EDIT: formatting stuff I forgot :)SHOW: Kekkai Sensen, Blood Blockade BattlefrontYEAR: 2015LENGTH: 12 Episodes and a RecapTake a moment and think of the greatest story of all time. One that has withstood the test of time and can be adored by and related to by anyone. A story so great, that few words other than "great" can really describe it. Do you have your answer?BODYIt’s Yasuhiro Nightow’s Kekkai Sensen.I understand that’s a bold claim to make, but the thing is that Kekkai Sensen is a story you’ve already heard. A story repeated in song and verse thousands of times. It's the tale of the ultimate struggle between good and evil, despair and innocence, depravity and austerity. No matter how many times you’ve heard that story before, it keeps being retold over and over again. And for a damn good reason: it wrestles with the struggle at the center of all of our moral compasses, the question of the value of good and the presence of morality in the world itself. A question most famously posed in the Bible.At its core, Kekkai Sensen is another biblical allegory. But in its heart, it's anything but just another Biblical allegory.Kekkai Sensen tells the story of photojournalist Leonardo Watch, who has traveled to Hellsalem’s Lot, a version of New York that has (inexplicably) merged with an alien underworld. After a confusing chance encounter with a spirit of some sort, Leonardo gained the Eyes of God - which are supposed to be really powerful, or something (more on that later). As a trade off, something odd happens to Leo's sister's eyes. So he travels to the Lot and joins up with the superhuman task force Libra to maintain balance between good and evil in the city and find out what exactly happened to him and his sister. In these particular twelve episodes, Libra confronts the Blood Breed, a race of immortal one-dimensionally (yeah that's a word now) evil vampires.Kekkai’s overarching story, as grand and classical as it is, is admittedly confusing and in dire need of some solid backstory, exposition and detail work. The show leaves a trail of barely explained or not explained at all concepts and magics. As a matter of fact, the show’s two most important events that govern the the actions of the two main characters for the entire show are vague and unprecedented. They just happen. Kekkai's episodic nature does not help the problem, because any detail that could be explained about the plot is glossed over in favor of random, unrelated encounters.That is not to say that it's an incoherent mess. Kekkai Sensen leaves a series of bread crumbs to guide the viewer to certain assumptions and suppositions about the world, but these cryptic hints often raise more questions than answers. The fundamental lack of foundation gave me the feeling that I was standing atop of tower of cards that touched the sky: the tower swayed precariously, always on the verge of collapsing. But from the top of that tower I could see everything, I felt like I was on top of the world. And that’s the beauty of Kekkai Sensen: no matter how many times I noticed a crucial plot element left barely tied down in the wind, how many times I wondered about the history of conflict between Libra and the Blood Breeds, or how many times I wondered what the actual powers of the Eyes of God were or why everybody seemed to know about them, I wanted more, because this show feels amazing to watch.Three elements give Kekkai a unique spirit and soul that equate in this feeling: its soundtrack, setting, and characters.The soundtrack comes from Taisei Iwasaki. It’s a weird mixture of jazz music, rousing orchestrals, the occasional moving ballad, some ambient mood setters, and more. A majority of the most memorable tracks (to me) are either jazz, or borrow heavily from American rock and swing. That's not to say the other songs are lacking, I'm just a sucker for some good jazz. Standouts include Footloose, , The Theme of the Blood Blockade Battlefront, and White Gloves. The score gives the streets of Hellsalem’s Lot a frenzied feeling, but allows the city’s various holes-in-the walls to feel homely and isolated. The absolute panic of rush hour traffic contrasts with the silence of the hospital and graveyard just as it would in a real city. Picture walking down a crowded urban avenue, then stepping into a silent library immediately afterward. That’s pretty much the contrast Kekkai Sensen’s soundtrack allows it to convey, and that contrast makes Hellsalem’s lot seem like a large, noisy place with romantic spaces of solitude tucked among the skyscrapers.It’s an utterly perfect environment only improved by the fact that its based off of New York city, so Leo frequents legendary diners such as Johnny Rocket’s, and Zapp Renfro gets to live the American dream.Both the opening theme and the final episode of the show analogize Hellsalem’s Lot to a carnival, which is fitting both on an in-universe and meta level. There are street criminals and terrorists everywhere in Hellsalem’s Lot, which is why Libra exists. At the same time, the show never explains why there are so many crazies in Hellsalem outside of “well it is a big city y’know.” The viewer just has to accept the fact. Just like in a carnival, you either get swept up by the flashing lights and impressively loud distractions, or you sit there jaded and unimpressed. The best way to enjoy Kekkai is to go in with the former mindset.The setting is so magical, high octane, and endearing that despite all these words, I still don’t feel like I’ve done it justice. So I’ll let the opening theme speak for me. (shoutout to /u/DragonsOnOurMountain for uploading that)On top of the music and places, Kekkai boasts a wonderful cast of characters. A lot of them are tragically one dimensional and don’t get much screen time, but even those side characters add to the humor and passion found at every turn. They’re all hysterical, well designed, and extremely lovable, like a cast full of your favorite childhood cartoon characters.The principle characters are all astounding, without fail. Klaus is a large man with an unshakable loyalty and optimism. He leads Libra in a quiet, refined way but still forms a heartfelt relationship with Leo. Meanwhile, Zapp treats Leo to a rough brotherly love, adding some much needed levity to Leo’s adjustment to Libra and the city.Then there are the three protagonists: Leo, White, and Black. The show leaps its greatest heights when the three of them take the screen, both from a narrative and just pure enjoyment perspective. All three are defined by their innocence, frailty, and love for one another. The relationship between Leo and White in particular is absolutely captivating. They share such a pure love for each other that only the most cynical viewer would find themselves unaffected. White’s place of residency in the hospital leads to a running joke with Leo and the doctors, wherein Leo is nearly hospitalized every episode. He sits in the same stool and is told he is discharged, to which he replays something like “cool.” Then he goes and visits White. Little touches and repeated gags such as these only add to Kekkai’s charm.This "charm" is evident in every character interaction, too. I laud the cast with such high praise because its so hard for me not to. From an objective standpoint, only three characters develop in rushed, fractured segments. But look at this and tell me you're not in love. (Once again, /u/DragonsOnOurMountain with the upload)Before we move on, I neglected one of the three protagonists: Black. Without spoiling too much, he's a down-to-earth, loving older brother to White forced into a rough position to protect her. Every rough choice he made pained me, because the relation between him and White has a simplicity to it that endeared me to both of them based on their discussions alone.The beautiful relations shared by the tritagonists is where the allegory comes in. On the other hand, the villains in Kekkai sensen are two lunatics and the devil himself. The core of the stories' overarching plot deals in that classic idea of good versus evil. People get tempted by the devil, the sinful view life as a game, and the purity of Leo and Black is tested to the fullest.Kekkai Sensen a powerful, emotional tale about a boy who believes he’s nothing more than “just a little man,” but discovers day by day that he’s “a little more.” It over-shows, under-tells, under-explains, and detracts from its main plot quite significantly. Your acceptance of these flaws is paramount to your enjoyment of the show. Personally, I found myself whisked away to a hectic, jazzy, foreign city where the living was good and the action intense. The comedic supporting cast and well-defined leads endeared me close to the characters and made the battle against the Blood Breeds all the more amazing than Studio Bones’ animation alone could have done it. And while not every episode is equal, there is a definite charm to the episodic nature of Kekkai. I loved every second of it, flaws and all.So, if you’re in the mood for some classic good versus evil, lovable characters, immersive setting, and a few heart-fully crafted episodic yarns, you should watch Kekkai Sensen. It’s a show with such a unique style and emotional output that it melted the walls around my often cold, overcritical heart. You could cook a muffin with the warmth you’ll feel every second you watch Kekkai Sensen.AFTERWORDThis is the second extended anime-related piece I've written, and I felt the need to do so because I am so thoroughly smitten with Kekkai Sensen that I felt the need to stop writing my other stuff and churn this thing out. I finished this show the day after Christmas or something like that, wrote this, let it sit for a few days, edited it, and then here we are! Any criticism or response you have is welcome in the comments.Thanks,Cloudclickonmynametocheckmyotherwritingsifyouwanttryingtokeeptheselfinsertdialeddownherebutthiswasuploadedtherefirstsothat'stechnicallythesource http://ift.tt/1ZCte5P
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