No Guns Life, Episode 1: Review and Impressions

One of the shows with a lesser amount of fanfare airing this anime season is the cyberpunk noir called No Guns Life. The anime is animated by Madhouse and is an adaptation of a manga serialized in Ultra Jump, which was written by Tasuku Karasuma.

The setting takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk future where, after a catastrophic world war, a company known as the Berühren Corporation has taken control of the world, while people who have altered their bodies with machinery have become commonplace. These cyborgs are called Extended and come in the form of humans with everything from mechanical prosthetics to total full-body modifications.

Enter Juuzo Inui, a chain-smoking, hard-boiled detective known as the “Resolver” who makes a living solving problems brought about by the existence of the Extended. His most notable feature is that his entire head is completely replaced with a giant revolver, an oddity even in a world of cyborgs.

Aside from the protagonist’s unique appearance, the color palette is dark and drab, with browns and greys offset with rares instances of bright colors coming from the neon lights in the city, glowing parts on Extended’s modifications, or blood splashes during action sequences. The use of shadows during indoor scenes combined with the few light sources draw emphasis to the metallic elements on the character designs, specifically highlighting Juuzo’s weaponized head. The overall art style is perfect for portraying the noir atmosphere the show is attempting to emulate and the world truly feels like a gritty cityscape masked by shining lights and technology.

This first episode is about a man that more resembles a metallic demon, who tasks Juuzo with protecting an unconscious child. This job quickly brings Juuzo into a confrontation against Sister Karen, an agent of the Berühren Corporation.

Despite his job as a detective, Juuzo does not actually do much sleuthing in this first episode. The pacing of the show is rather quick and he immediately runs into the person responsible for the child’s troubles and deduces her identity immediately. The two get into a shootout — an admittedly badass scene with smooth animation and little “blink and you’ll miss it” details such as Juuzo using one of Karen’s bullets to light a cigarette. People going into the first episode expecting a mystery with detective work might be a little disappointed, the first episode is primarily exposition.

Nevertheless, No Guns Life takes place in a very unique world and uses the first episode to lay the groundwork for the setting, giving more room in future episodes to focus on both mystery and action scenes. This show is definitely one to keep an eye on, especially for fans of cyberpunk and noir.

Like guns but also want something a bit more cute and easy-going? Check out Rifle is Beautiful also airing this season.