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Studio : Studio Izena
Length : 3 Episodes
Year : 2008
Genre : Adventure - Mystery
Synopsis :
Three people with one thing in common are chosen to represent a company in something called a "Business Game", where the prize is money. In the invitation there is one particular sentence in a small, fine print: "Furthermore, we are unable to guarantee the safety of the participants in the slightest."
Added : 2008-03-31
Synopsis by : Crawen
Last update : 2008-06-09
Last update details : Song modified
Score : 5
Number of reviews : 3
Link(s) :
Official #1 : Frontier Work's Bus Gamer Website (Japanese)
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : Team AAA - No Name
Ending #1 : Kenichi Suzumura - Train
Release(s) :
2008-06-01 -- Episode(s) 3 by Orange & EE & DATS. BT Link
2008-04-20 -- Episode(s) 3 by Shinsen-Subs. BT Link
2008-04-13 -- Episode(s) 2 by Orange & EE & DATS. BT Link
Found 6 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
Hits : 11809
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Posted by : Himitsu 
Posted on : 2010-07-26  
Bus Gamer executed a very intruiging episode. I kind of liked how they brought the group together unconventionally. What we have are groups of young adults fighting for some storage disk that holds top secret information. Companies rely on these males or "Gamers" to keep it away from competitors. The Gamers do whatever it takes to earn the prize, many groups end up seriously injured or even dead. So what kind of prize deserves risking one's life for? Something like hundreds of millions of dollars!
I think Chikage's review sums up my feelings for this OVA series quite well. The concept they had was grand, however, it was short-lived due to the length. What I think would be most important to improve on is their character development. I didn't have any interest in the main characters they presented. Sure they appeared mysterious or one seemed "genki", other than that, they had nothing to make them unique. The lady cop that showed up over half-way through became an interesting barrier for them. She didn't put up much of a fight. She was the one character which raised my interest. Unfortunately, with only three episodes, not much can be done.
The Opening song is so typically... bishounen? Team AAA's "No Name" seems to be a group of guys singing normally. The song style and sound can be heard in shows like Gakuen Heaven, or even the ED theme to La Corda D'Oro. Average at best.
The visual aspect is good. There are some details here and there which they could have easily left out. Instead, designers went out of their way to add these trinkets. Items like jewelry engravings, building decorations, and even some lighting areas. There was some neat touches. Alas, good art can only do so much on your overall impression of the anime. In my opinion, I don't think the main character deserves to be the main character. I give them kudos for puttting in such an unconventional and uninteresting guy for their spotlight I guess. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the glasses boy (Kazuo) steals the spotlight most of the time by being the only one who seems human (and talks). Finally, all the comedic aspects seems to come from Kazuo.
The length really holds the potential back for this series as you have probably guessed. I think it did well for entertainment. There was a lot of room for some intelligent planning during their "games". Would also be nice if we could learn about the characters more. Conclusion: I don't think you should get out of your way to see this anime. Too short.
Posted by : Chikage_Shampoo
Posted on : 2008-05-29
Bus Gamer offers great potential, but brings viewers no satisfaction due to the complications associated with its short length, mainly little flow and little depth. This should be considered more of a "preview" and not a series in itself.
Perhaps that is to be expected - after all, this series never finished in Japan and there wasn't much to work with from the original manga. Why would someone proceed to create a series from this, then? Because of the popularity of the author's other work, Saiyuki?
The very start of the first episode seemed to promise everything: action, comedy, uniqueness with its storyline. But that is slashed in the middle to the end of the first episode, where Bus Gamer's appeal factor just drops.
Unfortunately, the animation studio fails to attempt to continue the storyline brought by the manga; instead of presenting a series probably exploring the greed of humans for money or about how business corporations merely use others for their amusement/pawns, Bus Gamer comes as flat and uninteresting (except for its battle sequences, which are really not that worth it).
Instead of developing the storyline, Bus Gamer jumps from one battle, to another, to another. Viewers do not even know which battle takes place - the series jumps from the first to the sixth (which you find out at the end of the sixth battle), and then to some unknown number. The results of each battle are predictable and the same, although the animation studio does throw in a few twists to keep the viewer (ever so slightly) amused during the battle sequence. That's all the series consists of - battles with a little bit of humor injected into them. After the first episode, none of the storyline is explained, leaving viewers with the notion that hey, maybe the company CEOs truly just waste their money on pitting pitiful fools who wish to acquire it in a game.
The series also leaves one wondering, "What about the people's pasts?" After all, in the first episode one is introduced to the idea that Saitou, Nakajou, and Toki did not list a reason for wanting the $1 billion prize. However, these are only alluded to in tiny snippets of video, never fully explained. This adds to the mystery factor, but Toki's past managed to garner much more screentime than the others, with no apparent reason.
The characters attempt to bring out the series, and though they are interesting and unique, they remain static throughout and seem contradictory at times. Toki and Nakajou seem quite similar, not allowing the fact that they might actually care about others to show and seeming cold and harsh at times. However, Saitou is supposed to be the opposite, and though he puts on a polite and happy face, he seems to be the most diabolical of the group. For example, (warning, spoiler) he shoots another man, smiles, and then seems to worry more about the gun than the man. A few seconds later, he asks if the man is dead.
Such contradictory and almost hypocritical actions abound throughout the three episodes of Bus Gamer, and no reasons are given as to why.
Keiko, on the other hand, does not show any discrepancies in her personality, but she is introduced too late, and is given no role other than the annoying police woman who can never seem to catch her prey, although she is quirky and determined. She is likeable, but the series has already almost ended by the time she is given any real substance.
Unfortunately, all of the characters, as said before, could be interesting, could be unique, if only they had been given more time to develop.
Music and sound wise, Bus Gamer is at best average. I cannot even remember the opening theme except for the "Chu chu du du" at the beginning and the fact that it evokes a sense of old time music, such as "Cha la Head Cha La" from Dragon Ball Z. The ending gives almost the same atmosphere, although the singer sounds stranger in the ending than the opening.
In terms of BGM, snippets of rock and heavy metal type music is used ever so quietly in the background, especially with the drums and guitar. In fact, the music is barely noticeable.
Character voices, especially Saitou's, fit, but there is nothing special to be found in this area.
Perhaps one of the saving graces of Bus Gamer is its animation, where the unique art style immediately catches one's attention. In spite of this, the characters look a little flat, and the fight scenes do not bring much justice to the series, even though they seem somewhat exciting the first time through.
All in all, Bus Gamer is an anime to be avoided, although if any studio wishes to redo this series and give it another shot, then one should most definitely check it out for the action and (hopefully) character development.
Posted by : leoxjm
Posted on : 2008-05-07
Bus Gamer was an anime with a real potential to be good. Instead, this 3 episode long story barely managed to end up on the lousy side of mediocre.
Admittedly, this anime's real shortcoming is its length. Its story would have most certainly worked out well for a 12-episode series. Easily. The producers would have had to get fancy to get more than that, but the "corporate entertainment game" depicted in these mere 3 episodes could have gotten that far. But in the length it really had, the anime's story feels cramped, underdeveloped and worst of all, unfinished. By the end of the third episode I really asked myself "Is that all?"
It is. The anime has only 4 characters worth mentioning: the three members of the "No Name" Team and the detective Keiko. While the first three guys are really the motors of the story, Keiko is more of a gimmick added to increase tension in episode two. Afterwards she is discarded and left underdeveloped (we barely get to know a bit about her) and her story remains unfinished. She's left thinking "I'll get to the bottom of this". "How", "when", and even "if" are left dangling.
Same with the three guys, although the viewer actually does get a feel for them. However, they don't really develop. It is revealed that Toki and Nobuto have a soft spot for Kazuo, but that is neither surprising nor filling. Aside from "they want money" we know nothing about their motivation, and barely get a glimpse of their respective backgrounds. The real reason of why they take part in the game is always hidden, as is their success or failure.
The animation is alright but unimpressive. Admittedly I liked the character design, but as far as looks go I have to say that Bus Gamer isn't special in any way. The music is adequate but forgettable.
The truth is, Bus Gamer would certainly be more memorable if it actually went anywhere, developed its characters, or provided more closure than the "battle of the week" one we get. Aesthetically forgettable and with a prematurely "finished" story, isn't terrible enough to be avoided like the plague, but it is a 3 episode-long disappointment. It does have its good moments and some of the fights are interesting, but that is really no justification to watch this, as you might get hyped over nothing. While it may be good enough to satisfy the people looking for some action, in the end, I can't say it is worth the while. Not even for them.
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