Anime Review: Marvel Anime: Wolverine
Logan, the man codenamed “Wolverine”, has lived a long time. Part of it, of course, is his mutant healing factor, but years of combat training, and a skeleton made of super-hard adamantium help too. And then there’s the sharp adamantium claws that pop out of his forearms. These days, his day job is being part of the mutant hero group, the X-Men. But he also has his own adventures, and a love life.
Right now he’s in love with Mariko Yashida, the only daughter of Japanese mob boss Shingen Yashida. Shingen disapproves of the match, and makes Mariko disappear temporarily. Some months later, Logan’s contact in the Japanese police, Asano, brings evidence that Mariko is still alive and about to be married off to Hideki Kurohagi, the slimeball who is de facto ruler of the crime nation of Madripoor.
The initial rescue mission goes badly and soon Logan must team up with cat-suited assassin Yukio against Shingen and Hideki (who she also has a personal vendetta against). Standing in their way are the katana-wielding Kikyo, serial killer cyborg Omega Red (whose appearance seems a non-sequitur at first), the walking statue Vadhaka, and an army of ruthless criminals. Rival Madripoor crime boss Koh and his teenage sidekick Min help out some, but Koh has his own agenda not entirely compatible with Logan’s.
This was one of a set of four Marvel anime adaptations created by Studio Madhouse. It adapts bits and pieces of the X-Men and Wolverine comic book plotlines involving Mariko, and streamlines them into one samurai revenge tragedy. Some characters are new, and others changed in various ways to fit more comfortably with the plotline. (Wolverine is drawn taller than the comic books to fit his male lead status.)
Since this is personal for Logan, he doesn’t wear his X-Men uniform, and only reluctantly calls in Scott (Cyclops) Summers for a ride to Madripoor, and absolutely nothing else, even though having other super-powered mutants along would have made things much easier. On the other hand, not having more squeamish teammates with him means that Logan is free to go with his first option of killing or maiming opponents.
The animation is good, and there’s a few scenes with excellent fight choreography. The plot works okay.
Mariko is very much a damsel in distress, with very little dialogue and no agency. She’s there to be what Wolverine wants to rescue, and could easily be replaced with a sexy lamp. Yukio, Min, and a minor character female cop get better treatment. Min is perhaps a little too servile to Koh for some viewers’ taste, but it’s clear that it’s her choice to be his minion.
Shingen, while a despicable person, has the most credibility among the villains because he works hard and has some common sense, plus a minimum amount of standards. Hideki, by contrast, is a sniveling coward who hides behind the massive advantages he inherited from his father, the previous crimelord of Madripoor, and the gadgets he’s bought. Hideki isn’t respected by his minions so much as feared because of his habit of lashing out when displeased.
Kikyo, who was created for the anime, feels like a sop to the Japanese creators. Most of the other Japanese characters are based on American comic book stereotypes of Japan, but the “noble ronin” persona really feels like a Japanese stereotype of a Japanese not-villain.
Don’t get too attached to any characters not named Logan, though; Wolverine isn’t known for his happy endings.
Content note: Loads of violence, often lethal but relatively bloodless. A couple of people are horribly deformed by poison. Brief torture. Children die. While he never actually gets around to it, Hideki is looking forward to non-consensual sex with his bride to be.
Overall: If Wolverine is your absolute favorite X-Man then this is the anime for you. Other viewers may want to consider their personal tolerance for massive death tolls.
