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An unusual route to become Netflix’s anime series – Cannon Busters series
Cannon Busters, Netflix’s anime series, took an unusual route to the streaming service. It’s maybe the most iconic of Netflix’s anime initiative, having been funded by British and Taiwanese firms, produced by a Japanese studio, and inspired by an American comic book.
The series first appeared as a comic book in 2005, however it only lasted three issues before being cancelled.
A new Netflix original anime series, Cannon Busters, has enormous guns, barreling cars, bulging eyeballs, and splashy freeze-frames in a chaotic anime action sequence. This witty, action-packed series has been a long-running project for Lesean Thomas, an animation veteran who meant to continue it as a graphic novel several years ago, but plans were put on hold, and the series’ concept re-emerged as an animated series presented on Kickstarter in 2014. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, a pilot episode was released to backers in 2016, but the series then vanished into obscurity—just as Netflix announced two years ago that it had picked up the series, which would be animated by Satelight and Yumeta Company as an original anime for the streaming giant.
Cannon Busters – a fantastic anime series with a fantastic theme
The tale revolved around a mysterious bounty hunter in the sci-fantasy-western planet of Philly. This hunter is capable of rising from the dead. When he gets entangled in a quest to discover the prince of her nation, he meets a mysterious robot who needs his help.
The tone and visual aesthetic of anime might be an acquired taste, which is why the medium rarely ventures beyond its passionate and artistic niche. Cannon Busters is obnoxious, brazen, outrageous, and over-the-top. Ageing anime fans will be drawn in by its numerous allusions to pop culture icons such as Star Wars, old Westerns, computer games from the 1980s, and The Road Warrior.
The action in Cannon Busters is non-stop and engrossing. It has a strong sense of conceptual world-building, aided with a subtle sense of humor.
When it comes to anime, there is usually not much range in skin tones when it comes to character design. Gearbolt, the fantasy, cowboy-steampunk world that Cannon Busters calls home, has a welcome array of skin tones that goes beyond anime’s customary lack of variety .
A mishmash of tropes, as are the show’s three central characters: Philadelphia, the protocol-adopting android S.A.M., and S.A.M.’s robotic mechanic friend Casey. They, too, are only marginally developed over the course of the show’s 12 episodes, with the exception of some intriguing beats in the second half. With the exception of some extremely slick and entertaining action sequences involving Philly’s shifting hotrod of a car, Bessie—which, when given enough quarters, can transform into a rampaging Mecha-Bull—Cannon Busters is a mostly great anime.
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Image Credit: Imdb.com
Reference Sources:
- Animation World Network: https://www.awn.com/
- Cartoon Brew – Technology: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/tech
- Befores & Afters – Visual effects and animation journalist: https://beforesandafters.com/
- Bloomberg News: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/
- Insider: https://www.insider.com/
- Inverse: https://www.inverse.com/