Nanbaka

Episode 12

I wouldn't say that Nanbaka has any big "themes," but as of episode 12, I'm starting to notice some patterns. The main one is the characterization of the prison itself. The last few Nanbaka episodes dug into characters' backstories even outside of the main cast. I thought episode 12 would continue last week's pattern and tell us more about Uno, the remaining member of Cell 13. Instead we learn more about Musashi and his life before he went to jail.

Musashi is the clearest example of how Nanba Prison itself has become a character in this show, in the same way that people talk about the spaceship as a character in sci-fi shows. As we learn about how all the characters ended up here, we also see how their lives could change going forward, and we understand why this is the point where we picked up on their stories.

Just about everyone in Nanba Prison had bad experiences with their previous incarceration. That's why so many of them, especially in Building 13, tried to escape. Nanba makes a lot out of how hard it is to escape, and we even saw some of that impenetrability in episode 1, but maybe what's really so "impenetrable" about the prison is that nobody wants to leave. Life at Nanba is fun, full of new friends and relatively easy-going, reasonable guards. Sure, Hajime is a tough cookie, but he doesn't torture them or anything, which is more than I can say for some of their previous prisons. He also seems to have an odd bond with the guys in Cell 13. He's rough on them, but he also looks out for them. The rest of the wardens and guards are all different varieties of goofball.

Plus, it's a place that doesn't just punish, but also rewards. Building 13 might have received their rewards from a grueling competition, but it was a fun competition with colorful events. And what rewards they are! We saw last week how great Rock's brick oven and Nico's arcade turned out, and Uno's game room is just as terrific. The other buildings even come by to play mahjong, and everyone feels stifled by Hajime's arbitrary time limit.

Of course, Nanbaka is a zany comedy first and foremost. It's not Orange is the New Black; there's no serious message about the abuses of the prison-industrial complex. This is clear with the contrast between Nanba and the villains from previous prisons, who are cartoonish extremes. Just as Nanba is cartoonishly silly and fun, Musashi and Jyugo's German prison was cartoonishly evil. Not only did they perform human experiments to enhance their powers, but they forced the inmates into prison for that purpose. In Musashi's case, a warden named Elf burned his house down and framed Musashi for it—just so he could have bodies for The Scarred Man's research.

This is especially heartbreaking with Musashi's full backstory. His classmates and society had always scorned him as a freak, calling him "the arsonist" for his inability to control his fire powers. Musashi's parents were always supportive, standing by their son even when he was physically dangerous to them. He talks about how he won't give up because he has people who love him—right when he sees that his house is ablaze, with his parents inside. Nanbaka has gone to dark places in the past, but it's never twisted the knife quite that hard.

The show tries to diffuse this with light comedy the rest of the episode. Nanbaka moves back to Uno and his game room, giving him focus without a backstory, but it mostly feels weak compared to the harrowing drama earlier in the episode. Nanbaka can be good at tonal shifts, but only if it puts in the effort to make them equally compelling. Just papering over a wound with a comedy band-aid doesn't work.

Despite that, this is one of the most effective episodes of Nanbaka to date. I thought I knew what to expect from this show, but with Musashi's full story, it surprised me once again. While Nanbaka is still kind of a mess overall, it knows how to pull off effective moments when it wants to, and it could be a more effective show with just a little more focus.

Rating: B+

Nanbaka is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.