BECK

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyBECK

REVIEWS

• 

  Painter

  93/100
  A coming of age story centered around music, friendship and love. A touching story with lots of character

  Disclaimer Maho is my waifu and the best of girls

  This is a review of the dub which I believe to have a superior soundtrack and voice acting

  Series about young boys searching for themselves and their place in life are not rare by any stretch of the imagination, but ones that really grasp the viewer and provide something more than a simple coming of age story are astoundingly rare. Beck takes the coming of age story and introduces two characteristics which help to distinguish it greatly from other series of its kind: a deep immersion in the world of underground rock, and a deep involvement with its subject matter, which lends emotional weight and a sense of honesty to a tired premise.

  --

  Koyuki, the main character, is unremarkable at first glance--a currently unskilled boy who shows a lot of promise, what sets him apart is how quickly Koyuki is established as a real person. A kind, determined, hard-working student, Koyuki often finds himself discouraged by his current situation, and is prone to melancholy and bouts of hopeless resignation. As we watch, we see firsthand the profound impact that the introduction of a new form of music, along with Koyuki's growing love of it and rapid immersion in it, has on the young protagonist, deeply rooted in his newfound friendships and initially rooted in a superficial desire to impress and spend time with the girl he fancies. This assessment is true of most of the cast, all of them interacting together in something which often remarkably resembles real life, and at others completely abandons realism but still remains fundamentally grounded in the series' profound sense of humanity.

  --

  The characters in Beck's main cast all retain an honest, human feel to them. This is juxtaposed against the fantastical nature of most of the series' supporting cast, and solidifies the sense of close-knit family which develops within the band and the people close to them. This down to earth feel persists even as the characters gain wider and wider success, making what might have been a completely unbelievable and unsympathetic story decidedly the opposite.
  The animation in Beck is decidedly high quality, with only a few minor complaints to raise. Foremost among these are the often jarring uses of three dimensional models, particularly during some of the performance scenes. These performance scenes represent both the best and worst of the animation in Beck, usually incredible but occasionally clunky and amateur. It is good to note, however, that all of the major performances are almost universally on the better end, leaving only the minor scenes to suffer this fate. Characters' visual design shares the nature of the characters themselves, the main cast simple and real, and the supporting cast fantastic, from black record executives who encapsulate a good percentage of relevant stereotypes to shop assistants resembling Swedish guitar virtuosos. At times this difference is striking, at other times simply odd, but undeniably the fantastic designs of the supporting cast make the main characters seem even more human by comparison.

  --

  Beck's soundtrack and voice acting represents the strongest point of the series. Because of the nature of the story in Beck, a great deal rides on the audience's impression of the soundtrack, particularly the tracks performed by the bands within the series. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous position, as disliking the music gives much of the series a false feel, in part nullifying the humanity of the story and the interactions within it. The soundtrack does, however, perform its task admirably throughout the series, and I personally enjoyed the insert songs played by the various bands from the series a great deal. But while the series stands on its strong points well even should you dislike the insert songs, it becomes nearly impossible to view the series the same way, particularly towards the conclusion, if you find the music to not be your thing.

  --

  The core plot--both the growth of Koyuki and Beck, and the relationship between Koyuki and Maho--stands as Beck's greatest achievement, a remarkable journey through the life of several remarkably real people. Many of the side-stories, however, leave a great deal to be desired. Sub-plots are all well and good, but Beck's sub-plots leave one anxiously awaiting the series' return to its core, and in many cases simply go on for too long. Though generally interesting and still rather well-written, they lack the emotional weight and honesty that propels the core of the story forward, and in some cases cheapen that quality. Especially guilty of this is the story involving Ryuusuke's guitar, which, especially during the times when it takes center stages, drags the series down right when it should have otherwise been strongest.

  --

  Ultimately, Beck rises from the mass of coming of age series by providing solid writing and a uniquely honest take on the whole notion of growing up. It suffers from occasional animation hiccups--particularly with the use of three dimensional models in some of the minor performance sequences--and a heavy reliance on the audience to enjoy the soundtrack, particularly the songs played by Beck, but manages to minimize these weaknesses while bolstering its strong points.

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• 

  Pucci

  90/100
  "How long is this life going to continue?"

  _"How long is this life going to continue?"_ At times we may feel lost, as the world continues to exist around us we just can't seem to figure out how we fit inside it or how to keep up with it. Eventually we just end up going with the flow of it, not caring about our own ambitions or drive. This leads to empty days and melancholic thoughts. It can sometimes be dangerous to continue living as an empty shell. However it's possible for chance encounters to occur, encounters which help to change our outlook and rekindle that flame inside of us. To run into someone who recognises things inside of you which you were blind to for the majority of your life. Beck tells the story of such encounters and demonstrate how life can change so easily at times. Despite the shaky animation, it successfully portrays the spirit of camaraderie and how this bond can shape the lives of different people. This series was a breath of fresh air to me, it plays like your typical coming of age story yet somehow manages to come of as something different and refreshing. It indeed occupies it's own space within that genre, even if it doesn't do anything groundbreaking or unique. What makes the cast so endearing is how real they seem to be, this makes it very easy to relate to their situation and can potentially create a sense of intimacy between viewers and the main cast. The main character, Koyuki, is your average teenager at first glace. Underneath his regular demeanour is a skilled musician who's been dying to be recognised. Koyuki is a hard-working and diligent student, as the series progresses we begin to see him step outside of his shell and we witness his talent flourish as a result of being surrounded by the right people at the right time. Koyuki's character helps to reinforce the series' honest and real nature. There were certainly times where the plot was questionable and scenes which were redundant, viewers may dislike this and may feel tempted to drop the series however these nuisances aren't too severe and don't take away too much from the show. Those who decide to keep watching despite the flaws will find themselves being nicely rewarded. It's a slice of life carrying a heartfelt message and it hopes that the message resonates with you. _"Thank you, Ryusuke."_
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• 

  itsizzy

  57/100
  BECK’s premise holds a ton of storytelling potential but is ultimately marred by an awkward and shoddy production.

  Adapting roughly 2/3rds of the 1999 manga, BECK follows teenage Koyuki as he becomes part of the titular band and rises to fame in the local music and festival scene.
  He navigates his first love, high school bullying, and interpersonal drama against the backdrop of small music venues, recording studios and early 2000s urban Japan.

  Key to his arc is Ryusuke Minami, a musical prodigy with a shady past involving a stolen, bullethole riddled guitar. Ryusuke sees in Koyuki a promising vocalist and takes him under his wing.

  ---

  Stories revolving around music carry with them a wealth of storytelling potential, and anime as a medium has no small number of series that explore various facets of playing, composing and performing.

  Kids on the Slope has characters duking it out using their instruments

  Productions like Kids on the Slope, Sound! Euphonium, K-On!, Carole & Tuesday, and Given combine the two different mediums in their own way and with different goals in mind.

  They can show characters' coming of age through practice, explore their inner worlds as they work through trauma, or place their musicianship in a wider cultural context.
  Their skill level, personality, the era they live in, the things they think about and struggle with become part of the lyrics they write and define the sound of their music.

  And when animated these personalities can be made relatable, made real, in how they move on stage, how they hold their instruments, the energy they have when playing, etc.
  The combination of animation and music can really nail a vibe, an aesthetic, an identity that's quintessentially "that show".

  

  Good vibes

  BECK has the potential to be one of “those shows”. You only need to look at its gorgeously boarded and animated OP to get a sense of the promise it holds.
  It’s a dream of pure, distilled Americana, featuring roadside diners, Las Vegas billboards, Greyhound buses, Coca Cola, a Chevy Bel Air cruising down Route 66 and the streets of the Big Apple.

  It's the ambition of touring around America brought to life in a music video, an approach arguably emulated in K-On's EDs

  But unfortunately it's just that, the ambition of a show that never materializes, and the fault lies squarely with the series’ subpar production.

  Koyuki please stop staring, please blink, please do anything

  Visually the anime is all over the place. Characters are frequently off-model and move around awkwardly, shots will linger on unmoving faces for uncomfortable stretches of time, and entire musical performances get copy-pasted across episodes.

  The latter is made more grating when BECK's entire setlist contains only a handful of tracks.

  The songs are arguably better in the dub

  The band’s sound owes a lot to Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of which I really dig, but I can only hear BECK’s frontman yelling “YOU OPEN UP THE DOOR WITH NEGATIVE AURA” so many times in a row.

  As a former drummer I gotta see those cymbals move

  To boot the majority of the animated performances don't match the rhythm, chords or lyrics at all. A shame as the music is the star of the series and could've been done real justice.

  The best cuts in an anime about performing music are featured in a fight scene

  Frustratingly there are a few moments of fantastic animation sprinkled throughout the series, and on the whole BECK’s locales are realized with a noir-like aesthetic that really helps establish a gritty, urban vibe.

  

  The contrast between the animation and environments makes it seem like there were shenanigans going on behind the scenes.

  Perhaps there were budgetary concerns, or maybe the production had near impossible deadlines.
  The series was made well before the internet as we know it today, so I couldn’t really find any answers.

  Whatever the cause, the end result feels stiff, awkward and shoddy to the point of being distracting, and the show is hampered from establishing a strong and confident visual identity.

  But unfortunately the problems don't stop at the animation.

  For much of the first half the story meanders around, moving from one subplot to the next without any real payoff.

  Teach also shows Koyuki how to efficiently swim using only half a dozen frames

  Koyuki starts learning the guitar from an eccentric teacher and deals with a group of high school bullies among other things, but ultimately there's very little in terms of narrative thrust or any kind of stakes, making the pace feel glacial at times.

  Things, for want of a better phrase, just ‘sort of happen’.

  K-On zooms in on the tiny little details in those little moments in-between with care and granularity

  I mentioned K-On! earlier, which is probably the “queen of having no stakes”, but that whole franchise focuses on finding meaning in those lowkey, fleeting moments. It’s carried by intricate animation, environments and detailed sound design, giving its world and characters a sense of verisimilitude.

  Outside some stellar musical performances, BECK fails to establish any of the sort.

  Even further into the series performances feel unpolished and awkward

  The story gets a much needed sense of purpose when the second half of the series comes around. BECK is invited to play at one of Japan’s biggest music festivals, but to be able to perform they have to contend with a much more successful, rival band and Ryusuke's checkered past.

  Watching the members try to get their act together and having the different character arcs and subplots finally coalesce gives glimpses of what might’ve been, but it comes as too little, too late.

  BECK’s production continues to lack on pretty much every visual front and it never reaches a level of competence to create a palpable feeling of time, place and character.

  Ultimately the series falls flat across the board, never coming close to fulfilling its potential.
  At least there's the soundtrack, which is pretty great on its own.

  ---

  Loose thoughts

  The manga was adapted to a live-action film in 2010 where each actor learned to play an instrument to make Beck’s performances feel authentic.

  The band eventually does end up touring America, but in an ironic twist the entire trip is told through a montage of photos presumably taken during a research trip. I can't think of any better metaphor for the entire series.

  h/t @ChaosAlfa

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