Code Breaker - 01

[gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="title"]

Here's another shonen anime with a supernatural twist that goes by the name of Code Breaker. It looks good, certainly enought to make me want to watch the next episode straight away.

Shonen action series tend to fall into two categories when it comes to anime: some of them span 100's of episodes in the hopes of remaining popular until the manga ends while others wrap things up quickly with a clear vision in mind from the start. My guess is that this anime falls into the latter category.

From what I read of the manga, which isn't much at all, a few characters have been introduced sooner than usual and there is one whom I don't know. Surprisingly, after 20 chapters we're only really introduced to Rei and the blond guy sitting atop the roof so my guess is that this adaptation will move fast and have an original end in mind.

Now, let me tell you why I liked this episode of so much.

Morally ambiguous characters are liked by many of us, a fact that anime likes to exploit. Over the years we've seen a number of main characters who have been questionable as morally upright humans, but we've loved them and accepted them with all our hearts. Code Breaker's protagonist Rei Ogami isn't an original addition to the world of anti-hero's and the morally ambiguous but the his presentation was properly executed.

Initially he was introduced as that character you know is up to no good but doesn't really stand out. Throughout most of the episode it was the heroine, Sakura Sakurakouji that was in the driver's seat commanding more attention but at the end of the episode it was Rei who was at the centre of all attention. It probably had something to do with the situation being shonen clich but the outcome being a little unpredictable and honestly a little funny to someone who has seen the clich version on more than one occasion. The more obvious observation was that there's already a good action story here.

My biggest problem with action series is that they tend to be on the happier side. Sounds ridiculous right Well it's not when you consider that most of the shonen stuff doesn't get darker and more serious until later on. Code Breaker started off on a much more serious note, leaving more excited for the action and the story to come. We don't see much of what the story is about but if it follows the serious tone, we're looking at a competitor for Zetsuen no Tempest.

Unlike Tempest, Code Breaker was a minimalist with its first episode. It was straight to the point, accomplished very little but did it well and left me wanting more with the memory of a few shocking turn of events. Definitely worth praising the series for acknowledging that sometimes less is more.

Code Breaker is now on my watch list.

Final Note: I'm praying no one makes a comment about Code Breaker being Fujoshi.