STRAIT JACKET

I watched this as a dub so I didn’t have to pay it that much attention.

Another show that touches on the magical realism current that’s run through 21st Century anime, but ultimately decides on being some kind of “steampunk”-ish action show. The three episodes basically exist to give you three big fights involving men in armour shooting at giant mutated demonic lumps of flesh. Which is good, because that it is all it really has going for it. The rest is a lot of dull people talking dully about sins and redemption.

The magical realism element is thrown out after the first episode’s exposition of how the world works and a doctor’s subsequent transformation into a demon. A teacher similarly mutates off screen in the second episode (not that you know as Manga have turned the three eps into a “film”). What was a teacher using magic in school for? And was he similarly wearing the armour that was supposed to stop it happening? Sadly such implications are not dealt with, as the remaining two thirds of the show mainly deals with people having flashbacks and getting upset about it, before dispatching the bad guys in remarkably short time, so the two heroes can fight to the death.

As a slice of a larger series of novels it does a better job than most, with the story all tying up neatly, but leaving future adventures open to sell the books. But it isn’t half dull when it’s not concerning itself with being violent.