DVD Review: UN-GO (2011)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Tuesday, March 12, 2013 0 comments



UN-GO is a mystery/action series about Shinjuro Yuki AKA “The Defeated Detective” and his partner (and boss) Inga who go around solving crimes in a very fast paced manner (mainly murders). There is also a weird anti-piracy and new world order overarching sub-plot where the government is strict on people uploading illegal files (like anime, unreleased video games, and documents) but they also have a say in what they deem is illegal which could be stuff like original content that we wouldn't have a problem with sharing. This adds a disturbing feeling as this gives the government control over the people. Later in the show we are joined with Kazamori Sasa, a AI in the form of a little girl who can possess any electronic device. This character brings a weird romance element as she is sexually attracted to Yuki and in one scene she tries to rape him while possessing a teddy bear. (Click "Read More" to see the rest of this crudely done review).  





Possession is a really strong theme in this show with the government, Kazamori being able to possess electronics, and demonic possession. Yes folks there are supernatural elements in this but not much, you will mostly see this with Inga. When you see Inga you suspect he is no more than a hyperactive little boy but when the time is needed the demon part of him comes out in the form of a beatutiful purple haired buxom woman. One thing I found pretty cool about the show is that each case is based on writings by the Japanese mystery novelist Ango Sakaguchi.  

Some complaints I have is that the fast paced nature of the show is a bit off-putting in some episodes as once you have grown to known the suspects they suddenly solve the mystery making all that time getting to know those suspects feel a bit pointless. My other complaint is that when Inga's true form appears she has an ability to ask anyone one single question and they have no choice but to answer it truthfully (even though they broke this rule in some episodes). My problem with this is that this cheapens the show and takes out the fun of having suspense but these problems are mainly for the earlier episodes as they do fine tune it to the point where it goes from annoying to very excellent.

The show looks good but I'm a bit mixed on the animation, sometimes it looks really good and other times it is a tad bit stiff. The English dub was really good and the voices really suited the characters perfectly. The music used in the show is a mixture of pop and hip-hop and for some reason it worked really well and it's really catchy too and I can not tell you how hard it is to get it out of your head (mainly the opening and closing themes).

There are some really nice extras included in this release like a bonus film showing the origin of Yuki which you absolute must see once you have finished all eleven episodes the show. There are two live panels, one was from a radio special for the show “All Night Nippon” where they talk about what it was like working on the show and the other has the director of the show talking about Ango Sakaguchi (who's novels were the inspiration for the show). The set also has the standard features like text-less opening and closing credits and a not so standard feature like the complete web-series that has Yuki and Inga in SD-form doing some quick gags but I wouldn't bother watching them after the first viewing as they were below average at best. Overall while it started off a bit weak it quickly got stronger and became a really good watch. I recommended giving UN-GO a watch.





Title: UN-GO
Animation Studio: Bones
Genre: Animation/Anime, Action, Mystery, Supernatural
Running Time: 300 Minutes (11 Episodes)
Distributor: Siren Visual
Rating: M15+
Price: $49.95
Recommended: Yes

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