The Herald Anime Club opens a new season with Ikebukuro West Gate Park. The first episode is one to remember, as Reefer Madness sets in.
Nov 15, 2020 • Subscribe
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Ikebukuro West Gate Park – Episode 1
It’s not a terrible premiere, but it felt like the series was more interested in throwing us into the chaotic world of Ikebukuro without establishing why we should…
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Anime Taste Testing: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
A PSA on Japan’s stance against drugs. Remember kids, weed is evil!
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First Impressions – Ikebukuro West Gate Park
I'd like to think there was something to this franchise that made it such a hit. Read more
First Impression: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a thriving commercial and entertainment district northwest of downtown Tokyo. But beneath the rich veneer lies a seedy underbelly of gangs and drugs. Makoto Majima, despite…
First Impression: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a thriving commercial and entertainment district northwest of downtown Tokyo. But beneath the rich veneer lies a seedy underbelly of gangs and drugs. Makoto Majima, despite…
First Look: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro: where you will apparently never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. In this violent and crime-ridden district, where yazkuza and youth street gangs rule…


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Ikebukuro is a haven for violent gangs, and also the home to Makoto Majima. In order to protect his friends, Makoto mediates different disputes. However, when things go…
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Gangs, drugs, underground life, immigration issues, shady deals, single mothers trying to stay afloat, and many more. For a title like Ikebukuro West Gate Park (shortened as IWGP),…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park #01 — Restaurant Tour
Betting it all on the boy band. Impressions: It's so culturally weird for a show to be totally embracing of organized crime, vigilante justice, literal public execution…
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Like myself, Majima Makoto is the age where he missed out on the big YouTube content creation boom, and marvels how people can make so much money off…
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The stinger for this week is only a few moments long: a toddler playing with a toy plane falls off a balcony and lands in a bush. He’s…
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IWGP has done a great job mixing up Majima Makoto’s cases-of-the-week thus far, underlining how valuable someone with his skills and relationships can be to a diverse array…
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Ikebukuro is a town of balance, and that balance ensures peace. But one otherwise ordinary night, a group from the G-Boys Hiroto Faction are pulled from their van…
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There is a lot to sift through this week, but I’ll give IWGP this: there’s no other current show that makes people sitting at tables and talking quite so…
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“Everyone’s so worried about me…What am I, a little boy?” I doubt the people warning Makoto are doing so because they think he’s a kid, but because there is…
Why You Should Watch Ikebukuro West Gate Park
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Ikebukuro West Gate Park: The Tokyo Revengers I Wanted?
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Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 04 – Knowing the Whole Story
Last week was a half-baked and tedious exploration of the online content culture featuring an unlikable YouTuber. But that was just one episode of a show that is…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 10 – Moving Past the Hate
You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 12 (Fin) – The Troublesome Troubleshooter
With Takashi out of commssion the G-Boys are rudderless and eager for revenge, and Kyouichi isn’t above acquiring guns from the yakuza in order to gain the advantage…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 11 – Nightmare on Sunshine Street
If I haven’t already, I’ll go on record now: Thus far I’ve always enjoyed the IWGP stories that aren’t directly related to the G-Boy/Red Angel dispute, like when…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 02 – New Kids on the ‘Bukuro
It was just the G-Boys in Ikebukuro, until one night at the Global Ring a young lad with fiery red hair and angel wing tattoos captivated a crowd…
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The current anime season is coming to an end so this post might count as a recap, as well as my observations and general thoughts on the show.…
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Weekly Digest 10/22/20 – Noblesse, Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Apart from fans of the source material ripping it, it seems as if almost no one is talking about Noblesse. Read more
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – Denshi no Hoshi by Ishida Ira
Once again, I was looking for something interesting on Funamation’s streaming site and came across a new anime called Ikebukuro West Gate Park. I found at least one…
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