OVERVIEW
91 Days is a short crime drama anime set during the United States Prohibition era, which follows the story of Angelo Lagusa aka Avilio Bruno who goes on a quest to seek revenge against the great Vanetti Mafia Family. The anime aired from July 9, 2016, to October 1, 2016, having 12 episodes and 1 Original Video Animation (OVA). 91 days is a series with an interesting premise. And since it is based in the US Prohibition era, the anime will seem like Japanese Godfather Peaky Blinders!
PLOT
The story is about the revenge of a young guy, Angelo Lagusa aka Avilio whose family gets murdered by the Vanetti Family. Years later, lusting for revenge against the Vanetti Family, Angelo disguises himself as Avilio to be part of the family after he is offered an opportunity to fulfill his ambitions when he receives a mysterious letter detailing the family members involved in the night the whole family was murdered. Returning to the town Lawless, a town steeped in the black market liquor sales because of the prohibition, Angelo befriends Nero, the eldest son of don Vincent Vanetti as he takes the first steps towards exacting his terrible revenge. The show has a much darker theme with things like gruesome killings and violence.
CHARACTERS
You won’t get to see too many distinctive characters like in other anime but more or less, each of them does have a salient role in the development of the story and for the development of our main character, Avilio. But you have to admit that the show is only 12 episodes long, so it had to quickly deliver things with fewer characters. The show has a great, and very unique set of characters. You would probably feel very close to the two main characters and you will feel the all-around intensity of their relationship. The character development in the show is pretty great and it has a very important or noticeable role.
Now let’s talk about the two main characters. The protagonist, Angelo is a void that only lives to revenge his family’s death by murdering the ones who killed them. He is patient, merciless, and cunning. Throughout the anime, Angelo has only one goal, killing the Vanette family no matter the consequences and what he had to do. He thinks he will again have a reason to live after killing Vanette’s family and he would be free.
Nero is the son of the family head who murdered Angelo’s family. Nero is the main target of Angelo and he wants Nero to suffer the most. Nero is deeply devoted to upholding the crime family’s integrity, name, and pride. Nero also has some quotes like “You don’t need a reason to live. You just live.” which also kinda explains more about his personality.
ART STYLE
The animation is fluid. The character design and the overall art is not that much “dynamic” though but it still works. The show has specific color schemes and the drawing has unique styles like details on the face. 91 Days is an exception as the animation quality also manages to be just as consistent as its artistic quality. The action sequences are great and the characters are varied. The background scenery along with objects in the show are well animated. Everything just works well.
SOUND DESIGN AND VOICE ACTING
The sound and the voice-action in the anime are pretty great. Once the drama and intrigue set was in, it was able to match the tonal shift. The jazz makes sense in most respects with the unique atmospheric setting. It would feel like post-WW2 in some aspects. Even the OP (by Toru Kitajima, who made the famous Unravel for Tokyo Ghoul) and ED theme songs are haunting with a soft-paced beat. The Character’s voice mannerisms in the show are pretty great with Avilio being a believable character on his quest for revenge and Fango’s eccentric speeches, crazy personality, and psychopathic tone which reflects exactly how unconstitutional 91 Days’ society can be. The supporting cast is also made up of pretty talented seiyuu like Sakurai Takahiro, Ono Daisuke, Nakamura Yuuichi, and many others, and they all do a very good job. The music emphasized the scenes and sequences exceptionally well, especially in the end.
SETTING
As stated above, the story of the show is based during the United States Prohibition era, which means there was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. The whole basic structure of the show is based on this unique milieu. Instead of modern cars, you will get to see old cars such as Ford Model A and Rolls Royce, and instead of high-end tactical guys, you will get to see WW2 weapons like 1911 pistols, pump-up shotguns, and also very importantly, draggers and Italian knives for some action.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you like the old-era mafia stuff or even crime-thriller-drama, 91 Days is worth your time. And if you had already watched the anime, then congratulations, you don’t only watch mainstream shows! Being 12 episodes long with 1 OVA, 91 Days is perfectly good for 1-day binge-watching. Apart from a pretty good story, twists and turns, and execution, the show has a dark theme. The show is hella enjoyable. 91 Days is a show that goes beyond the revenge story, showing mafia wars and the darker side of men.
An easy 9 out of 10 from me.