Super Crooks

Aw shit...another netflix show.Now hear me out on this one. It actually does not suck. No its quite enjoyable,not in a guilty pleasure way like Yasuke.It legit has some good things. I think it's awesome having a goated studio like Bones get to adapt a western hero comic.I know little about hero stuff but there is a newer trend where there are more gritty and violent takes on superheroes and this show really does follow the same vein.

STORY AND CHARACTERS
Instead of being mostly about heroes it's about the super villains or the “super crooks’. There were comparisons made to Great Pretender with its concept, and that comparison is valid, but instead of multiple missions, there are one or two grand missions, instead of the scam artists having some code of ethics, the only rule the villains have is to not kill anyone,and instead of multiple villains,there is one villain, well there are a lot of villains,but there is one grand “antagonist”, and he is absolutely fucked in the head.I’ll admit, this show is not for everyone.This anime feels like The Boys meets Great Pretender.With visceral violent action and absurdity mixed with a carefree and refined tone.And i’m a sucker for stuff like that.Also, really cool commentary on temptation and the way of life that makes both heroes and villains no different from one another.Luckily that commentary is addressed more in a comedic way.All the characters dont have much of a tragic backstory or anything, theyre just normal people who live on the lower end of american society,so seeing them doing their villain thing is really cool.The only character who did have a sense of likeability was Kasey. She was not only hot and a badass at times, but she had actual goals she wanted to accomplish.And While I don't buy Johnny Bolt and her together, I sorta liked how his shitty actions did shed some light on why he and she are villain like in nature.

My problem with the story of Super Crooks is that it takes a bit to get going. There are almost four episodes dedicated to set up characters, and while it's good, it could've trimmed the pacing in places especially since the getaway scene looked like something out of Spy Kids 3D. Also, the pacing is shaky in places, having fight scenes with zombies and heroes take forever to get through.And scenes explaining the evil villian corporation or whatever did lose me. Also some world building elements I dont get.Like apparently San Francisco,one of the most iconic destinations in America is lacking of heroes, and the heroes they do call for are ridiculously incompitent and end up killing civilians.But when the show gets going, it gets going.A lot of fun action scenes and very ridiculous moments.Also some moments were really dark and messed up.

ART AND ANIMATION
Goddamnit. Bones you done it again. This show looks so damn good, probably the best looking netflix original anime i’ve seen so far. Bones doesn't just make the animation good mostly, they add a lot of creativity to it.Using the weird powers to make some really weird and fantastic action sequences. Also, i didn't realize this till now. But Bones is really good at body horror. The violence and gore in this show is so insane and highly detailed. I even gagged a little at iit.There was one shot with this guy’s arm that looked like something out of AOT and it was so freaky and well animated.It even looked better than anything in season 4 of AOT. Yeah I said it.I find it funny how there is sex, graphic violence, and guys cursing like sailors,but they still pixelate middle fingers, very weird.The way they stylized the american locations were cool too, having a lot of spinoff brands like the CDE channel, Somy cameras, and Taco Ball.The designs in some scenes even look like a well animated western cartoon.Really awesome direction too.Im kinda shocked this show is 13 episodes, and each episode being longer than your standard anime.They were really flexible with their animation budget, especially if its coming from Netflix.

SOUND
The ost is weird, its like this laidback funk electronic music that never really ends,but its put in the background so much,you barely notice it.Aaaaand the Netflix dub. Its a netflix dub. It has really great voice actors,but really shitty directing.Basically most Netflix dubs in a nutshell.

ENJOYMENT
I honestly don’t know my rating for this one. I know Netflix gets so much shit for their anime, and rightfully so. But this one seems the most “competently done” compared to everything else.It was nowhere near as crap as I expected, it put into perspective how not good Yasuke was.It did not fully hook me at first but eventually it got me hooked. I know it might not be highly rated, some might find it boring or silly.i’m not gonna call the show shit depending on how inaccurate it is to the man-oop i mean “comic”.But it is really fun, silly characters, fucked up sense of humor, and animated by my fav studio of all time,my cup of tea for sure.

I didnt realize this,but seeing all the heroes and guys in tight clothing reminded me a lot of MHA, made by the same studio...soooooo they’re in the same universe.CONFIRMED.