Title: Jormungand: Perfect Order part 2
Director: Keitaro Motonaga
Writer: Keitaro Takahashi
Studio: White Fox
U. S. Distributor: FUNimation
U. S. Release Date: Feb. 11th, 2014
Format: DVD/Blu-ray/ 12 Episodes/ 300 minutes
Age Rating: TV MA
Overall Personal Rating: A
Synopsis:
The child soldier Jonah continues to protect Koko while she brings the boom to cities across the globe. When the international arms dealer ramps up sales, her hired guns are targeted by government agencies, warmongers, and assassins – leading to some devastating betrayals and losses.
Amid all the gunfire and grenades, Koko begins to work on a secret project in South Africa: Jormungand. But when she finally reveals her master plan for the future of war, not everyone is happy with the plot. As the body count starts to explode, Jonah will have to decide if he can stand by and watch his employer’s blood-soaked plan for world peace unfold, or try to put a stop to it.
Commentary:
In my review of part one I discussed the existential aspects of the series. Part 2 of Jormungand stays with that projection and builds a very special ending that brings into question the entire backbone of the series. The playing with the underlying humanity within this series is powerful enough but to add the personal struggle that one young warrior has takes the entire plot to a much more rewarding level. The story takes several interesting turns that leaves you wondering what in the world could be next. In the world of anime this is not new, but when it is put together with a touch of emotional meaning it ends up standing out above the rest. Jormungand manages to take our heartless world and prove that it just might be possible to create a new dynamic and hopefulness through all of the pain and stupidity we have become all too accustom to.
Jormungand, is by no means for everyone and I can’t even begin to suggest that it should find its way on to shelves of the majority of anime fans. The thing about Jormungand is that it is a pure drama and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. That in itself places it aside other amazing dries like Urasawa’s Monster, Phantom: Requiem of a Phantom or even the relentless drama Black Lagoon. It is also a series that doesn’t try to paint a positive picture of the human race, but in the end it give hope were hope may not be deserved.
Overall Grade: A
I’m sure you can tell that I really liked this series and that I have some very strong feelings about it and yes I fall into that category. Other than the drastic strength of the series it also manages to have a production quality that serves it well and the voice acting comes through and holds up the series for what it is. I wish I should this one off to everyone, but there is just a title to much raw violence . So, if you are of an age that it is made for then I really suggest that you take the time to give this one a try. Be ready of a hard hitting story that makes you think about the path we are on and how might we as a race get off of it.
