Review of Tokko: The Complete Series (Volume 1-3)

Introduction

Behold! The paragraph of negativity…

I figured it best if I got it all out in one burst, for Manga Entertainment have goofed where no distributor has goofed before. They`ve taken the art of goofing to a whole new level, and have had a year in anime that would make even their most ardent admirers scratch their heads in consternation. And it all looked so promising 12 months ago. Early this year they debuted two new series Tokko and Noein, which looked to plug the gaping hole left by the absence of Ghost In The Shell. Tokko was a 13 episode supernatural adventure that would be released in three instalments. But the problems set in immediately. The first was dubtitles, or subtitles that echo the English dub rather than literally translating the Japanese, and with Tokko that meant a whole lot of added profanity to spice things up. The second was that the extras got left behind in region 1, and region 2 customers only got some screenshot galleries to gawp at. The third was the killer, as two-thirds of the way through the run, sales were so unimpressive that Manga cancelled the individual releases in favour of one single boxset in the autumn. Those who had purchased volumes one and two in good faith could be said to be disappointed. It gets worse. The individual releases were two disc affairs, with DTS soundtracks on the second disc, along with those, oh so exciting picture galleries. The boxset collection only has the first discs of each release, so boxset purchasers will not be getting any DTS or extras. And given that there is no individual volume 3 release, no one at all will be hearing DTS for the final episodes. People would be sticking pins into effigies at this point, were it not that Manga have offered to gruntle the disgruntled. If you bought the first two volumes, and have proofs of purchase, and if you can find them (hidden in the Los Angeles underground no doubt) or by e-mail, then Manga will sort you out with a deal on volume 3.

Reviews of the first two volumes can be found elsewhere on this site, so while taking an overall look, I`ll be concentrating more on the final volume.

Five years ago, the Machida apartment complex was at the heart of a very strange occurrence. The ground opened up and spewed forth an evil that left most of the 400 or so residents dead. Two of the few survivors were brother and sister Ranmaru and Saya Shindo. Since that day, Ranmaru has been haunted by nightmares of the day their parents were murdered, which usually end up with him seeing a strange naked girl. He has vowed to do something about the deaths, and to that end has joined the same police force where his sister works in the traffic department. His ambitions are higher though, to be part of the Special Mobile Investigation Force from where he can pursue his quest. But the supernatural occurrences that lead to mass murder haven`t ceased, and there is a special secret unit called Tokko within the police tasked to fight the undead menace.

It isn`t long before Ranmaru becomes a part of Tokko, as it seems the surest way of avenging his parents. It means giving up any semblance of a normal life, by awakening the demon that has lived within him since the day his apartment was attacked.

Video

Tokko gets the usual standard transfer for an anime series. There are hints of the NTSC-PAL conversion, but the 1.78:1 anamorphic image is largely clear, sharp and colourful. It`s a little too colourful for my liking, as the profusion of bright and shiny scenes is often at odds with the dark demonic storyline. I also felt that the character designs were a little simplistic compared to the overall design of the animation, and they didn`t quite seem to fit in to the backgrounds. Still, as suits an action heavy anime, there are moments of dynamic animation when required.

Audio

As mentioned, the Tokko boxset loses the DTS. All three discs have DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 English and Japanese, Tokko makes atmospheric use of the surrounds, it has a thumping soundtrack, and there is good representation of the action, as well as subtler moments. The English dub is a natural and free flowing one, although it does feel a little loose with the translation. This is a very American Tokyo. As my usual preference I went with the Japanese language track, but the dubtitles render it irrelevant unless you actually speak Japanese.

Features

You get a cardboard slipcase with some striking artwork. The discs are packed in three thinpak cases and slipped inside.

Just Manga trailers on the discs I`m afraid.

Conclusion

You know that raspberry sound you get when you let a balloon deflate? That pretty much sums up Tokko. It was a show that had a lot going for it, once you got past the rather simplistic animation. It set up an interesting storyline, promised plenty of blood and guts, mystery, conspiracy, dark factions, threatened to be sexy and cool, it was going to be a supernatural thriller that would knock your socks off. It failed to deliver on every one of these promises.

With the first two volumes I was disappointed with the childish characterisations and simplistic monotone storytelling, but Tokko has a far more fundamental problem. It`s just too short. The story that was set up revolved around an arcane object called the Box Of Dirge, shattered into 108 pieces that if gathered would allow the wielder ultimate power. It took a good few episodes for the first of those pieces to be found, and subsequent pieces began to trickle in at a slow rate, suggesting that 26 episodes wouldn`t be enough for this series, let alone the 13 that were actually made. I would have thought that the final four episodes would really have to change tack to come up with a satisfying conclusion, but the first few episodes of volume 3 continue on in the same vein as the earlier ones, leaving a ham-fisted ending to be cobbled together for the final episode. Tokko gives the impression of a much larger series that was suddenly faced with cancellation half way through, and it felt like I was watching some desperate salvage as the series ended.

We meet the mastermind behind all the shadowy affairs in episode 10, a toad like figure named Taishi, who appears to be all powerful and all knowing, manipulating Ranmaru into turning against his comrades. Episode 11 sees a little resolution for Sakura and her brother Hiroki, while episode 12 is a damned odd place to introduce two new characters, also survivors of the Machida massacre. Maya and Itto are now freelance phantom hunters, and there seems to be some portent regarding their introduction, but it is never realised and the characters just don`t figure at all in the final episodes. The last episode attempts to wrap everything up as quickly as possible. Taishi kidnaps Saya, and Ranmaru has to battle the demon in hell to rescue his sister. Sakura goes to help him, but Taishi is too powerful. There then comes a plot development lifted piecemeal from Highlander: Endgame of all things. By this point there is thirty seconds of runtime left, so flash, bang wallop and a swing of a sword, and it`s all over. It`s a moist fart of an ending that satisfies no one and left me asking, "What was the point?" If that isn`t enough, there is then 90 seconds of epilogue squeezed under the end credits.

Interminably slow at first, and then rushed to breakneck speed at the end, Tokko is horrifically paced, the characters aren`t up to much and the story is never as good as it thinks it is. You would think that I would advise you to steer clear. But given all those warnings of inadequacy, there is something ever so slightly charming about Tokko. If you are at all nostalgic for those dark days of anime fandom, when everything was 18 rated, featured blood, guts, sex and tentacles, and was constantly lambasted in the gutter press, then there is something achingly familiar about this series. And no matter how bad Tokko gets, it never quite reaches the dismal depths of that age; it has a degree of post-modern irony about it, as if it isn`t taking anything seriously. It`s fine accompaniment for a beer and a kebab, which isn`t to be sniffed at.