Series Synopsis
Satoshi
Shirase (voiced by Kazuya Nakai) is a freelance programmer who goes by the code
name BPS (Battle Programmer Shirase). A computer genius, Satoshi is contracted
by a variety of organizations to perform high level cyber functions, such as
hacking and security. Even though his level of skill is unmatched, Satoshi
never charges money for his services. Instead clients make payments in the form
of rare or high tech electronics.
Living a
quiet and secluded life, Satoshi has few strong relationships; the major
exception being his elementary school niece, Misao Amano (voiced by Misato Fukuen). Actually, due to a complicated family structure, Misao is really
Satoshi’s great-niece despite him being no older than thirty.
Misao is a
shy girl, but loves and cares for her uncle very much; choosing to address him
as onii-chan (Japanese for older brother). Despite how close they are, Misao
does not know of Satoshi’s real profession.
For whatever
reason, Satoshi will often find himself in a one sided battled with cyber
terrorist Rintarou Ose (voiced by Yasuhiro Takato), better known as King of
America. While Rintarou is a skilled hacker in his own right, he pales in
comparison to Satoshi with the result being utter humiliation for the former.
In one of
his encounters with the King, Satoshi becomes acquainted with Major Yoriko
Yunomi (voiced by Fumiko Orikasa), the US Navy’s top counter cyber terrorist
expert, and a healthy rivalry develops between the two. She is shown to be
equally gifted with computers despite being the same age as Misao and even
offers Satoshi a position as her partner within the Navy.Series Positives
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| Satoshi Shirase |
The show is
funny for the most part. However, the humor will more or less keep you around
rather than laughing hysterically.
Satoshi
Shirase
Perhaps the
best thing to come out of this show is the character of Satoshi. It's fun to
see people who are the best at something, do what they are the best at. Also
cyber-battles are cool.
In the first
story arc of the show, Satoshi is hired by an electronics company who recently
had one of their super computers stolen. The culprit is none other than King of
America who is hoping to bring down the giant conglomerate.
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| Misao Amano |
The King is
able to remotely trigger high powered explosions within the company's Tokyo
headquarters by exploiting the basic wired functions of a modern building, such
as gas and electrical lines. He is able to pull this off by using the stolen
super computer.
However,
Satoshi is able to effortlessly block every attack the King makes. He does this
so quickly that the hard drive of the super computer is unable to handle the
processing speed and overheats, causing the machine to explode. What was
Satoshi's weapon of choice? Nothing more than a simple cell phone.
Due to his
abilities, Satoshi has a highly indifferent attitude. Even when he is in clear
mortal danger, he is never really in a rush or panic. This demeanor only
changes whenever he sees any piece of electrical equipment.
It's this
kind of personality that brings about a good portion of the show's humor.
Series Negatives
If I had
only one word to describe this show, it would be underwhelming.
The Story and Character Development
How much can
really happen in fifteen episodes at twelve minuets a pop? As it turns out,
quite a lot. But just because things happen, that doesn’t mean that any of its
interesting.
The show is
able to pull off five different story arcs. The first one is really good
because it shows how skilled Satoshi is with a computer and the battle between
hackers is fun to watch. That excitement never comes back.
Even though
the King is behind most of the problems in the show, there is never a repeat of
that first head to head battle. Often Satoshi will be doing damage control or
setting it up so that Yoriko can take the kill shot.
And that's
another thing. There was never a cyber-fight between Satoshi and Yoriko. It
doesn’t matter that Satoshi is the better hacker; the young Major would have
been a real challenge.
This also
illustrates how poor of a job the story did with Yoriko and everyone else's
character development. While you saw Satoshi’s skill for yourself, Yoriko’s was
only based off her confidence and the Navy’s say so.
Never do you
feel the urge to invest any emotion into the story. So by the end you don’t
care about what’s going on to characters you don't know much about.
Cliffhanger Ending *Possible Spoiler*
While the
story doesn't warrant much investment on the part of the viewer, it may have
something to do with the fact that the show feels more like foundation for
something bigger. This is evident in the cliffhanger ending.
Throughout
the show, Satoshi hints about an organization that he used to work for. In the
last story arc, that same organization attempts to kidnap Satoshi in order to
use his skills again. So now you have this new mysterious entity that just
shows up at the end and drops the first really interesting story element since
the beginning. Thus setting up for an exciting second season.
But you know
what the problem is? Battle Programmer Shirase didn’t get picked up for a
second season. So now you are left with a story that's not only sparsely
interesting, but also unfinished.
Final Thoughts
Battle Programmer Shirase is just okay.
If you have three hours you need to kill, then go ahead and give this show a
try. But keep this in mind. In the same way that jump scares don't often make a
horror movie memorable, the humor here will not last long and will quickly be
forgotten.
While there
are some people that may enjoy this anime for the fan service it provides, it
really doesn’t bring much else to the table. With mildly funny jokes that have
been done better by other series, it will keep your attention long enough to
get through it all.
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