1. Background information
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
Type: TV Series
Number of Episodes: 11
Airing year: 2011
Website: No.6 Wiki
Summary: No.6 is known as a perfect city rebuilt after most of the world was destroyed due to war. Shion is an elite student and have a high IQ growing up in No.6. When he was 12, he saved an injured prisoner who was escaping, Nezumi. After having a night together, Nezumi disappeared the later morning. 4 years later, after seeing many people suddenly died mysteriously, Shion raised his suspicion to No.6 and was captured by the Security Bureau with the reason that he had lost his loyalty to No.6. Nezumi appeared on time to rescue him and took him to the real world, the world outside of No.6 which was covered by poverty. They lived there for a while, met some people and tried to discover what exactly was under the beautiful surface of No.6.
2. Characters
Shion
Shion is the name of a light purple flower. His hair and eye colors were originally brown. This appearance was the result of the poison from the bees which had caused number of mysterious deaths in No.6.
Nezumi
His name means "rat". Shion used to say his name was strange, but he himself didn't aware of that.
Nezumi was from the Forest People, a tribe which had been ruined by No.6. That's why he always wanted to destroy No.6 as a revenge.
Safu
Shion's childhood friend. She loved Shion, but he just saw her as a friend. She was the suitable sample to wake Elyurias.
Inukashi
Inukashi means "dog keeper" in general, it's not a name. There is no exact information about this person's gender but may be I should use "she" since I have a feeling that this is a girl. She was grown up by a dog and lived among dogs in West Block outside No.6 (also where Nezumi lived). To her, dogs are even better friends than human. She run a hotel where she leased the dogs to help the customers keep warm. She also sold information collected by her dogs.
"Whether you are a dog or a human, you die and start stinking. No matter how much you struggle or cling to life, you will eventually die."
- said Inukashi -
Rikiga
He was one of the creators of No.6 and used to be a journalist for Latch Bill newspaper and try to discover the dubious of No.6, but then he gave up to exchange a luxurious life among the poverty of West Block by "recommending" women to No.6 officials. He loved Karan, Shion's mother. So when Karan told Shion to find him for help, he tried to support and also wanted to take care of Shion.
Elyurias
The God of the Forest People and also the power No.6 tried to obtain. No.6 used its own citizens for the experiment to find the suitable sample to wake Elyurias and use her power. And to revenge for the act of burning the Forest People, Elyurias let the bees parasitize in No.6 citizens and kill them to destroy No.6.
3. "I want you to stay the Shion I know"
Note: The story is quite complicated so I will just focus on Nezumi and Shion. For the whole content, watching the series will give you a complete enjoyment. For more details, I recommend the manga if you have time since there are some content shortened in the anime so it's a little bit hard to understand.
Nezumi and Shion first met each other in a stormy night when they were both 12. At that time, Nezumi was on the way escaping from Correctional Facility and Shion carelessly let the windows open which created an opportunity for Nezumi to break into his house.
Nezumi's first intention was to bully Shion but after seeing Nezumi's injure, Shion voluntarily helped him take out the bullet in his arm and bandaged it. Shion also gave him food and let him stay at his house one night despite the fact that he was a prisoner.
Their first night, holding hands and falling asleep together.
The day after that, Nezumi left. The Security Bureau found out Shion had covered a prisoner. They revoked all of his special privileges. He had to move to Lost Town and lived a normal life with his mother. For years later, he worked as a normal employee of No.6 with the job of managing the park. After gaining suspicion for No.6, he was caught by the Security Bureau and was took to the Correctional Facility. On the way, he was rescued by Nezumi.
Nezumi showing Shion the West Block, the real world out side No.6
Shion is not a simple person, I think. There may be something behind which was not showed in the anime. That's why I think it would be better to read the manga.
Shion appeared as a naive child with the ideal of peace. While Nezumi always thought of destroying No.6 to revenge, Shion tried to find a way which does not harm anyone. He came up with the idea of breaking the wall around No.6 so that there would not be No.6 any more.
Nezumi at first really objected the way Shion tried to protect No.6. But then, when Shion became strange and not the one he had known anymore, he kept reminding Shion the idea of breaking the wall.
Shion did not only show his strangeness at the end of the series but also at some points during the series.
This is in their first meet with Rikiga. When Rikiga offered Nezumi a job as a prostitute, Shion got angry and jumped to beat Rikiga while he was normally a good child and never wished to injure anyone.
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The second time is when Shion suddenly touched Nezumi's neck. He was so fast that Nezumi didn't have enough time to recognize or gain vigilance. For the first time, Shion scared Nezumi. Since that time, Nezumi had knew that, Shion was not simple as his appearance.
"How dare you... do that to Nezumi?"
And this is the climax when Nezumi was shot by a soldier in Correctional Facility. Shion, without any fear, shot that guy until death. Nezumi burst into tears and kept blaming himself for taking Shion to the Correctional Facility despite the knowledge that that place would change his Shion.
"What you see from here on out may change you. I may even come to know that I've never understood a thing about you. But I don't want you to change. I want you to stay the Shion I know."
- said Nezumi to Shion before they entered the Correctional Facility -
I want you to stay the Shion I know, even though that Shion is so naive that he pissed me off countless times.
(This is what I understand from what he said :v)
4. Conclusion
Although my review only focus on Nezumi and Shion, the story is great itself. There are few characters but each one plays an important role.
To talk a little about Safu, I actually don't like her since most people don't like the third wheel. But I don't hate her as well. After all, she was the one who sacrificed her life and save Shion from death. Some people said that Elyurias was the one who save Shion, not Safu, but it is clear that it was Safu's love for Shion and her wish to save him that Elyurias did that.
Although the open ending of the series does not satisfy most of its audiences including me, it's still better than a sad ending. More open, more hope, more imagination. :))
Two kiss scenes for bonus. This is the reason why I said that it's shounen-ai. XD
Their good-night kiss...
And their good-bye kiss.
Discover No.6 and enjoy your time~ ;)
Writer: Gin
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