Makoto is a problem solver for a youth gang called the G-Boys because of his friendship with the King, the leader of this gang. Makoto is 21 years old and lives in an area known for gang battles. Makoto wouldn’t join the gang but continues to be the advisor for the gang through different means mostly doing it to protect his friend. Although the later incidents make it harder for Makoto to continue this. This makes for an intense anime that keeps the main character making difficult decisions for the people who rely on him in the larger interest of the gang.
Plot:
Ikebukuro West Gate Park is mostly episodic. There were two storylines that spanned two episodes, but other than that, each episode has its own separate story. These stories ranged from some YouTuber beef to fast food employees being bullied, and they were very inconsistent.
Some episodes were interesting, but some were flat-out boring. Overall, it was more toned down than I expected at the beginning. The last two episodes were the most engaging for sure for me, and the YouTuber one was easily the worst.
Characters:
These single episode stories mostly follow the same formula: something sketchy or outright criminal is happening, someone goes to ask Makoto for help, and the problem is solved. Because of this, most characters don’t play much of a role.
The characters that do appear more often are all alright. The anime doesn’t really do much to make the characters likable or realistic, which lowers the impact of some events. I will give credit to the anime for the villain behind the last story, which was a bit unexpected.
Animation and sound:
Anime studio : “DOGA koba”
Doga Kobo, Inc. is a Japanese animation studio formed by former Toei Animation members Hideo Furusawa and Megumu Ishiguro, located in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. The animation is decent. The art style has an old-school feel to it, but at times it feels lazily animated. The art also gets a bit bland at times, and fights look alright but tend to be very short. The soundtrack is also pretty good, consisting mostly of rock tracks that fit the mood of the anime.
The opening is good, maybe just a bit too exciting for the show. The main ending song is not that good in my opinion, but I liked the two other endings.
