Babylon (Anime miniseries, 2019) — Not Your Usual Anime Affair
Babylon is a political mystery thriller that centres on Zen Seizaki, a public prosecutor in the newly created Shiniki district near Tokyo. While investigating a pharmaceutical company for a defective drug, he stumbles upon a mysterious death that leads him to a deeper conspiracy involving mayoral elections and legislation to legalize suicide.
Considering the premise, the anime is naturally dialogue-centric. What starts as a story focused on a corruption investigation in local elections unravels into a deeper philosophical tale about the meaning of life and death, the benefits and pitfalls of legalized suicide on society and civilization, and the age-old battle between good and evil.
The anime consists of several characters at the highest position of power within their jurisdictions that drive the contemplations of the plot points and themes of the story. It’s one of the highlights of the experience as witnessing a public prosecutor or a mayor or a prime minister or a president ponder and brainstorm the conundrum to find a solution adds intrigue and entertainment that otherwise would not exist had the main set of characters been average joes.
Some suspension of disbelief is required, though, to accept the depiction of the real world and politics. It is sometimes strained but the story and the characters warrant acceptance because of the enjoyment they elicit. For example, an actual thinking and smart president trying to do a good job for the people doesn’t seem all too real considering the contemporary political landscape, but you accept it because the characters themselves are interesting to watch and move the plot nicely.
The masses and their inclinations on the subject of suicide swayed by politicians might seem too simplistic and unrealistic but again, considering modern group thinking and how easily people are reeled in by false promises, regurgitation of popular talking points, and affirmations of their beliefs by public office holders and candidates, forming tribal behaviours in an increasingly politically polarized world, it doesn't become impossible to accept that this too can happen.
Now, the 12-episode run is divided into two major chunks. The first part climaxes in episode 7 and the remaining portion heavily shifts gears. Before watching Babylon, I read some opinions and the general sentiment praised the first portion while the second portion was heavily criticized due to a shift in focus and setting where the ending, in particular, was almost unanimously panned because of its abrupt nature.
My experience didn’t reciprocate that sentiment — by and large — as I thoroughly enjoyed it but I do agree with the ending being abrupt or lacking closure. The rushed pacing in the second part of the anime could have at least used two more episodes to flesh it out, as well as provide some form of closure at the end. It would have also divided the two segments equally (7 episodes each).
All of it is packaged in a solid audiovisual presentation. The animation is clean and the motion is often detailed and fluid. The music aptly aids the ponderings and eeriness of the story.
So all in all, while I knew somewhat about what I was getting into with Babylon, I did not expect the twists and turns that the anime ultimately threw at me and I was on board for them all. The philosophy can be too preachy and the conclusions are heavy-handed but they are also an interesting perspective. Within the confines of the premise and the story, they fit nicely. Not to mention that regardless of the answers the story comes up with and your personal opinion, the viewing undoubtedly makes you contemplate long after the final episode has ended (unless you loathed it, then you’ll be seething with anger instead).
I would recommend Babylon. It’s a miniseries anime so it only takes about 4 hours to finish. It’s a polarizing watch from the consensus on it and you probably will land on the negative end but the story, characters and themes make it worth a try. And if I were to rate it, I’d give it an 8/10.
Since I can’t write about my thoughts on the conclusion as well as an aspect of the story without giving away spoilers, I have wrapped them up in the spoiler section below for those who have already seen the anime.
Spoilers Section
Ai Magase, the mysterious femme fatale antagonist of the story who can control minds and make people commit suicide gleefully, was a great villain. She had a commanding and unsettling presence in every second of screentime given and her commitment to toy with people and create chaos embodied evil perfectly.
It is not explicitly stated who or what Ai Magase is and what are the mechanics of her ability. The best you get is that she is using some kind of auditory mind control. But since the anime talks a lot about the philosophy of good and evil with mentions of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden apple and The Whore of Babylon with a seven-headed beast servant, my interpretation is that she is either an ancient Evil entity or The Devil incarnate using the seven deadly sins as her tools with Lust being the primary one. Manipulating or mind-controlling someone with only a whisper would be an easy feat for such a being.
By restraining herself and working within those limitations, manipulating and creating disorder, and specifically punishing those who are committed to doing Good — such as the protagonist Zen Seizaki —, the play is brimming with a lot of possibilities and options, which such an entity would cherish rather than swiftly overwhelm everything with immense power.
The much maligned ending felt great to me. It’s a sad and tragic one where the thinker President of the USA (one of my favourite characters) is killed by Zen to prevent suicide for the suicide law to lose momentum and perhaps be even dismantled altogether. Those two had a solid relationship so it was a tragedy for a positive outcome. But even more so seeing that Zen loses at the end to Ai Magase immediately after was an even stronger gut punch. Evil wins the war even if the battle was won by Good.
I didn’t expect that. It was genuinely shocking and while I wish that the conclusion wasn’t rushed and we could have at least gotten the perspectives of other characters in the aftermath of Zen killing the president, the endpoint itself was different and great.
