Babylon is the anime adaptation of a novel series written by Mado Nozaki. It is political and legal thriller anime which is a very rare in the genera in the anime world. It is set in a semi-independent state called Shiniki which is formed by the nearby areas of Tokyo including, Machida, Hachioji and Sagamihara for experimental purpose. The political parties of Japan are tries to get the seats in the various branches of the government. During the process of elections, a well-known prosecutor named Zen Seizaki is appointed for the investigation of a pharmaceutical company for making fake data on a drug. Fumio is the partner of Zen and while he followed lead connected to the case, he was found dead in his apartment and it was the case of suicide. Seizaki denies the cause of death and thinks it’s a murder case. He starts investigating it as it is also linked to what he was tasked to investigate and that takes him to a truth that has a bigger impact than he could imagine.
The problem of suicide has been addressed in a great manner. It one of the biggest issues in not only Japan but all around the world. Babylon initiated an argument in episode 6 and it does not only argument from moral perspectives but also shows how it can have a negative impact on the economy. Another good point regarding suicide was given by Nozaki who doesn’t want suicide to be declared as legal. He provides psychological factor in the argument by saying that while committing suicide people are in their right mind and can’t think straight. It’s one reason why it should not be legalize. But on the other hand, a politician Itsuki who wants to legalize it justifies it by saying that it will decrease the suicide cases and people would be able to talk about it rather keeping it a secret.
While the Babylon was broadcast there were some controversies regarding the CEO of Nissan who left Japan since the system was unfair to him. Babylon depicts these kind of negative things in the legal system of Japan. These flaws are shown in a different way by making Seizaki’s character justified. For instance in episode 6 he abducts Itsuki. Although his action are justified and he was also supported by some people of his department, but he took the wrong step as he did that without any warrant so it was the violation of human rights. But unfortunately, it is based on reality and that’s how the legal system of Japan is.
The governmental structure of Japan is different from America as Communist Party plays an integral part in the government on both local and national level and that can also be seen in the anime. In Addition to the Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party and Japan’s Democratic Party can also be seen in Babylon. Unlike American’s Democratic and Republican Parties who have been up against each other for more than 100 years, Japan’s political parties have been portrayed to be sensible enough to work in harmony when needed which can be seen in episode 6 of Babylon.
Although Babylon does not encourage the idea of suicide and depicts it as a negative thing in the society but it still it can be hard to watch for those who have any experience related to this topic or are not comfortable with it.
There were many useless and plot twists in the anime which had nothing to do in the later series. The anime started with the investigation of the pharmaceutical company but after the suicide attempt of Seizaki’s partner, there was nothing about it. Towards the ending in the episode 7, the son of Itsuki was shown to be running for the parliament but that plot twist was also thrown away.
Babylon is for the audience who love to watch thriller anime and are interested in politics and legal issues. Babylon portrays the politics differently and it can be understood by everyone and not only people of Japan.
