ThatAnimeSnob

Tales of vengeance, while enticing in their pursuit of justice, often falter under the weight of their singular focus. They easily become boring because they are one-note. There is very little you can expect when it’s just a guy obsessed with punishing a bunch of people. While the methods employed may intrigue, they often don’t transcend characterization past the 2 dimensions. And then it’s the whole issue with avengers who do not seek salvation, they don’t expect redemption or a happy ending, they are self-destructive and turn away from catharsis. V for Vendetta is a rare case that mitigated this issue with lots of social commentary, turning the punisher into an ideal instead of a generic vigilante.

91 Days doesn’t do any of that and remains throughout its course a straightforward revenge story about a guy seeking to kill those who ruined his life. Although he is using his brains by working from within the very organization he is trying to destroy instead of being a trigger-happy mass-shooter, the eventual trajectory of the plot remains ensnared within predictable assassination schemes. There are no unforeseen twists, no exploration of thematic depth, and not much introspection for its numerous characters.

Despite its narrative shortcomings, 91 Days boasts a visually arresting setting, transporting viewers to the prohibition era of America; seldom explored in anime. The attention to detail in recreating the ambiance of the time is commendable, yet falls short because of the animation’s modest budget. Characters are often off-model or move in a weird way, detracting from the overall immersion.

The characterization is also hit or miss, since some individuals are portrayed in three-dimensional complexity and act like real people, while others are over the top cartoonish bad guys. While the depiction of certain gangsters as greedy opportunists lends credence to their treacherous motives, it fails to imbue them with lasting significance beyond their disposability. Similarly, characters endowed with subtlety suffer from a lack of memorability. Everyone is a peon in a simple revenge scheme, instead of people you are made to care about.

A thing of notice within a show that lasts only a dozen episodes is that most characters die very fast. There is no conventional plot armor, since anyone can die at any moment, regardless of his importance to the story. However, these deaths often feel anticlimactic and attributed more to folly than fate, since none seems to take measures against getting shot. Sometimes it is excused, since the protagonist is supposed to be their ally and thus they keep their guards down, but to the most part the deaths are the result of not taking any percussions every time they are about to do something very dangerous.

The repeated instances of characters succumbing to preventable dangers erode the credibility of the narrative, since you constantly feel they could have easily prevented their demise by using a bit of their brains. They are supposed to be mafia bosses, thus cunning and more suspicious of their surroundings. Yet that is not what they do, even after they witness their associates dropping like flies.

Bottom line, 91 Days is not devoid of merit, but it certainly falls short of its potential. It lacks supernatural elements and high schools, something most anime have regardless of the time period they take place in, but it also comes off as more dull than realistic. Although grounded, the plot is simple, the cast is forgettable, and animation leaves a lot to be desired. It lacks the dynamism and depth to captivate audiences and it’s why your average anime fan will easily recommend something absurd like Baccano over it, just because it is better produced and has far more eccentric characters. Who cares about realism when it bores you to sleep, right?