Anime Review: Beck The Mongolian Chop Squad

Review Beck The Mongolian Chop SquadWritten by WarpshadowRating Excellent

Being about music the idea that Beck is basically a sports anime does sound a bit odd. What it does do is twist the tropes of the genre enough to make them fresh and have enough detail to make the show feel realistic. That makes it sound fantastic.

Yukio Tanaka (although most people just call him Koyuki) was a normal boy just coasting through life. One day he saves a very strange dog from some kids. The dog’s owner is a young man by the name of Ryusuke Minami and thanks Koyuki and introduces him to rock music. Koyuki takes an interest in the music and starts learning how to play. Ryusuke is breaking up his old band due to internal conflicts and forming a new one named after his dog, Beck.

Beck as an anime show is a bit difficult to classify into any of the stereotyped genres of anime and that is a good thing. At first it may look like a sports type of show but the characters especially Koyuki are different than what is normal for the genre and character relationships are more important than in most of the style’s shows. Also there is a strong yet subtle character development in the main character. What is important is that Beck brings forth the spirit found in sports anime in a powerful way. Also this is a music show and the music for the show is not only great but varied in songs as well. Overall Beck is simply one of the most subtly unique shows I have seen in a long time.