Tanaka Yukio, better known by his nickname Koyuki is a 14 year old who feels disconnected from life in
general. Through the act of saving a mismatched dog, he meets guitarist Minami Ryuusuke, and becomes
involved in Ryuusuke's new band BECK. Koyuki's life starts to change as the band struggles towards
fame.
**Disclaimer Maho is my waifu and the best of girls** *This is a review of the dub which I believe to have a superior soundtrack and voice acting* Series about young boys searching for themselves and their place in life are not rare by any stretch of the imagination, but ones that really grasp the viewer and provide something more than a simple coming of age story are astoundingly rare. Beck takes the coming of age story and introduces two characteristics which help to distinguish it greatly from other series of its kind: a deep immersion in the world of underground rock, and a deep involvement with its subject matter, which lends emotional weight and a sense of honesty to a tired premise. -- Koyuki, the main character, is unremarkable at first glance--a currently unskilled boy who shows a lot of promise, what sets him apart is how quickly Koyuki is established as a real person. A kind, determined, hard-working student, Koyuki often finds himself discouraged by his current situation, and is prone to melancholy and bouts of hopeless resignation. As we watch, we see firsthand the profound impact that the introduction of a new form of music, along with Koyuki's growing love of it and rapid immersion in it, has on the young protagonist, deeply rooted in his newfound friendships and initially rooted in a superficial desire to impress and spend time with the girl he fancies. This assessment is true of most of the cast, all of them interacting together in something which often remarkably resembles real life, and at others completely abandons realism but still remains fundamentally grounded in the series' profound sense of humanity. -- The characters in Beck's main cast all retain an honest, human feel to them. This is juxtaposed against the fantastical nature of most of the series' supporting cast, and solidifies the sense of close-knit family which develops within the band and the people close to them. This down to earth feel persists even as the characters gain wider and wider success, making what might have been a completely unbelievable and unsympathetic story decidedly the opposite. The animation in Beck is decidedly high quality, with only a few minor complaints to raise. Foremost among these are the often jarring uses of three dimensional models, particularly during some of the performance scenes. These performance scenes represent both the best and worst of the animation in Beck, usually incredible but occasionally clunky and amateur. It is good to note, however, that all of the major performances are almost universally on the better end, leaving only the minor scenes to suffer this fate. Characters' visual design shares the nature of the characters themselves, the main cast simple and real, and the supporting cast fantastic, from black record executives who encapsulate a good percentage of relevant stereotypes to shop assistants resembling Swedish guitar virtuosos. At times this difference is striking, at other times simply odd, but undeniably the fantastic designs of the supporting cast make the main characters seem even more human by comparison. -- Beck's soundtrack and voice acting represents the strongest point of the series. Because of the nature of the story in Beck, a great deal rides on the audience's impression of the soundtrack, particularly the tracks performed by the bands within the series. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous position, as disliking the music gives much of the series a false feel, in part nullifying the humanity of the story and the interactions within it. The soundtrack does, however, perform its task admirably throughout the series, and I personally enjoyed the insert songs played by the various bands from the series a great deal. But while the series stands on its strong points well even should you dislike the insert songs, it becomes nearly impossible to view the series the same way, particularly towards the conclusion, if you find the music to not be your thing. -- The core plot--both the growth of Koyuki and Beck, and the relationship between Koyuki and Maho--stands as Beck's greatest achievement, a remarkable journey through the life of several remarkably real people. Many of the side-stories, however, leave a great deal to be desired. Sub-plots are all well and good, but Beck's sub-plots leave one anxiously awaiting the series' return to its core, and in many cases simply go on for too long. Though generally interesting and still rather well-written, they lack the emotional weight and honesty that propels the core of the story forward, and in some cases cheapen that quality. Especially guilty of this is the story involving Ryuusuke's guitar, which, especially during the times when it takes center stages, drags the series down right when it should have otherwise been strongest. -- Ultimately, Beck rises from the mass of coming of age series by providing solid writing and a uniquely honest take on the whole notion of growing up. It suffers from occasional animation hiccups--particularly with the use of three dimensional models in some of the minor performance sequences--and a heavy reliance on the audience to enjoy the soundtrack, particularly the songs played by Beck, but manages to minimize these weaknesses while bolstering its strong points.
~~~_"How long is this life going to continue?"_~~~ ~~~At times we may feel lost, as the world continues to exist around us we just can't seem to figure out how we fit inside it or how to keep up with it. Eventually we just end up going with the flow of it, not caring about our own ambitions or drive. This leads to empty days and melancholic thoughts. It can sometimes be dangerous to continue living as an empty shell. However it's possible for chance encounters to occur, encounters which help to change our outlook and rekindle that flame inside of us. To run into someone who recognises things inside of you which you were blind to for the majority of your life. Beck tells the story of such encounters and demonstrate how life can change so easily at times. Despite the shaky animation, it successfully portrays the spirit of camaraderie and how this bond can shape the lives of different people. This series was a breath of fresh air to me, it plays like your typical coming of age story yet somehow manages to come of as something different and refreshing. It indeed occupies it's own space within that genre, even if it doesn't do anything groundbreaking or unique. What makes the cast so endearing is how real they seem to be, this makes it very easy to relate to their situation and can potentially create a sense of intimacy between viewers and the main cast. The main character, Koyuki, is your average teenager at first glace. Underneath his regular demeanour is a skilled musician who's been dying to be recognised. Koyuki is a hard-working and diligent student, as the series progresses we begin to see him step outside of his shell and we witness his talent flourish as a result of being surrounded by the right people at the right time. Koyuki's character helps to reinforce the series' honest and real nature. There were certainly times where the plot was questionable and scenes which were redundant, viewers may dislike this and may feel tempted to drop the series however these nuisances aren't too severe and don't take away too much from the show. Those who decide to keep watching despite the flaws will find themselves being nicely rewarded. It's a slice of life carrying a heartfelt message and it hopes that the message resonates with you. ~~~ ~~~_"Thank you, Ryusuke."_~~~
~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1URzwlqOL0)~~~ Adapting roughly 2/3rds of [the 1999 manga,](https://anilist.co/manga/30145/Beck/) BECK follows teenage Koyuki as he becomes part of the titular band and rises to fame in the local music and festival scene. He navigates his first love, high school bullying, and interpersonal drama against the backdrop of small music venues, recording studios and early 2000s urban Japan. Key to his arc is Ryusuke Minami, a musical prodigy with a shady past involving a stolen, bullethole riddled guitar. Ryusuke sees in Koyuki a promising vocalist and takes him under his wing. --- Stories revolving around music carry with them a wealth of storytelling potential, and anime as a medium has no small number of series that explore various facets of playing, composing and performing. ~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe7_GXkngWI)~~~ #####_Kids on the Slope has characters duking it out using their instruments_ Productions like Kids on the Slope, Sound! Euphonium, K-On!, Carole & Tuesday, and Given combine the two different mediums in their own way and with different goals in mind. They can show characters' coming of age through practice, explore their inner worlds as they work through trauma, or place their musicianship in a wider cultural context. Their skill level, personality, the era they live in, the things they think about and struggle with become part of the lyrics they write and define the sound of their music. And when animated these personalities can be made relatable, made real, in how they move on stage, how they hold their instruments, the energy they have when playing, etc. The combination of animation and music can really nail a vibe, an aesthetic, an identity that's quintessentially "that show". __img800(https://i.imgur.com/ryaq71M.png)__ #####_Good vibes_ BECK has the potential to be one of “those shows”. You only need to look at its gorgeously boarded and animated OP to get a sense of the promise it holds. It’s a dream of pure, distilled Americana, featuring roadside diners, Las Vegas billboards, Greyhound buses, Coca Cola, a Chevy Bel Air cruising down Route 66 and the streets of the Big Apple. It's the ambition of touring around America brought to life in a music video, an approach arguably emulated in [K-On's EDs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EddyigHecQ) But unfortunately it's just that, the ambition of a show that never materializes, and the fault lies squarely with the series’ subpar production. ~~~webm(https://i.imgur.com/WqjAek0.mp4)~~~ #####_Koyuki please stop staring, please blink, please do *anything*_ Visually the anime is all over the place. Characters are frequently off-model and move around awkwardly, shots will linger on unmoving faces for uncomfortable stretches of time, and entire musical performances get copy-pasted across episodes. The latter is made more grating when BECK's entire setlist contains only a handful of tracks. ~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8j767ZMcUQ)~~~ #####_The songs are arguably better in the dub_ The band’s sound owes a lot to Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of which I really dig, but I can only hear BECK’s frontman yelling “YOU OPEN UP THE DOOR WITH NEGATIVE AURA” so many times in a row. webm(https://i.imgur.com/fJPCqfm.mp4) #####_As a former drummer I gotta see those cymbals move_ To boot the majority of the animated performances don't match the rhythm, chords or lyrics at all. A shame as the music is the star of the series and could've been done real justice. webm(https://i.imgur.com/GGMNElK.mp4) #####_The best cuts in an anime about performing music are featured in a fight scene_ Frustratingly there are a few moments of fantastic animation sprinkled throughout the series, and on the whole BECK’s locales are realized with a noir-like aesthetic that really helps establish a gritty, urban vibe. __img800(https://i.imgur.com/s6VnXgO.png)__ The contrast between the animation and environments makes it seem like there were shenanigans going on behind the scenes. Perhaps there were budgetary concerns, or maybe the production had near impossible deadlines. The series was made well before the internet as we know it today, so I couldn’t really find any answers. Whatever the cause, the end result feels stiff, awkward and shoddy to the point of being distracting, and the show is hampered from establishing a strong and confident visual identity. But unfortunately the problems don't stop at the animation. For much of the first half the story meanders around, moving from one subplot to the next without any real payoff. webm(https://i.imgur.com/4VqfSm9.mp4) #####_Teach also shows Koyuki how to efficiently swim using only half a dozen frames_ Koyuki starts learning the guitar from an eccentric teacher and deals with a group of high school bullies among other things, but ultimately there's very little in terms of narrative thrust or any kind of stakes, making the pace feel glacial at times. Things, for want of a better phrase, just ‘sort of happen’. webm(https://i.imgur.com/uy2qES9.mp4) #####_K-On zooms in on the tiny little details in those little moments in-between with care and granularity_ I mentioned K-On! earlier, which is probably the “queen of having no stakes”, but that whole franchise focuses on finding meaning in those lowkey, fleeting moments. It’s carried by intricate animation, environments and detailed sound design, giving its world and characters a sense of verisimilitude. Outside some stellar musical performances, BECK fails to establish any of the sort. webm(https://i.imgur.com/VqZWS4L.mp4) #####_Even further into the series performances feel unpolished and awkward_ The story gets a much needed sense of purpose when the second half of the series comes around. BECK is invited to play at one of Japan’s biggest music festivals, but to be able to perform they have to contend with a much more successful, rival band and Ryusuke's checkered past. Watching the members try to get their act together and having the different character arcs and subplots finally coalesce gives glimpses of what might’ve been, but it comes as too little, too late. BECK’s production continues to lack on pretty much every visual front and it never reaches a level of competence to create a palpable feeling of time, place and character. Ultimately the series falls flat across the board, never coming close to fulfilling its potential. At least there's the soundtrack, which is pretty great on its own. --- __Loose thoughts__ The manga was adapted to a [live-action film in 2010](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587118/) where each actor learned to play an instrument to make Beck’s performances feel authentic. ~!The band eventually does end up touring America, but in an ironic twist the entire trip is told through a montage of photos presumably taken during a research trip. I can't think of any better metaphor for the entire series.!~ ####h/t @ChaosAlfa
In a medium where the music genre is scarce but dominated by Japanese Pop with a few classical and traditional Japanese music stories in between. We do get some black sheep like Beck everyone once in a while that indeed opens a window of fresh air. ~~~img(https://imgur.com/vj04oTd.jpeg)~~~ The anime pretty much pays homage to music it’s dedicated too which is “Rock ‘n’ Roll” and Soft-Rock inspired for its music tracks. Consist of good guitar plays and rock music that enforces the anime strength when it comes to the sound and music department. The show previews a lot of references on historically known western rock bands like the Stones, Zeppelin, and Beatles, and others alike. It also has some English that is good enough that it sounds natural even if it’s not purely grammatically correct from time to time. The English Dub version does polish the language further for the western audience. But I am here to talk about beck as a whole, not by the discussion whether the original Japanese or the dub English version is a better pick-up. Beck is a story of growth, dedication, adventure, and trials in life. To succeed in the hardship in life, one must have hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck. This message is fully illustrated to the audience by seeing the daily life of our main protagonist Yukio, Tanaka or well known by the nickname “Koyuki”. We are able to see his growth from being an aimless, weak-willed, and zero confidence teenager to a goal-oriented, dedicated, and well-respected character over the span of 26 episodes. It introduces us to a couple of interesting characters like Maho and Ryuusuke that stirred up the plot dynamics and Koyuki's motivation in life. Each new character introduce serves as a narrative of change in Koyuki Life that made the show move forward. Some characters remain static and some forgotten entirely, but there are other characters that got a fair share of development. Though for me, the show would benefit more if we get to know more about the other band members of Beck's side of the story, especially Ryuusuke story that I found more interesting than Koyuki's. When it comes to artistic presentation. Beck is somewhat a contrast to other show's art style and color design that is airing at the time. While anime uses multi bright colors and flashy character design for audience appeal. Beck throws that out of the water and chooses the complete opposite. Starting with the color choices, the show is consistent with dimmed colors like grey and dull colors that emit a small amount of light that made the show seems dark even in broad daylight. ~~~img(https://imgur.com/HPbjcPS.jpg)~~~ ## ~~~__The Background Color is Pretty Dim even in Open Daylight__~~~ The character design is much more grounded, with only a few features that distinguish them from each other. People will point out that Beck has low production value, on so why it doesn’t look like an eye-candy show, but for me in understanding the creator's intention and given it made by MADHOUSE, a studio that excels in varying styles and cinematic composition over the years, in my viewpoint this is intentional in the melodramatic mood and atmosphere of the show. ~~~img(https://imgur.com/xunFl3T.jpeg)~~~ ###~~~__Character Design is Average but it Add's up to the theme of being Simplistic __~~~ In conclusion, the show is worth checking out if you’re interested in watching something different in the medium. It’s down to earth from its platonic romance and its simple humor. The story is progressively steady pace, even if the time-lapse per scene is consists of days up to weeks skip within just one episode. The show has a lot of good soundtracks and my favorite might be "Hit in the USA" by Beat Crusaders and “Moon on the Water" by Sowelu. If only the show has more episodes and a much more solid conclusion I would love it more. I do admit I did get bored in the show's lack of spice from time to time but it's part of the experience. Overall a good show of its genre that I wish it could offer more. Because 26 episodes are not enough to finish the journey. Once you get past the unconventionally common art style and color pallet, you will be rewarded with an anime with good characters and some memorable music to stick in your own playlist. __Final Scoring:__ __Characters Good (7/10) Comment: __Need more character viewpoints but still solid overall __Story Good (7/10) Comment:__It would be nice if the anime will get a second season but will all know the curse when adapting an ongoing manga at the time. __Music Very Good (8/10) Comment:__ Personally I didn't fully enjoy all the soundtrack of Beck for the reason some are just ok while some are mediocre but it cannot be denied there is some really memorable music in the show that is worth listening to. __Art Good (7/10) Comment:__ To be honest I have nothing really bad to say about Art and Animation. It does have some errors which are extremely minor but it's quite obvious that Animation and Background design is not the show focus. So I give it a pass. __Enjoyment (5/10) Average Comment: __Beck is definitely not a show you're going to watch entertain yourself and not a casual show to appease a majority of its audience. I like the show for what it's aiming for but I definitely got bored watching it. A cheap price to pay but you do get rewarded in the end. I actually got to fully enjoy the show around episodes 23 and 24 but sadly it just made me want it more. The Concert Finale is one of the show's main highlights. __Overall (7.2/10) A Solid Good Show for the Slice of Life, Drama Music Genre Comment: __ If the show was complete I would rate it higher but who knows we might get a readaptation in the future if there is a demand for it. For now, I better off continuing reading the Manga to find out what happened next to the Beck team and the journey that took place in the U.S.A. __And Always Thanks for Reading __
14 year old Yukio Tanaka, AKA Koyuki, is at an awkward point in his life. Beset by the ennui of adolescence, he’s at that stage where he needs to start seriously thinking about his future... But how can he figure out what he wants to do when he grows up, when he can’t even figure out what he wants to do now? Devoid of passion and with no sense of direction in life, a series of chance encounters lead him to the doorstep of Ryusuke Minami, a moody musician with big dreams and ruthless ambition, as well as a spunky younger sister who’s just about as mercurial as he is. It’s thanks to the Minami siblings that Koyuki’s hidden talent for singing is finally discovered, lighting a fire in his heart and leading him down the long, turbulent path of music. Sensing Koyuki’s potential, Ryusuke recruits an energetic screamer, a stoic bassist and a savant drummer to help fulfill his dream of forming the ultimate band; Beck. They have the chemistry, they have the talent, but with every step step forward it seems like they’re forced to take two giant steps back. Will this ragtag group of nobodies fall victim to the harsh realities of a cruel and unforgiving industry, or were they truly meant to hit in America? I don’t particularly enjoy saying negative things about this show, so let’s just rip this band-aid off now... The animation in Beck sucks ass. It looks okay at times, but it looks like someone spilled their beer all over the animation cells at other times. There are plenty of anime that I’ve forgiven for occasionally slipping into what other reviewers have called the ‘runny egg aesthetic,’ Toradora being a noteworthy example, but not only is it used way more often in Beck, it’s used right off the bat, taking up the majority of the first two episodes and never really going away completely. You could argue that it’s a reflection of Koyuki’s mindset evolving throughout the series, but I pulled that explanation directly out of my ass, and I don’t know how well it holds up. It probably doesn’t. What’s more realistic is that it’s probably just a matter of mid-2000s budget crunching, as the animation never looks quite good, but it only ever drops below the bullshit line right before some massive concert scene needs more money poured into it. Thankfully, those concert scenes are usually pretty impressive looking, even if they had to rely on simple animation cycles juxtaposed against some dodgy mid-2000s CGI to pull off what they did. This is a Studio Madhouse production, however, meaning that while the animation quality is heavily inconsistent, the artwork quality is anything but. The level of detail is nothing short of immaculate, with every single setting feeling like it has it’s own unique personality and history. The character designs are mostly realistic, with almost everyone in the main and supporting cast looking like people you could actually see walking around in Japan, with the exception of a certain bully character, two patchwork dogs whose frankensteiny appearance is never adequately explained, and one of Maho’s friends who looks disturbingly like the long lost little sister of Junji Ito’s fashion model. It’s kind of hard to talk about the ost, because this show doesn’t actually have one, at least not in the traditional sense. Beck is a show about music, and Madhouse made the interesting choice to limit the entire soundtrack to just music being played in-universe. Unless someone’s holding an instrument or listening to a recording, the only thing you’re hearing in the background is the environment around the characters. Distilled chatting, crickets, flowing water, traffic and the like, and to that effect the sound design is just exquisite. As far as the actual music goes, I’m gonna be real with you guys, I don’t know jack shit about music. Most of what I like is associated more with positive memories than actual critical taste for me. I’d love to hear what someone who’s actually familiar with musical theory has to say about it, but all I can tell from my untrained ears is that it sounds really cool. It’s a bit on the generic side, but I mean that in a good way, as it has a timeless quality to it, like I could hear it on the radio in any generation and it would blend right in, occasionally cheesy lyrics be damned. It’s mostly rock, but with elements of punk and grunge(I think) but the most impressive thing to me is that some of the songs are written in English even in the sub, and it doesn’t sound broken or poorly translated at all, which is kind of a rarity in anime. This may be due to the fact that The Beat Crusaders, whose music is featured heavily in the series, were themselves inspired by American indie rock, and had a lot of previous experience with English lyrics. Having said that, I’m a monolingual dumb English speaker, and listening to English language songs in a heavy Japanese accent is kind of distracting, but that’s where the English dub comes in. It’s pretty common in anime for insert songs to be left in Japanese, mainly due to either a lack of effort or resources from the studio, or some issue regarding the rights to the music. Thankfully, Beck is one of those rare shows where the entire in-universe soundtrack is dubbed in English, and Funimation clearly had a blast putting it together. Most of the heavy lifting here is performed by Greg Ayres, a musician in his own right who has an impressive track record for singing anime songs in character, and Beck is no exception. He plays Koyuki mostly in his natural voice, tweaked slightly to crack with puberty, and he approaches his character’s songs as Koyuki naturally would... Rough at first, but well pitched and with a hint of vibrato that grows as his delivery softens. Even with the language barrier removed, he generally sounds a lot smoother than the seiyuu. For the most part, my preference for English dubs is a personal choice, rather than a matter of objective quality, and my preference for genuine English over non-native broken English is much the same. There’s a lot of instances in this show of Japanese people trying to speak or sing English, and at least when it comes to the singing, I can understand people liking the charming awkwardness of Koyuki’s singing, but there’s a part of the show where it does become kind of an issue. Ryusuke and Maho are canonically bilingual, having spent much of their childhood in New York, and if they had been played by seiyuu who had similar childhoods... AKB0048’s Rina Hirata, for one recent example... This could have been pulled off believably, but they did not go that route, and the results are awkward to say the least. Granted, portraying an English speaking character at all in a dub can be tricky, what with the rest of your characters not speaking it. A show as grounded in reality as Beck probably couldn’t get away with subbing in a different language like Azumanga Daioh did, so they went a different route by ignoring the language barrier almost completely. Aside from one or two jabs between Koyuki and Maho, it’s never brought up, and I guess I can understand why this might be annoying for some people, but if I have to choose between this and some supposedly native English speakers trying their damnedest to sound natural off of phonetic cue cards, I’ve made my choice. Luckily, the rest of the cast is just as solid as Greg Ayres. I don’t think anybody would be surprised to know that voice acting heavyweights like Eric Vale, Jerry Jewel and Johnny Yong Bosch slot perfectly into their roles within the main cast, or that Justin Cook goes absolutely nuts playing the band’s wild hype man, or that actors like R Bruce Elliot, Jason Douglas, Laura Bailey and Colleen Clinkenbeard pop in from time to time with some damn near unforgettable supporting roles, but extra credit has to be given to Brina Palencia. This role was relatively early in her career, but it’s a hard one to forget, as she nails all of Maho’s nuances while sounding cool doing it. She doesn’t have too many song numbers, but she harmonizes with Greg Ayres perfectly, and her performance of Moon on the Water is so good she’s still getting requests to sing it at conventions to this day. It’s hard to be objective when this is my favorite English dub of all time, and aside from some awkwardness I can’t totally condemn the sub, but at the very least, do yourself a favor and watch the dub at least once. So how does one critique an anime? Do we analyze the plot, talk about the characters and story, quantify the production values and compare all of that to our over-all personal enjoyment of it? Well, normally yes, something like that. But there are exceptions. Every so often, you come across an anime where the core value isn’t so much in the intricacies of the plot, but in personal experience. It’s not so much whether it’s good or bad, but whether or not you’re picking up what it’s putting down. Shows like FLCL, Wolf’s Rain and Serial Experiments Lain eschew the normal conventions of story-telling to instead explore high concepts in ways that risk alienating viewers that aren’t along for the ride, in order to deliver a more meaningful experience for the viewers that are. Even some eclectic comedies like Nichijou, Ebiten and the second Negima series can honestly come off as try-hardy and exhausting for anyone who isn’t vibing with their particular brand of off-beat, goofy comedy. I don’t know if it’s fair to place Beck under this category, as it’s a very normal and straightforward series at it’s core, but at the same time I can definitely see why some people would consider it kind of boring. Beck is undeniably a slow paced, low stakes anime with no real plot to speak of. Normally a show like that would be some sort of comedy, with a small group of extreme personalities with a common interest/situation bouncing off of each other, but Beck isn’t really that either. That’s not to say it can’t be funny, it definitely can, but it seems to be more concerned with drama and character development than actual entertainment, and in all fairness, that sort of thing can be a hard sell for anybody, so what kind of experience does it have to offer that elevates it beyond those limits? Well, if you’ll excuse the hyperbole, I believe Beck to be the greatest coming of age anime ever told. To be fair, coming of age anime aren’t rare. Studios Gainax and Trigger have built empires on the foundation of growing-up stories, after all, and countless slice of life comedies have ended with the cast moving onto the next stage of life, usually graduation. What these shows usually seem to forget, however, is that the age range this genre covers is also one of the most important transitional periods in a person’s life. Coming of age stories shouldn’t be about overcoming some evil force, and they shouldn’t just cover four years of fucking around until suddenly you have to study for entrance exams. They should be about choices, and not just choices between right and wrong, but the small, seemingly insignificant choices and random encounters that can ultimately determine your path in life. I mean, you can watch any anime while pointing at deceptively pivotal moments, but I’ve never felt as conscious of the butterfly effect in action as I am during Beck. Koyuki met the Minami siblings through a series of encounters, choices and occurrences. These same factors lead to him meeting his mentor, a gung-ho bachelor who coaches him in swimming and guitar. A random encounter leads him to an extortionist who turns the school against him, and an impulsive decision he makes in the face of that leads him to meeting his new best friend, a music nerd who would go on to replace the band’s drummer. Koyuki’s relationship with Maho is riddled with a series of choices, coincidences and mistakes that make their dynamic so addictive and yet so frustrating. Every turn this show takes, there are doors opening, doors closing, low moments, high moments, and above all, the ever present passage of time. Issues take multiple episodes to resolve, fights between friends last for weeks, and in that time, life is still happening. Characters leave the story not because their arcs are complete or because they died, but because they just naturally weren’t meant to be in Koyuki’s orbit forever, and their paths just diverged, but it never feels like lazy writing. It never feels like a missed opportunity, even when it canonically very much is. There’s a reason there are so many insignificant moments in this show, separated by listless fades to black like a series of old memories. Beck has an intense vibe of nostalgia to it, and part of that comes from the atmosphere of the story. I mentioned earlier that the artwork was immaculately detailed, and the OST was made up of purely in-universe sounds, and these two factors merge brilliantly to create a sense of immersion that puts you right there in Koyuki’s shoes, and I’m not exaggerating when I say there are scenes where I can practically smell the air around him, whether it’s the dense sweaty musk of an excited crowd in the shitty basement of some night club, or the mist of a lonely school pool that’s so empty you can practically sing with your own echoes. When you write a story about adolescent angst and ennui, you don’t just run the risk of melodrama, you accept the inevitability of melodrama, but a good show knows how to keep that shit in it’s proper lane. Koyuki’s everyday issues aren’t the end of the world, and hell, aside from an admittedly questionable storyline from Ryusuke’s backstory, there’s no real danger to anyone, no lives at stake, and no ticking clock. As such, this show doesn’t really have a proper ending, because until you die, neither does life. The conclusion doesn’t really concern itself with tying anything up, or letting you know how each character’s future is likely to pan out, rather, it sets out to answer a question that’s applied to all of us at some point; Is Koyuki ready to travel the path that he’s established for himself? Are you, as the viewer, confidant that he won’t peak after his accomplishments are behind him, and that the sacrifices he made to get there won’t hurt him in the long run? Beck Mongolian Chop Squad is available from Funimation. The original DVDs, released under the title of Beck, are no longer available because... Well, you can probably guess. I’m kind of surprised they tried to release it under it’s original title in the first place, but if you’ve ever handled a copy of Shangri-la, you’re probably used to Funimation messing up their property titles. They eventually released a SAVE DVD set under the name Mongolian Chop Squad, which is an acceptable alternative to the out of print Beck copies, but if you alphabetize it under M instead of B, I will find you and make it my business. The original manga is available from Comixology, and I just learned yesterday that there’s a live action movie. I’ve watched a couple of clips, and it looks pretty solid. The original soundtrack is way out of print, but it’s surprisingly easy to find an affordable used copy on Ebay. As for the dubbed version of the songs, I don’t know, try a Youtube ripper. Remember before, when I said that I could understand Smartphone Isekai being someone’s comfy anime? Beck is my comfy anime. It’s not a perfect show, for sure... There are a few episodes in the middle that are tedious even by my standards... Koyuki’s mom has a presence throughout the series, but not nearly as much as she should have, all things considered... And, again, there’s the animation. The fact that it doesn’t give me the feels as often as Battle Athletes Victory does is the main reason it’s been stuck just outside of my top ten all this time, but that’s still some pretty high praise. This is another anime that I secretly wanted to review back when I still had a blog, and frankly, I’m glad I waited until I was ready. I give Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad an 8/10.
~~~Beck anime feels so real. It's so human and just feels so natural. There are some popular musical anime out there such as K-ON or Your Lie in April, but it really feels like the musical genre itself in anime is really underrated. The plot is very well constructed and shows realism, and the series portrays it perfectly and naturally. The plot is perfectly mixed with the drama, romance, friendship, and struggles that revolve around the band. The characters' school life, their part-time job, their casual band practice, their path to success, and the drama that revolves inside and outside of the band, all tie up together perfectly and feel so honest to goodness. The pacing of the show has been perfect as it is. It's perfectly paced like a slice-of-life series with corresponding dramas between the characters. img500(https://ruisramblings.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/beck-anime-9-anime-wallpaper-show-anime-wallpaper-anime-picture-1024x768.jpg) The series deals with a lot of issues in the music industry. It's a perfect demonstration of how many bands struggle for success. They portray the 'Beck' band as an actual indie band because it shows the struggles of an indie band to achieve fame. The band is portrayed as just 'nothing special' because there are also tons of bands out there that also have immense potential. Their portrayal as being that feels realistic because, in this vast world, an indie band achieving fame is a lot harder than it sounds, knowing indie, in general, is not as known compared to other sub-genres. Their struggles and adventures make this series a lot more exciting to watch. The way the characters need to sacrifice or let go of something for the sake of the band, just feels so realistic. The series also shows how dirty people can get just to achieve fame in music industry. The way the plot isn't rushed and that the band is actually doing things slowly, step by step to achieve success feels surreal. It feels satisfying to see the growth of each character and the band; they really went from 0 to 100 and it's so much satisfying to watch. img500(https://www.thementes.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/beck.jpg) The main character, Koyuki,is one of the most human fictional character, which in itself is amazing. He's a normal highschool guy with no passion for anything, but his life turned its tables the day he met their lead guitarist. Koyuki and Maho's development has been top-notch over the course of the seies, considering that this is not even romance-centered to begin with. The series unironically also portrays romance quite a lot better than other romance-centered anime. youtube(https://youtu.be/bNM7mU7nUao) The rest of the cast are also cool and feels natural; just a random bunch of guys with personal issues whilst performing with the band. Insecurities, past issues, relationship problems, they really felt like real people. It's so much fun to watch them being portrayed as if they were real. I simply love its realism. The art and animation were pretty on point . I don't have anything more to say from it because Madhouse did a great job in animating it. The color palette they used also fits the mood and theme of the series. The music and OSTs probably the BEST thing in this series. It feels so alive. It's very rock-like. Man, everytime they perform it always gives me goosebumps and sends shivers down to my spine. It feels so real. It makes me want to hear their performance on live. The bass, the lead guitar, the drums, the vocalist, all are perfect for the series. youtube(https://youtu.be/MwEplEqqMkM) I really love every song in this anime, all hits and no misses. The way how the studio perfectly fits the music to the corresponding mood of the scene is awesome. I especially love the 'Moon on the Water' soundtrack on the pool scene when Maho and Koyuki went to the pool together. youtube(https://youtu.be/cXpLJbxFYLs) Overall, it's an amazing series. It's so relaxing while also portraying realism in life. The best coming of age I have ever seen. Very highly recommended. And also, take time to read the manga too since the anime didn't adapt it entirely. The anime only adapted 30% of the manga so it's worth checking out especially if you want to see things getting serious with the band. ~~~