Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

It is hard to write a review on a anime with so much within its 26 episodes... but here goes... The story is amazing, there is deep, momentous very well-paced plot that keeps you clicking on the next episode every time. There is an extraoridinary amount of development with it's plot and a sense of great brotherly love. The art, is amazing. Since Rainbow (the manga) was written a while ago, there is a look and feel about it characteristic to that era,however, the animators for this series have successfully reinvented it while keeping it true to both the manga and the times, giving it a fresh feel and keeping it remarkably consistent. The sound is amazing. The opening and closing themes really connect with the viewer and I believe 'wraps' the while feel of the anime. The characters are one of the great highligts of the anime. Here is where we find the wealth of character development and extraordinary eyeopeners where the journey taken by the main protagonists really lets us have connections and favourites. Really developing each characters individual traits and personalities that lend so much wealth to the show, rather than making another weird psycopathic seinen throwaway anime. I enjoyed the series, I think that is very apparent from the review and I recommend it to anyone at all, because in truth, this series is a truly heartwarming story of a friendship, love and the conquering of insurmountable odds. 10/10

"Even 1% would be enough for me." -Mario Minakami Rainbow was a series I found completely by accident. Perusing the top anime on MAL I was surprised to see something I hadn't even heard of. It isn't necessarily popular, but most of those who have seen it seem to hold it in high regard. After having the pleasure of watching Rainbow, I can fully understand the praise that many hold for it. A slight disclaimer is to be had though, don't expect many victories in Rainbow. Shows like this and Kaiji focus more on preserverance and the ultimate test of will to send a powerful message to its viewers than relying on lighthearted comedy or fanservice. It is certainly a poignant tale, and is one that will leave you with a strong sympathy for the characters it follows. Rainbow, produced by the infamous Madhouse follows the lives of seven delinquents sent to a detention center in Japan sometime after World War II. Right away I was intrigued by the uniqueness of the setting. It felt rather refreshing to become immersed in a world so different than our own, where a country was riddled with foreigners and was trying to get back on its feet after the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. It really puts the entire story into perspective when you know the fragility of the populace. The on-edge vibe that the passengers aboard the bus in the opening sequence gave towards the prisoners being transported to juvenile detention really hit the nail on the head. At one point, one of the future protagonists attempts to return a stuffed animal dropped by a small child and is berated and ridiculed by the child's mother for doing so. It just immersed the setting in a cold, apathetic veil that spoke volumes. Rainbow held nothing back in its depictions of the beatings and mistreatings the 7 of them went through in their time at the detention center. There were brutal beatings, forced suicides and sexual assaults among the horrendous acts committed by the faculty members within the reformatory. Nothing is left unsaid with regard to the malpractice going on in the Shonan Special Reform school. The characters in Rainbow are all unique and justifiable in their own way. I am grateful that Madhouse decided to slate the series for 26 episodes vice 12 or 13, because I don't think the proper amount of development could have gone into 7 different characters with that few of episodes. Initially the group was on guard and rather stand-offish towards one another, but grew closer due to the constant struggles they underwent in the juvenile detention center. Sakuragi, the eventual leader of the outcasts served as the ultimate pariah, and often took the beatings for the group's wrongdoings. When I said there aren't many victories to expect, the first half of the series really emphasizes this. Thrown into literal squalor, the 7 delinquents all vary in personality and background, which makes their assimilation all the more interesting. You have a Hiroshima survivor, a thief and an almost innocent soul who all end up in the same figurative undertow, and their treatment can make more squeamish individuals cower in nausea. Unfortunately I can't help but come to the realiztion that their treatment was relatively common in those days. If you do a little research back to the 40's, Japan was so fragile that you could break souls of the populace by touching them. Everyone was on edge from defeat, and being an American gave me an interesting perspective while watching the show. I've seen retrospective anime before, but few truly illustrate the environment better than Rainbow does. It's truly an immersive experience. I won't give too much away when it comes to the plot, but what I will say is that it brought a grown man to tears. There are many powerful, emotional moments in this series, and some that truly left me at a loss for words. And it is truly a tale of two halves. The first half is dark and treacherous, while the second offers a glimmer of hope, personified by the golden finch that flies about in the show's OP. The second half almost seemed like a different anime entirely, but it was warranted based on how the characters were treated in the first half. Truly showing how a detention center can shape one's mind, the kids in Rainbow had a difficult time adjusting to society upon leaving the institution. I kept saying when the show was elapsing, “why aren't more anime like this?” Too many times, shows rely on stale comedy, recycled ideas and perverted ecchi to get their views. The industry is starting to become watered down and are losing their charm. Diehard fans really need more shows like Rainbow to instill a sense of hope for future anime. The cast of Rainbow is actually rather small, considering there are 7 main protagonists. Among the main protagonists, Mario was by far my favorite, and he received more depth than anyone. His history, and emulation of Sakuragi was uncanny and really made you root for him. It's often said that desperation brings out the best in people, and in Mario's case this is true. To respect someone enough to have your own body crippled in return for their salvation speaks volumes for your character. Having the friends of a lifetime also helps though, as Mario's fellow cell mates rose from the ashes together. I loved watching the stories of Turtle and Joe unfold. Joe was so desperate to reunite with his sister that it seemed his persistence for stardom was more for her than him. He was a selfless sould who sell his own body if it meant he could one day see his sister again. I also enjoyed seeing some backstory on Uncovered, since his eventual cooperation was what saved Sakuragai from dying within the confines of the facility. I can definitely relate with his struggles being dirt poor. I grew up not knowing where my next meal would come from, and sometimes we end up hurting those we love the most out of confusion and frustration. I wished more development would've existed with Soldier, as he was the only major character without an episode or two devoted to him in the second half, but with a 26 episode limit, somebody had to get slighted. Ishihara, the main guard of the detention center assigned to the 7 delinquents certainly did his best to act the part. There are few characters in anime I have ever wanted to rip through the screen and strangle... but Ishihara definitely takes the cake. There were small issues I had with the rest of the cast, including the PTSD Turtle experienced so late after the events at Hiroshima. Granted I'm not a medical expert, but it seemed awful convnient for his symptoms to start right when his dual episode after story was due to air. Also, I'm curious as to what kind of doctor would be able to repair a disintegrated hand so flawlessly and allow him to fight full strength in a boxing match in such a short amount of time. Not to mention the fact that this anime took place in the 1940's. Nevertheless, these are just minor issues, and nothing to change my overall opinion of the show. Ok, we can all admit that Rainbow's OP is incredible. There is a running playlist of anime music I have on youtube which I rarely add to, but I definitely made an exception for this song. The lyrics cried in angst, redemption and hopefulness, and I loved the way it opened each episode. The ED was also really powerful in its own right, and I urge you to look up the lyrics for it. There wasn't much else in the anime as far as music is concerned, but not much felt out of place. One thing I will mention is the random reiteration of the OP song with a still image of scenery after each time the OP plays. I've never seen this in an anime, and I still don't quite understand why it existed. Minor complaint, but odd nonetheless. I've been flippant when it comes to English voice acting in subbed anime before, and I won't hold my tongue for Rainbow either. Voicing a white American with an obviously incorrect voice makes me cringe. Can we stop doing this already? Those of you that have se…

This anime prove that the anime and manga are an art in itself and can challenge all persons denying this fact. This anime is a masterpiece. First, talking about the opening, it’s beautiful, the lyrics are beautiful, the instrument smashes, and what I liked the most in this opening is the metaphor linked to Canary : our 7 inmates compared to canaries in the series, here I can see is that even the bird emblem of the freedom of its wings from heaven, the free world to land on barbed wire, prison, detention, as our hero and eventually fly away and returns to the free world that is the Sky, so yes this opening spoil the story but on predictable things. This is the story of six prisoners, young prisoners, all jailed for stupid reasons, they can recall our Jean Val Jean (Hero of the miserable masterpiece of Victor Hugo), imprisoned for stealing bread, it's a bit like that for our protagonists. These six young men, these six kids encounter in this reformer , their eldest and with him the prison violence provided by prison guards and all human faces, and together face adversity that it will come out, the friendship between men, that is all that remains to them and they therefore form any strong links especially around Anchan (Their oldest). Besides the serious story, sad and full of injustices, as the past character I loved this universe all are important, even if their past painful it is participating in the construction of their personality, you need to know what feeling, or that we learn the ugly past of our favorite character and we're disgusted to him we would not have wanted him to live that but at the same time without this painful past it wouldn’t be our favorite character, and although there it is this feeling multiplied by seven, seven times this frustration is that you dove into the universe and that is the strong point of the series, the character development. So this anime deserves a big 10/10 and even will deserve more. Personally, I would say it’s one of the best anime I've seen any category, it is so real and so human. It’s a great mix of emotion, struggle and drama. This anime will for sure make you cry (It made me cry several times,seriously get a Kleenex box if you watch it XD), so real, so earthly cruel, so true, so touching, so captivating that you mustn’t skip it.

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin is a historical drama written by Abe George. The anime adaptation was handled by Madhouse with the adaptation writing handled by Takayashiki Hideo. It hasn't been that long since I watched a Madhouse production, with April's look at One Outs being the last. This is an anime I've never really heard anything about and, given that Madhouse's quality varies significantly, I can't begin to predict how this might rate. We'll just have to take a look and see. Story: The narrative opens with six men, faces obscured by hoods, being taken on a bus ride with an armed guard. They arrive at a reform school where they're going to be kept locked up for a couple years. They're locked in a cell with another boy named Sakuragi, who they quickly grow to respect. The boys get along, but all is not well. The Reform school has some disturbing secrets that they're going to have to either overcome or learn to survive in spite of. I'll start with the negative aspect. Yes, that is negative singular. The story has a narrator. That isn't bad in and of itself, but the problem lies in the execution. Mainly, the narrator doesn't really do anything. You're probably expecting me to give the old “show don't tell” line, but the series does both. The narrator will tell you how a character is feeling after the narrative itself has made that information clear. She'll also summarise plot points that the narrative has either just covered or is about to. As such, the narrator just ends up being redundant and pointless. One thing I really appreciate about Rainbow is the handling of dark subject matter. It's all too common for this kind of content to be used for cheap shock value, angst or in an otherwise superficial way by a writer trying to be “mature and edgy” while possessing less maturity than your average twelve year old. In this series, the dark content is uncomfortable and can be very hard to watch because it's handled so well. The series deals with a realistic portrayal of the very worst of humanity and with how to respond to it. I also like that the characters don't find easy resolutions. Instead, they deal with these situations as best as they can and, sometimes, they fail in spite of it. When a new problem comes up you never know if the resolution is going to be tragic, bittersweet, or triumphant but you can count on it having verisimilitude. The uncertainty does help the story stay compelling. I also like the way the narrative flows. It progresses very naturally from one situation to the next while giving you ample time to adjust and wind down before entering into the next conflict. Characters: The characters in this are superlative. The main characters are all good people, but far from perfect. They falter. They make mistakes and they do things that they shouldn't. Their mistakes and problems all make sense for their characters, which makes the conflicts resulting from them feel very natural. They're complex characters who develop and grow throughout the series. It never feels forced nor contrived. Even the antagonists feel like actual people. Terrible people mind you, but not exaggeratedly evil or cartoonish. The character interactions are spectacular. The seven main protagonists have a really strong camaraderie dynamic and they play off of each other very strongly. I do like that the main characters never cross the moral line. They do some things that are illegal, but it's always understandable. Sometimes, it's even the right thing to do. At their very worst, their actions are well intentioned but misguided which does happen to good, moral people quite frequently. Art: The art is very good with some nice details and memorable character designs. The creepy scenes with dark content are animated in a way that highlights how horrible what's happening is. The biggest problem with it is the strange coloured effect they like to use during freeze frames. It would work well if they used it rarely for emphasis, but it pops up far too much for it to work in that capacity. Consequently, it quickly starts to feel like a measure to save on the animation budget instead of like an aspect that's doing something. Sound: The vocal cast is stellar. Our seven protagonists are played by Paku Romi, Koyama Rikiya, Fujiwara Keiji, Kuroda Takaya, Hasome Tatsuya, Oguri Shun & Waki Tomohiro. The last three of whom I have not heard in much, if anything, aside from this. All of them do deliver very strong performances. As do the minor and secondary characters. This is also one of the few times I've seen an anime where they have American characters speak English with an American accent. Usually when you have characters who are supposedly foreign they still have pronounced Japanese accents. The music is pretty good. Most of the time it's barely noticeable, fading into the background. The big exceptions are moments that are quiet otherwise and the scenes where Jou sings. The music does work well for those moments. Ho-Yay: Rainbow does touch on homosexuality, primarily with one of the antagonists who does not buy into the idea of consent. You could probably read it into some of the relationships among the main seven as well, but I really see their dynamics as more of a strong camaraderie. So, the ho-yay factor is a 3/10. Final Thoughts: Rainbow: Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin is an excellent series. It's a complex work that handles dark content maturely, which is sadly rare with dark works. The cast is excellent, both in terms of characters and vocally. The biggest problem with the series is the pointless narrator and it's really not a huge issue. That being said, it does have some very chilling depictions of sexual abuse and violence. If that's going to be triggering or hugely upsetting for you, you're probably going to want to steer clear. My final rating is going to be a 9/10. Next week, get your popcorn ready. It's time for films.

What exactly is friendship? Are your friends more important to you than your family? What are you willing to go through for a friend? Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (for the rest of the review the anime will be referred to simply as Rainbow) focuses on friendship, as well as several other themes based around friendship, such as humanity, morality, violence, love, family etc. This is my review: Story - Rainbow is a tale about seven inmates in a special reform school who grow closer with the increased time they spend together. All seven of them are there for committing several crimes which shaped these very different yet very similar individuals. From the opening moments of the first episode right through to the last scene of the last episode I was hooked. The show grabbed me and forced me to sit down and watch what happened next. Rainbow is brutal, mature, dark and at times depressing. But I was surprised at how light the show can get at certain points, from the funny banter between the seven inmates to the way they overcome obstacles by relying on each other and their bond. The tone shifts from time to time but Rainbow manages to keep the shifts fluid and smooth. For me, Rainbow had two highlights, and the story was definitely one of them. The writing was well done because the show didn't come off as melodramatic and managed to feel really inspirational at certain points and there were more twists than one would expect from a show like this. Characters - I mentioned that the show had two aspects that really stood out. The characters were the second aspect. These were really cool guys. They were bad ass but they were portrayed in such a sympathetic way that you would root for all of them, sort of like multi-layered anti-heroes. The story was really amazing but I really enjoyed seeing the guys react to the situations they found themselves in. Character driven stories always work when it's executed properly. Like I said their friendship is an intricate part of the story. It is tested time and time again. It's wonderful to see selfless friendship like the one showed here. If you have a best friend or an entire "entourage" that you'll take a bullet for you'll know what I'm talking about. Two characters took a back seat to the others sometimes but that didn't detract from how enjoyable Rainbow was. Sound - The voice acting was fantastic with each character sounding like they ought to. It is a lot more difficult to illustrate chemistry between animated characters than live-action characters but once again Rainbow manages to pull it off. There are a couple of bonuses available in the form of short clips with some the show's shows voice actors and I must say I really found new respect for seiyuus. The OP is probably not for everyone. A heavy metal track will turn some off but in my opinion it fitted well with the tone and atmosphere of the show. Listen to it and you'll know what to expect. The rest of the OST wasn't very bad and after listening to "A FAR OFF DISTANCE" I just had to get it on my phone. Art - Rainbow's art is really good. I'm not an artist so I don't know how to explain it in detail but it's not too shabby. The art is very realistic like seinen should be. There are no alterations to characters' facial expressions for Japanese slapstick and like the voice acting, the art of each inmate fits to their personality and who they are. Enjoyment - A part of me wishes that I didn't see Rainbow because after watching it, it'll be hard to find another series that will be able to top the standard Rainbow set. The story is brutal and violent, but also sincere and inspirational. The characters are extremely likeable and their relationship can get one emotional. Lump in throat emotional. The voice acting and soundtrack sound great and the art is beautiful. George Abe and Masumi Kakizaki really managed to create a distinctive style here. Rainbow is a fantastic character driven story chronicling the lives of seven inmates who became best friends. The show is not for the weak of heart but please give it a try, you'll be surprised how much you love it. 10/10 Who said anime was just for kids?

We as Americans have a different sort of drama preference. And of all these preferences, there is one that sticks to my mind. Shawshank Redemption, Prison Break, Green Mile, all these fantastic dramas have one thing in common: prison. Prison is naturally going to pull American viewers in, but why, I don't know. Perhaps its the despair people feel when they are stripped of everything, even their dignity, and how they struggle to survive in their hostile environment. Or maybe its the strong bonds created through prisoners holding on to hope by sharing it with prisoners who understand the pain and sorrow. Whatever the case may be, Rainbow is nothing short of a great prison drama. The story follows six youths sent to prison for multiple different reasons. After being violated by the prison doctor Dr. Sasaki and assulated by the psychotic guard Ishihara, they are thrown into a prison sell with a man named Sakaragi. After picking a fight with him and epic-ly losing, Sakaragi and the boys begin to build an unbreakable bond as they struggle to survive, since underneath the surface a horrible secret is being kept by Dr. Sasaki and Ishihara that Sakaragi knows, and if they let him escape alive it would them who are prison. The story is quite graphic and harsh, and may take a mature person to watch. Other than that, the story does wonders in the drama category providing very touching moments as well as tragic. However, every dram should have comic relief, and although Rainbow has it, its very minimal in comparison to the point where it becomes very depressing. This is not a big deal, however, since its so dramatic. Now, the show slows down a little early in the second half, but this doesn't mean it lacks any nice moments. The art is very nice and has an old-fashioned feel to it for me. Its very clean and simple, and dark tones are used throughout in order to intensify the "darkness" of the story. The soundtrack was a bit weird for me. The BGMs were the main reason. It didn't really match with the story for me, and although they were nice by themselves, for some reason it ruined the mood for me. HOWEVER, the OP and ED are a completely different story. The OP was badass, and during the chorus you instantly get a feel of sorrow and almost a foreshadowing of what's to come. The ED sends you off in a way that says that they are "never givin' up", and the vocals themselves leave a singer like me pissed off for being as sucky as I am. The characters are phenomenal. Each character (except for Soldier...) has a big part somewhere in the show, and back stories are explained nicely. Honestly, there isn't anything to complain about, it was a superb job. This show is a personal favorite of mine is a must-see for drama seekers looking for a different kind of drama. Rainbow pulls the curtain off a hidden reality of crudeness and evil in the world, and how, ironically, the young men in prison struggle against it despite their differences in power and wealth. Its truly a great show, and I highly recommend it.

10's all around, I'm not the most advent anime watcher but I have seen my fair share and this by far was the best. First of the character's and plot is absolutely amazing. Each of the main cast gets plenty of development and actually feel like real people instead of just walking stereotypes. By the end of the anime, you care about each one of the characters so much, that you feel as if they were you own brothers. Pretty much it contains everything that is good about anime without falling into many of the pot-holes. There are "gooder than good" characters but they actually have to suffer because of it just like people have to suffer in real life for sticking to their morals. Women in this show are actual real people instead of just being glorified eye-candy. The supporting cast has their own ambitions and goals instead of just following the main character around like a flock of idiots. As far as the art goes, its a little bit old school but that just adds to the charm if you ask me. The only thing i rated under a 10 is the music which i put at a 9, however it's anything but bad. Truly outstanding anime which I have not seen a the like of ever.

This show is a tease, with bait so delectable that you can't think twice when you dive for it. You have 6 mysterious characters who have caused some sort of mayhem to be sent to prison. Are some of the characters wrongfully accused? Are some of them actual madmen? You have this dark setting to go along with scenes that are mostly visual, the animation tells the story. I was thinking to myself how brilliant it was, the possibilities of what they could do. Then 15 minutes passed, and, review below The 6, which is now 7 characters are good guys. Not Protagonists, but good guys, meaning they will risk their lives for anything at the drop of hat in a 5 second encounter with a stranger . I was expecting the main guys to be more dimensional, some would be cowards, some are desperate scum, one could actually have a lust for hurting others, and one could be generic nice guy that realizes reality isn't as kind. However, everything in this show is black and white. The 7 of them form an immediate bonding friendship for life, and the thought of characters learning about each other is sort of ruined by the narrator. This show is just 20 minutes of Bro! Bro! Anchan! Bro! Anchan! With all of their crimes being justified by how overly cruel their obstacle was. The "Survival of the fittest," motto they shoved at us was nulled by their friendship, and for some reason most of the episodes take place after their prison release. 7 characters in prison? That's enough material for 26 episodes. Story- Not bad, 7 people in prison that must deal with all the cruelty that comes. Art- Very grainy, dark, and somewhat detailed. Not bad for what the show was going for, or trying to go for Sound- Not much music, which is sometimes good. Great for this show, but the few songs were very intense sounding, and not to my taste. Characters- These characters are very boring. They don't offer anything new or creative, and in this kind of setting, that's where most of the focus should have been on. How they deal with their new life, and mostly, each other. But we're granted with preachy, goody kids that were just in a pickle of a situation, and made a mistake. A mistake the anime tries to justify so hard. It's like if someone stole an apple for his starving village that's about to be flooded. Some characters can be nicety nice nice, but there should have been more variety. Have some depth, and insight on pathetic scum who would abandon people to save self or others who just enjoy causing others pain. It's a lot more interesting then mindless Yugioh friendship drones. Oh the villain is my favorite character. They made them as ugly, sinister, creepy, and crazy as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave them razor sharp teeth, and nervous twitches oh wait. In most cases, these villains would be very boring, but they're so over the top that it seems like a parody. One of them is the prison doctor who gets his sexual desires out of alien probing younger kids. The other is an asshole, because he's an asshole, and that's it. That's the villain, no second thought if it's actually the warden or the inmates who are good. Very black, and white. The characters, and their actions could have been more controversial. Bro! Anchan! Enjoyment- I did not enjoy it as much as I wanted. Not the worse. The shock value flash backs in it were indeed shocking. And it's just so interesting on how crazy the warden is. Aside from the good guys, it was ok. Overall- This show is below most shounen. Even Naruto for a time went to a grey route, and showed that justice is in the eyes of the beholder. Good, and Evil all comes down to how the individual feels. Those shows, however, can get away with being bland, and preachy, because that's just how shounen animes are. Not to mention they're in a fantasy world where things run differently. I'm not 100% sure what Rainbow was going for, but if it was trying to give us a look on life back then, it didn't pick the right people.

Never have I seen an anime so realistic that touches every aspect of the real world. With a great story about the true meaning of friendship, this anime is not one you want to miss. Story- Amazing story that goes into great details of all the characters life. The plot is so good that you really want to know how things turn out. Is a great story about friendship and how far will you go to achieve your dreams. I never seen an anime touch on things that goes on in the world, in a very realistic way expectially for an anime. I didn't expect that and it does it with style. Art- looks great, fits perfectly for what it was going for. Sound- The sound effects is pretty good, the music is great and is the perfect theme song for this anime. The sound it used for all scenes were done perfectly. Character- The characters were all my favorite. All the main characters were great, the character development is so good that you actually care for them and relate to them because of what they are going through. I don't have just one favorite I like them all, great characters overall with great antogonist that is so good at being bad you just want to hate. Enjoyment- I enjoyed this anime a lot. Is one of my all time favorites and I will rewatch it because of it. I highly recommend this to any anime fans.

An unbelievably touching, feel-wrecking, gripping anime. Rainbow is amazingly well done, scenes are perfect, the art is very colorful and detailed, the Characters are all unbelievably deep and there´s practically an arc for each one, the animation is very fitting, fluid and realistic, the storyline is never boring, the amazing moments give me goosebumps everytime. This anime is definitely a masterpiece. I´d say it´s even better than steins;gate but Steins;gate is still my Number 1, only because Rainbow doesn´t hype me just as much. Otherwise, this would be at #1. This seemingly neverending tragic story, the beautiful friendship of the main characters, the really "fucked up" moments even, the courage and fighting spirit that all of the characters show and the amazing moral and wiseness this story brings make this anime truly spectacular. The fact that the story is based on actual happenings in said time, makes it even more incredible. 10/10 easy. Definitely a must-watch.

i'm done with this title and i'm a bit perplexed about it, and by that i mean how to feel about this series. i'm gonna be blunt, i've seen a lot of 10/10s for rainbow so this time i'm taking it upon myself to bring a more realistic & logical view on it because in this title's case, you can't really depend on most of the mal or rainbow's fan group to convey a significant outlook on a series if they base their experience only on enjoyment and a bunch of cool guys. this one could've well been a masterpiece and it's because of the concept first & foremost. six guys, different backgrounds, they share the 2-6 cell and they get close to the guy who would soon become the best of friends. seven of them, enduring brutal suffering and humiliation by the corrupt people of the facility. will they make it through their time there and what kind of life awaits them on the other side? this is a show that i randomly stumbled upon because i was looking what to see next, and the premise of it got to me. i'll describe the positives before the negatives. storytelling. it had a narrative approach to it but in the way that could actually immerse you into the world of rainbow, it felt lowkey personal at times but this could vary from person to person. music, great ost, very memorable in general. it really doesn't miss its mark. animation. animation has come a long way through time and i've learned to appreciate all styles and depths of it. this one was made by madhouse, and they really knew what they were doing with this one. but it isn't just about how it looks, it's about how well it fits with the nature of a series like this, that you don't really see often, an anime centered mostly in prison, about the guys from that prison. the characters. the plot of rainbow is mainly character-driven, so they're basically the core of the series. there is meaning to each one of the seven's character aside from only their personalities, hence why the series is named rainbow. but what does that make sakuragi, the actual heaven? that's at least how i deal with this though. the bad parts. this show takes itself way too seriously which leads to over-emotion. it's just too emotional at times when it doesn't need to be, and by this i'm taking a fully logical & realistic approach to it. it's really not that serious sometimes. second. i'll tell you the reason why this title has such a high mean score. it's because some cool guys befriended another cool guy and their bond became impenetrable through events that follow. rainbow focuses way too much on the main cast, making it cool & appealable that it forgets about other things. the pacing is rather displeasing. because how are you gonna lump 6 strangers in a prison cell with another guy and they suddenly become like a family in a day or two? it doesn't work like that. things happen way too fast and leave you with questions that will never get answered. the second half was decent though. there is too much importance put on ONLY the main cast that the side events or even characters just lack any form of logic behind them. that goes for the first half though. if you don't pay attention it won't be immediately obvious to you but it's an absolute turn-off having to watch the side events unfold with some half-assed logic and sometimes the price that has to be paid with it takes a monumental shift with the mood of the series & the actual plotline. overall, this was at least an above average or fine experience, summing up my enjoyment factor, how much this series wants to appeal to you, especially because it's a seinen and my assessment of concept & quality-control. and that's the kind of score i'm giving it.

''What is life without happiness?'' -Rokurota Sakuragi Rainbow is a story of friendship. How friendship can grow through hardship in an era were everything was going wrong. This is rainbow. A heartwarming,sad, but at the same time an optimistic anime about life. Rainbow as a story was really good made and developed. Although at the time you are watching it you will say at specific times that the story can't go on, the anime continues in a magical way where the story won't get exaggerated or dull. Rainbow's story had only two flaws. First of all they should have one story at least for Soldier as he was the only character that he didn't have his own story arc. Yet he was my favorite character. Also with the exception of Joe, Turtle and Sakuragi we didn't learn anyone else background story. And it was a pity really because it would be really interesting. But overall rainbow is an anime that displays friendship in a harsh time were a good friend was the most important thing in the world and it manages to display it really good. In the animation department I have to say one thing: Madhouse. So yeah enough said I believe. The sound was also amazing. The opening was a song performed by Coldrain a famous Japanese rock band and it had a really deep meaning about the anime. The ending was performed by Galneryus one of my favorite Japanese bands and even though I don't like so much their ballads it was a heartwarming song that left you with a bittersweet feeling every time an episode ended. And now for the characters. In one word they were amazing. From Mario and Joe to Cabbage and Soldier every person in this anime had their own problems and demons inside them. But no matter what they have to deal with, their friendship was the most important thing for them. You will see huge character development from the time that the kids are inside the prison but also the time after they came out of there. From he start until the end the anime was built solely on character development. So what is friendship? And how far would you go for your friend? This is the question that rainbow asks. This anime made me laugh, cry, love, hate and live through its characters. Sometimes it may drug it's story a lot but then it will regain your interest again with it's adorable characters. It's a unique anime way different from what we are used to. A must watch for me. Hope they would made more anime like this.

this anime made me cry, lol. this is the only anime that touches my heart. it's awesome, their bond is their treasure, at first, i didn't expect that this is going to be an epic anime, I thought it was lame and gay, but after the first episode I was totally hooked. I'm not a fan of drama anime, This is the only anime that made me like drama genre. If you haven't watched it yet, go watch it now, it's the best anime I've watched in a long time.

I'll start saying that I chose this series as my personal project in my fansub group; each admin had its share and I picked up Rainbow. I had never saw anything about it neither read the manga, but the sinopsis and the promotional pic hooked me up immediately. The 2010 april season was full of "pink" anime and Rainbow looked like some serious "blue" matter; and since I'm a huge fan of shounen, I couldn't lose this opportunity to introduce some "manliness" into my team mates and followers. Right before start the translation process, I picked up the first three manga episodes and read them in a rush: I died! Not only the story was raw and cruel, the things that characters had to suffer touched my heart. There I remember I thought "My gosh, I could have done a great choice this time". Story: 9/10 The story's premise is simple: six teenagers, all of them involved in some criminal action (generally, because very good or desperate reasons), are imprisoned into Shounen Reformatory, a juvenile prison full of injustices and abuses. There, the self-centered boys meet their senpai, a guy older than them that has been imprisoned for a whole year by now. He teaches them a lesson since he considers them as "a bunch of monkeys", and then the kids fall in love with this guy. He becomes their light in that dark path, and even after they leave the facility he continues illuminating their lives. The story can be divided into two different arcs: the first 12 episodes inside the facility, and 14-26 which portrays their lives outside. What made this story so special to me was the rawness of the things they have to stand and the strenght every character depicts once they understand what camaraderie is truly about. Also, the feeling you have in some parts of the story is certainly creepy: when you start to think these kids can't be more disgraceful, something even worse happens to them. The reformatory's pests, the very nasty doctor Sasaki and his henchman the guard Ishihara, makes boys' lives a living hell; but they manage to survive to live after through the most important thing they learn in prison: the bond of friendship. What I disliked of this anime is the speed that sometimes risks to ruin it all. Some characters are not explored as much as others and you can get the feeling that they didn't have any development. Since they're quickly introduced to you, you can guess which kind of personality each one have. That could have been better, I like to discover characters while the story's going on. Some plots were easy to guess too, in counterpart to the well-planned others. Art: 9/10 The animation is one of the best I've seen. The high contrast between the dark scenes in the reformatory and the "pure air" you can breath in the outside world really makes you feel the difference between one and another. The use of static scenes, with textured, alternative colours, was one of the big achievements, it gets you some strange feeling. You can think and consider the action scene you just seen with this "stop" pics. The character design is something I liked very much. They're not highly handsome boys, even girls are not exaggeratedly pretty and don't even mention villains, they're all quite disgusting, but that helped to keep the anime into a "normal" state of things. It helped me to keep the characters into a realistic view. The animation is sublime and goes very well with the design. Sound: 10/10 This is an absolute. The BGM has to be one of the most accurated I've had the pleasure to listen. Every song has its moment and they transmit a very particular feeling. The voices are great. Every character has personality and mood swings, pretty real mood swings. The best work in my opinion goes for Rikiya Koyama, seiyuu for An-chan, and Shun Oguri as Mario. The opening is brutal, an awesome way to start every episode; the ending has been made to get you all cheesy, because when the episode ends, you want to cry just because of the song! Character: 9/10 Rokurota, or An-chan, is far away the best character of the whole bunch. A young, troubled man who has learnt to live looking forward, a character with a huge heart and street wisedom that fights every single day to find a bit of happiness in this dark world. He's pretty well developed and is easy to feel him as a natural leader while he guides the boys through that dark path. Mario is a character that also developes himself very satisfactorily. He starts as the others, a punk with nothing to live for, but in the end you have realized, as you walk this difficult path beside him, that he's the most sweet, kind boy of all. Noboru (Turtle/Suppon) is a tiny thing, a very irritating kid that finds himself through hard lessons. Another success among the characters. Ryuuji (Uncovered/Baremoto) is perhaps the most predictable of them. He's very selfish and greedy and makes a lot of mistakes during the series, but also has a good heart and it makes up for it. Tadayoshi (Soldier/Heitai) was and is my personal favourite among the six boys, and I'm frankly disappointed because he didn't had his spot. His crime, life and personality are easy to guess, but I'd certainly liked to learn a little bit more from him. Mansaku (Cabbage) is the classic friendly giant; I'm sure his crime was made because a very stupid mistake. He earns your heart with his calm mood and kindness. Jyou (Joe) is the pretty boy. I was afraid to see him develop into some kind of predictable crybaby, but in the end proved to be the rudest of all and the most crazy kamikaze. In the end, I was pretty satisfied with every character (even the supporting ones, they have crappy lives also), except the mentioned Soldier's abstinence. The northamericans portrayed in this series are kinda weird, a bit forced, but they fulfill their duty: as the "enemies", the boys learn to see them as persons as well. Enjoyment: 10/10 I found myself enjoying every single episode. None of them left me with a disappointment feeling: in exchange, I died to see the next. I dropped tears of joy and sorrow with every trial the kids had to overcome, with every reunion, with every tragedy. Despite of the mentioned predictable plots, the resolution of each conflict touched my heart in a powerful, strong way. It moved me into tears more than once. Overall: 10/10 Though I've written the few things I disliked, I can't give this series a lower rating. It just won a place in my heart in its entire form. I loved every single piece of it, even the mistakes or the predictable stuff, because the teaching it gives to you is so moving that I feel I didn't waste my time watching it: the lesson of friendship, the lesson of hope, all of that prepacked with an exciting old-school flavour and, more importantly, manly tears!!

For almost a decade and half I didn't watch this anime because the thumbnail was deceiving. I thought "this looks like just a little juvenile detention show of delinquants"....boy I was wrong. The entire series does NOT occur inside a prison(only the 1st half). This was a plesant surprise that added a huge depth. BE WARNED. The 1st half of the show is NOT like the 2nd half. The first half is concentrated, mature and grim. This 1st half is almost a masterpiece!! The problem is that the 2nd part of the show is completely different. It transforms itself into many "short stories" which are infantile and self-contained and its not 13 more episodes of 1 story building upon itself...no. It becomes cheesy 1-2 episode story-arcs with infantile writing. Don't get me wrong , its not horrible but its a complete slap. Its almost an another type of show now. I finished it because I couldn't stop...I had fell in love with the characters of the first 13 episodes....but there was no payoff...Had the 1st half been like the 2nd half, I wouldve skipped the show. Its like the writing in the 1st half was for adults and the 2nd half was for children. This anime was a strong 9/10 and then turned into a generic 6/10 with average to below average story. I still recommend this anime but if you absolutely adored the 1st half and expected it to continue...you will find yourself with a different show by the end but with the same characters. Had the entire season been like the 2nd half, I would've given this show a 5/10. Not worth watching. The first half is a strong 9/10 though. Its really interesting, one of a kind mature story.

The reviews for this show praise it MASSIVELY, and from reading them you would think this anime is a message from the messiah or something. Well, the best advice I have for you is don't get as overhyped as I did, because it might ruin your enjoyment of the show. Rainbow was meant to be underrated, something that you go into with no expectations and are shocked by. Without this factor, it falters a little. Nonetheless, Rainbow is still very good and deserves a portion of the praise. __________________________________________________________________________ STORY: 8/10 The concept of Rainbow is a rare one. It is one of the five anime at this date involving a life inside prison. I don't understand why more anime haven't used this, actually. It's a concept that can range from dark and brutal to just plain depressing. And of course, as we know from all shonen ever, anime fans love the 'fight for my friends!' thing. Though, Rainbow is nowhere near a shonen. It truly shows how people so unalike can bond together when put in the same predicament, and is in no way cliche. Episodes 1-14 of Rainbow were easily a masterpiece. And if they had ended it there, I would say it lived up to the hype! But... it doesn't. Instead it falls into this weird epilogue sort of thing that just seems unnecessary and it feels like they just wanted to fit it into the mid 20s length of episodes, just so it didn't stand out. It drags on too much and in the end, had a worse ending than the climax of episodes 1-14! It could have been better, but it wasn't completely terrible. __________________________________________________________________________ ART: 8/10 The art in Rainbow is done by Madhouse. I could end the section with that sentence, but something is telling me I need to go more in depth. Both the animation and the art style are very good, and they peak at some points, but also have their lows too. Gore scenes, in particular, look fantastic, however sometimes character movement is unnatural, which I picked up even without carefully analyzing. The art style to it doesn't really have anything to complain about, but nothing to praise either. At times it can be extremely detailed with lining, but other times it leaves a feeling that they could have done more. Still overall, it looks very nice and was a great addition to the dark atmosphere. __________________________________________________________________________ SOUND: 8/10 "RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SUNLIGHT, WAS THE ONLY THING THAT SEEMED RIGHT BEFORE I CAME HERE" The opening theme to Rainbow is probably the best I've ever seen. It's intense, brutal, and sets the tone of the show PERFECTLY. The ending though skippable, is nowhere near bad. The voice acting and sound effects are good as well, and set the mood for 1955 style action. So what brings down the score from a 9 or 10? The actual soundtrack of Rainbow, despite being classic and flashy, is repetitive, and can get REALLY annoying at some points, because it feels like the same scene is being repeated over and over again. __________________________________________________________________________ CHARACTER: 8/10 This is simply the best created cast of characters I've seen in my entire career as an anime fan. Why? Because they're SO REAL! All of the main characters I feel represent the group of friends I had as a middle/high school student. The way they interact and talk with each other is great and they truly seem like a group of boys that grew up together as brothers. On top of that, they're some of the best developed out there. The supporting characters that are also part of the family also have their own realism to them, which makes the main characters shine even more. And the villains... oh my lord, the villains make you want to slaughter them SO BADLY! Again, you ask yourself: Only an 8? With that kind of praise? Yes, and the reason for that is the plainness of the antagonists in the second half. The characters that made the show so much better are removed, and they're replaced by.... well, templates of your typical villain that gets defeated in one hit. Honestly, if the antagonists hadn't been replaced, the second half would have been twice as good. __________________________________________________________________________ OVERALL: 8.0/10 So the secret is out: Rainbow isn't perfect. Still, it's one of the better anime out there and definitely deserves more popularity, if not an entire fanbase dedicated to it. Though it can get straight up disturbing at some points, it is a mature story and a good one at that.

Story: This series is a mixture of shounen and seinen. The story is about 6 teen boys that are brought into a prison-like disciplinary school where they meet Sakuragi Rokurota, a boy year or two older than them. And with Sakuragi's help who they call "bro" their inner core will come to light and turn them into solid men. It has a lot of comical parts, action and struggle. But everything is done in convincing and realistic approach. Art: The Graphics are not really striking but not so bad (The villains are really ugly!). There are times that the character's appearances are not consistent. However, The scenery, backgrounds, and the general time setting the story occurs in was shown as you would have imagined it during the war era. Sound/Music There is lot of good music throughout the anime. I really like the song “Dear Night Rainbow”. The music corresponds with the dramatic scene. (That scene really made me cry). The japanese dub is very well made and features voice actors such as Romi Paku, Fujiwara Keiji and Oguri Shun who all did an impressive work on their characters and conveyed out their temperament even further. The narrator though is kinda lacking. Characters: The characters are all interesting. The main characters have resilient and distinct traits, with quite a bit of character progress and background. The minor characters are equally plausible. Overall I really enjoyed this anime. It's a powerful story that shows great friendship and sacrifice. a mature story that is both harsh and idealistic Note: The anime covered only 100 chapters of the Manga.

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin, the first thought that occurred to me after watching the first few episodes were: ‘why had I not watched this earlier?’ This anime just exudes quality, whether in terms of story or the characters. There is an overarching theme of what friendship really is and what it means to form close bonds with people. It also takes quite a realistic approach to what life is really like, unlike the typical fluffy slice of life anime. Note that there are very minor spoilers in this review to explain better in what I am trying to get across. Backtracking a bit, the anime is split into two parts, first it takes place mainly in the Shonan Special reform school in the year 1995. Actually more than a reform school it feels more like a prison. This is especially emphasized by just all the ‘grey’ you see everywhere. And I don’t just mean the colour in the literal sense. I mean also the whole vibe and atmosphere just feels so dark and lifeless. Not at all a good environment for the people that are spending part of their lives there. This may be mainly due to harsh conditions, such as being abused constantly with no luxuries, unless they are obtained in ‘special’ ways. There is also a lot of corruption going on under the covers. We are introduced to seven main characters, in which they all have a very important role in the story. They are never really referred to their real names much and are called Mario, Cabbage, Soldier, Turtle, Uncovered, and Joe. The nicknames suit them very well, whether it may be because of their appearance, or the personality they come with. Each of them might share a few similarities, such as the reason why they ended up in the reform school in the first place, but their personalities are essentially very different. Then there is Rokurouta Sakuragi, referred to as ‘aniki’ by these young men. If I could describe him in one word, it would be ‘charisma.’ He looks and acts a lot more mature for his age. He is highly respected by the other six, though it might not have been like that in the beginning. The second half of the series shows more of their daily lives. Though the tones may feel a lot different to the first half, it is by no means ‘bad’, just different and quite necessary for the story. It reveals that life is not just sunshine and rainbows, and that not everything works out as the characters as well as we, want it all the time. A lot of the times a lot of time and effort is required to achieve your dreams. There are the good moments, and the bad moments. There may be moments when the relationship between people may become stale, and they then have to work together to mend it. Real life events such as the after effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima are also integrated as part of the story, which is a nice touch and more relatable as well. If I had to point out the flaws of this anime, it would be the characters, in which is not a bad thing at all. This anime does not bother to beat around the bush and try to hide the fact that the characters are essentially flawed, whether it may be the things they did in the past or the very dumb mistakes some of them make even in the present time. I mean borrowing your friend’s money and saying it was for textbooks and instead spending it on a prostitute cannot really be justified. Which is actually a great, refreshing approach and very much often a lot of anime would not dare to go into that kind of territory. Each of the characters are not just glossed over and idealized, they actually seem a lot like real people you would meet in real life. Whether they may be crude, rude or has had led a very messed up life, all of them have some sort of trouble they have had to, and still do need, to resolve. Each of the characters back story is revealed at different times in just the right moments, and does not feel forced at all. The anime excels at bringing out emotional moments that may be at times heart-warming, or just plain heart-wrenchingly painful. Animation and character designs are on point. The animation is fluid and has moments there are still frames that looks like a sketch. That may not be a good thing for some series, but for Rainbow it’s a nice touch and the artwork suits the atmosphere of the series. Another thing to note is the amount of narration that accompanies this series. Though the series could stand by itself without it, it explains and makes things a bit clearer to get the full effect of the events that occur. As for the ost, though it may not be the best I’ve heard, it does its job. The one thing that did stand out the most though was the opening theme. ‘We are not alone’ by Coldrain, an ‘Engrish’ song with lyrics and sound that was extremely impactful and memorable. Probably went down as one of my top opening themes of all time. ‘If there's a place inside this world, Where hopes and dreams are not yet lost, We'll stand and fight against these walls, We'll fight this fight forevermore’, these lyrics are so suitable to the anime, and it sounds great too. Well to sum up this review, overall I felt it was great, it succeeded in bringing the right emotions out of me, it felt sad when it was supposed to feel sad and happy in the light hearted moments.

"Beautiful". That is how one would describe both a seven-colored rainbow and the anime Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin. How corny was that opening? But, honestly, it is the only word that I can think of to describe this breathtaking show about the beauty of true and everlasting bonds of friendship even during the darkest of times. This show is about the way seven teenagers (the "seven-colored Rainbow") condemned to the living hell of Shio Reformatory can withstand and survive horrors and pain that were beyond my wildest imaginations. Madhouse (god do I love them) created a masterpiece with this one and it got me addicted right from the start. Both the story and characters are the main crux of the show, and they drive this emotional piece right through to the end and never let go of the viewer (no matter how hard we want to look away at times). And this is one dark and grim show. This is 10 years post-WWII Japan where the country is in shambles with starvation, crime and corruption rampant everywhere. The seven main boys are literally the lowest on the totem poll of society and are thrown into Shio to be used and almost disposed of, and the situations and events that are presented in this show represent those very thoughts. Rape, murder, betrayal, torture. You name it. There were so many times that I wanted to just rage or was cringing during this show because of how unfair, despicable and disturbing things were at times. However, good things do eventually happen!! Rainbow gives us the light at the end of the tunnel at just the right times and the strength of the friendship and bond between the seven boys powers the viewer through all the despair. It connects us to the characters even more and you truly end up sympathizing and rooting for these guys throughout the show. It truly is awe-inspiring how the guys kept a positive outlook even in the worst of circumstances. Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin is brutal to watch at times due to its highly graphic nature and mature themes, but the payoff in story and character development is unlike any other that I've seen in anime. More people need to see this show!! Madhouse created a masterpiece and if you have the stomach for it, I highly suggest that you watch this ASAP. It will not disappoint. Do it for An-chan.

Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin tells the story of seven young men who are sent to a juvie prison post-World War Two in Japan. They’re all sent there for very different reasons, and have conflicting personalities, but not before long they become something like brothers. I would relate this anime to the American novel Holes (1998) by Louis Sachar turned movie (2003) starring Shia LaBeouf. The stories are a like in which a boy-- in Rainbow’s case seven boys-- are sent to a juvenile detention facility to serve time for committing a crime. The major difference is that Rainbow is a much more mature story dealing with controversial and rather disturbing issues. It’s Holes on crack dealing with murder, rape, pedophilia and some extreme teenage angst. Story 9/10 Like a lot of 26 episode anime, this story holds two arcs. The first arc is meeting the boys on their way to the juvenile hall, watching them become friends, and creating a plan for escape. The arc ends after a major character’s death. The second arc focuses on the boys return to society after serving their sentences. The second arc isn’t as emotional in some ways. Even the way the episodes are created feel different because there’s a lot more comic relief, but even that is scarce, and some of the episodes aren’t as gripping as the first arc episodes. In all honesty, some feel like filler material with nothing to really add to the main story. Characters 9.5/10 So the characters are brilliant because they’re hopelessly flawed. We have some clichés here with the likable protagonist who was jailed by a corrupted law, the so-cool-nobody-can-touch-him older brother figure An-chan (a nickname taken from the Japanese word Aniki meaning older brother in a gangster sort of way), the simpleton, the weakling, the tough guy, the snitch (who’s also the glasses character), and the (sort of) comic relief. Together they make a perfect cast that keeps the story interesting. One thing about the “bad guy” characters is that you can immediately spot them because they’re unpleasant to look at. It’s like their appearance shows how rotten they are on the outside, and they make you cringe at the memory of them. Art 10/10 The art is beautiful in this. From the opening and ending song to everything in between. Rainbow was drawn in a less anime type style and more in a realistic way. Besides the extremely unattractive bad guy characters (some of which I thought resembled titans from Attack on the Titans more so than humans) , the character were so well animated they seemed like they were based off real people. Music 10/10 Oh, the music. The beginning song is "We're not alone" by Japanese rock band coldrain. It’s sung entirely with English lyrics and goes with the raw feeling and emotions in the show. The ending song “A Far Off Distance”, also by a Japanese rock band called Galneryus is a more mellow song which captures the melancholy feelings of the show. The background music of the show of course makes scenes more emotional and beautiful. I would not recommend this show if you do not like, or can’t handle, depressing, unnerving, or all around disturbing things. It is a mature show much like Elfen Lied that deals with serious issues and the darkest of human flaws. However if you’re curious, I highly recommend you watch this amazing story. You will not be disappointed. It available on the Funimation YouTube channel.