[WT!] Senkou no Night Raid / Night Raid 1931

Senkou no Night Raid / Night Raid 1931List: MAL | HummingbirdWatch: Trailer (AnimeNetwork) | Hulu (Sub) | Crunchyroll (Sub) | AnimeNetwork (Sub / Dub / OVAs)Preface:As excited as I am for the Spring 2016 Joker Game anime, I decided to check out Night Raid 1931, as the show had been on my radar for a little while, and it shares some of the same premise as that upcoming project. I found a series I utterly enjoyed, and one I wholeheartedly suggest for anime fans looking for a show far removed from some of the bland titles out there.The Basics:Night Raid is an espionage thriller set some ten years prior to WWII, and focusing on a group of super-powered agents ostensibly protecting Japanese interests in Shanghai and Manchuria. While sometimes compared to or offered as a suggestion for those who liked Darker than Black, the closest analogue would really be to the Hollywood movie X-Men: First Class, in my opinion.This is as good a place as any to recommend a chronological watch order for the series, which somewhat intermixes the OVAs / specials with the series proper.Episode 0 (OVA 1) - Prologue to the series.Episodes 1-6Episode 6.5 (Recap) - This does add to the characterization a bit, but can easily be skipped.Episode 7Episode 7.5 (OVA 2) - A side story that fleshes out the time period in which the series takes place.Episodes 8-13Episode 14 (OVA 3) - Epilogue to the series.Why Watch?Setting, Setting, SettingNight Raid 1931 does its utter best to present an authentic (superhumans aside) representation of the pre-WWII climate in Asia, and one largely devoid of Japanese propaganda. Sure, the anime doesn't delve into issues of mass genocide and rape, but it does present conflicting viewpoints on the occupation of Manchuria, highlight controversial events, and touch on the poverty (and causes thereof) that forced young girls into sexual slavery. There are a lot of period details in the show as well, which is something I love - from the automobiles, to the bulky cigarette lighters, to the firearms. It all feels genuine.CharactersWhile Night Raid is primarily a plot-driven series, it also displays a significant character focus. Though they are recruited to the Sakurai Group for their powers, our protagonists each have their own established reasons for persisting. When some characters question their loyalties (as in any good spy show), it makes sense when and why they do so. The viewer is shown clearly that the events the protagonists go through are truly meaningful come series' end.AudioStarting with the exceptional OP (credit to /u/animethrowaway912938 for encoding and uploading), "Yakusoku" by MUCC, Night Raid 1931 is show that sounds fantastic. The OST is a perfect match for the series' genre and style. The Japanese voice acting is great - even the anime's use of Engrish (Episode 6) makes sense given the context. I'd strongly recommend against the dub for this one; not only do you miss out on that flavoring, but Greg Ayres is a terrible fit for Aoi (one of the main protagonists), and makes the character sound far too young, in my opinion.Action ScenesMy fetish for combat choreography is pretty well-known at this point, I think. Night Raid is another of those shows where action isn't the primary focus, but it handles such scenes with aplomb. A good thing, too, when one of your protagonist's primary fighting style is aikido. (Episode 0)Conclusion:It's pretty sad - to me - that the first result (close to half of the total results, even) in an image search for "Night Raid" is from Akame ga Kill and not this show. It's also pretty sad to me that Night Raid 1931 currently sits at a 7.01 average MAL score, which is absolutely criminal, given that it's only .01 above the lowest ranking readily given out by many MAL users. Perhaps even more damning is that it's a series even less-watched than Kemono no Souja Erin, the subject of one of my earlier recommendations. Night Raid is a show that captivated me from the "Episode 0" OP through the final credits, and these are situations I'd like to improve. Hopefully, my [WT!] Post spurs some of you to action.Past [WT!] Posts:Kemono no Souja ErinKure-naiHaNaYaMaTaHourou MusukoPatema InvertedBakumatsu Kikansetsu IrohanihohetoFutsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yatte Mita.Seirei no Moribito (Redux)Le Chevalier D'Eon http://ift.tt/1KhxQLb