I'm currently in a writing slump... so I decided to watch one of the many anime that my brother recommended. Joker Game is an anime about spies and the topic is pretty heavy on the psychology. I had a hard time grasping some of the concepts and rewatched some scenes several times. This could be due to my writer slump but I highly doubt it.
This isn't something commonly found, it isn't a 007 kind of action anime. If anything, this reminds me of an anime I watched a long time back called Monster. I wonder if there will come a time my mind would work as brilliantly as the creators of these two fabulous series.
My brother pointed out that if I couldn't understand it, that only meant I'll never be that kind of person and I must agree.
The ones that struck me the hardest were episodes 7 and 11.
In Episode 7 - Code Name Cerberus, the ending was something that didn't sit right with me. Previously all spies were shown as soloist with no past, no present and no futures. They don't own a name and can erase their existence with the drop of a hat. Cerberus is a lady spy who had acted upon revenge on the spy who was responsible for the death of her husband. (Or what I gathered) The part that showed her having to choose between her husband, child and duty as a spy hit me hard. It didn't sit right with me how her child would grow up not knowing what was going on or why her mother would probably never return. Spies who are trained to put personal feelings aside to make sound judgement on the mission are still humans. Amari had adopted Emma and took care of her whilst her spy mother handed herself to the authorities. It just felt sad to me.
In Episode 11 - Coffin, I saw Miyoshi carrying out his duty till the very end. How the spy who had no one while he was alive had no one even in his death felt oddly lonely to me. That kind of chill is something I wish would never happen to anyone. It was wrong to live like a tool and leave like one. In the end, his body was kept only for evidence and when they found none, he was buried as an unknown person whose grave would be forgotten along with his existence.
The rest of the episodes featured each of the eight spies working and a little of their personality. Not much was shown about them, shrouding the whole series in an air of mystery. It is very different from normal anime or stories that focuses on character building while working on the plot.
Joker Game is a highly intellectual and plot based story that captured my interest in the very first five minutes of watching. Nothing I would recommend my friends but I would definitely enjoy more of this myself. It hasn't brought me out from my slump but I think I know where I should be heading.
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