Jormungand

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on September 23, 2012 at 10:41 AM

See that little genre tag above? The one that says “action”? It means it. Fast-paced, vicious, amoral, more than hardcore, and definitely not advised for pacifists… like me. What’s a pacifist doing in action genre? Seeking a change from the shoujo, expecting something Fate/Zero-style (c’mon, the title “Jormungand” stems straight from Nordic legends). I didn’t get legends, or Fate/Zero, but I got something about as far from shoujo as anime can go. “Jormungand” is nothing short of thoroughly insane.

Story (4/5) -- First things first: No, the original story doesn’t snugly fit into twelve episodes. All you’ll get here is a set of sub-stories made rather for the purpose of getting to know the characters than for one overarching plot. There’s a hint of the main story towards the end, but the time frame simply has it breaking off. There’s a second season (Perfect Order) announced for October, but whoever is annoyed by the break will be better off reading the manga. 49 chapters out according to Manga-Access (I just hope that site is halfway informed for once ^^°). On the upside though, none of the sub-stories is entirely predictable, and completely shoving side stories aside, the concept is fresh and quite intriguing where it doesn’t try all too hard.

The whole concept plays on one highly twisted and violent conflict for peace, providing unusual takes on common themes such as teamwork and professionalism. It strives for realism, giving background info that, despite seemingly a little exaggerated here or there, is close to reality. Overall? It displays. But it doesn’t judge. There’s no good, no bad in “Jormungand”. The main characters are killers for the sake of business, and where their customers aren’t any better, their enemies are no worse.

That in itself might evoke a lot of questioning and ethical problems if you care to dig behind bad guys and gallons of cinematic blood. But “Jormungand” doesn’t make you rack your brain. Original, fast, badass, comparably realistic… it’s all that. But it never takes a stance on what it tells. If that’s a good or bad thing depends on its viewers… it’s certainly a change, at the very least. The main problem with the storyline isn’t that it doesn’t judge itself, but that it’s incomplete and unforgiven. Might change with the next season, but there’s no telling that quite yet.

Title -- I don’t usually include notes on the title. Titles are a way to identify the show, they fit or they don’t, they’re interesting or boring, and that’s that. Rarely though does a title add so much to a show as it does in “Jormungand”.

I mentioned before that “Jormungand” as a term is taken from Nordic mythology. Let me try to keep things short and sweet: In Nordic mythology, Jormungand (originally Jörmungandr) is a kind of giant serpent (wound itself around the world and grasped its own tail when tossed into the ocean…) that antagonises the main god Thor, battling him a number of times and twice ending the whole thing in pretty much of a draw. I don’t want to unravel the whole legend (more on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jormungand), but try and connect the whole thing to Koko and her serpentine smile… I don’t want to spoiler things, but this opens about a dozen number of ways to interpret the whole thing.

Anime isn’t meant to be interpreted like Shakespearean sonnets? Okay, you’re right. Sorry for the sidetrack. Moving on to the topic of characters.

Sure enough that in a reality where “mundane” means “in a hardcore fight for survival”, the characters can’t be wimps. And that’s another of the series’ main draws. The characters are richly designed individuals, both in visual and psychological design, each with their own quirks and personality. Koko especially is probably one of the most mysterious, cold-blooded, and intriguing females in anime history. While twelve episodes seem like little time to get to know a bunch of characters, and it’s true that many side characters are still missing more or less explanation, the few background stories revealed so far are quite touching and add depth to the respective characters; also, chara development is finely done for a series of this length, and adds to the story where the set of sub-stories doesn’t make for a consistent plot of any kind. Character interaction, if at times a little odd, is likable and has its funny moments, and the trust among the members of Koko’s bodyguard group (?) is well displayed. The main problem here would be that due to the rather violent atmosphere and some characters’ pretty business-like attitude, the majority of the bunch comes across as phony or sadistic at first. I guess that’s what you call “giving off the wrong impression”. Sigh.

Dialogue (4.5/5) -- It’s not without its flaws, but it’s relatively intelligent and easy to follow. Tends to feel out of place in many predominantly action-packed scenes (I’m all for intelligent dialogue, but when there’s a rain of bullets in the air at the same time, it can get rather ridiculous), but it’s still above average, and there’s no obvious faults in the voice-acting.

Technical aspects (5/5)
Music -- Opening and closer fit the show oddly well, and especially the opener’s a title that could probably be nominated for “getting stuck in most listeners’ ears”. Anything pales compared to that, so naturally the background music throughout the show is a little less memorable, but it’s without a doubt well-done and rich.

Animation -- Recent quality. The action is plentiful, fast, and ruthless, with well-done tactics, dozens of guns, and tons of cinematic blood. It’s not a second Elfen Lied in terms of gore, but where it comes to violence, I must say I’m really not sure which one tops the other. >.< ´

Artwork -- It’s as rich as music and action. There’s one pretty odd point of grey/red in the beginning, as the colouring tends to become washed-out where it doesn’t come to either blood or characters’ eyes, but once you get used to the colouring, the art can’t be complained about. Distinctive character design with plausible eye and hair colours, clothing, and facial shapes. The line-art in general is meticulous, with many detailed and modern settings; even military hardware is displayed accurately.

Entertainment (4/5) -- In the end… it’s all about the viewers’ liking for action and cinematic blood. There’s some decent character development, a number of comedic moments, some emotion (that’s generally rather extreme rage than anything else ^^"), an intriguing concept and title, and the characters are interesting without a doubt. The story is interesting as well, were it not for the fact that the end will leave every viewer hanging (and possibly disappointed). All of that however pales if compared to the action. And right there, it simply tries too hard for me. It’s a dream for lovers of guns, gore, and overall badassness; yet it also borders on insanely sadistic and bloodlust-y. It’s something I personally had a hard time with. I’ve never minded action that knew its limits, but I simply didn’t expect a show that could at times rival Elfen Lied in terms of violence. It is intriguing without a doubt, but intriguing in quite a cruel way sometimes.

Personally, I wish they’d focused a little more on a consistent story and a little less on gun-fights. Now that I did make it through the first season and that I’ve seen a hint of a consistent main story, I’m willing to stick around for another while to see where this thing goes. But eventually, it’s not the action and gore that attracts me, it’s the story with its connection to reality. In terms of fights, the show simply tends to go overboard for me. I guess there’s no helping it, though. Maybe I should rather read the manga, seeing as action tends to get less haunting if it loses its sound.

It’s not that I detest this show. It’s quite intriguing, even for me, and it’s definitely one of the better and more realistic in the action genre with its hints of comedy as long as you don’t mind, or even happen to like, overboarding violence. No changing it -- but I personally simply wish they’d cut it a little on the “objectionable content”. As it is, it’s 18+ at the very least. NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS