There are few anime that episodes from their final I feel confident in believing that everything is somehow going to come together, but Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is remarkably reassuring in the way that each arc within the show has had closure and as we move into the final we see that each of those independent arcs served a purpose in the greater narrative. While this show may not be the most thrilling caper ever, the solid and consistent writing is more than making up for it and I’m thoroughly enjoying not having to wonder whether something actually has a purpose because I know at this stage that it will.
That doesn’t mean that the show is perfect by any means but you could do a lot worse than what Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens dishes up this week as we see Banba’s campaign against the association resurface just as the Submarine Ninja is also hired to take them out. The association in return hires a Chinese hitman to protect its interests who just happens to be Lin’s old friend and we see everything and every player being effortlessly woven back into this story.
Couple that with the ongoing great sound-track and the fun characters and this episode was just great fun to watch. I’m looking forward to next week and I’m really hopeful that this anime can stick its landing.
Previous Posts:
- Episode 9: This Confirms It – Lin Needs a Hug
- Episode 8: I Think We Need A Spin-Off Series Called Saito’s Revenge
- Episode 7: About Time Someone Tried To Kill the Hacker
- Episode 6: Mistaken Identity Can Be Fun
- Episode 5: Why Not a Ninja?
- Episode 4: And With That The First Story Draws To A Close – And Then They Play Baseball
- Episode 3: Game On
- Episode 2: The Plot Thickens
- Episode 1: Hitmen, Detectives, and Corruption
- Friday’s Feature: Why Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Works
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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I’m still enjoying it and I have the same hope!
I started watching this today, 2 episodes in and I’m not sure if I like it or not. Tonally it doesn’t sit right for me and it’s kind of silly, but I get what they’re going for. I’ll probably keep watching it though for the sake of writing a review.
It is definitely kind of silly, but I think that is why it is working for me. It isn’t taking itself too seriously with its tone but they are bothering to write the story with good foreshadowing and fairly strong cohesion.
I think that’s why I’m having the problem, having women being beaten and raped and murdered, isn’t something I like in my anime at the best of times but if you’re going to have it as a plot point then at least be serious about it. I don’t know, I guess I’m just too sensitive when it comes to that kind of subject matter.
It’s a fair point and the subject matter won’t work for everyone (though I will point out it does tone down a bit from episode 2). For me though, with the synopsis being about a town full of hitmen, I kind of just expected that sort of thing so it wasn’t a surprise or really an issue when it came up. It was more like something I knew would come along at some point and had just kind of accepted given the nature of the show.
I’m fine with that kind of subject matter as long as it’s treated seriously. Like, the only show I can compare this too is Psycho Pass and I think that show handled serious subject matter with respect to tone a lot better than this. But then again I probably shouldn’t be comparing every anime with violent or subversive content to Psycho Pass as that’s a bit of a benchmark.
I think the bigger concern with that comparison is that Psycho Pass was definitely going for a serious and psychological angle and it wanted its viewers to question ideas and morality. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens isn’t that kind of show and mostly just seems to want us to follow along with these characters and enjoy getting to know them even while some of what seems to happen around them (and they cause to happen) is pretty violent and unpleasant at times. It’s not going for the same affect so while the treatment of a female victim is kind of similar from a content point of view in both series, what they wanted to lead onto was not.
Either way, issues of tone and content aside I do like some of these characters a lot and I’m interested to see where it goes, plus it makes for a nice break away from Super Sonico the Animation…
That’s quite a contrast.
Have u ever saw blood bank