Evaluation and impressions of "Flash Night Raid Unaired Version"

Detailed review and recommendation of Senkou no Night Raid Unreleased Version - Senkou no Night Raid Mihou Eiban

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

Anime Original

■ Release date

June 23, 2010 Episode 0 / Crank-up on the ship (2010/06/23)
・Episode 1/Rescue Mission (Director's Cut) (2010/06/23)
・Special Edition (1)/The Devil in the Opium Den (2010/09/22)
・Special Edition (2)/Snow Leopard (2010/12/22)

*Included in the packaged version of "Flash Night Raid" volumes 1, 4, and 7

■Release and sales

・Distributor: Aniplex

■Frequencies

25 min

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 4

■Original Story

A-1 Pictures

■ Director

Jun Matsumoto

■ Production

・Production: A-1 Pictures
Produced by: Flash Night Raid Production Committee (ANIPLEX, TV TOKYO)

■Works

©A-1 Pictures / Flash Night Raid Production Committee

■ Story

A bouquet of supernatural powers blooms in the magical city.

A web of conspiracies unfolds in the international city of Shanghai.
The prelude to a great war buried in the darkness of history now begins.

1931, the magical city of Shanghai.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, the Japanese Army advanced into mainland China.
Among them was a special spy organization called the Sakurai Agency, which has since been forgotten by history.
In Shanghai, where many hegemonic nations compete for supremacy, these people with special abilities never appear on the public stage, but instead operate behind the scenes of various incidents.
In the midst of all this, a section of the army suddenly disappears.
This was only the beginning of a major event that would soon shake the world.

■Explanation

The second installment of "The Power of Anime" to be broadcast from April 2010
A supernatural spy action film set in Shanghai in 1931!

*Quoted from Amazon

■Cast

・Miyoshi Aoi/Yoshino Hiroyuki/Inami Kuzu/Namikawa Daisuke/Sonoki Yukina/Ikuta Yoshiko/Kagiya Natsume/Hoshino Takanori/Sakurai Shinichiro/Obayashi Ryusuke/Furan/Fujita Saki/Kuse/Miyauchi Atsushi/Rei Rei/Fujioka Ina/Airei/Endo Aya/Nishio/Katsu Anri/Horststein/Dominique Allen/Old Man/Akimoto Yosuke/Miki/Fukuyama Renshi/Ishihara Kanji/Isobe Tsutomu/Itagaki Seishiro/Mori Koichi/Takekawa Yoshitsugu/Hashi Takaya/Hanatani Tadashi/Tobita Nobuo/Minami Jiro/Ikeda Masaru/Imada Shintaro/Kushida Yasumichi, Kojima Masanori/Usuitakayasu, Takiyama/Matsukaze Masaya, Kamoumi/Okiayu Ryutaro, Nagura Shiori/Kato Masayuki, Mitani Kiyoshi/Masuda Hiroo, Morishima Morito/Nomura Kenji, Hayashi Hisajiro/Fukumatsu Susumu, Victor Brewer-Lytton/Greg Irwin, Aisin Gioro Puyi/Okitsu Kazuyuki, Ichinose/Okamoto Nobuhiko, Kazama/Fujita Saki, Ichishi/Ryo Keisei, Takachiho Isao/Hirata Hiroaki, narration/Kawasumi Ayako, Shizune/Kawasumi Ayako

■ Main staff

・Original work: A-1 Pictures
・Planning: Koichiro Natsume, Akihiko Tamura (TV Tokyo)
・Character concept / Akimine Kamijo ・Character design / Keigo Sasaki ・Main writer / Shinsuke Onishi ・Mecha and prop design / Yoshinobu Tsuneki ・Assistant director / Naomichi Yamato ・Main animator / Takao Sano, Yusuke Shimizu ・Art director / Yoshio Tanioka ・Art setting / Kazuhisa Kanehira ・Director of photography / Shinji Nasu ・Color design / Kazuko Nakajima ・Editor / Shigeru Nishiyama ・Sound director / Minoru Yamada ・Music production / Aniplex
・Music / Taro Hakase, Satoshi Kadokura・Sound / Satoshi Yano・Sound assistant / Hiroki Sawamura・Sound effects / Emi Takanashi, Hidee Takagi・Recording studio / Tabak・Sound production / Akiko Noguchi・Chinese instruction / Xiao Gang Ren・Chinese translation / Shu Hua Mao・English and German instruction / Dominic Allen・Format editing / Q-Tech / Motoki Shirai, Masaru Kitamoto・Music cooperation / Katsumi Otani (HATS UNLIMITED), TV Tokyo Music・Theme song cooperation / Keiichi Tonomura (Sony Music Entertainment)
・Logo design: Eiichi Goto ・Planning cooperation: Takeshi Ochi, Madoka Motoki, Masami Ebihara ・Planning and sales producer: Osamu Takesue ・Planning manager: Haruyuki Iguchi (TV Tokyo)
・Assistant Producer: Moe Sakai ・The Power of Anime Promotion Producer: Kazuko Yamamoto ・Promotion Producer: Kumiko Homma ・Promotion: Ikue Hayashi ・Program Promotion: Yosuke Aoki (TV Tokyo)
・Web production: Koji Uetsuji, Satsuki Maruyama ・Production administration: Keiko Ishikawa ・Production administration: Yoshiko Kitamura, Akiko Saito ・System management: Masayoshi Yoshioka ・Hybrid cap: Yoshito Ito ・Producers: Kazunori Adachi, Akiko Odawara (TV Tokyo)
Executive Producer: Yukio Kawasaki (TV Tokyo), Hideo Katsumata, Tomonori Ochikoshi Animation Producer: Yutaka Omatsu Production: A-1 Pictures
Director: Jun Matsumoto Produced by: Flash Night Raid Production Committee (ANIPLEX, TV TOKYO)

■ Main Characters

・Aoi Miyoshi
The offspring of a certain powerful politician. A positive and unapproachable character. Though he can appear a little reckless, he has a strong sense of justice and is single-minded. He studied abroad in Europe, where he developed liberal values ​​and an international sensibility. While traveling abroad, his fiance died young. During this time of despair, he was invited by the Sakurai Agency and accepted. In Shanghai, he runs a photo studio with Ge to hide his identity as a spy. His powers include psychokinesis. There is a time limit.
・Iwa kudzu
He was born into a family of warriors, from samurai to high-ranking military officers. He was raised by his strict grandmother, who thoroughly drilled into him the way of life of a warrior. He is proud and strict. His thinking is conservative and inflexible, which often leads to conflicts with Aoi. After graduating from the Military Academy with excellent grades, he was forced to join the Sakurai Agency, denying him his hope of entering the Military War College. He has the ability to teleport, but there is a limit to the number of jumps he can make, and he cannot jump to places that are not within his field of vision.
・Yukina Sonoki
He comes from a former aristocratic family. He volunteered to join the Sakurai Agency in order to search for his older brother who led a unit of the Kwantung Army and disappeared on the continent. He has a calm demeanor in everyday life, but at times he behaves in a dignified and solemn manner. He is active and curious, and is fully suited to be an intelligence agent, but his kindness, having been raised in a hothouse environment, can sometimes be a hindrance. His ability is psychometry. He prefers the scent of flowers when activating his ability in order to sharpen his concentration.
・Natsume Kagiya
Born into a poor farming family in a remote village. From a young age, he worked as a servant for the Sonogi family, where he noticed the awakening of his abilities. He joined the Sakurai Agency to protect Yukina, who was heading to the continent in search of her brother. He is brusque, but earnest and sincere. He carries out his duties in silence, without saying anything unnecessary. In order to hide their relationship of master and servant in public, he behaves as an equal with Yukina, but when they are alone, he is still her loyal servant. He has special visual abilities, and can see through telephoto lenses, see through clairvoyance, and see in the dark. It is said that moonlight is necessary for him to fully utilize his abilities.
・Shinichiro Sakurai
A former Army Lieutenant Colonel, he presides over the Sakurai Agency, an intelligence organization that brings together people with special abilities to collect and retain information necessary for the Army. He is friendly and has a carefree demeanor, but there are times when it is hard to understand what he is thinking.
・Furan
She is the poster girl for a small restaurant that frequents Aoi and Kuzu's photo studio. She works like the restaurant's owner, from cooking to serving food, and dreams of making it the biggest restaurant in the area. She will do anything, even if it means being a little forceful, to make money.

■Subtitle

Episode 0: Wrap-up on the ship (2010/06/23)
・Episode 1/Rescue Mission (Director's Cut) (2010/06/23)
・Special Edition (1)/The Devil in the Opium Den (2010/09/22)
・Special Edition (2)/Snow Leopard (2010/12/22)

■ Related works

・Flash of Night Raid ・Flash of Night Raid Episode 7

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・Promise・Lyrics: Tatsuro・Composition: Tatsuro・Arrangement: Miya・Singer: Mucc

・ED1
・Promise・Lyrics: Tatsuro・Composition: Tatsuro・Arrangement: Miya・Singer: Mucc

・ED2
・To the future...
Lyrics: Sayo Composition: Sayo Arrangement: Sayo, ACE
・Singer: HIMEKA

・TM1
・The Mission to Complete
・Composition: Taro Hakase ・Arrangement: Yuji Toriyama ・Performance: Taro Hakase

・IN1
・Vocalise・Composition: Sergei Rachmaninoff

Review and Recommendation

"Night Raid Flash Unreleased Version" was released as an OVA in 2010 and is an original anime spy action film produced by A-1 Pictures. The film is set in Shanghai in 1931 and tells the story of spies with special abilities who find themselves in the midst of a conspiracy. Below, we will provide a detailed review and recommendation of this film.

Story and setting

The story of "Night Raid: Unreleased Version" is very fascinating as a spy action film that skillfully incorporates historical background. Set in the international city of Shanghai in 1931, it depicts the activities of the "Sakurai Agency," a special spy organization within the Japanese Army that advanced into mainland China after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. This historical background gives viewers a sense of realism and adds depth to the story.

The story centers around the exploits of spies with special abilities. Characters such as Miyoshi Aoi, Inami Kuzu, Sonoki Yukina, and Kagiya Natsume each have different abilities and carry out various missions. In particular, Aoi's psychokinesis and Kuzu's teleportation ability are visually very impactful and draw the viewer's interest. Yukina's psychometry and Natsume's special visual ability also play important roles in advancing the story.

The story begins with the sudden disappearance of a unit of the army. The premise that this incident is the beginning of a major event that will shake the world creates tension in the viewers and builds anticipation for the next episode. Each episode is a mix of tense espionage activities and the human drama of the characters, drawing the viewers in.

character

The characters in "Night Raid Flash Unreleased Version" are depicted in detail with their individual backgrounds and abilities, leaving a deep impression on the viewer. Miyoshi Aoi is a character with a positive and uncooperative personality, but a strong sense of justice. She has liberal values ​​due to her experience studying abroad in Europe, but she also bears the tragedy of her fiancé's early death. Her ability, psychokinesis, is time-limited, which adds tension to her actions.

Inamikuzu comes from a family of warriors and was raised by a strict grandmother. He is a proud and conservative character. His teleportation ability has a limit to the number of times he can jump, which restricts his actions and creates tension for the viewer. His conflict with Aoi also adds depth to the story.

Yukina Sonoki is from a former aristocratic family and is a character who volunteers to join the Sakurai Agency to search for her brother. Her psychometry ability is based on the fact that she prefers the scent of flowers to sharpen her concentration, making her character even more appealing. Her active and curious side also makes her appealing to viewers.

Natsume Kagiya is a character who comes from a poor farming family in a cold village and has worked as a servant since he was a child. His special visual ability allows him to see through distant objects, see through objects, and see in the dark, and plays an important role in the accomplishment of his missions. His loyalty to Yukina also deeply portrays his character.

Sakurai Shinichiro is a former army lieutenant colonel who presides over the Sakurai Agency. He is a friendly and easygoing character. The fact that we don't know what he is thinking gives the viewer a sense of mystery and adds depth to the story.

Furan is the poster girl for a small restaurant that frequents Aoi and Kuzu's photo studio, and is a character who will do anything aggressive to make money. Her dream of making the biggest restaurant in her hometown is one that viewers can sympathize with.

Visuals and Music

The visual quality of "Night Raid Flash Unreleased Version" is outstanding, thanks to A-1 Pictures' high level of quality. The film realistically recreates the historical backdrop of Shanghai in 1931, allowing viewers to feel like they're in that world. Character movements and battle scenes are also depicted with meticulous attention to detail, making for a visually stunning experience.

The music was composed by Taro Hakase and Satoshi Kadokura, and skillfully expresses the tension of the story and the emotions of the characters. In particular, the theme song "Promise" features Mukku's powerful voice, which brings out the theme of the story and leaves a strong impression on viewers. In addition, the ending song "To the Future..." features HIMEKA's gentle voice, which brings out the human drama of the characters and moves viewers.

Recommendation

"Night Raid: Unreleased Version" is a work that skillfully combines the elements of spy action and supernatural powers, giving viewers a sense of tension and excitement. In particular, the story is set against the historical backdrop of Shanghai in 1931, giving viewers a sense of reality and deeply moving. In addition, the backgrounds and abilities of each character are depicted in detail, leaving a deep impression on viewers.

This work is especially recommended for those who like spy action and supernatural stories. It is also recommended for those who like stories set in a historical background. Furthermore, this work is highly recommended for those who want to be moved by the human drama of the characters. Please watch "Flash Night Raid Unreleased Version" and feel its charm.