Yugo The Negotiator Volume 1: Pakistan 1: Departure - Ascully.Com
- Ascully.Com
- Paul Hayes
- 02/27/06
- click here
"I look forward to seeing more of this series in the future and recommend it as a nice change to all those magical high schoolers saving the world in giant fighting robots."
Introduction:
There are many types of negotiators in the world. Those who work out big business deals, those who mediate legal disputes, and those who end conflicts where people are dying. This is story of Yugo, the latter kind of negotiator. This isn't the sort of job you can apply for, it isn't the sort of job many people want, but it is a job that someone somewhere is in need of. When a prominent business man is kidnapped by rebels in Pakistan and all negotiations through the national army have failed, his daughter calls in Yugo. Yugo has no ties to the local government or the mans company. His only purpose is to negotiate his safe release from the hands of a tyrannical madman named Yusef Ali Mesa.
Case Art & Extras:
The front cover is a collage of earthy tones and scenes that compliment the sandy desert terrain of Pakistan, the main setting in volume 1. The back is like a plan drawn out on grid paper, with images showcasing scenes from the series and text to summarize the volume. Inside is a similar insert with notes on the language and an interview with Shinji Makari, the original writer of Yugo. The disk itself is overflowing with extras. Containing 3 video interviews with cast and crew, Featurette's, personnel files, and commentary. The first volume of Yugo the Negotiator contains the first 3 episodes of the series entitled Yugo in Pakistan.
The Episodes:
A Japanese businessman named Iwase has been kidnapped by dacoits (guerilla rebels) on a trip to Pakistan. Mr. Iwase's company has been working with the Pakistani government, but so far talks have been unsuccessful. The most resent negotiator has been killed by the dacoit leader named Yusef Ali Mesa, with his bare hands. Seeing the failure of the government and the company, Iwase's daughter, Mayuko Iwase, contacts a private negotiator named Yugo Beppu. Yugo is supposedly the best negotiator around, and Mayuko will need all the help she can get if she will ever get to see her father again.
Art Audio & Voice Acting:
Everything about the series is well done. The voice talent does a fine job of bringing the characters to life in the drab world of Yugo. The hopelessness of the situation is conveyed through the washed out and muddled colors. Earthy tones mix with the scorching sun in the desert to show just how miserable a place and situation Yugo is in. The music has a worldly quality to it. Everything from an upbeat theme song to your typical middle eastern chanting background music further carries the series.
Conclusion:
The first episodes start out slowly and left me wondering how the story was going to be executed. Not in a cliffhanger sort of way but in a curiosity sort of way. At first I didn't know if they were going to be able to pull it off, but after watching it for a bit, I began liking it. In the three short episodes I saw, the story started pulling me in. I want to know how Yugo manages to get Mr. Iwase free, or if he even manages to get him free. I want to know if Yusef gets what is coming to him. I look forward to seeing more of this series in the future and recommend it as a nice change to all those magical high schoolers saving the world in giant fighting robots. Thanks to ADV for giving me the opportunity to review Yugo the Negotiator.
Posted on Monday, February 27, 2006 (Archive on Monday, March 27, 2006)