The Main Appeal of 'No Guns Life' Is Its Main Character

Usually, I don’t give a new anime show a review before its debut season is done.  And, technically, season one of No Guns Life hasn’t ended yet, as it’s a split-cour season.  But since there is a significant months-long gap between its first half (which ran during fall 2019) and second half (which is scheduled for April 2020), I decided to review it now since it feels like it’s having an actual hiatus between seasons.  So, here it goes –

The main appeal of No Guns Life should be very evident from the get go.  And that is, its hero has a literal gun for a head.  Such goofy yet kickass character design immediately makes this anime worth a look.

This odd-looking hero’s name is Juzo Inui, an “Over-Extended” – someone who has been heavily modified with cybernetic enhancements.  In his case, he is what he is because he was a Gun Slave Unit during the War – a previous life that he has little to no memory about.  In the present, he works as a “Resolver”, which is a private detective that specializes on cases that involve Extendeds (the term for cyborgs in this world).

The Blade Runner-like feel is also an immediate big plus for this anime (I guess, at this point, any cyberpunk noir would feel like Blade Runner; it has probably made itself the embodiment of the genre).  A bit clichéd but still adequately interesting, it’s a hardboiled action thriller featuring a gritty, futuristic setting in which a powerful, crooked techno-corporate-politico complex is in place; cool depictions, especially in combat, of creative cybernetic technology; and the recurring theme of “finding the humanity within the machine.”

It’s pretty obvious that No Guns Life really tries to be philosophical.  While it generally succeeds in competently presenting itself as a show with layers, it occasionally comes off as somewhat pretentious, as its messages are either basically done to death or lacked impactful relevance.  Fortunately, it also manages to make room for humor without making it feel tonally off, which somewhat neutralize whatever residual awkwardness is left by its posturing.

Nonetheless, most of the fun of No Guns Life doesn’t really come from its high concepts, but from the main character Juzo.  Not only is his character design appealing, but he has much mystique and personality.  The chain-smoking, trench-coat-wearing cyborg-gumshoe is a genuinely magnetic and well-realized protagonist.  Moreover, he’s an absolute badass in a fight.  His abilities are actually pretty basic, yet they have an exhilarating flare to them – a huge reason why most of the action scenes of this show are balls-to-the-wall exciting.

In the end, No Guns Life is at its best when it embraces the dumb.   It really gets gloriously entertaining whenever it presents a bonkers concept with utmost earnestness and without any trace of irony to it (or if any, just very subtle ones) – such as having a main character with a gun for a head.