Gangsta.

Episode 1-3

In the crime-ridden city of Ergastulum, Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown work as “handymen,” picking up jobs that neither the mob or police can handle. While taking out their targets one day, they rescue Alex Benedetto, a prostitute targeted by a local gang. After being brought into their home, Alex begins to acclimate to the two mysterious and dangerous men. They're good folks by Ergastulum's standards, and Alex already feels drawn into their lives. But how long can their interpersonal status quo last in a city this violent? How did Nic and Worick get into this line of work? And what do they have to do with the gangs of superpowered criminals who run the city?

Based on the manga by Kohske, Gangsta. can best be described as a cross between Ristorante Paradiso and DOGS: Bullets and Carnage – half European atmosphere fanservice, half ultraviolence fanservice, and all hot older dudes. Fujoshi stuff is generally associated with camp and bishonen (stuff like Uta no Prince-sama, Free!, and Black Butler) but there's also a subset who are into more beefy melodrama. Gangsta. belongs to this breed – Nic and Worick are fantasy caricatures of gritty, experienced men for a female audience. They have all of the sexy parts of being genetically enhanced mercenary gigolos – the promiscuity and washboard abs – but none of the scary ones – like hardened indifference towards the self-insert lead. If this sounds appealing, then Gangsta. is for you. Enjoy. If not, then the experience is more conditional. In its first three episodes, Gangsta. is a languid execution of a promising story in a rare subgenre.

First, there's the bachelors. Worick is the pair's smooth talker. The scion of a rich family, he's been Nic's “hostage” for the past 22 years. When they were both children, Nic, a child mercenary, murdered Worick's parents. The two have been on the run ever since. His attachment to Nic is more than casual – when a woman talks smack about him, Worick threatens to “add another gaping hole between her thighs.” Ouch. He's also been working as a prostitute since he was 13. Well, that's… nice?

By contrast, Nic is the team's muscle. Nic is also the best part of the show. Visceral and tight-lipped, he's a “twilight” – a person who gained heightened physical abilities by ingesting a certain drug. Recognized by their dog tags, twilights are feared and detested throughout the city. He's also something very rare for anime: a disabled person. He's deaf, to be precise. He speaks in certified, accurate Japanese Sign Language. (When he needs to, of course. Threatening to impale someone is crystal clear in every language.) When he does use his voice, it's a menacing, barely intelligible growl. He also wields a katana for no discernable reason. A lot of effort went into portraying Nic's JSL, but hands are not fun to draw, so this comes at a sacrifice. Most of the time, Manglobe employs anime's oldest trick for avoiding actual animation: lots of close-ups of faces and three-frame talk cycles. Considering Gangsta.'s clearly limited production, this may drag things down over time.

Alex is the weakest link. So far she's less of a character and more of an audience surrogate, since it looks like a romantic relationship might be brewing between her and Nic. The narrative doesn't treat her badly as a woman or a prostitute, but I'd rather she do more than gawk at Nic. (That's my job.) Her best moment is in the first episode, when she discharges a full clip of bullets into her abuser's dead body once she's been liberated. Hopefully we'll see more of this version of the character going forward.

Honestly, if it weren't for the main dudes, I'd have trouble getting invested in this story. Gangsta. is weakly plotted. The second episode is redundant to the first in establishing Worick and Nic as badasses with not-so-secret teddy-bear hearts. The art design is middling. The character designs are distinctive and pleasant, but the show's backgrounds repel the eye. Most scenes take place in dirty brown hallways. C'mon guys, this is supposed to be atmospheric. Play up the European exoticism! The animation also has its rough points. While characters look nice up-close, distant shots are usually off-model. I can overlook sloppy animation if the story and art are decent, but there's not much slack for me to cut here. Something has to improve.

The biggest issue, however, is the score. I usually don't touch on music in reviews, but Gangsta.'s is so strange that I have to bring it up. It almost sounds like there's only one track – a chill, minimalist piece. When that track isn't playing, there's dead silence, and that's half the runtime of any given episode. Of course, this wrecks the show's tone. It's like the visual direction is doing a fine job of saying, “this scene is harrowing, this one is sexy, this one is funny, etc.,” but the audio just isn't pulling its weight. I've never seen a show's score bring it down so badly. Give me sleazy jazz when they visit the brothel, something propulsive when Nic's beating up gangsters, just anything. Japanese hip-hop producer Tsutchie is credited for Gangsta.'s music, but he's only been a partial contributor to soundtracks in the past. While I like what I've heard of his tracks, he might not have the range to score a full production.

I'm looking forward to Gangsta. as a unique exception to a landscape filled with fanservice shows for men or more beautified fanservice shows for women. Its flaws are as intriguing as its strengths. The writing could go either way and the visuals are mostly unimpressive, but more than anything, I'm hoping for something distinctive by the end.

Well, maybe not more than anything…

Grade: B-

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.

Gangsta. is currently streaming on Funimation.