Babylon
Synopsis
In the newly formed Shiniki district of Tokyo, Zen Seizaki is a diligent public prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Assigned to a case involving false advertisement, Zen—along with his assistant officer, Atsuhiko Fumio—investigate Japan Supiri, a pharmaceutical company that had provided fabricated clinical research on the company's new drug. While investigating the file of Shin Inaba, an anesthesiologist connected to the crime, the case takes a dark turn when Zen finds a page stained with a mixture of blood, hair and skin, along with the letter "F" scribbled all across the sheet. As he investigates further, the case goes beyond Zen's imagination and becomes vastly complex, challenging his sense of justice and his knowledge of the truth. Digging deeper into the investigation, Zen begins to uncover a concealed plot behind the ongoing mayoral election and ties to many people of interest involved in the election and those closer than he thinks. The case grows more severe and propels Zen into an unforeseen hurricane of corruption and deceit behind the election, the establishment of the Shiniki district, and the mysterious woman associated with it all. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience Consensus
Audience sentiment is heavily divided. While many praised the initial episodes for their intriguing premise, philosophical depth, and mature themes, a significant portion expressed disappointment with the latter half's convoluted plot, nonsensical ending, and abandonment of the initial premise. The show's exploration of morality and suicide sparked debate, but ultimately left many viewers unsatisfied due to perceived plot inconsistencies and character derailment.
Strengths
- Masterful writing in the first half, tension, and direction
- Interesting examination of Good vs Evil
- Unique art style and brilliant score
- Intriguing themes and wide range of characters
- Amazing animation and ability to create the desired atmosphere
- Superb voice acting and atmospheric background music
- Well chalked out characters that remain consistent throughout the show
- Intelligent and logically taut series that asks important and profound questions about virtues, ethics and life itself
- engrossing identity and keeps viewers absolutely intoxicated
Weaknesses
- Story falls apart after the first 5-7 episodes
- Becomes pretentious, extremely unrealistic, and absurd
- Ending is nonsensical and invalidates almost everything the show had built up to that point
- Narrative shifts from catching the villain to a political debate
- The show is tonally all over the place
- Uneven pacing that feels too fast and too slow at the same time
- Dialogue is dry, bland and soulless
- Poorly researched strawman fallacies in discussions
- Thematic elements are not subtle
- inconsistent narrative and comic book villain is introduced