Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Babylon – Complete Collection (2019)

It’s a short series at 12 episodes and the ending was not what I would have expected.  But nevertheless, “Babylon” is a smart, entertaining anime series worth checking out!

Click here to purchase on Amazon

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TITLE: Babylon – Complete Collection

ORIGINAL SERIES DATE: 2019

DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (300 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, DTS-HD Master Audio: English and Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV 14 VL

Release Date: May 11, 2021

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Originally Created by Nozaki Mado

Director: Suzuki Kiyotaka

Character Design by Goto Keisuke

Music by Yamada Yutaka

Art Director: Nakamura Norifumi

Anime Production: Revoroot

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Featuring the following voice talent:

Nakamura Yuichi/David Matranga as Zen Seizaki

Yukino Satsuki/Maggie Flecknoe as Ai Magase

Sakurai Takahiro/Scott Gibbs as Shinobu Kujiin

Okiayu Ryotaro/Adam Gibbs as Kaika Itsuki

Ianda Tetsu/Adam Noble as Takuma Torao

Okitsu Kazuyuki/Greg Cote as Ariyoshi Hanta

Ono Kensho/Heath Morrow as Atsuhiko Fumio

Tanaka Hideyuki/Jay Hickman as Alexander W. Wood

Houki Katsuhisa/Josh Morrison as Ryuichiro Nomaru

M.A.O/Natalie Rial as Hiasa Sekuro

Horiuchi Kenyuu/Rob Mungle as Yasutaka Morinaga

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Everything can be connected to something else if you dig hard enough, and when you’re investigating a crime, it usually doesn’t take too long before you start finding the clues you need, if you know where to look.

When Public Prosecutor Zen Seizaki starts investigating a case of apparent fraud by a major pharmaceutical company, however, he quickly finds himself entangled in a nightmarish web of lies, intrigue and murder on a global scale. And even worse, how can he fight a foe without a face, one that’s protected by members of the highest echelons of society and government, and seems to be able to convince its own victims to kill themselves? The nightmares of modern science are powered by old-fashioned corruption and greed, and one man may be the only force that can stop them.

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In 2015, the novel series “Babylon” by Nozaki Mado and illustrations by Zain was released.

The novel would receive a manga adaptation courtesy of Takishita Nobuhide in 2019 and later that year, an anime adaptation by Revoroot aired from October 2019 to January 2020 and streamed worldwide on Amazon video.

The series is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

The series revolves around a public prosecutor named Seizaki Zen of the Tokyo District Public Prosecuto’s Office based in the newly created Shiniki district of west Tokyo, which is a testing ground for a new nation.

He and his partner Fumio Atsuhiko are investigating a pharmaceutical company promoting a defective drug after reports were leaked about falsified test results by university labs.

While investigating, when they visit the home of anesthetist, Inaba Shin, he is found dead.

They find a document and the document is bloodstained and features hair, skin and the document just has the letter “F” all over it.

This leads the two to investigate a plot involving the mayoral elections and that the Shinki population being manipulated to embrace a new legislation legalizing suicide.

Meanwhile, a mysterious woman is in the center of many deaths of people who have died of suicide, and when Zen’s partner, Fumio is found dead after talking with the mysterious woman, named Magase Ai, Zen discovers something much deeper but also much more evil than he expected during his investigation.

The series is actually quite smart and captivating from beginning to end.

The concept of suicide is something that is part of Japanese culture and unfortunately, the high numbers are no doubt tragic.

And while the investigation and the politics behind legalizing suicide is a big part of the series, there is also a horror/super natural element to this series as well. Which I don’t want to spoil.

But needless say, the series and watching Seizaki Zen and his team trying to complete this case and see how it starts to affect other countries is rather fascinating.

The series delves into a what if it was perfectly fine for one to kill themselves and suicide was made as normal and legal, similar to those who wanted marijuana legalized?

While I wished the series gave me some sort of closure, I hope perhaps the storyline continues, as Nozaki Mado can continue to explore the aftermath of what transpired in this series.

It’s a short series at 12 episodes and the ending was not what I would have expected.  But nevertheless, “Babylon” is a smart, entertaining anime series worth checking out!

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Click here to purchase on Amazon