BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

One certainly doesn't have to be knowledgeable of rock or a musician themselves to enjoy BECK, but it would certainly enhance the experience. BECK is an utterly compelling, exhilarating homage to the rock and roll mythos that takes place in Japan, but really could have taken place anywhere(that's not a knock on it, rather it shows how universally appealing the story and it's subject matter are). Indeed, with BECK, I sometimes forgot I was watching an anime altogether, the story, script and characters would do just as well in a live action tv series .

Koyuki is Japanese teenager who is a good guy, but on the meek side and nothing to show for himself. His life is forever changed when he incidentally crosses paths with Ryusuke, a street smart, charismatic sixteen year old who used play guitar for a famous American band, but since then has spent his time playing for unsuccessful groups in the local underground rock scene. After several chance meetings with Ryusuke, Koyuki begins hanging out with him and his new, fledgling band Beck, while teaching himself guitar. After his eventual acceptance into Beck, Koyuki pursues his passion while riding the turbulent ups and downs with his fellow bandmates while simultaneously experiencing the growing pains of adolescence and young love.

While BECK is still a underdog story a heart, it never less is very realistic in its portrayal of the band's journey from obscurity to "success". This realism and grittiness makes the characters up's and down's even more dramatically and emotionally charged then they normally would be. On the same note, the writing for BECK, especially in the dialogue department is excellent, as is the flawless (and superior) English dub. Likewise, the series boasts excellent production values seen in the top notch animation and most of all the abundance of original music created specifically for the show. The character development results in a core cast of characters that are simply fantastic, by the time the show ends you'll miss them quite a bit. The only two detractors for this stellar anime is the open ended conclusion that fails in giving a true sense of closure and then there are several weak episodes that are hurriedly paced and shoddily put together. Besides these relatively small complaints BECK is a winning, unforgetable anime that is refreshingly original in its execution and content while containing some of the best characters and drama ive seen in awhile in an anime. A definite must see.

Grade: A

Reviewed: episodes 1-26(complete) Format: English Dub, DVD.