No.6

[corocoro]

SERIES INFORMATION​

Original Name: NO.6 ナンバー・シックス
Categories: Josei, Sci-Fi
Producer: Bones, Aniplex, Fuji TV

SUMMARY
The story takes place in the ideal city "NO.6" in 2013. Shion was judged as having "highest-ranked intelligence" when he was two years old and was allowed to live in the luxurious area "Cronos".

On his twelfth birthday, he met a beautiful boy called "Nezumi," who had escaped from a reformatory. Shion protected him, but the Public Security Bureau deprived Shion of all his privileges and expelled him from Cronos to "Lost Town".

Four years after the banishment, a mysterious accident leads Shion to the secret of the city NO.6.


My Opinion:
It has an intriguing setup and is extremely well-done, as one would expect from Bones. Their seem to be some Shounen-ai undercurrents, but (thankfully) they're mostly unobtrusive.
I'm not sure yet where they'll be taking it, but so far Bones never disappointed, so I'll be watching it. With some trepidation, but still. ;)​

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 2

time skip 4 years into the future, sion has been 'ex-communicated' from his former premise and life after sheltering nezumi. however, he isnt regretting life now, with both him and his mum still leaving well, which was good to see.

wow, that safu has grown into a fine lady. she's horny and desperate for shion's sperms, literally. i think its really brave for such a girl to say those words to an osananajimi whom she has never officially dated.

some disease causing everyone to age and die, and somehow shion was caught in the mess. nezumi returned, pulling off some bad-ass action while saving shion from going into a detention center. glad to see him back, he is probably my favorite character in the show at the moment.

well, 2 episodes in, i would say this episode has been a good watch. bones will most likely succeed in this show. so, definitely continuing.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 2

Wow this show wasted no time in showing us the duality of the city, but even then I wouldn't say it felt rushed.

First the city takes away Shion's right to qualify for his high-end job for merely being in the wrong place (his own home no less) at the wrong time, which seems pretty counter productive to me. If I was whoever was in charge of that sort of thing I would have let him keep his position that he's obviously highly qualified for and make use of his talents while keeping an eye on him instead of bumping him down and then keeping an eye on him. Seems like the powers that be have a bit of a self-destructive streak going for them, but then again they seem hell-bent on staving off any sort of progress so maybe they are afraid of Shion's abilities and that's why they bumped him down.

To add insult to injury they then revoke his citizenship and are about to cart him off for prison again merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessing and saying some he shouldn't. However luckily our thought police are no match for Nezumi and he takes him to a place outside the city that looks a lot like what your average slum looks like today. I'm really hoping Nezumi doesn't turn out to be an O'Brien type character, because there are a couple signs pointing that could be pointing that way or could not such as how he always seems to be in the perfect place at the perfect time to have the maximum possible impact on Shion's life and how he just seems to know so damn much while apparently living the life of a street rat. He could just as easily be exactly what he appears to be though.

Anyway looks like Shion is infected with whatever killed the man in the park and now his co-worker and he's basically an enemy of the state who may never see his loved ones and friends again. Can't see him smiling for too much longer as he's about to find out the truth about the world he lives in.

Highlights: I want your sperm.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 3

Mawaru Penguindrum which airs on the same day as this show talks a LOT about Survival Strategy to the point where the phrase is uttered every single episode. However No. 6 actually depicts it in the character of Nezumi to the point where his entire life has been coming up with strategies on how to survive outside of the cities.

Survival talk played a big part in this episode and I really like how it was depicted and contrasted between Nezumi and Shion's views on the world. Shion was ready to give up as he thought what happened to his co-worker was about to happen to him (really like the way they depicted the world of agony he was in), but such a notion almost came across as a sin to Nezumi and he wouldn't have it and saved Shion's life for the second time in as many episodes.

Shion also took the literal shock of losing his hair pigment pretty rough, but again Nezumi handles it perfectly, allowing Shion his moment of grief, but again applying his experience with such matters (and you just know he's been through incomparably worse than Shion ever has up to this point) in order to tell him that he has to get used to it.

The chemistry between Shion and Nezumi is by far this shows greatest strength and easily the best character dynamic in any show I've seen so far this season. Their dialogues are the lifeblood of this show (this entire episode was for the most part just one long dialogue between them in one room) and I also like how neither of their positions come across as unreasonable. Shion's reaction is to be expected since all the hardship in his life has been compacted into this one moment in time and it's more than a person raised and pampered by the city can bear. Nezumi's reaction is also to be expected because Shion is his friend and he needs to be toughened up in order to survive. However you can also see the tenderness behind the survivalist mentality and that he genuinely wants Shion to survive this ordeal so he can be reunited with his mother and Safu.

With each episode Nezumi's character becomes stronger and more memorable in my eyes. It really strikes the right balance between the selfishness that is necessary in a survivalist, but also the selflessness that is needed to gain friends and allies to help you when you can't survive on your own.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 4

I liked Episode 4, but of the four episodes I've seen so far, this one felt the most jarring in a "keeping it in context" way.

What I mean by that is that it didn't seem to flow as well from Episode 3 as Episode 3 flowed from Episode 2.

So, speaking as an anime-only watcher, it may be the case that the material here is being overly rushed, yeah.

Specifically, I found Inukash's fight scene to kind of come out of nowhere. She seemed to be on reasonably friendly terms with Nezumi in Episode 3, and now she's trying to kill him with her pack of attack dogs? All because he made one crude joke about her mom?


Also, given the "big reveals about No. 6 (the city) coming next episode!" cliffhanger feel for the end of Episode 3, I was pretty disappointed that we learned almost nothing new about No. 6 in this episode. I had expected to hear/see all sorts of sordid details about No. 6's history and its government bodies in this episode, and all we did get is that the top guys of the city occasionally make use of a prostitution ring operating outside the city. That's mildly interesting, but certainly not what I had hoped for.

I must admit, though, to being surprised by just how vast, and well-structured, the outside world in this anime really is. Really makes me wonder what criteria there is to being a citizen of No. 6., and how No. 6 was founded in the first place.

 

[Checkmate]

Kou and Terumi... the 2 brave men...

 

[Kou]

To be honest, this is not an outright BL show, there are just some *rolleyes* BL tones.

 

[Checkmate]

the lacks of bishoujo is enough reason for me to fail it out-right

Some BL tones...... you guys are in a really different world than mine, I'm more normal than I thought heh.

/me goes back and look for Princess Juice

 

[Terumi]

brave men?

you mean the BL - tone kou mentioned? yes, slightly, but the story aint half bad.
its not something that just shouts 'yaoi', although i would drop it straight if that happens, which i am holding out bones not to do it.

princess evangile is out~

 

[Kou]

There is a girl who goes for the daring approach.

I mean Girl: "I want your sperm". :P

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 5

More questions, and still no answer. Safu is apparently linked to Nezumi - whatever that link is. My first thought was that he's her brother, but meh. Even if he is, that doesn't explain that telepathic dream. Anyway, I was happy to see Safu again and to get the confirmation she's going to be relevant to the plot.

I'm a bit confused about the final scene. Did Sion move so fast Nezumi couldn't react, or did Nezumi not react because he's not on his guard around Sion? Considering Nezumi's reaction, I'd go for the former. Did the killer wasps turn him into a superhuman?

The three minutes scene was pretty awkward, and had an eerie feel to it. Not sure it was worth granting so much time to that scene, but it was a good one.

My feelings towards this episode are mixed. It wasn't bad by any means, but since it's only a 11 episodes long series, I'd like the plot to move forward a little bit faster. The lack of any answers to the mysteries is starting to bother me.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 6

MORE QUESTIONS AND NO ANSWERS~

Safu got caught by the security for reasons not known, probably because she started doubting the city and no. 6 as a whole, similar to Sion. I fear her safety, as i mentioned, she's all grown up, pretty and strong now. Anyone felt a cold feeling when at the Twilight House with Safu surrounded by mountains of flowers? I did, the scene was quite ironic.

Nezumi's hatred for no.6 still remains unclear as muddy water, and his stances on drawing the line clear has incurred wrath of others very easily. Getting a fight with Sion, he decides not to reveal the fact that Safu has been caught to Sion, indirectly fearing for him, knowing his personality.

OMFG~ HERE COMES THE BL IN NEXT EPISODE. PLEASE SPARE US BONES!

MY EYES~

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 6

I hadn't realized just how much Safu has changed until this episode. She's a lot more human like she used to be (she used to act like a robot, which I guess is exactly how No.6 wants its people to behave). That coupled with the way this ep stronly highlighted once again the differences between No.6 and No.5 makes me wonder why No.6 would ever send some of its best elements to study abroad, and thereby risk that they notice something is seriously off with No.6 and eventually turn heel and run (or worse, rebel). That's not what good dystopian leaders would do. They must ensure the populace is completely under their control at all times and convince them they're living in the best possible world to avoid any uprising. Anyone visiting No.5 would notice No.6 is crap.

I hope nothing bad happens to Safu :(.

/me continues to ignore BL tones.

 

[Kou]

The "undertone" is now officially a "tone".

Spoiler: episode 7

So Safu is going to become a sample for the bees? Good thing that guy helped Shion's mom out or she would have been in trouble as well. Thank you Rikiga for involuntarily putting Shion on the move.

Boys' eyes meet...
Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
"Bedtime. I have to get up early to shave the dogs."

If that exchange doesn't tell you all you need to know about No. 6...

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 8

something is definitely wrong, and there is simply more questions than answers.

we get to know of nezumi's roots, him being a part of a tribal group whose land was forcibly taken over for the construction of the perfect utopia, no. 6. but it appears thats not why the only reason why he hates it.

sion's mum seem to have a lot of admirers and many connections, though all aint good guys to me.

safu's impending crisis worries me, and more connections between her and nezumi. bones is hinting something, and i am catching no balls.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 8

Episode 8 was simply fantastic. My favorite episode yet.

Lots of great character and plot reveals. Lots of good use of supporting cast characters, and new characters. And yeah, the singing scene was epic, and major kudos to Nezumi's seiyu there.

I really love the world-building in this episode. It honestly makes me think of Orwell's 1984 as re-imagined by Hayao Miyazaki.

I say this due to the implicit environmentalist angle in this episode (as well as the well-done settings). Subtle, but strong.

With this episode, we can see a clear direction where things are going.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 9

The BGM for Episode 9 really added a lot to it.

I truly loved the militaristic score that was playing during the massacre and round-up section. This anime uses BGM, and music in general, very nicely.

The sheer, unadulterated, dehumanizing brutality of No. 6 has been displayed very well. It treats human beings like cattle... arguably worse than cattle, in fact. Straight up Nazi symbolism there, no doubt about it. Storming the ghetto, rounding up the survivors as slaves, the trucks, euthanizing the old and useless. It was, as is so often the case with this series, subtle as a stick in the eye - but it was effective.

At this juncture, Nezumi's goals are perfectly understandable. The people running No. 6 really have to go.

All-in-all, great episode. Now to see what the big reveal is!

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 10

operation starts. that is one gigantic mountain of corpses, i dont blame sion for throwing up in an instant after realising it. nezumi must have some stomach of steel.

watching dogkeeper get a baby and entrusting /hisher dog to take care of it mirrors /hisher own background, no wonder she/he was quite shaken. well, her/his gender is still unconfirmed, so i will continue this she/he thing for the last episode if she/he has a role in it.

breaking in the high level institute is no easy tasks by any means, and safu's way of inviting them to her was downright creepy. she is elyurias, elyurias is safu? hmm, hope the last episode explains it. inflirtration was a big success of the combined efforts of the 4, until the gun fight which eventually got nezumi's arm and leg. sion's ruthless streak would have shocked me, if it wasnt for the preview last week, but clearly, he wasnt himself when he gave the baldy 2 headshots. nezumi's shock was clearly evident, as he broke down in horror at sion's actions.

safu is possessed. how this will play in the last episode, i have 100% faith in bones.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 10

On the whole, that was an excellent episode that almost felt like a North American action movie-thriller. The numerous obstacles that had to be maneuvered around in order to reach Safu were impressive, and even more impressively overcome by our 4-member infiltration team. The "jailbreak" side of things in this episode was very well-done, I felt.


I also liked seeing a bit of philosophical/role juxtaposition between Nezumi and Sion in this episode. Nezumi is still a strict pragmatist at heart, but you can tell that Sion's heartfelt idealism has won him over a bit.

Basically, Nezumi is willing to make the hard, morally messy choices in order to get things done, but he still wants unshakeable idealists like Sion to exist because, somewhat paradoxically, that makes fighting for the cause that much more worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Sion is first disgusted, then disturbed, and then finally morally enraged by what he sees in this episode. And I can't blame him in the least (more on that in a bit). So Sion starts acting like Nezumi at his most ruthless. So while Sion changes to be more like Nezumi, Nezumi himself is actually emotionally distressed by that. Very nice characterization and relationship dynamics here.

In particular, I liked how Sion totally takes over for a second, after he seems to recognize a room that he just entered (it does look familiar to me as well - similar to the room we saw Sion in as a No. 6 worker back in Episode 2).

Dogkeeper and Rikiga's scenes were nicely interwoven into the broader plot, and made things even more lively.

The cliffhanger ending with Safu was very well-handled and well-directed. It was rewarding to see Sion finally reach her, yet just a tiny bit creepy all at the same. It made for a very effective cliffhanger.

Now, one thing I'm unsure about is how these captured people were handled. From what I can gather, they're all just dumped (like trash) down the metallic equivalent of a deep, dark pit, and just left there to die. I mean... wow, you don't see this level of evil everyday.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 11 and series review

A befitting end to a great series by its standards. I am satisfied with the ending, minusing the BL part of course.

Everything is revealed, everything answered. 4 years ago when Nezumi escaped to find Sion, he was captured and transported because he was the sole survivor of the forest people, and the idiots wanted to capture him to try and understand Elyurias, whom they deemed to have immense powers to save their lands again. Having failed, those fools experimented here and there, with Elyurias indirectly providing them with the perfect sample in Safu, to allow her manifestion in her, to punish all no. 6 citizens on a 'no. 6 wide' scale of insect infestation.

Sion's reactions at Safu now being Elyurias was kinda of hard to bear, after he was wrestled down by an already injured Nezumi claming all his plans of 'breaking the walls' was a too much of idealism thinking. With the destruction of 'mother', the facility collapsed, with the insect infestation in no. 6 turning into golden tornadoes sweeping across the entire place, eventually crippling and breaking down the walls surrounding no. 6.

Sion's desperation and disbelief of Safu's death inevitably led to Nezumi being shot again, and eventually Sion did lose his life. While dogkeeper and Rikiga priortised their lives ahead of a dead boy and a half-dead one, we have anime miracles! Manifesting in Safu's form again, she 'revived and reliefed' everyone of pain, bringing back Sion and Nezumi so that they can see the 'new' no. 6. Happy end. Definitely befitting.

One more thing, the last scene where Karan ran towards the broken walls shouting her son's name with the ED song playing behind was perfect in many ways. Just goes how much Sion is part of her life and her love for son, and the song helped leaps and bounds.

OVERALL:

Kudos to BONES. Never disappointed in anyway, the suspense and emotions were well-balanced and maintained till the very last episode. Good directing on their part, as they managed to close the anime and all the loose ends in 11 episodes. An unassuming story to begin with the BL tones and the eventual BL scenes, I wouldnt have hoped for a better happy end except if Safu was still around with Sion. The last kiss scene was 'necessary', but obviously i didnt like it. The trust between the 2 guys are exceptional, even after all the trouble and the lies each other told on each other.

Show was well-handled again definately, then once again the BL may turn people off. i admire BONES' efforts with sticking to their original plans for this series, it has paid off well. Their sorta mad ideas to combine BL and an entire conspiracy within a 'utopia city' had great effect. I walk away from this unscathed, and enjoyed the good experience that the show has provided.

 

[Kou]

That ending! I'm not really sure about what I just watched. Anticlimactic doesn't even begin to describe it.

Spoiler: episode 11

A lot of what happened in this episode didn't make much sense to me. The walls of No. 6 coming down was good to see, as was Sion and Nezumi surviving. But other than that, this is one really chaotic and messy ending.

I hated how they used Safu at the end of the series. She basically just became a plot device. Dog Keeper and Rikigia just run off in the end? They weren't my favorite characters but I think they deserved better. Same with Youming who seems to be eaten by the bees.

Characters dying to only come back to life in the end...pointless. I didn't like Shion's death or revivial And I hated hated how Nezumi and Sion separated in the end. There was no reason whatsoever for this. Hey I love bitter sweet endings. But not random pointless ones. The only thing I could think during Shion's "death" scene was how many hammy Shakespearean quotes I could come up with to poke fun at it. I think the two that immediately sprang to mind were, "Goodnight, sweet Shion. And flights of rainbow wasps sing thee to thy rest", and "For never was a story of more woe, than this of Rat and his Shion".

Spoiler: final impressions

It managed to create an interesting fictional world. It did a pretty good job of combining serious sci-fi with sociopolitical commentary, and drawing all of that out with an attention-grabbing cast of characters that complimented one another well.

But the problem is that it just couldn't bring it all together for a good, sensible ending with a clear, concise thematic drive. No doubt the 11-episode format plays a factor. I'm starting to think that noitaminA should quit trying to make these "brain" anime shows and stick to "heart" anime shows, because the brain shows simply take more time than this. C likely demonstrates this as well.

But I don't think that the format alone is the entire problem. No. 6 seemed a bit too caught up in symbolism to me, turning the story a bit too much into theater of the mind for its own sake. Symbolism is a great narrative tool, which can help a lot with conveying ideas and themes, but good writers shouldn't let it overwhelm the characters and the plot to the point that important characterization moments and plot points just don't make sense on a concrete level any more. Partly with this in mind, No. 6 was occasionally over the top, and perhaps that almost forced it into this chaotic mess of an ending that seeks to be even louder and more explosive than the evil antagonism that we saw on display in Episodes 9 and 10.


tl;dr No. 6 was an ambitious anime with many strengths, but it was undone by not being subtle and well-developed enough. That will probably be how I remember it.

Spoiler: omake dialogue (credits go to grifis)

Nezumi: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: we're going to part for the ending.
Shion: But, Nezumi, no, I don't want to part with you...
Nezumi: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what will happen if we end up holding hands walking toward the sunset? Ten out of ten chances, No. 6 will be labeled a shonenai with happy ending. I can't stand it. We're not shonenai. We're scifi and we're definitely not typical.
Shion: So what if it's a shonenai with happy ending? I like shonenai with happy ending. Are you in denial or something?
Nezumi: No baby no. But it's the author's intention to keep her audience broad. We also don't want to limit the number of viewers who can witness our great love story. We want strike them with an impact so they'll remember this obscure ending. Remember Berserk?
Shion: You only say that because you want to leave me for some girl.
Nezumi: I'm saying that because it's true. There ain't no girl in No. 6. There's only you and me because we're canon baby. Inside of us, we both know we belong to each other. The fangirl and fanboy factions both understand that as well. We're doing this for the greater cause (whatever it is.) If we don't, we may regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of our lives.
Shion: But what about us?
Nezumi: We'll always have No.6. We've kind of lost it for a few episodes. But we just got it back recently after I got shot and then you got shot.
Shion: When I said I would never leave you.
Nezumi: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Shion, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of two little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.
Shion: You cold-hearted son of a forest village you....
Nezumi: Now, now...
[Nezumi gently places his hand under Shion's chin and raises it so their eyes meet]
Nezumi: Here's looking at you my dear Shion. (Then they kiss.)