English Dub Review: Tokyo 24th Ward: “RGB, Sepia Graffiti, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”

Overview: Friends and overall good samaritans, Shuta (Billy Kametz), Koki (Landon McDonald), Ran (Zeno Robinson) and Mari (Jackie Lastra) reunite after years apart and come together to solve the mystery of their deceased friend’s resurgence along with problems plaguing the 24th Ward. 

Our Take: Immediately from the get go, CloverWorks’ Tokyo 24th Ward feels big and bold. That can be attributed to any number of reasons such as its visual style with punchy colors and detailed character designs along with breathing life into the architecture of Tokyo. Or the series’ main group of young protagonists in Shuta, Koki, Ran and Mari, who are all childhood friends/local do-gooders that look out for their community and are actively involved in the wellbeing of it. They go their separate ways after a tragedy strikes their close friend, Asumi, who is also the little sister of Kouki. And the series takes the meaning of the word ‘separate’ to heart with how greatly each has progressed after high school and helps out their little island in their own way whether it be outside the law or within the system itself. 

The plot that is laid down wastes no time in establishing various mysteries for the boys to unravel throughout the season. One of those questions being their enhanced abilities acquired through a phone call from their deceased friend, Asumi, warning them of a future catastrophe to take place and the possible outcomes associated with their decisions they choose to make in stopping them. And with a program that predicts where a crime can transpire, it makes one question how all these threads are connected, not to mention how time plays a factor and RGB’s foreknowledge itself affects future crises. Speaking of the ridiculously named friend group, their chemistry is great throughout with their awkwardness from being reunited after being separated for so long along with their cheeky verbal blows making them feel like real friends. 

While being forced to confront the loss of their friend, and in Koki’s case, his sister, there are other internal demons that begin to get stirred as a result of Asumi’s untimely demise. The execution of how compelling they are varies with some being painfully bland and generic like Shuta discouraged that he isn’t the hero he thought he was in not being able to save Asumi. The melodramatic dialogue in regards to this sure as heck doesn’t do it any favors either. However, it’s not all cheap with Mari’s arc being grounded and heartfelt in keeping the boys together, supporting them throughout their ordeals and living up to how influential Asumi was 

There is a warm sense of community that is hand-stitched within the show’s fabric like Shuuta and Mari’s parents being local shop owners trying to make a living or Kouki’s father being the head of a large corporation. Not to mention, there is also RGB’s escapades in their younger years in trying to preserve historical buildings that carry treasured memories and/or significance for them, and even an old high school teacher, Hiroki and his relevance in RGB’s lives, even after they graduated high school due to them saving his daughter. That also translates to problems that arise for RGB like a local food festival, Gourmet Festival, which entails street shops competing for a licensed collaboration with an established brand, catching the attention of a gang leader. With the crooked gangster throwing his establishment’s hat in the ring while sabotaging others, he has fingers in many pies throughout the 24th ward, profiting from his takeover of these establishments. The boys’ entire mission and the mistakes they made along the way serve to show the very real consequences for how RGB chooses to tackle each catastrophe before they occur and establishes a new masked threat behind the scenes.  

CloverWorks new original anime, Tokyo 24th Ward, boasts some colorful visuals, detailed character designs and a great presentation of Tokyo alongside some excellent animation. However, the writing tends to be a mixed bag in regards to how gripping it can be, along with certain character arcs. Fortunately, RGB and the city they protect are just interesting enough to keep me along for the ride.