dearth of this type of storytelling in anime, it could have filled a void if it had spun out into more OVA's or a TV series. It features some great animation and is just all-around well written, as it actually feels like a genuine '90s yakuza flick, just animated instead of live-action. In fact, it kinda has the vibe of an early Takashi Miike or Takeshi Kitano yakuza film, and that's a huge compliment. While I would wholeheartedly suggest checking out the amazing manga, this does have a satisfying ending for anyone that just wants to watch it and not have reading homework afterward. Definitely recommended.
I'm also pretty surprised this comes from the same guy that created Hokuto no Ken as well. A lot of manga creators have a style and niche that is visible from series to series, but this is a completely different beast, showing he's a very versatile writer and not someone to be pigeonholed.
