Yugo the Negotiatior Vol-1: Departure (2004)
Animation Production: Yugo Production Committee/Kids Station/G&G Direction
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-3
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Yugo the Negotiator is the kind of title that to me makes anime what it is, a cinematic medium that is not only extremely flexible in terms of production values and stylized artistic direction, but also one that is more adept at pursuing new ideas and ways of presenting us with compelling stories, dramas and characters. Yugo the Negotiatior is a perfect example of this flexibility and openness to interesting narratives and an amazing title in its own right.

Story

"Beppu Yugo is one of the world's finest private negotiators. His mastery of multiple languages, psychology, and his iron will set him apart from others in his trade. He has a proven track record of successful negotiations in tense situations where most others fail. Now the negotiator's skills will be put to the ultimate test as he goes up against fundamentalist terrorists in Pakistan. "-- DVD Box

Review

Volume one of ADV’s domestic release of Yugo the Negotiator contains the first three episodes in the series which include:

Episode 1: Negotiator
Yugo Beppu is a top notch Japanese negotiator with an amazing track record for helping hostage victims come out of their ordeals unscathed. When a wealthy Japanese business man is kidnapped in Pakistan by a dangerous group of anti-government guerillas and a company-sponsored negotiator working hand-in-hand with the Pakistani government is killed due to his less than straight approach to the negotiations, Yugo is called in to help.

Seeing similarities to a past case and fueled by a desire to help the business man’s daughter Yugo accepts the case and begins preparations to travel abroad to Pakistan, where he will likely face his most challenging case yet.

Episode 2: Resolve
Equipped with the necessary knowledge and equipment needed for this case Yugo sets out to find a man by the name of Haji Rahmani in Pakistan. Supposedly he may be able to help the negotiator make contact with the anti-government guerillas, but what will Yugo ultimately end up finding?

Episode 3: Contact
Hot in pursuit of the anti-government guerillas and their legendary leader Yugo traverses the dangerous deserts of Pakistan and there he meets with more trouble than he originally bargained for. Will he be able to survive long enough to carry out his negotiation!?

Honestly, going into Yugo the Negotiatior I was not really all that excited about it. Initially I thought it would be another generic traveler/adventure show with lots of action and bravado, but much to my surprise it turned out to be a well thought out, mature, and amazingly well performed anime. In fact this is probably one of the best dramatic anime releases I’ve seen this year. Simply put Yugo the Negotiator is a thinking person’s anime, with its emphasis on the human psyche, culture, religion and morality, all of which are wrapped around a story that is so delicious you can barely wait to eat the whole thing up once you get a taste.

Being a series built on the theme of hostage negotiations (adapted from the original manga by Shinji Makari) I found it particularly fascinating that the production team adapted a story that revolves around a kidnapping in Pakistan considering what the current world situation is and how this first story arch might be received by both anime fans and casual viewers alike. Thankfully the characters, situations and cultural aspects are handled quite maturely and are built in such a way as to give us a fuller perspective on what is motivating each side as opposed to one where each side is clearly defined in black and white, good or bad terms. The writers also did a good job in humanizing the cast of characters we meet here and giving them reasons for acting the way they do and pursuing their goals.

As our main character that we follow throughout the story Yugo proves to be a complex protagonist who initially comes across as a low-key and dry character, but as the driving forces of the story are put into place and he begins bringing together the pieces of his mission we can see that he is an exceedingly perceptive young man, with keen intellect and observational skills, who also happens to be driven to do the right thing in order to help people like his current client, the daughter of the wealthy business man who has been kidnapped in Pakistan. As the story progresses in this DVD we are presented to more aspects of Yugo’s personality and by the end we’ve come to admire his willpower and willingness to take the ultimate risks to help not only his clients, but also those he runs into during his travels who may be in need of help.

The three episodes in this DVD represent half of the first story-arch in this series and as such do a good job at introducing us to the Yugo the Negotiator universe and setting up the plot and character introductions. On the flip side, since a lot of time is devoted to introducing the components that make up the story as well as the main and supporting cast the plot doesn’t really get a lot of traction going until the final 15 minutes of the third episode. The cliffhanger ending to episode 3 and promo for episode 4 leave you on the edge of your seat and wishing that you could fast forward to the future just so that you could see what comes up next!

In terms of production quality this show is up there with all the latest and greatest anime releases with some tremendous production values. The animation and character designs here take on a decidedly realistic approach that is devoid of any of your typical anime sight gags or cartoony-ish effects and it works to great effect when married to the drama of the story. The color palette is heavy on the muted pastels, but does have a good range of dark and light colors. The animation flows nicely with a good frame rate and some cgi is thrown in for good measure here and there.

The soundtrack was interesting in that it added another layer of realism to the proceedings with atmospheric background music that made Pakistan come to life in our aural imagination. On the opening theme song front I’m sad to say it was weak with one of the most forgettable opening themes in recent memory. The voice actors in both soundtracks do a remarkable job in keeping the realism intact and adding personality to their two-dimensional counterparts.

On the DVD front this is a solid release by ADV Films with a good number of extras contained in the disc. These include a “What is Yugo the Negotiator” featurette, 3 video interviews with the Japanese staff/cast, “Japanese Depiction of Pakistan” commentary, personnel dossiers, clean copies of the opening & closing themes and previews for other ADV Films releases. There is also a small insert inside the box with more info on the story, a glossary of terms and an interview with the original story writer, Shinji Makari.

Final Thoughts

Yugo the Negotiator is an intelligent, thought provoking release that should be checked out by all those anime fans who enjoy releases with a lot more to them than robots, explosions and pin-up anime girls. This my friends is what anime is all about!

Can’t wait for volume two of this series!!!!

Jeffrey Couto