“FEATURE: How SABIKUI BISCO Effortlessly Capture the Soul of Anime”

 

Few anime have ever captured my attention as quickly as SABIKUI BISCO did. Just a few seconds into the official trailer and I was hooked. Bright colors, explosions, a world in ruin, and two people on a quest to find a legendary cure to an all-consuming rust devouring both humans and their cities? Sign me the hell up!

 

An adventure story through a post-apocalyptic Japan unfolds in this series. Mix in a little sci-fi, some fantasy, a banging soundtrack, top-notch voice acting, and a stellar creative team and you get an incredibly memorable, edge-of-your-seat anime that will have you staring at the TV wide-eyed and awed. 

 

Basically, SABIKUI BISCO is like if Studio Trigger made Casshern Sins in the mid-1990s and was gifted some leftover One Piece creature designs. 

 

If that doesn't catch your attention, nothing will.

 

The Plot

 

 

SABIKUI BISCO is a high-octane series that embodies everything people love about anime all at once. What's it about? Here's the gist.

 

Rust devours everything. People, plants, creatures, buildings — all of it — leaving nothing behind but bitterness, broken families, and a crumbling society. Yet life goes on. The streets of Imihama are lit in the hazy glow of neon lights. Frightening, bunny-mask-clad figures are ever watchful for the mushroom keeper and wanted terrorist Bisco. Most people are sick with rust, clinging to one another in desperation with a back alley doctor as their only hope. Lording over them all is Kurokawa, a militant, totalitarian-type villain who believes in himself and his goals so deeply he's willing to go to any lengths to see things through to the bitter end.

 

When Bisco Akiboshi actually shows up, back alley doctor Milo Nekoyanagi sees something most others don't. These mushrooms don't cause this all-consuming rust, a disease that devours everything. They're the cure, at least according to legend. But that legend is all they have to go on, and they aren't going to give up.

 

So What's the Hook?

 

 

Why did SABIKUI BISCO hook me so fast? In short, it has all the flair, style, substance, and heart that makes for an anime that stays with you forever. It's the sort of series you can only explain by saying, "It's just so anime."

 

Everything in it is just a little larger than life. The setting is familiar, filled with places that can be identified, at least somewhat, but it's also wholly unknown. The unexpected lurks around every corner. Battles are filled with things like bows and arrows, giant mushrooms, fighting atop the back of a giant crab, and machine-gun-wielding hippos.

 

RELATED: Post-Apocalyptic Action Explodes in Rust-Eater Bisco TV Anime Trailer

 

The world is awash in bright colors. Even seemingly barren deserts are filled with life and color. Characters are flashy, full of personality, style, and soul. Both villains and protagonists alike have a singular drive to accomplish their goals.

 

SABIKUI BISCO has a wholly unique trait: the ability to instill a child-like sense of awe and a curious feeling of nostalgia in those who watch it. 

 

What Makes an Anime Anime

 

 

SABIKUI BISCO captures what makes anime, well, anime. It simultaneously makes it feel as if you're experiencing something brand new for the very first time and coming home to a well-worn VHS tape in a clamshell case dug out of your parent's attic. It's the sort of thing I could easily be convinced aired between Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star on the early days of Toonami.

 

It has the absolutely uncanny knack of making you feel nostalgic while watching it, like you've seen it before, long ago, and have simply forgotten. It had to be from the '90s, right? You must have watched it before! After all, nothing else but a beloved childhood show could ever make it feel as if you've returned home like this.

 

Animation studio OZ and original light novel author Shinji Cobuko managed to absolutely nail the heart and soul of anime, of what captures us as lovers of the medium and create something that will certainly stand the testament of time. But how? And why?

 

More than the Sum of its Parts

 

 

Why does something so fresh and new feel so utterly timeless? This is absolutely a case of the series being more than the sum of its parts. Words and images tell just as much about the characters and world as the silences and missing things.

 

The music by Hinako Tsubakiyama and Takeshi Ueda is a treat for our ears. Everything from jazzy tracks to harder rock numbers and everything in between can be found here. But this isn't just the case of a banger soundtrack. The music is intrinsic to the anime, creating the very world Milo and Bisco are trying to save — the same way the music of Cowboy Bebop or Eureka Seven are inherent to their own settings and stories.

 

Battles are exciting, well-choreographed, and filled with new, exciting fighting methods. However, it isn't just the flashy, fun battle mechanics that make the anime stand out. What our protagonists and antagonists use in battle also creates their own sort of world-building, telling us everything from what sort of resources are available in this post-apocalyptic world to the lengths Bisco and Kurokawa are willing to go to meet their goals.

 

On Hippos and Escargot

 

 

One of the stand-out features of this series is its design. Forget realism. Here we have fantastical creatures, cool concepts, and landscapes both beautiful and haunting. Everything leaves you whispering a "Wow!" under your breath, and you can't help but want to watch the next episode to see what sort of wild, unexpected creatures they'll pull out next or what breathtaking vista you'll see from atop the back of a giant crab. 

 

RELATED: All Heck Breaks Loose in Rust-Eater Bisco TV Anime Trailer

 

Despite most of the land being relatively uninhabited, it is still populated, still thriving. Small enclaves of humans exist, sure, but more than that, a huge swath of fantastical creatures calls this post-doomsday Japan home. Machine-gun-wielding hippos are commonplace, protecting the city from all manner of marauders and ne'er-do-wells. Enormous fish fly through the air as if it were the deep sea, devouring everything in their path. And sometimes, you can find very old temples built atop ancient, slumbering beasts.

 

Each creature is cooler than the next, with designs that capitalize on being full of wonder, never straying down the path of potential uncanny valley. This too evokes a sense of child-like awe, a sort of wonder that's only too easy to completely forget even exists as an adult.

 

I'm Bisco!

 

 

On the surface, SABIKUI BISCO is a battle-style action anime with a cool setting, awesome battles and great characters. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a city filled with people just scraping by that's run by a militant, autocrat villain who so wholly believes in himself and his goals that he's willing to go to lengths usually only reserved for protagonists. 

 

Yet, this isn't a series filled with darkness. Struggling isn't fruitless. Optimism is infused throughout the story. Bisco and Milo believe in this miracle mushroom, and more importantly, they believe in themselves and each other. Love in all its forms — familial, platonic, romantic — seeps through the tale. That is what makes SABIKUI BISCO what it is.

 

This is an anime brimming with love and passion. It's carried first and foremost by the characters, their principles, and their beliefs. It's about people who care, and in turn, it makes us care. It's why, as soon as the intro music starts, we can't look away. 

 

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