The first episode opens with a robust and beautiful young woman lounging on top of a platform. (We're off to a great start!) Next to our beauty is another young woman, but she isn't dawning a bikini. She's dressed in a combat suit with her eye fixed down the sight of a sniper rifle. These woman are two of our heroes, Yuko and Miki. Yuko raises her radio and calls out to our two main protagonists, Arashi and Mikoto, who are awaiting their orders inside of an ambulance down the road. Upon receiving the call, they both race forward on a motorcycle towards a rather large and luxurious plaza. Following them is the insanely entertaining Sayo with her duel wielded machine guns.
Arashi and Mikoto expertly enter the plaza with the help of Miki, and they arrive at the bedroom of their mark, a local crime boss. This is where it gets interesting.
As Arashi tosses the criminal a gun he proceeds to tell him that he has been deemed "a malignant tumor in society" and has been given a Black Label. This means that he is beyond redemption and must be excised from society. (If this seems a bit confusing, then let me explain.)
All of our characters work for an elite assassination organization known as Black Label. They are a specially trained group of surgeons who specialize in riding the body of our world from the disease that is corruption. In simple terms, criminals are an infection and they are the penicillin. They deal justice where the medicine of the law cannot reach, and they are very effective at it. Each has their special talent that they bring to the fight. Whether it's driving, shooting, explosives, or just looking good in a dress.
The other interesting thing about them is that they each live their own lives outside of the squad. A few of them are still in high school, and one is even a famous pop star! This adds a good balance of realism to their stories, and can make for some funny moments to break the serious tone. Such as when Oriha is so focused on a bomb that she's rigging that she forgets about her concert performance the same night.
One of the things that was blatantly odd was the over the top criminals. All of them are basically devilish bosses and business men/woman who are absolutely out of their minds. Whenever they show up they are always doing something disturbing or vile. Some of which I can't really describe here. This is possibly one of the show's biggest draws and biggest problems. Every enemy is CRAZY to an extreme level thus far in the series. It can make the missions very compelling, but can also take you right out of the scene you're watching. Like when they are introducing a new mark for the team, they show up in a dark room beating a woman senseless in front of her husband. A very brutal scene full of emotion, as well as an awkward choice to introduce some more villains.
Something that makes up for the villains is the unbelievable stunts and chases. All of the vehicles and weapons flash between detailed illustrations and computer generated designs. But they transition is always so well done that it never takes you out of the fight like some anime have failed at accomplishing. This makes the motorcycle stunts with Arashi and Mikoto more exciting because it verges on animated and designed.
I have to be honest though, if you don't like fan service and gore then this is not your kind of show. If you're familiar with anything Sato has done, then you probably know this already. And Since it looks like HOTD season two is never going to happen, I'm very pleased with this equally cool substitute.
If you get a chance, and it seems like your style, then give it a view and let me know what you think! The series is currently on its fourth episode, and I left a link below to the first episode if you'd like to jump in. Thanks for reading!
-Otaku Anonymous
Link to first episode: http://www.crunchyroll.com/triage-x/episode-1-prescription-of-hell-678397
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