Back Arrow – Cowboys, Spaceships and Gods!

Production

There is something nostalgic about the character designs in BACk ARROW, Maybe like a hyped-up 90s design. The colours are super bright, that’s the hyped-up part. But the rest has this familiar look to it that nevertheless isn’t all that common these days. I personally enjoyed the visuals.

The animation is competent. I wouldn’t call it breathtaking but you have to keep in mind that there are several hi-speed aerial battles throughout the show and most of them look decent, which is more challenging than just having characters sitting around and chatting. In the later episodes, you start to notice some recycled cells and some out-of-place stills but it’s not excessive.

I watched this show in both languages and I enjoyed pretty much all the performances. I’m about to say something very out of character for me. I think my favourite performance was Shu Bi’s English voice actor. I’m not sure I can name a single instance of preferring an English language performance, and that’s including some famously beloved dubs but Brandon McInnis injected so much personality and smarminess into that character that it made him just irresistible. Apparently, he also plays Gen in Dr. Stone and I can see how those roles have similarities. Maybe I should watch a dubbed episode just to see how it compares.

Story & Characters

In many ways, Back Arrow is a classic shonen. Once again, jit gave me some classic 90s feels. The story gets pretty convoluted towards the end with a last-minute drastically expanded universe, a heavy dose of theology and some existential questioning thrown in. But in general, it’s a fairly fast-paced action/adventure with some spaghetti western inspiration and a lot of flying robots. The heroes visit one nation after another, meeting eccentric characters and finding out that things may not be as they first appear.

I have noticed that western aesthetics and science fiction seem to pair surprisingly well. You know, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, heck, even Star Wars up to a certain extent.

Back Arrow is fun but it’s also a little childish. As in, I would have enjoyed Back Arrow a lot as a kid. The morality is fairly simple throughout and the twists are amusing and ever so operatic but kind of flimsy if you think about them too much. And maybe that’s were this review would have ended if it weren’t for one thing.

The aforementioned Shu Bi. Shu Bi is a main character. Aside from Back Arrow himself, I believe he is the most plot-relevant and present character in the entire series. I have now watched all of Back Arrow and I still can’t tell you which side Shu Bi is on. Most likely his own side but even that is debatable.

Shu Bi isn’t so much a morally grey character as a morally opaque one that seems completely unconcerned with hero/villain conventions or living up to any particular audience or even narrative expectation. And that makes everything else more interesting. It’s a wild card that’s kept constantly in the forefront.

Usually, these types of characters are memorable and important supporting characters or villains. They make a huge impression of the cast and are often fan favourites, but when it comes right down to it, they aren’t all that present. Because their simple presence is a disturbance.

But Shu Bi is always there and somehow, Back Arrow manages to keep him both unpredictable while still maintaining a coherent enough storyline for us to easily follow along. To me, that was impressive and it helped keep me invested. I was never entirely sure how the next episode would go because there was no guarantee one of the main characters wouldn’t just sell them out, or save the day or turn into a clown made out of cotton candy…

In general, that’s actually a good description for Back Arrow as a show. It’s mostly a classic action sci-fi with some light-hearted humour peppered throughout and then once in a while, it throws a crazy wrench in the works and you’re like, where did that come from? But it still works. Not as in everything makes perfect sense but more as in, the show never asked you to take it all that seriously so this is just fun.

I’m guessing that this is the element that didn’t work for some viewers, explaining the low overall rating but if you don’t mind wackiness and enjoy classic 90s anime adventure, then Back Arrow might be what you’ve been looking for!

You might like this anime if:

Oh, I just spelled it out… a wacky adventure with some nostalgic feels. Also Mecha. I feel like I haven’t given you enough of an idea of just how mecha-centric this show is.

I save all my screencaps on my Pinterest and you can find more there if you are interested. But I still like to show you a few in the post. If you’re like me, screencaps are something that really helps you decide to watch an anime or not.