Talk:Night Raid 1931

BD review

"....Along the way the series shows snippets involving the heavy-handed way that the Japanese treated the Chinese, looks at how girls and young women from desperately poor families were sold off to help their families, touches upon the scourge of opium dens, and suggests that Japanese elements may have influenced China's internal conflicts during the time period. The occasional narration makes sure that viewers understand what is going on, too. In short, it is as unflattering a portrayal of Japan as one is likely to see in an anime series, and the creative staff at A-1 Pictures deserves credit for not pulling their punches on any of it.

That and the spy elements are the main strengths of the series. The story shines brightest when it focuses on the members of the team combining their powers to accomplish a particularly difficult task (such as the rescue of the kidnapped industrialist in episode 1)...Far less successful are its sporadic attempts at humor, as the series takes itself so seriously that it usually fails miserably on such occasions; one episode which essentially comes down to two characters chasing down a cat which has run off with a bag containing important film is a good example of this. Others include the recurring comic relief character Feng Lan, an enterprising Chinese girl who comes off as an annoying (and possibly insulting) caricature, and Aoi's terrible violin playing. Perhaps the biggest jaw-dropper on this front – but also the one comic relief moment which kinda works – is the Prophetess's demonstration in one episode that she has not quite mastered the techniques for being properly mysterious.
The series also suffers from a bland and underdeveloped central cast, though in fairness the story and setting here are more the stars than the Sakurai Agency members. Yukina is defined almost completely by her powers, her status as a period fashion plate, and giving the men someone to protect and/or rescue when things get hairy. She is indisputably not dead weight, as her powers play instrumental support, communication, and information-gathering roles, but she shows little character beyond strong determination. Natsume, as the silent, loyal type, shows even less personality. Kazura and Aoi are a bit more developed, as the former is portrayed as a proper, orderly, and disciplined man in strong contrast to the latter's more chaotic soul, and both are given considerably more background development, but even so there is nothing particularly complex about either of them. Chief villain Isao, who has come to believe that drastic measures are necessary to insure peace (he is, essentially, a firm believer in nuclear deterrence at a time when the atom bomb is just a concept), is hardly a sterling example of dynamic personality, either, and the one recurring supporting character who does have a goodly amount of character is, as noted above, an irritant.
There is nothing bland about the series' artistry, although its quality level does vary. The character designs, which actually make some effort to display ethnic Asian features, are one of the biggest highlights.
...Early on the musical score uses updated versions of classical Chinese erhu music to evoke the feel of an Eastern setting and mixes it with themes reminiscent of classic American spy series (especially in action sequences), with mixed results. As the overall plot takes over, the music shifts to purely suspenseful and dramatic themes which more consistently hit the mark. Opener “Promise” and closer “To The Future. . .” are both solid but unremarkable.

...Night Raid 1931 ultimately gets a little too ambitious for its own good. It wants to be both a hard historical fiction work and a super-powered spy story, two foci which sometimes detrimentally compete with each other and, in so doing, fill up so much of the time that little is left for proper character development. None of the plot twists are particularly fresh, either, and the final disposition of one of the main characters feels unsatisfying. Still, the series looks good enough and throws out enough strong content to be well worth a look by history buffs and/or those interested in espionage stories. It is not, however, as sexy as its advertising makes it out to be.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/night-raid-1931/blu-ray-complete-collection --Gwern (contribs) 18:25 15 August 2011 (GMT)

Wow, every single source in the reception section is ANN. What a diverse and unbiased collection of opinions. Might as well remove the reception section if it's all from the same place. 2600:6C44:4180:40BA:8917:5B6E:C41E:F2E5 (talk) 22:08, 21 September 2019 (UTC)