One of the most underrated anime of the 2010s is a heart-breaking tragedy, and it definitively proves that anime is art.

When I first mentioned Rainbow: Nisha Rokubu no Shichinin To my editor, I described it as showing me an itch I could never scratch again. I added that I wasn’t sure I wanted that. Rainbow is an extremely brutal and exhausting watch, but also one of the most beautiful I’ve ever encountered. Set in the hectic, uncertain atmosphere of post-World War II Japan, Rainbow Centers around six boys admitted to a reformatory alongside Rokurouta Sakuragi, their experienced cellmate, just barely their age. The series is a grim chronicle of their lives during and after the Shonan Special Reformatory.

Art is famously impossible to define. What we call art Is Art. Rainbow It’s not experimental, and it doesn’t have a big message. Rainbow is simply a story: a story about history, all revolving around each other. His straightforward narrative is like a pendulum, each crushing moment providing the momentum for an inspiring one. This oscillation is the metronome by which Rainbow Sounds like a lot of unbearably intense feelings. like a mirror, Rainbow Covers its depth with deceptive simplicity.

Rainbow demonstrates the art of adaptation

Rainbow Adaptation is perfect

Rainbow is a product of the Golden Age of Madhouse. In the early 2000s, Madhouse produced some legendary works, including genre-redefining Death noteThoughtful Shojo Nanaand the bone-chilling psychological thriller Monster. Madhouse’s adaptations of this period tend to be largely faithful to the source material, and They were set apart from contemporary anime by their edgier soundtracks, oppressive atmospheres, and desaturated colors..

With so many incredible anime under Madhouse’s belt, they are the perfect studio to adapt Rainbow. The color palette and animation bring gorgeous breath to Masasumi Kakizaki’s art. Meanwhile, Madhouse’s previous experience with extended emotional roller coasters meant that George Abe’s breathtaking story was in more-than-capable hands. from the beginning, Everything Combines effortlesslyyielding a truly unique aesthetic experience.

Turning manga into anime is not an easy task, yet Rainbows adaptation sizes the transformation optimally. The soundtrack, voice talent, colors, and pacing turn a brilliant manga into an animated series that overwhelms the viewer with full-on immersion. As the characters themselves, who have moved from the environment of the reformatory back to the urban streets, while making the most of the continuity and transition, Rainbow becomes an independent adaptation.

Rainbow demonstrates the art of punishment

Punishment goes deeper than the moment of impact

After all, the reformatory is brutal. A great antagonist is the guard Ishihara, who mercilessly beats, slows and kills the seven boys. The adaptation makes these scenes incredibly powerful: every blow to their body echoes over my own. A large number of anime let their heroes take bullets without flinching and fall three floors without breaking any bones.

There is nothing wrong with that. That’s part of the fun. But Rainbow is not so.

The cruelty is meant to break their spirit. The reformatory is one of many disciplinary structures that exist to govern Rainbows citizens to normality while “correcting” abnormality. Others are the orphanage, the school, and the insane asylum. But the discipline of the reformatory goes even deeper: Yes, Ishihara is cruel, but apathy and support from other leaders of the reformatory keeps the cruelty in place. The Reformatory Is The cruelty. Through strict regulation of schedules and corporal punishment, the reformatory is meant to “cure” the boy’s delinquency.

In some ways, they take this normalization on themselves. Part of Sakuragi’s mentorship involves peaceful, quiet resistance, but it also involves the tacit acceptance of reformatory operations. The bodies and behavior of the boys integrated the timetable of the reformatory, No consideration of their backgrounds or crimes. The complexity of Rainbow Sh

Delinquents go in; If all goes according to plan, normative citizens emerge. This basic continuity is like Rainbow Shows its complex networks of power. The boys are “unruly” because of their erratic behavior; The gardener is “normal” because of his restraint in only exercising his violence on those whom society deems necessary. However, the warden does not exist only in the prison, and he wants revenge for the challenge against the power he was given. This leads to A hearty death laterAfter all the characters left the reformatory walls.

Rainbow demonstrates the art of power

Despite its difficult themes, Rainbow Demonstrates the other side of power

RainbowThe characters are not “good people”, but not “bad people” either. Much like Rainbow is simply a story, Its characters are simply people. They are people trying to stay alive despite horrifying circumstances, but who are caught in the friction of social norms, socio-economic reality and personal tragedy. Without ever making it a point of explanation, Rainbow Shows a different kind of power that acts as an engine, churning its cruelty into inspirations.

An unlikely analogy can be found in the romantic comedy Kaguya-sama! Love is war (Which is actually much more than a romantic comedy). Kaguya-sama! Shows that the way people behave is really a kind of power, both over themselves and others. This power is not destructive or repressive, but creative: it creates New behaviors, relationships and situations. This is the true face of a power anyone can work with, even when they feel most powerless.

Sakuragi teaches the other boys how to resist the authority of the reformatory. More than that, he leverages his authority to mold them into people who, without becoming the docile drones the reformatory intends to produce, are able to use their stories to thrive in the inhospitable climate of war-torn Japan. In doing so, they exert power over themselves and those around them to strengthen themselves – By a definition of strength them Create.

Rainbow Demonstrates the art of living

Rainbow Show the beautiful reality behind anime’s biggest clichés

finally, Rainbow is not a series about life. Rainbow is a series about the art of life, and treating one’s own life as a work of art. This gritty depiction of postwar Japanese life pulls no punches. The tensions of American occupation, the economic and familial fallout of the war, and the torn social fabric after the war’s death blow to Japan’s imperial norms form the backdrop against which seven prisoners become artists of their own lives.

They do it together. The mention of “The Power of Friendship” or “Indomitable Willpower” is enough to make any longstanding anime fan groan in frustration. Rainbow Shows the sentimental reality behind these ideas: they are not media tropes but essential parts of “real life”. More than that, when the world is against you, they’re all you have to survive.

The connections the boys forge, the power Sakuragi uses to teach them about the power within, and the implicit backdrop of suffocating social control that cares little for individual circumstances: these are the things that leave RainbowS letters to thrive. One boy is half-American, known for his beauty, with a backstory that will make most viewers want to vomit. despite this, He is trying to become a singer– due to a catastrophic reason – with the help of the other boys.

Another, Mario, was taught to box by Sakuraga. He tries to become a boxer himself despite racism and rigging by the American organizers. This is the story behind it Rainbow is celebrated as one of the best boxing anime. All the characters, by disgusting turns, try to make their lives into a work of art them Find beautiful. They work with found objects and the stain of indefatigable willpower, fixing them to the canvas with each other’s help. As a result, Rainbow Demonstrates the reality and necessity behind anime’s most bombastic tropes.

It’s hard to talk about how Rainbow Ceaselessly showcase this artistry because it means giving away the twists that make the show so compelling. Trust me, though, when I say that Rainbow is one of the only series that makes the hairs on my arms stand up when I talk about it. This article is the first time in years that I made myself remember the most painful and beautiful scenes, and it caused a realization. Honestly, I want to review it, but I don’t know if I’m ready. That, to me, is what makes Rainbow: Nisha Rokubu no Shichinin Art.