Anime: Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

SOMETHING UNCOMMON

Rainbow could have been a great social drama if it was serious. It remains somewhat above average for not being about schools, lolis, videogames, ecchi, and superpowers, things that we got sick and tired of seeing. Despite its dark atmosphere, it’s not mature, since it constantly rubs the victim card in your face. I mean, sure, all dramas are meant to make us feel sorry for the characters by being powerless before the problems they face, but subtlety is what separates mediocrity from brilliance, which is something Rainbow lacks entirely.

NO GREY ZONE

There is no gray zone when you have a bunch of positive-thinking idealistic Shonen characters thrown in a dark Seinen setting, ruled by one-dimensional sadistic assholes who are evil … because they are evil. The juvenile heroes are looking all heroic with their ultra goodness, while the adults pass as bastards because they have authority. The only exception is a nurse, who also has the role of the narrator, and even she acts in a ridiculously gentle way that makes her completely good. Is everybody born this way; does it run in their DNA or something? Half the time it felt like I was watching a badly written fairy tale.

Warden: Cry! Suffer! I want to see your pain! Mwahaha! I am so evil!
Hero: No, I will never cry! My friends give me strength and justice will win in the end for a better future! Rainbows and canaries and pretty flowers for everybody!

FOCUSED BUT MONOTONIC

The setting excuses the cruelty, since it has been taken over by fear and hatred, so the contrast between child innocence and harsh reality works on a superficial level. But it ends up being far more about sensationalism than a character study, or a social critique. The characters are monolithic in their ideals, and the setting is stuck in a glacial state of misery. All you are left with is sobbing at bad things happening to good people. The show is focused on what it wants to be and doesn’t stray off to random directions, or trying to constantly ruin the drama with slapstick comedy or fan service. It’s not that all we see is young people being tormented by sadistic bailiffs either. In the second half, we see how they are fixing their broken lives after they get out of prison. That’s cool but the big question is, how exactly can they fix their lives with the way they are thinking and acting?

POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

They are coping with their problems, but the way they do it, is by trusting friendship and being passive. Even when they don’t need to be. Being powerless is not the same as being passive; the latter is about having power but not doing something with it. There is this boxer, who acts as the leader of the boys; he is their role model, and the one that keeps them together and motivates them to keep going. He is also pretty strong, and can kick the crap out of anyone who tries to split them with raw force. And yet he constantly acts as if using violence is evil and that it should be avoided because you will become a monster. Even when said violence is the only option you are left with. Does that sound like a very shonen thing to say? Yes it is. Because that is what our main characters are, naïve children who think love and friendship are the most awesome powers in the universe.

It’s not like the show abuses this notion, by turning mortal enemies into allies with a simple friendship speech. In fact, midway in the show this mentality screws up one of them for using it. But it’s not like they learned anything from it; they just keep trusting friendship like retards. They never realize that it’s personal effort and persistence that helps you achieve your goals. Friends are emotional support and back-up help; the actual resolve is yours alone. The show doesn’t go into that at all; it’s as if having friendship automatically achieves your goals, even if you don’t do a damn thing.

PASSIVE STANCE

I was constantly given the impression that by taking the blame and suffering of the entire world on your back, you become a good guy, even if you don’t deserve it. Why? Because you let yourself being a human punching bag, and this way the sadistic assholes won’t go torture some other poor soul? Instead of kicking the crap out of the bad guys and solving the problem forever? As you see, the lack of a grey zone is the show’s undoing. Everybody is so easily separated into good or bad, and we are never given the impression someone can flip flop between the two sides. So you might as well use violence to beat evil and let goodness triumph.

LOSES STEAM

If you don’t believe me, check how pretty much everybody agrees that the second half of the show is far less interesting. It was working superficially while the boys were powerless and mistreated in prison, but the moment they got out and were free to do anything they like, the drama evaporates because they now have far more control. Which means, you never felt sorry for them as characters. You were feeling sad for the bad things that were happening to a bunch of simplistic caricatures. And you never cared about the state of the world either. It’s just there, as a thing.

Despite its dark setting and lack of humor, Rainbow is overblown in drama, superficial in themes, and unrealistic in ideals. It appeals only to people who are accustomed to cheery things. Or harems full of beta males who want to deflower their sisters. It is uncommon for not doing such a thing modern anime are full of, but that is far from enough to make it anything more than just above average.

'RAINBOW - The Seven from Cell 2-6' is about seven teens who spent time in same cell of Shounan Disciplinary School after committing separate juvenile crimes in 1955.

This series is one of the purest example of Japanese "Yankee" or "Furyou" (high school deliquent) Drama . Although prominent in Japanese films, this genre is extremely rare in recent anime series possibly due to lack of interest from typical otaku demographics and decline of furyou in Japan. As far as I know, 'Sakigake! Cromatie High School' being the only other one (and many other series in lesser extent, such as 'GTO' and 'Gokusen'). 'RAINBOW' is a hard-boiled furyou drama in its purest form.

Story/Character: 7.5/10
'RAINBOW' is a very character-driven series with at least two solid episodes dedicated to development of each cellmate.

The story start out a bit too fast and forces viewers to accept convenient plot developments. Typical furyou drama of this type would take about a quarter of the story to introduce the gang and better half of the screen time to establish the bond between each member. In 'RAINBOW', however, all seven are gathered in the very first episode with light introduction by the narrator, and immediately form a strong bond. By ep4, they've become inseparable friends with absolute trust.

Although such rapid formation of trust is hard to swallow, it allows larger portion of the story to challenges and hardships that awaits them.

The first half is mainly about the seven's time spent in prison. As one would expect of a furyou drama, all the characters start as troublesome and selfish individuals until being united by a leader. That leader in this series is 'An-chan'. As a senior in the disciplinary school, he teaches his juniors true strength and importance of friendship as they overcome various hurdles and eventually "graduate" from the school and form new goals.

Whereas most furyou drama end there, 'RAINBOW' continues on to the second half, tackling issues such delinquents will encounter in society beyond the protective environment of a school. They face corruption, discrimination, and exploitation by adults, but with the help of friends and hard work, they find new hopes.

All the main characters have distinct personalities and dark pasts, but all of them are either falsely convicted or had good reasons to commit their crimes. The story once again forces us to accept such convenient premise for plot development and melodrama.



The story in this series is very heavy and emotional draining, but at the same time, too convenient and ignores character motivations from time to time for the sake of drama. All characteristics of traditional drama in mid-1900s Japanese storytelling.

Animation: 9/10
Every episode begins with an explicit warning. While this series is nowhere near graphic as some other anime series I've encountered, this warning is very appropriate since this series faithfully follows traditional seishun/furyou anime qualities other than the violence.

As expected of Madhouse, artwork and character design successfully captures the gloomy and depressing atmosphere of the post-war Japan. Animation in general was nothing fancy, but consistent throughout the series and relatively pleasing to the eye.

There was a lot of frozen manga sketch scenes to enhance drama. This is a signature technique in classic anime that worked very effectively in establishing retro atmosphere of this series.

Visually, it lacked detail sometimes, but the atmosphere is great, and it's an excellent example of old style animation with modern improvements.

Sound: 9/10
The seiyuu cast did a great job, pretty much everyone sounded like they should and none sounded annoying at all. What's significant about the cast was that it uses many major Japanese actors as voice actors. Oguri Shun, who starred as the protagonist in furyou film and manga adaptation 'Crows ZERO' plays Mario. Waki Tomohiro, who starred in many movies and TV drama as a fat delinquent student plays Cabbage. Also a major actress Kanjiya Shihori as Setsuko.

The narration in this series by the veteran voice actress Hayashibara Megumi was absolutely phenomenal. Retro female narration voice in rough, delinquent talk further sets the atmosphere, and was a highlight of the series for me.

BGM was sparingly used, but significantly added to drama and inspiration in crucial scenes.

OP including the animation was amazing. I usually don't like foreign-language theme songs in Japanese shows, but it was fitting for the despair and toughness of the characters, and the opening animation in itself was exciting and had all the major qualities and symbolism of this series. ED, once again, is very retro Japan.

Value/Enjoyment: 8.5/10
'RAINBOW' is one of those serious anime that's becoming increasingly rare in recent years. Like all furyou drama, it focuses on friendship and trust among friends, but it doesn't shy away from the the toughness of real life. It's a classic drama that depicts cruelty, corruption, sorrow, and eventually hope in depressing post-WWII Japan.

The story feel forced and melodramatic at times, but then again, that's pretty common classic Japanese storytelling. This is a series that really feels like you're watching a retro piece, but offer values that modern viewers can still relate to. As long as you allow yourself to connect with the characters, this will be a very enjoyable series.

I feel this is the most neglected series of the season (ending Summer '10), and definitely a must-watch for serious anime viewers.

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin .
" What a fine watch you have there, grandma. "

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin , is a shönen with a mature theme, it's about a group of friends getting through the mischiefs life has to offer them and making the most out of life. Set in the aftermath of WW2, RAINBOW is all about capturing the moment of the 1940s in Japan. That does not at all mean that this gorgeous pile of moving pictures does not have shortcomings... Nevertheless, if you can pull through and ignore them, you will get a thrilling and enjoyable experience out of this sucker.

[Art, Sound and Design]

" Bring on the Eyecandy "
Art & Animation : Absoloutly amazing art style combined with fluid and enjoyable-to-watch animation RAINBOW delivers in the eyecandy department.
It encorporates the use of mildly photoshopped scenes for dramatic moments, which feels refreshing but not in any way out of place.
The only thing the animation department lacks are the Particle Effects.
It will not in any way offend your eyes, thus It earns an undenyable 9 out of 10

" Music to my Ears"
The Audio Guys CERTAINLY did an amazing job.
Rainbow features a melancholy of overlapping sounds, building up the atmosphere just to suit the occasion.
The different sound effect are vibrant and distinct from each other, Making for a Perfect 10/10 in the Effects and Technique Department.

The music of the series however, is another story, the music was barely noticeable, I am not sure there was much music at all, but when there was , it was right-on-spot and well fit for the occasion.
The opening and ending are both fantastic, however, sometimes after seeing the opening the anime switches to a whole new mood , from dynamic screamy mood to .... quiet summer day by the ocean, a more gradual descent of music could've been had, however that is just a minor issure and should have little to no impact on your viewing pleasure. 9.5/10

I am not a regular anime watcher so I dont have anything to compare the voice actors to, but nothing, and I mean nothing, felt out of place.
The only peculiar moment is that the narrator is a woman, which is , kinda odd, really, havent watched a series with a woman narrato before so I'm not one to speak. 10/10

"It's about the Journey , Not the Destination"

[Story & Character]

The story was rather unique, With a World War 2 setting it was definetly something to look forward to, there was no bullshitting around. Most aspects were intact with the mood and tone of the Series, however I found the story to be rather predictable, even right now, if I wrote how the characters start out in this review, you would know how it would end.
The strongest aspect of the story are the plot twists, the evil unforseeable plot twists... they come out of nowhere and change the direction entirely.
The first arc is much better in the story aspect then the rest , mainly due to the fact that it uses the concept "Plot twist upon Plot twist upon Plot twist", that does not mean only the first part of the story is good, no no no, actually it makes you more curious to what's to follow then what's going on right now. The story does have a few UPs and Downs and will ultimately keep your attention to it , so that's why it gets a solid 8 out of 10

The main characters in this anime are little pretencious unintresting twats whose goal is to have you "Feel for them" they feel like complete useless tools and you will usually get the urge to tell them a big "Fuck you" to their face.
On the good side, we have awesome villans. And since we all know that we tend to like to hate them even more. That's a huge intrest keeper in the plot. dont open the spoiler if you dont wanna be spoiled. The Psychotic villains get better with time, and there's a few new characters every episode.
Due to crappy main characters this section only manages to pull off a miserable 4 out of 10

[Value and Enjoyment]

Rainbow : Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin is a Watch like no other, it's certainly a must see for people who like to watch anime that has even remotely any connection to the human psyché. Even though dragged down by it's characters RAINBOW does not cese to impress, Dare I say, it's better then the sum of it's parts. However, there are TOXIC ammounts of melodrama and akward moments that are supposed to be deep but actually arent due to poor character design. That's the only reason this section gets an 8 out of 10

I really enjoyed the time spent watching RAINBOW and i would certainly watch it again, however i'd rather I forgot the story first, as it'll be painful to sit through the melodrama again for no reason.

*Drums*
The final judgment has been passed down : 7.5/10, it's certainly a nice one-time watch and when you forget the story too but, i'd rather not make a cult whose god is minakami mario. Go and Enjoy it.