Yugo The Negotiator Volume 1: Pakistan 1: Departure - Anime District
- Anime District
- Richard Brownell
- 08/14/05
- click here
"The story is simply fascinating."
Yugo Beppo is a negotiator famous for his never losing a hostage. When a Japanese businessman is taken hostage in Pakistan, he is visited by the daughter of the hostage, Mayuko Iwasu. The first negotiator was sent in by the military and the man in charge of the rebel group, Yusef Ali Mesa, knew he was not a 'true hero' but rather a military pawn and killed him. With no hope remaining, Mayuko needs Yugo's help.
Yugo: The Negotiator is really more of a feature film split into 22 minute chunks rather than several episodes. While many anime fans prefer a lengthy narrative split up to an entirely episodic TV show, Yugo takes this to a new level. The story is not full of gags and baka hammers and fan service. On the contrary, it resembles something a new up and coming filmmaker might make to show how truly serious he is about his craft. It tells a story that feels true about a peaceful Japanese negotiator and the pains he must endure to save a hostage.
The going seems slow in these first three episodes. This is the first half of the first arc of Yugo, referred to as the Pakistan arc. The first episode is mostly about the preparation for departure. The second and third episode are mainly ramping up to the inevitable confrontation between Yugo and Yusef Ali Mesa.
The story is simply fascinating. Yugo's preparation shows he truly is an expert and ready for anything. He has a special radio built by his associate who stays in Japan with Mayuko to intercept any transmissions from him. A travel agency below his place gets him to Pakistan where he immediately immerses himself in the atmosphere. He dresses appropriately and finds his contacts there to get further information about the terrorist group.
Unfortunately, he finds the window for negotiations is closing, so he must act fast. Around the same time, he saves the girl who becomes our second hero for this arc, a prostitute who has had her tongue cut out by her parents, assumedly for some shame she brought upon the family. The show being largely dialogue driven and lacking in action, introducing a mute character adds another level to the mix. She insists on coming with Yugo, who believes he won't benefit from having another traveller.
Not only is the story split into these three episodes, but even there the story is split further into smaller chunks. Because Yugo is on a very linear path straight to Ali, he is involved in a lot of small circumstances with characters we see only once. It's a great way to see all the many facets of Pakistan in rapid motion, as we see the marketplace, a dock, a travel agency, a travelling merchant, and more.
And it's in this detail of Pakistan that Yugo really shines. The show's creators actually went to Pakistan to ensure that they capture it as well as possible. And while I haven't been to Pakistan myself, it sure looks like they succeeded. The backgrounds are meticulously detailed and the clothing is accurate to what you might expect to see. Even the Muslim religious customs are kept spot on. The special feature on the localization has a lot more about how well Pakistan is represented in the show.
The way that the creators chose to animate Yugo also differentiates it from other shows. Besides the aforementioned details, the colors in the show are very light and faded. It's almost as if they drew the show and let it sit out in the Pakistani sun for a few hours. This lends itself very well to the atmosphere of the show as well as the mood. Yugo is very calm in everything he does, so this animation style is almost like a reflection of his attitude.
Much as I hate to write it in a review because it applies to everything, Yugo is not for everybody. In particular, there are no wacky characters here. Even if you are hoping to have terrorist gunfights every five minutes, you won't get that. Yugo is a tale of adventure. For Yugo himself, it's just another job, but for us the viewer it's a look into how Yugo does his job and also into Pakistan itself. Though the first volume stops off right when things get heated, getting there is an adventure in itself and will be rewarding to anybody looking for a very serious (and honestly, not very anime) story about freelance negotating.
Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 (Archive on Wednesday, September 14, 2005)