Tokko

Tokko is a lot like the MTV-produced film Napoleon Dynamite; you either love it or hate it, and there is little in-between. An anime with a decent online rating Tokko was unsuccessful in obtaining a second season or OVA due to its low viewer ratings.

Tokko is the brainchild of mangaka and illustrator Tooru Fujisawa. Best known for the manga GTO or Great Teacher Onizuka, many of his works involve Yakuza, bikers, and martial arts. The manga Tokko originally ran from 2003 to 2004 and was serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon.

The manga has been translated into English via Tokyopop and is available online. A follow-up to Tokko was released in four volumes titled Tokko Zero. It ran from 2013 to 2016 and was serialized in Monthly Hero's Magazine. The follow-up is written by Fujisawa and illustrated by Yukai Asada.

The anime adaptation was a 2006 Spring release airing from April 16th to July 30th for thirteen episodes. It was directed by Masashi Abe, best known for his work on MHA, Blue Gender, and  High School Fleet, and written by Mitsuhiro Yamada.

Tokko, sometimes spelled Tokkou, was animated by AIC Spirits and Group Tac. Tokku is a Woowoo, Shochiku production licensed in North America by Manga Entertainment. It is rated R and features the genres of horror, comedy, supernatural, mystery, and action.

Tokko: Special Mobile Investigation Force is a division of the Shibuya Police Precinct. The story follows Ranmaru Shindo, a hot-headed husbando who is a bit of an airhead; he’s a blond who struggles with sister love.

Having lost his parents in a bloody homicide, Shindo becomes a Detective in Tokki. He joins to investigate the deaths of his parents and the massacre of countless others in what is known as the Machiba incident. Five years prior, the event left few survivors, including him and his sister Saya.

Bent on revenge, Shindo is haunted by dreams of the massacre and woman that he can not explain and perhaps his scantily clad sister waking him up in the morning. As Shindo searches for clues, he learns that the apartments still exist and goes to investigate.

The incident was ruled a natural disaster by the government. The surrounding area and a large hole remaining in the ground are heavily guarded by numerous men resembling Secret Service Agents. Quite a lot of security for a natural disaster.

As the mystery unfolds, Shindo is often sidetracked by his colleagues at the Precinct. He often finds himself under the spotlight of his Yakuza dressing superior Kaoru Kunikada. Mainly due to his lack of punctuality, Shindo and cop buddy Hanazono are often tasked with cleaning the many bathrooms of the Precinct.

The use of comedy is an excellent driver as Shindo bumps into Assistant Inspector Kureha Suzuka and her superior Ryoko Ibuki, Commanding Officer of the Tokko division.

Tokko, a name meaning "Special Attack Unit" and associated with WWII kamikaze pilots, is the name given to the secret organization within the Special Mobile Investigation Force. Known as Tokko: Special Public Safety Task Force, the unit is primarily made up of four members, Kureha, Ryoko, Takera Inukai, and Sakura Rokujo. The latter is the woman he has seen in his dreams.

Tokko is a fitting name for this police story. As is the case in many police stories, there is constant infighting between branches and members, and Tokko is no exception. The Secret division of Tokko is not well received by the S.M.I.F, especially Kunikada, who holds deep reservations about the division and its members. Primarily Kureha constantly chides him about his family. A typical trope found in anime, Kureha is very passionate about the S.M.I.F and takes the loss of his men seriously.

Throughout the city, holes begin to open in the ground. These holes, known as the gates of Hell, are the home to the Phantoms that invade Japan. These phantoms feast on humans’ blood and turn others into mindless zombies who do the same. They are especially fond of the traitors associated with Machida, and it's no pleasant surprise that when Shindo and the S.M.I.F encounter them, he gains their interest.

Initially, Shindo was a bit of an annoyance. He is the typical hot head. Full of fire and often failing to think before he left into action. He is often aloof and treated like a child by his younger sister. As the resident husbando Shindo garnered much female attention, an attribute that was tastefully used throughout the series. And while he had scenes involving each of the anime's female cast, Tokko does not become a Harem anime. As he learns more about himself and the phantoms, Shindo matures.

This is partly due to Kureha and Sakura, who, through their ties to Machiba and their maturity, keep Shindo's emotions in check, furthering his growth. Because he is the central protagonist of Tokko, he is the only character who receives any significant development.

This is not to say that the other characters remain static. Some like Saya and Kunikada were already established in their personalities and sense of duty. In contrast, others such as the Tokko Unaffiliated sister brother Phantom hunters Mayu and Itsuto make multiple appearances and receive a bit of backstory and development.

Being limited to thirteen episodes, Mitsuhiro Yamada does his best to provide development to several characters, including Sakura, Kureha, and Inukai. The latter was quiet and reserved. He held resentment for not being able to save his sister from capture by the phantoms. As resentment, revenge, and sacrifice are underlying themes present throughout the anime; he broke those bonds while saving the lives of his friends.

It will be evident to the viewer that there was mixed hope with Tokko. The anime varies in its art and animation quality and falls short even among comparable anime made between 2004 and 2007.  At times specific episodes were animated with better quality than others and may result from two studios handling the animation.

On the plus side, the characters are very distinctive, and the biker uniforms worn by the Special Public Safety Task Force show that they operate outside the law’s confines. As stated in the anime, they technically don't exist. Additionally, their use of Swords instead of guns highlights the samurai aesthetic present in the anime.

While this is a plus, there was an apparent lack of creativity in monster design. The monsters are standard fare, and their movements are generally not fluid and, at times, indistinguishable. There was an effort made in the design for Taishi. Tashi is the main antagonist and is a symbiote like the survivors of Machiba. Being an Alchemist who is long-lived, his dress and abilities are similar to a shaman or monk.

Tokko boasts an exciting soundtrack. Its intro titled "Nothing" and ending theme titled "Sherry," both performed by dB, were average dance tracks that were quickly forgotten. The highlight, however, is the amount of electronic music present in the anime. While cd is out of print, it boasted a lineup consisting of DJ Baku, Numb, NO MILK, and NUDEJAZZ, to name a few. Eight artists, excluding dB, worked on the 11 track soundtrack. The album was licensed through Universal Japan, and samples can be found online if interested.

As stated, Tokko is an anime that you either love or hate. It's enjoyable though the plot can get a bit murky at times. The comedy is good, and it has a compelling story; however, several things will be apparent to viewers. First, the budget was not high for this anime. It is evident from the entire story that it genuinely requires more episodes to flesh itself out. Secondly, a better animation studio should have handled this project.

Several anime released the same year, including Black Lagoon, Nana, and Witchblade, feature much better anime and far eclipse Tokko. That being the case, a better studio would have pushed this anime into better Fandom territory. At thirteen episodes, it's worth a watch, but moreover, it deserves a remake as it failed to reach its potential.