::12:08:08::

::: Beck - Mongolian Chop Squad :::

By ~ Apollo

Not your conventional anime. Beck grows on you quickly and it will really appear to music lovers, more specifically guitar players. I haven’t run into any other anime show like this and that is part of what makes the Beck experience so special. It’s uniqueness and originality are really what set it apart from any other series.

Ryusuke Minami has one goal in mind: To Form The Ultimate Band. After splitting ways with his longtime partner and former friend, he starts his mission. Slowly and one by one, he discovers the necessary talents to make his band great. The characters each have their own personal story of how they got to where they are and their own reasons for sticking with the band, even though there are times when they seem doomed to fail. The most unlikely of talents to join the gang is our main character Yukio “Kuyoki” Tanaka. Kuyoki slowly learns to play the guitar as he befriends Ryusuke and others. The story has its doses of seriousness but by and large it about music and about friendship.

The visuals are cool and definitely get you in the right mindset to hear some good tunes. The songs are sweet and I found myself listening to some of them even after the series was over. Koyuki’s talent in particular is very impressive. It sounds kind of weird at first as some of the pronunciations are not what we would be accustomed to, but it grows on you and ends up being a good product.

The original story of a band trying to make big really needed an anime adaptation or take or whatever you want to call it. The show was really cool and I need to credit my brother for throwing yet another brilliant series my way. Get ready to jam!

Grade: A-