Babylon

What is right? What is wrong? What is the meaning of good and evil? Public prosecutor Zen Seizaki and his assistant Atsuhiko Fumio were not expecting the dark turn their raid on a pharmaceutical company takes, when they come across a mysterious piece of paper covered in blood, hair, and skin. Scribbled beneath the stains is simply the letter “F”. Upon further investigation, they come across a concealed plot full of corruption and deceit as well as a deadly foe far beyond their wildest nightmares. Zen is forced to challenge his own sense of justice as he is sent spiraling down a rabbit hole of horror and despair.

Babylon is a wild ride of an anime. It’s story is dark and melancholic as we follow Zen on his journey to right that which is wrong and bring justice to those who were taken. The main villain is horrifying, their powers almost supernatural, as they manipulate those around them. The story is a debate on what is right or wrong, what is good and evil, and do people have the right to take their own lives or not. It asks us what would we do if we were faced with the prospect of losing someone close to us and if that choice was their’s to make, should we stop them.

The anime was very reminiscent of Monster and both the main protagonist and antagonist were very much like Tenma and Johan (my favorite anime villain by the way). I feel like the show really drew a lot of inspiration from it. It was the story of a force for good, standing up against pure, unadulterated evil and much like Tenma, Zen must decide what he will do in the end. Pull the trigger, or let the villain live?

I will say, however, that Johan is the better villain. In Monster, it was simply the idea of Johan that set you on edge. You felt the weight of him in every scene and when you finally saw him you were just as scared as the characters trying to stop him. In Babylon, the main villain doesn’t carry that same sense of impending doom because the characters are always expecting to see her standing two feet from them.

The animation was also quite well done. I loved the coloring used in every moment, how each scene was different depending on who was talking or who was in control. It shifted every time power changed hands and I found that very interesting.

The biggest issue I have with the show, is the ending. Unlike Monster, you are not given any real closure so it really starts to unravel near the end. It’s really unfortunate, because it was so amazingly written until then. It was almost like the writers didn’t know where to go with it and instead left you on a sort of cliffhanger. I was really hoping for a Monster style ending, where Zen would have to really think about what he would do, but he didn’t. Tenma was very focused on killing Johan, but in the end, he wound up saving his life because it was the right thing to do. The ending for Zen, our villain, and many others was so lackluster. It felt like they took the base template for Monster, but forgot about the import message it told. The end was more shock factor than substance. Anyway, I do recommend you watch it, but I would also warn that it heavily features suicide, in fact it’s the main focus of the show, so tread carefully.