Code Breaker - 05

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My goodness Code Breaker is so average, but I still like it for what it is.

As if something from a very sub-par western movie about conspiracies, super powers and the ambiguity of good versus evil, Code Breaker should be boring. There isn't anything new here, the dialogue and plot twists are cheesy and the heroine keeps running around spouting her naive ways in the hopes of changing the anti-hero's heart. How does that not sound terrible !

On paper Code Breaker doesn't make an impact, but in practice it has become an enjoyable anime. One of the main reasons for this is most definitely the direction which the story has taken compared to how the manga comes across. I've already mentioned that I've only read around 20 chapters, but the difference is so noticeable that I'm able to recall the manga's tone and style quite vividly. In short, the anime doesn't take itself nearly as seriously.

You can tell by just seeing the first major enemies appear like bad cartoon villains who had no chance in hell of winning but continued to do over-the-top "action moves" and shout out stupid things - "Just kidding, it's carbon fibre." It is because of this that I'm finding myself more into the anime than the manga, which took itself way to seriously and a little too broody for my taste. All of this is not to say that Code Breaker doesn't have a serious side to it. In fact this episode, was the only one I took quite seriously.

Mixing up a discussion of true heroes, the disgusting side to human beings and little children begging for murder had an odd synergy to it. A part of me enjoys seeing Sakura's perceptions of good and evil being shattered on an episodic basis, not to mention the impact the scenes with the dying children had but it was the "true hero" discussion that tied all together so well. What is a true hero A subject that no doubt many discuss and western media loves to play on. From the darker ones like ZETMAN or Batman, to the more TV-style ones like Tiger & Bunny and Superman, we've seen them all.

The series doesn't have heroic characters and that's what I love about it. As dark as the heroes we see are, there is always a part of them that is righteous, however Ogami doesn't convey that whatsoever. I'm sure he'll eventually be a sweetheart because of all that time Sakura has spent nagging him, but for now I like that he's an emotionless prick.

Kind of a great episode. The story is still a little too generic and conspiracy theory themed for my liking and the way that the final boss has been set is also a little lacklustre but it works in its own way. We still don't know much about Code: 01 AKA Hitomi, which a creates a certain mystery that you don't care about but you appreciate.

There is just something about Code Breaker.......