#shichinin

⋮ okami-san and her seven companions • ryoko okami.

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A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin Review

Before I start I’m just gonna warn you that even though I will try my best to stay away from spoilers, I can’t promise you anything.

That being said let’s first start with a synopsis if you don’t already know what this anime is about.

Set around a decade after WW2, Rainbow follows the story of seven teenagers who were placed into a reformatory for crimes they had committed. Forced to suffer everyday, they soon learned about the bonds of friendship; which is the main theme that is displayed throughout the entire story over and over again. Genres this anime falls under include drama, historical, thriller, and seinen.

Story: 10/10

Following the lives of the seven boys starting from when they were still detained to the life after they’re free, this anime never once failed to keep my interest. As a person that likes realistic stories and characters in anime, I can say with ease that this is definitely one of the most realistic animes I have ever watched. It does a great job of depicting the different aspects of life and all the hardships that come along with it; easily making the viewer feel a wide variety of emotions.  There are parts that touch you, parts that make you tear up, parts that make you mad, parts that make you cringe, and parts that make you laugh.

Art and Music: 8/10

Let’s first start with the art. If you’re looking for an anime filled with beautiful people, I suggest you look for something else. Not that everyone is ugly in this anime (in fact three of the main characters are ikemen if I may say so myself :P, and a lot of the women are drawn nicely), but there are some really UGLY characters in this. (Pretty much all the antagonists lol) If we forget about them though the art style is actually pretty decent. It isn’t exactly my taste, but the dark tones really match the mature and depressing mood that Rainbow sometimes carries, and I really don’t think any other style would work better for it.

Now the music. I’m not a huge fan of the opening and ending songs, but I can’t deny that the lyrics really reflect the feelings of the characters in it. What I really did like about the music instead were the OSTs used. What I define as a good OST is one that both complements the scene it’s used in and makes an impact on the viewer (in other words memorable). Many of the OSTs in Rainbow did both of those things, and I will definitely download some of them. 

Characters: 8/10

Protagonists- I want to say that I love all the main characters but that would be a lie. Though I don’t hate any of them, I found some of them a little irritating at times. On the other hand though there were also characters that I absolutely loved, who definitely made up for the other ones. Though some of the main characters were obviously more main than the others, they all played a role in displaying the bonds of friendship they shared, and mostly all in all had good character development. 

Antagonists- Whoever made the antagonists knew what they were doing. I find that in many animes today, the main antagonist, though evil and filled with ill intentions, aren’t that hateable. (Not that that’s a bad thing) This anime on the other hand will make you HATE the bad guys. There are two main antagonists in the story, and I honestly don’t think I ever hated two characters so much before. As hateable as they are though, they are essential to the plot and in adding to the character development of the protagonists.

Conclusion