This week was really a hell week for me because of prelims, midterms, reporting, performance tasks, projects, and quizzes that crowded my schedule. So to somehow relieve the stress that's been accumulating in me lately, as usual on my Friday night, I decided to binge-watch a comedy anime. It's been a long time since I watched one, so I was really excited! However, when I finished it, I was left with a weird feeling. It felt like I watched something that I shouldn't have watched (because I value my straight-mindedness). Enough with the prattling; be with me as we join these hardboiled men as they turn into idols, and now they will live their gokudo as the Gokudols in Back Street Girls: Gokudols.
About the Anime:
Back Street Girls: Gokudols is a seinen anime that premiered in the summer of 2018. It aired from July 4, 2018 to September 5, 2018. It was produced by Toei Video and Kodansha and was animated by J.C. Staff. Its genres are comedy and ecchi, while its main themes revolve more on gag humor, extraordinary sex change, organized crime, and idol! It has 10 episodes in total, and it's based on manga that was written and illustrated by Jasmine Gyuh.
Ultimately failing their boss, Ryo, Kentarou, and Kaz have to face a life-changing decision. Refusing to sacrifice their organs and lives, they have to sacrifice another important thing—and it's their manhood. After having sex reassignment surgery in Thailand and a year of hard training to become the ideal idols, they were now reintroduced as new idols—the Gokudols. They thought that they would not be a hit on their debut, but to their dismay, their debut became a tremendous success—and that's where their true torment started.
Despite the harsh physical and mental training that they've experienced, these three yakuza refused to give up the remnant of their past lives. They all vowed to keep their yakuza spirit alive. However, things won't certainly go their way, as they're now left with no choice but to live their lives now as cute idols. Forced to unleash their inner cuteness (was there any in the first place?) and their hard-trained talent, they now embark on their journey to become successful idols. But somewhere on those tiring days of being idols, they wished—that someday, this long, harsh life would be revealed as a prank.
I don't know why I managed to finish it despite how weird (and sometimes disturbing) it was—maybe my rational mind has totally left me while watching it (haha). It was really intriguing at first because the premise is somehow promising. It's really got an unusual plot of hardboiled yakuza turned into cute idols. I thought those men would end up like a messed-up version of idols who have cute faces with irregular bodies, but their transformation totally caught me off guard. I mean—how could those rugged men turn into cute and beautiful idols who have perfectly girlish bodies? It was totally unrealistic, but I guess that's part of the usual anime comedy—the impossible coming into the possible.
It isn't really my first time watching comedy anime, so I'm not new to Japanese subjective jokes. I know not all people can appreciate their twisted sense of humor, especially the ones that involve lgbtq+ jokes, but the silliness of the characters really cracked me up. The Gokudols were exactly the definition of gap moe characters because, despite how girly they look, they still think and act (in their private moments) as yakuza. The comedy wasn't really that flawlessly humorous because, for me, not all the time it's funny. I really find it somewhat sad that despite how loyal those three yakuza men were, they were undervalued by their boss. I don't know if that's still part of the comedy, but I think those three deserve better.
As for the art style, I'm gonna be frank and say it's not good. It's not really to my liking, and it's the first anime that I don't have a bias! The men there were okay (it even reminds me of the men from Way of Husband), but the way the women were drawn was weird. I guess it's their way of enhancing further the comedy (because it wouldn't be that funny if their face wouldn't look ridiculous). I thought it's just the art style, but the animation was quite disappointing. I noticed that they reused a lot of still frames, and the characters look bland whenever they're having a dialogue. Their eyes look like they're ripped off straight from manga because they look so still, save for their mouths that were moving. I expected that they would at least animate the idol performance parts decently, but once again it was still the ppt like frames with just minimal effects to just make it feel like they're performing.
Even though the animation and art style were quite disappointing, I really like their music. The voice actors really did a good job in portraying their characters—especially the gap moe Gokudols! Also, Rina's eccentric Japanese accent didn't fail to make me laugh because it's both cringy and funny to hear him/her talk. The soundtrack was also catchy, especially the opening song. It really gives off typical Jpop idol vibes, and if you don't pay attention to its lyrics, you can really assume that it's a totally wholesome song. However, it's not because it's low-key giving off the plot of the series, which is somehow yakuza-coded.
Overall, it really lived its comedy genre because it was really hilarious. It doesn't have a continuous plot because each episode is composed of various skits from the lives of the characters. Even though its plot is like that, it didn't make me feel confused about its story at all. Each episode was silly and funny, and even though it isn't that visually satisfying, it didn't fail to entertain me. So if you're up for a chaotic and vulgar comedy with yakuza and idols—then you definitely should watch the Gokudols in Back Street Girls: Gokudols.
Before I end this review, I gladly share with you its opening song, so minna love, love, pyon, pyon~!
Have you watched this anime before? Or is this your first time encountering? Feel free to share your comment if this anime interests you. That's all for now, minna-san! I hoped you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.