Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

Characters The three main characters of Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens all have excellent design and shining personalities, however, only Xianming Ling got a legitimate backstory. The main protagonist and his rival were by far the most interesting of the bunch and even after the final episode we still don’t know much about them or how they came to be. Even with excellent pacing it’s hard to properly develop characters in a show that is only twelve episodes in length. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens did nothing to help itself by wasting two of the last four episodes with side action that added absolutely nothing to the story. Had the studio used this time to further develop either Banba or Saruwatari the show could’ve earned itself at least an average score in this category. In addition to the poor character development, the MC’s rival, Saruwatari, was introduced with a clear purpose that never really went anywhere throughout the show. While he was actually one of the more entertaining characters, he left without doing anything significant and really could’ve been left out of the show all together. Visuals Theres not much here to talk about in all honesty. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens’ production quality is run of the mill for a shounen in 2018. The animation of the action scenes was crisp and the more lax scenes had just enough detail to please the average viewer. Overall Score It would be an understatement to say that Satelight studios’ Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens had potential. The premise behind the show and the interesting universe full of assassins are enough to carry its viewers through episode twelve despite the many issues it faces. Even with it’s problems I would be quite excited for a reboot as long as the story and characters get properly fleshed out. Everything considered, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is an excellent and fun idea turned mediocre show with a slew of problems. Only put it on your list if you’re an anime vet scrounging the bottom of the barrell. 522/1000 Obvious but Somehow unnoticed Spider Trackers

First off, if you think this is a show about ramen noodles then nope, best looking elsewhere. It's a trap. The Hakata prefecture in Fukuoka was famous for its Tonkotsu ramen and looks like your regular city but it had its own underworld where 3% of its population were killers for hire. Some called themselves "avengers", people who can be hired to get revenge for their clients. Baseball loving Zenji Banba is a private detective out investigating a murder of a fellow detective who was murdered by a local hitman. As such, he also ends up being targeted for nosying around. Rash Lin Xianming on the other hand, is a highly skilled hitman who had sold himself off as a kid so that his family could live a better life. Now he was trying to buy his freedom back from a Taiwanese gang so that he can return home to his sister and ends up being assigned to the job. However, he refuses and decides to protect Zenji instead - at least, until he gets paid properly. Laid back Zenji goes with the flow and it just so happens Lin was part of the organisation he was investigating. When Lin's sister ends up abused and killed by the very same gang, they end up working together and Lin ends up seeing a different side of the underworld including a close encounter with the Niwaka Samurai, a hitman that kills hitmen. Background art's quite good at times while others they over diffuse the lighting so much they look overly blurred. Otherwise the overall quality of the show stays consistent even though it's not great. As far as presentation goes, I think the instrumental pieces of the OST is the best part of this show including the upbeat ending theme, "Dirty Bullet". I assume the show got it's silly name from Zenji's favourite food, instant Hakata Tonkotsu ramen which is about the only thing linked to ramen. As if the title itself wasn't enough to hint at it being a bit of a silly show about the life of underworld criminals, they throw in a cross-dressing hitman and a kind of superhero who goes around slaying hitmen just to be sure so don't expect a Black Lagoon. In a way it kind of reminded me of Samurai Flamenco because the characters all have the same silly, easy going personality as they fight crime dressed up except here, they're not playing superheroes or fighting the supernatural. Instead, it's mostly a group of criminals who end up being the good guys. This show can be a lot more violent too where people are mercilessly tortured or killed with lots of blood and some gore. Even then they can still laugh and joke as they are surrounded by corpses. Of course, you also end up with brief scenes involving the abuse and exploitation of ladies. It's not a show for the young audience that's for sure. Instead of going for your usual cast of cliche Anime personalities it feels like the show just tries to make all the main characters look cool with the only exception of Lin. It's a character driven show since it's fairly much lacking a main plot and for the most part you're watching how Lin finds a place in his new circle of friends. When the show's not busy slaughtering people it does have it's fun moments as the gang spends time playing baseball matches together or, when you watch the odd relationship between Zenji and Lin playout. Even though everyone's buddy, buddies some don't hesitate to sell each other out when their professional career in the underworld calls for it. Eventually you get some more insight into the character's pasts too. Well... One or two of them anyway. I think the show does a fair job of bringing characters together through coincidence with only 12 episodes to do it in although I don't know how faithful it is to the 8 volume light novel series. In that regard I think a show like Durarara or Baccano pulls it off much better with its alternating POVs and equally silly characters. Funnily enough the original author Chikai Kisaki did do a collaboration with Ryougo Narita, the author of those two titles at one point, "Durarara x Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens". If you like action character driven shows with a laid back cast and don't mind the underworld violence you might like this. There's the odd episode with extra scenes after the credits so don't miss out.

A great anime to pass the time and enjoy good entertainment. It's not tiring to watch and all the characters pleased me, even those that were not well explored by the director. The dynamics between the two protagonists was what pleased me the most. Lin was my favorite character because of his indifferent way and the same goal. Lin has developed a very solid partnership with Banba who, in turn, is an easy-going character. The story does not have a very well defined ending because the goal was more aimed at the development of Lin as a new member of the gang, but nothing that leaves the viewer dissatisfied.

As a underworld/mafia drama lover, I write this review mainly for fellow audience considering this anime due to its mafia setting or existence of multiple characters, who may come across Ramens due to its connections/ collaborations with other works such as Durarara. No non-biases guaranteed. In short, I find Ramens a relatively "idealistic" and "light-hearted" potrayal of the underworld (as opposed to others like Black Lagoon). This is a good show for pass-time, fun, light-hearted, (BL,) and perhaps, knowing slightly more about baseball and Hakata. However, it lacks depth for character and plot development, which is prevelant in underworld dramas involving multiple parties, reasons explained below. Story: 6 12 episodes are quite neatly divided into several arcs. No strong cause-and-effect relationships between arcs. However, the patterns are largely similar and strong hints to the story development are always given. Towards the later arcs, I gave up worrying for the protagonists even when they are emminent danger of betrayal/ death because of the repetitive and cliche pattern. Characters: 4 Try recalling the underworld animes (e.g. Black Lagoon, Jorumugand, Durarara), or even movies you watched, what pops up in your mind first? It is often not the plot, but the characters that impress audience the most. The soul of this genre of work often lies in the characters. Ramens is critically damaged and flawed in this respect. All characters I can recall at this moment are largely stereotypes, especially allies of the protagonists: typical loli, typical old man-with a-past-glory, typical innocent rookie, typical smartie pants, typical hotheads. Allies of the protagonists mainly stand in the background as "back-up" serving protagonists in respective professional fields such as hacking and medication, and by chance information sources. Lack of female characters' screen time, while proving Ramens' target audience is fujoshi, is unrealistic for a modern city like Hakata. Now back to the main characters, who supposedly have more screen time and development to be convincing. Bamba (possibly also tasked with baseball and Hakata tourism promotion) is composed yet humourous, the type of lead which many, including myself, enjoy to watch. Lin, supposedly a well-trained assassin, is the de facto female lead which shows characteristics conflicting with his profession. Dressed as a female (yet staying with a male voice) for unexplained reasons, Lin's abilities has more than once been compromised by the outfit. Heels he wore caused him to lose balance when the train suddenly stops, and twisted his ankle when he jumped out from the window. When protecting allies, Lin had also forgone to fight using his skills as an assassin/ fighter,and opted for the less effective method often used by female leads of other animes for no obvious reasons. I respect characters of different styles, but allowing style to get into the way of assassin's profession, where a slight mishap could cost life, is purely perplexing. The extremely strong bond between protagonists and their allies, while impressive and admirable, does not seem realistic for a world of outlaws. All characters never hesitated in siding with their own friends, despite threatened with death, in standing against politicians and mafia syndiciates. Ramen's alliance (centred around the main characters) has over 10 people (sufficient to monopolize Hakata underworld), always serves the protagonists but never maintains any organization structure or gives any interests. It solely relies on self-conscience and friendship, which is very ideal, but often stands so vulnerable to power, fame and money in the complexed world of reality, especially underworld. Can such pure alliance and trust exist in a world of outlaws, where even law is disregarded? Even if so, how such strong bonding came to centre around the protagonists is never explained in the story, thus failing to convince the audience. Enemies are less on par with the lead and their allies than expected. Minor: Although some screen time is given to the last boss, his tone is not strong enough to fully characterize a strong last boss with a unique mindset. (this is perhaps due to my own imagination of a stronger line for the boss) Art: 7 Generally fine. Action scenes are often neglected until the last 2 episodes. Sound: 8 Ending theme of pure jazz is great, bringing back reminiscence of Cowboy Bebop's OP, especially with the images shown as the song plays. Some piano arrangements of the Opening and Ending inserted towards the end of the arcs are pleasant, comparable to the kind of music performed live by a pianist at a hotel candlelit dinner. Rest of background music generally fits with the scene but does not stand out. Overall: 6 Biased with my expectation of a in-depth exploration of the underworld, I find the story cliche and unexciting, characters unrealistic and even perplexing. On the other hand, I do recognize its effort in music and some light-hearted comedies. Again, if you look for light pass-times, Ramens is a good choice, but it is the opposite if you are looking for in-depth potrayals of human interaction in underworld/ mafia.

I didn't want to rate this show an 8. I really didn't. But it's an absolute 8/10. This anime was an amazing watch and definitely one of my favourites, it just really suffers from only having twelve episodes.The story is good, the execution is really fun, the characters are all unique and likeable, the animation is fine, but it all went by way too fast. The anime is based on a currently still ongoing novel series, so there's no all conclusive ending to the show, instead, they had to find a place to satisfyingly end after 12 episodes, which they absolutely succeeded in. Unfortunately, this still leaves Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens without something to work towards over the span of these episodes. Rather, the series contains multiple small plots that get introduced and solved as the episodes go by. It's very, very fun, but is definitely not something profound. Except for Lin, all other characters don't seem to develop in any way, whether they are side characters or major characters in the story. This leaves the anime feeling like a compilation of anecdotes instead of a full story, which it is. In conclusion, the studio was challenged with creating a show based on a story that has no conclusive ending and did their best. The result is a rather entertaining and action-filled anime which leaves you wanting more, but which doesn't have any more to give. I gave it an 8/10 because I enjoyed it, but it is in no way groundbreaking.

I went into this not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. This anime has much to offer. It has hitmen doing their jobs. It has baseball. It has bro-ing out over ramen. It has mild mxm sexual tension. The premise: Lin is a hitman in a town full of hitmen trying to payoff his debt so he can return home and be with his mom and little sister.In this town there is a rumored hitman that kills other hitmen. Characters: : One of my favorite things is that we have a main character who is a cross-dresser that is treated like a human being and not a cardboard cut-out or comic relief. It's really refreshing. We get a few backstories that aren't forced in delivery. The development happens at a good pace and is believable. Pacing: The arcs of this show are on the shorter side but not so short that it follows the one episode per problem rule. It's balanced. The soundtrack: It's mostly jazz reminding us of cowboy bebop but it's not quite at the same level. regardless. it's a nice touch. This was just really entertaining and the dynamic between the characters was really fun.

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens. This anime was, very interesting because I love gore, death, and dismemberment as well as mystery, and asssassins. This anime was nothing short of amazing ha ha. And it actually made me laugh, because it had quite a bit of "dark humor" within in it. And that made me laugh. Well, most people would not find it funny, unless they were into dark humor. Only then would they find humor in such a comical anime like this one. A short anime, but the details within a particular anime such as this one are simply inrvaled. It's interesting. The fact that most of the main charcters stuck together proves to me that the work of team work is still ou there.

This show is complete mess. Wait! I didn't mean it. I mean, the main city of the story centered around, Hakata as you can see in the title. So how about Tonkotsu Ramens? I'm not going to spoil you much but it's the part of the story. OK, let me rate this with several points: 1. Story: Hakata is infamous city for being luxury and lot of different criminal business running rampant. There is also legendary man called "Niwaka Samurai" whose job is to murder the murderer. Mafia is also big part in this show. 2. Art: Good. Character design really suits the genre. Almost realistic. 3. Sound: Both opening song and ending song are great. The osts really suits the atmosphere of the show in several different scenes. 4. Characters: They are unique. You got crossdresser, detective, cool old man, hacker, thief, muscle guy, feminine guy, surgery doctor and even adorable yet smart little girl and many more The one thing that makes this show interesting is the jobs of the characters. There is business that usually called "revenge service". Curious for the detail? Then watch it... Despite all the seriousness, there is relaxing part where they play baseball regularly to forget all their jobs and stretching their body. Overall, if you like mystery, crime cases, dark side of the city or mafia then this show is recommended for you