First Look: Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

Title: Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (Rainbow) Genre: Drama

Summary: Seven teenagers in 1955 have to learn to live together in the same hold in the reformatory of Shio. Confined in a hall where suffering and humiliation are daily, they are waiting for a ray of hope in a dark, incarcerating world. The story follows their life together and how they move on afterwards.

First Look: Probably one of the most dramatic animes I have scene. It isn’t a tear jerker but it does make you furious. The lives these teenagers have to live, and the the stuff they go through is unbearable at times. I want to believe that the world isn’t as bad as they portray it in this anime, but I know it’s hard to deny. It seems as though all adult figures have become corrupted, and it moves onto the next generation. What makes the anime watchable is the hope the seven kids hold onto. They band together to make sure everyone makes it out of cell block. As you can tell from the summary and my description above this is a very dark anime. The art style seems to take note of that as well. Almost all the scenes are very dark, with vary little color (shades of black and brown). This isn’t a bad thing at all. It really keeps the audience in the right mind set as you watch these kids go through hell. There is the occasional moments of happiness, and the art style takes a 180, filling the screen with bright blues and green. The soundtrack is the most amazing part, however. The opening is a hardcore punk rock band that’s… English? Whoa that’s a rare one! The song fits perfectly to the inmates situation and I can’t wait till the full version is released with the OST. Most of the anime is filled with hardrock music, and it sure is a relief after all the J-pop I’ve been hearing.

Final statements: I can’t wait to see how this anime turns out. Despite it being twisted I enjoy watching the teenagers rise up and fight against the wrongs of the world. Plus the bond they share is one to envy. If you don’t have a weak stomach, and don’t mind watching the darker side of the world check this anime out! Definitely keeping this on watch for this season.