Shibuya Fifteen

I'm surprised there isn't a lot of buzz about this show. Apparently it is based on a 12 or so volume long manga, which adds some credibility. The show is solid, but solid doesn't really get you far all the time, especially in a science fiction romance action drama.

The plot of the show follows the kids of three gangs in what is a virtual Shibuya, Tokyo, as well as Ema, the local superpowered rogue, and her reincarnated lover Tsuyoshi. The whole substance of the show revolves around the undefined mysteries of this particular virtual Shibuya, and because it is only 12 episodes, this is an easy bite, for what is actually a strong story.

The Characters are well defined, however, terribly miscast in some cases, like the lead Tsuyoshi who is a 15 year old boy who is actually play by a 17 year old girl, and that is very distracting. However, on the flip-side, there is the main antagonistic force, known only as "Peace" played by Mark Musashi, who with his distinct American accent, and eccentric dialog stands out the most among the cast.

Music and audio is solid, nothing soundtrack worthy, but nothing you'll complain about after it is over.

Writing gets the job done, 'nuff said.

All in all, it is a worth while 5 or so hours of entertainment. Could've been better, and could've been worse.

Rather late, but to address some points in the other review:

The gender bend on Tsuyoshi's casting isn't actually that bad - Saya Yuki for the most part does really well portraying a male vocally and physically, especially considering Japanese fashions since then. It's also an artistic choice, considering the subtext in the last two eps.

Mark Musashi (playing Peace)'s accent is really odd, considering the actor is actually perfectly fluent (check his recent SFxTekken short). Again there's a justification that could be made for that choice though...

The fight choreography outperforms most big budget shows, and is really impressive for a cast largely made up of 16 year old girls.

All in all, it's a surprisingly intricate scifi/punk plot with twists and turns, that's a hundred times better than the intro sequence makes it look. It would have been easy for this show to be ruined by the hammy /cutesy acting, shoddy directing, or inappropriate music that pops up in a lot of Japanese action serials, and it was nice to find out it wasn't.