Code:Breaker Review

By James U.

Review at a Glance:

Rating:

3 out of 5

Highest Point:

The main antagonist Hitomi is probably one of the few reasons to really watch this show.

Lowest Point:

Too many characters, too little time. Most of them are shallow, with very little reason to be attached to them.

Recommendation:

Code:Breaker has a lot of potential, but falls flat due to it being incomplete. It sets up an interesting world and fills it with entertaining characters, but ends up feeling bland and unrefined. For all its faults it’s still worth watching, but don’t expect too much.

Overview

Code:Breaker is an anime adaptation (What isn’t these days?) of an ongoing action-oriented manga written by  Kimijyo Akimine (of Samurai Deeper Kyo fame). The anime started airing October 12, 2013 and is directed by Irie Yasuhiro, whose directorial history includes the very brilliant Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Premise

Code:Breaker is set in present day Japan, where a clandestine government organization composed of people with elemental superpowers called Code:Breakers keep the country safe and the masses ignorant by conducting assassinations across the country. Enter Sakurakoji Sakura (*sigh*), a normal high school girl (*sigh*) who witnesses one of the Code:Breakers Ogami Rei completely torch a bunch of fools. Naturally, Ogami Rei becomes a transfer student to Sakura’s school the next day (*sigh*).

His superpower is being a transfer student in an anime.

Ogami makes no effort to hide his sideline occupation as he tells Sakura that he’s an agent of the government tasked with killing bad guys that would make too much of a political mess if assassinated the normal way (because elemental superpowers are subtle, shut up). This prompts Sakura to go all Mother Teresa on him and tries to teach him the value of human life... by accompanying him on his missions and talking his ear off.

“Why are you all laughing? I’m being helpful!”

Meanwhile, the main antagonist and rogue Code:Breaker, Hitomi is on the run from the government, causing anarchy along the way as he claims to “end the world”. It’s not certain what his true goal is or what his intentions are, but it’s made clear early on that he has his own agenda that conflicts with that of the government’s (and by extension, the Code:Breakers’).

His crime is being sexier than the main protagonists.

Right Ear on Yellow Tile

The world of Code:Breaker is potentially deep, figuratively (and sometimes literally) dark, and best of all: twisted. The premise of a secret government organization taking out targets that are too politically charged is a very interesting one, and the fact that they threw in superpowers into the mix is an added plus.

That looks like a rather painful money shot.

While the overarching plot is fairly decent in itself, the short storylines peppered throughout the series can get surprisingly deep. It shows just how bad the world is (or at least Japan) to the point that they need the Code:Breakers to fix it (secretly of course). Several operations carried out by Ogami involve some form of abduction, and takes it as an opportunity to show the twisted nature of the criminals as well as the twisted mindset of a Code:Breaker. One of the better storylines in the series involve the treatment of other superpowered humans, and that shit can get really horrible (in a good way).

Unfortunately, it’s not without its flaws. Most of the storylines are somewhat self-contained, only being lightly referenced in later episodes. It’s quite jarring to see the story shift from a dark tale of abduction and abuse (and eventually, arson-induced killings) to a comedy about this kid who turns into a cat when he’s tired.

Wait, Who’s That Guy Again?

It’s true that Code:Breaker has some interesting characters (or at least character dynamics),  but it also has a lot of characters, ranging from classmates to prime ministers. That’s all well and good, but it does fall into that trap where there are way too many characters and there’s way too little time to significantly explore any them.

Take the Code:Breakers for example; the core team consists of a bunch of colorful dudes (and a dudette) with superpowers... and you only really get to know around half of them. Sure, they have their introductory sequences (well, most of them anyway) and they pop in here and there, but in the end you don’t really get to feel any sort of attachment to them other than the fact that they have cooler powers than the hero. Seriously, his flame thing gets boring fast.

Oh fire powers? Oh, yeah that’s... that’s cool. Sure, let’s go with that.

The end result is that you’ve got several characters who might be interesting, but end up being flat and banal (I used that word because it sounds like anal).

Pictured: A flat character... that I’d do banally (in the ass).

While the series more or less fails in exploring the characters, it at least succeeds in characterization. Most of the named characters have their own little personal tics that set them apart from the rest of the background people making them a little more memorable.

Not to say that ALL the characters are shallow though. The good thing here is that whenever the story decides to flesh out or explore a particular character, it’s done competently, and sometimes even done well.

The One-Sided Dynamic Duo

The dynamic between normal high school girl Sakurakoji Sakura and superpowered borderline psychotic transfer student Ogami Rei is central to the series, and it’s fun to watch. Sakurakoji Sakura is... well, in a word, weird. She’s the type to be set on a particular train of thought and freakin’ runs with it almost to the point of being unfettered. Her main goal is to teach Ogami the value of life, and she will do almost anything to drill that into his skull, even if she has to accompany him during his operations. This becomes a comedic plot point as her obsession with Ogami is misconstrued as a romantic one.

She also happens to be oblivious to certain social cues.

Ogami Rei, on the other hand, is a bit of an odd case. It’s hard not to like him because he’s got all the traits of the cool guy, and yet he does some really despicable shit that makes you wanna shiv him. The behavior isn’t consistent either. One moment he’s being a dick, then in another he’ll show some form of compassion. He’s a fun character to watch simply because he’s a little less predictable compared to most anime heroes.

Ogami does have some completely “wha?” moments though. There are certain things that he says or does that have little to no justification whatsoever, and it feels like a poor attempt at adding complexity to the character.

He’s also a bit of a banal hole.

The Quality of Your Foes and All That

The main antagonist of Code:Breaker is former Code:Beaker Ace, Hitomi. He’s probably one of the few reasons to really watch this show, not because he’s the prettiest guy in the series, but because he is a very complex character. See, he starts out as the obvious villain, but as time goes on Hitomi’s character gets peeled back slowly.

I’m a guy, and even I want to peel him back slowly.

Early on, it’s revealed that Hitomi used to be Code:01 (though he’s still referred to as 01 or Ace), the best of the best among the Code:Breakers. This isn’t quite obvious at first, and it’s somewhat odd that the other characters still worship him (though not for those reasons). Around two-thirds of the way, the series begins to show more about him. I won’t spoil anything, but it does make him THAT much more interesting.

Pitting his actions against his morals and goals, and trying to reconcile them might be a bit of a stretch, but it does add to Hitomi’s complexity. It’ll seem like a bit of an asspull initially, but eventually you just go “huh, I guess I would act that way”. His conflicting characteristics also make him seem more human, because in reality, nobody is completely one-dimensional.

Like Ogami, it’s incredibly difficult to get a read on him. He’ll kick the dog several times a day (like he’s got some quota) with a smile on his face, and you can’t help but hate him, yet at the same time you know (or will eventually find out) why he’s such a bastard.

Seriously, how can you not like this guy?

The way Hitomi’s character can make the viewer flip-flop between hating him and liking him is excellent, and probably the best experience to be had from the series. In the end, it’s quite possible to question whether all the love he’s getting is justified or forced, and even then I think it’s part of the experience. He’s a bastard, but he’s a likeable bastard is what I’m saying.

All Fluff, no Fluids

Since Code:Breaker has superpowers, it should have superpowered fights. It’s science.

Pictured: Science, but with more hair.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the quality of the fights in Code:Breaker. On one hand, the effects are pretty decent, if not good. On the other hand, it’s just a lot of differently-colored lights thrashing around the screen. See, I like my fights like I like my porn: it has to have quick and fluid movements, and dynamic camera angles. The flashy powers are just icing on the woman’s nipples.

A great porn has fluids in motion, coupled with dynamic camera angles. And maybe some banal.

Code:Breaker’s fight scenes, while competent enough, isn’t as exciting as it should be and it’s hard to tell why. You see them jump 20 feet in the air, hurling fireballs at each other as they utterly wreck the battlefield. Seriously, it’s good and I want to enjoy it, but it doesn’t feel... awesome. It doesn’t wow me. Going back to that porn analogy, I suppose it’s like seeing a nice enough porno, except the girl’s proportions are borderline inhuman already and it just can’t get you hard. Perhaps the variety of superpowers got me setting my expectations too high. Or perhaps it’s because I’ve seen much more awesome fight scenes with superpowers (case in point: FMA Brotherhood).

Or maybe I just watch too much porn. Banal porn.

But Don’t Get Too Excited

I mentioned earlier that Code:Breaker’s world is potentially deep. See, I say “potentially” because it really only ever sets up a decent world before the series ends (uh... Spoiler alert?). It’s not so bad when you realize that the manga is still ongoing, but it does get pretty disappointing when you reach the end only to find out that you could knit a pretty decent (or indecent) set of lace lingerie from all the dangling plot threads.

Here’s something for your disappointment.

Take the Code:Breakers for example. I mentioned earlier that you only get to know a little over half of them, and while they do have their awesome moments, it’s kinda sad to reach the tail-end of the series and go “I still don’t know a lick of information about this guy.” It’s even worse for characters who are only lightly explored upon since they’re the ones who have dangling character arcs that’ll never be explained within the anime.

Relevant.

It could be something to be explored in the second season, but the fact that the manga is still kinda young (5 years or so at the time of writing) and that nobody promised a second season, means you’ll probably have to switch to the manga instead.

*sigh* We meet again, Fuck You Guy.

Conclusion

To borrow a phrase from Alex M., Code:Breaker is “intriguing but ultimately insubstantial”. It has an interesting premise in spite of all the cliches, an awesome antagonist, and a lot of good ideas set up, but in the end it counts for shit since you’re left hanging. Sure, there’s a chance that there might be a second season, but I wouldn’t count on it. A mediocre anime like this is difficult to recommend, however there are enough reasons to watch it. Its pros outweigh the cons by a margin just big enough to make me give it a thumbs up. Just don’t expect too much, otherwise you’re gonna have a bad time.

3 out of 5.