When I finished watching Gangsta, I was genuinelly disappointed with its conclusion, which is a shame because it’s pretty good overall. While Manglobe filed for Bankruptcy just days after the final episode of Gangsta aired, they still managed to create an entertaining show. However, the anime has numerous flaws, which means that a list of the biggest problems with Gangsta is in order! This means, I’ll be listing the biggest issues with Manglobe’s anime adaptation. So scroll down and take a look at the problems that I thought made Gangsta lackluster!
Keep in mind that I enjoyed watching Gangsta, and that other Gangsta lists are coming! I’m working on the “best characters” list, which will be published withing a few days, so keep an eye out for that! In the meantime, here are my other lists!
This list is solely based on the anime!
5. Too Few Competitive Fights
I wonder how many proper fights were in Gangsta? Legitimately, there weren’t that many, and most of them were abrubtly ended or downright one-sided. Considering how much emphasis is put on Twilights and their power levels, I was expecting more fights like Nicolas Brown vs Doug.
The anime even makes a point of Nic being a “faker” for boosting his rank by popping Celebrer and stealing tags. Why wasn’t this developed further? He literally beat Doug, while being a low category Tag, which is a big deal. While he faked it, why couldn’t we have seen more fights with tags?
In all fairness, there were 3-4 good fights, like the Bastard club brawl, Ricky and Miles vs Striker, and Nic vs B/5. In addition to the Nic vs Doug fight I mentioned above. But it wasn’t enough to satisfy my bloody needs, and I wanted so much more!
4. Alex Benedetto’s Role Should’ve Been Bigger
We get enough of Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown, but not enough of Alex Benedetto, the third member of The Handymen. With her demons and disturbing past, the story writes itself. We’re talking about a prositute, hooked on drugs, who abandoned her little brother and must now find a way to live with herself. She’s also an accomplice to what Ricky and Nic are doing, and she’s just learning about Twilights. In addition, she doesn’t even get to know why the two men saved her from Barry, and it’s downright frustrating! I mean, Ally’s genuinelly disturbed, and that’s portrayed well, but we don’t get to learn enough about her to properly care. If only she had reunited with her little brother in the anime, maybe then it would be a different story.
3. Too Many Characters, Too Little Time
Gangsta has plenty of colorful characters, but far too few episodes to make sense of everyone’s inclusion. Thus, you’ll be left wondering “who’s that?” as new characters are added even in the final few episodes. While everything is clear-cut in Kohske’s manga, it’s cloudy in Manglobe’s anime adaptation. Honestly, this would be fine if the story continued, but it doesn’t.
In the anime, valuable time is wasted on under-developed characters, that are either pointless or Manglobe does nothing with them. I’m talking about Delico, who doesn’t add anything to the story, and Ally’s brother Emilio, siblings who never reunite. Then there are characters like Erica and Mikhail who are very interesting, and nothing is done with them. In all honesty, you could remove 10+ characters from the show, and the story wouldn’t change one bit! Please keep in mind that I’m in-fact speaking solely about the anime, and not the manga.
The problem is that Manglobe bit off more than they could chew, not knowing what their future would hold; a bankruptcy. In turn, I believe they wanted to create a longer season, as episode 12 ends like every other episode, without anything “final” about it. It makes me think that they just didn’t expect to go bankrupt when they started adapting Kohske’s manga. That’s it.
2. Main Storyline & Side Plots Don’t Progress
Talk about teasing the audience, right? Whether it’s the relationship between Ricky and Nic or Ally’s reasoning for sticking with The Handymen, nothing gets answered. And I mean nothing! Why did Nicolas Brown save Ricky? Why did Daniel Monroe work with Ivan Glaziev? Who and what are “insert name here”? I’m pretty sure you get what I mean, right? Simply put, there’s too many plot lines that move at a snails pace, which results in the viewer feeling lost. Why? Because no plot lines get resolved, while new ones are still being added, creating an overload of information that is never complete. It’s just a frustrating experience, especially if you have not read Kohske’s manga. Thus, I suggest giving it a read, as it’s fantastic.
1. Disappointing Ending – Gangsta Is Cancelled, as Studio Manglobe Files for Bankruptcy
The final episode of Gangsta aired on September 27, 2015. Two days later, on September 29, Manglobe Inc. filed for bankruptcy, with an estimated debt of about 350 million yen. This meant that Gangsta was their last project, and it’s obvious, considering how poorly they wrapped it up. In turn, the anime was not properly finished, meaning that it ends without a conclusion to Ricky and Nicolas Brown’s storyline. This, of course, means that Gangsta will leave you disappointed.
So, how was Gangsta affected by the bankruptcy? First and foremost, the show gets gradually worse, with less progression and no character development. In-fact, it seems that Manglobe’s employees weren’t motivated to finish it, with the last 4 episodes being particularly lackluster. I’m not even talking about episode 9.5 (full recap) but the actual episodes that offered little to nothing to the audience. However, I don’t blame the employees! I mean, they likely knew of the impending bankruptcy and were just doing their best. In turn, it’s sad to see the show wither away one episode after another, with no plot line being resolved and no questions answered. In the end, you’re teased with an epic war that doesn’t come to pass, and you’ll want to turn to Kohske’s manga for the conclusion. Thus, this tops the list of the biggest problems with Gangsta!
