Jormungand (Season 1)

By: Robert Murphy

Having recently purchased and begun to experience the joys of HuluPlus, I’ve been welcomed to a massive world of anime that I’ve wanted to watch for the longest time and now can watch with ease. An anime I stumbled across recently is Jormungand and it really struck me for two reasons; the action which gave me a very Black Lagoon type of feel to it and the second was it turned out to be from the same guys, small world right? The story follows the exploits of an abnormally young weapons dealer named Koko Hekmatyar and her team of mercenaries who protect her in her often dangerous dealings with warlords, war torn nations and other weapons dealers. The other main focus is the young boy solider Jonah who is the newest member to her crew of wolves in sheeps clothing and proves to be a perfect fit despite his appearance. What follows is a slue of adrenaline filled episodes with gun fights, incredible fights and kickass weaponry so strap yourselves in everybody.

An impression that I got from Jormungand as I watched it was that it was much like watching Balalaika as she controls her squad of highly trained forces and destroys anything in her way. That is just what it’s like watching Koko and her team throughout the show as each one of her team is exceedingly skilled in one way or another and would make you regret ever going after their boss. Although Koko herself isn’t nearly as intimidating as Balalaika she is definitely not a girl to be messed with even without her teammates as she is an incredibly gifted arms dealer and brilliant tactician when it comes down to it. As the story progresses we learn a good deal about each characters life and abilities that they bring to Koko’s team and they all prove to be quite engaging characters the more you learn about each of them. This proves to be true most with Jonah who you learn hates weapons dealers but has to use weapons himself and is really impressive with them as you see within ten minutes of the show as he takes out two armored jeeps with ease.

Now so far I may have made it sound like the show is nothing but non stop action but it isn’t, the story and episodes are evenly paced and wrap you up with a something new each time you go into it. It seems as if there is no shortage of people looking to take out Koko as she is a very gifted arms dealer but she does have her principles and will not be messed with. Whether someone is taking a hit out on her or an arms deal isn’t going quite as planned, things are always very heated and lead you to meet many characters throughout the series. Also we get a few back stories about Koko’s team especially Jonah who has had a hard young life that’s led him to being the way he is now. We get a good back story for many of the characters and one I particularly enjoy is Valmet’s who is the tall eye patched woman infatuated with Koko, extremely infatuated. An issue is that Jormungand has a lot of build up and a lot of shaping out for its characters and it makes you feel like there is so much more to come. Now before I close things out id like to give a tip of the hat to the amazing soundtrack that the show has for its viewers, its something I don’t usually notice or point out but it is so prominent and is filled with so many enjoyable beats I feel I had to mention it.

Jormungand proved to be everything I’d hoped it would be when I first saw the preview for it, characters are engaging, the actions incredibly solid, I just can’t believe I didn’t find out about it sooner. The story definitely makes you question whether or not there is any morality in the people that deal in weapons of war or are they all just in it for profit like Jonah believes or are there those like Koko that shake your perceptions up a bit. My one issue as I said was the amount of build up that there is in the first season, it makes me itchy and exited for what is right around the corner in season two.

Good:

Solidly paced and incredible story with very Black Lagoon style action

Characters are engaging and all have compelling back story to them

The soundtrack for the show is worth note as it’s edgy and catchy each time it comes up

Bad:

A lot of hashing out and building up for the second season

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10