The Gangsta anime suffered one of the great tragedies in animation, which was the bankruptcy of their studio, Manglobe, back in 2015. Therefore, the anime only had one season and a lot of fans were left frustrated, especially because the quality of the series was definitely worth someone's time.
The great thing about the Gangsta anime is that it dives into very dark and realistic aspects of the world of mobsters, gangs, corruption, and a lot more in a way that most other series in the industry wouldn't dare. And in this day and age where there are so many streaming platforms, Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown's journey through the dirty streets of Ergastulum deserves a second chance.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Gangsta anime.
The Gangsta anime is currently streaming on two popular platforms
The great thing about the Gangsta anime getting a bit more attention in recent times is that there are now a lot more streaming options out there. When it comes to this series, people can watch it on Crunchyroll and Hulu, which are two of the biggest streaming platforms in the whole world.
Regarding the series itself, it has a total of 12 episodes, so it is fairly easy to digest and can be watched in one day. Gangsta, sadly enough, was never properly adapted from beginning to end, so this is the only adaptation out there, as of this writing.
What to expect
The city of Ergastulum is one that is filled with corruption, as a result of which, there are a lot of gangs, mafia, dirty police forces, and many other outlaws. In that regard, the series focuses on two handymen, Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown, who take dirty jobs from the mafia and the police force that no one else is willing to do.
This leads to them finding a guy named Alex, who has lost his memories and stays with them for the time being.
The Gangsta anime could be viewed as the very definition of gritty but does a very good job of balancing that with solid storytelling. The biggest problem of the adaptation by Manglobe is that it only has 12 episodes, so there is a very good portion of Kohske's manga that wasn't taken to the small screen, which is an issue if people would like to continue with the series.
On the other hand, the series has a lot of great moments showing the town's corruption and how the four great powers ruling it struggle for control. This is great world-building and it helps to give the city a much more vibrant and lively feel, which is essential to make the fans understand what is going on and feel immersed in the story as a whole.
Of course, the duo of Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown is a huge selling point. Unlike most main characters in action anime and manga, they are not the most virtuous or noble, but they try to make do with what they have and their dynamics are quite interesting, which is something a lot of people enjoy, especially as Alex begins to regain his memories during the series.
Final thoughts
The Gangsta anime is not really going to be remembered as an all-time great of the medium and there is very little chance of a new adaptation. However, this version by Manglobe had some really interesting moments and is a very good entry point for the story as a whole.