IC: "Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad"

A little heads up: this anime is not affiliated with the name Beck Hansen in real life. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad is the male take on making a band, at least that's how I see it. While K-ON! had schoolgirls forming a band from a school club, Beck: MGS, on the other hand, grows one from thin air, in a sense, with members having talent, save for one who eventually discovers his after saving a dog, which turns out to be the name of the band. Ironically, while the band is called simply Beck, the subtitle Mongolian Chop Squad serves as the American name for the group, so as not to confuse it with the American 'Beck'.

Meet Yukio Tanaka, though he is more commonly called Koyuki in the series. He is just entering junior high school as the anime starts off, but his passion for life seems to have long faded from him already. Things change once he encounters by chance Ryusuke Minami, called Ray. Following this, he starts to become interested in music, which Ray helps him become familiar with. During this time, he meets Ray's sister, Maho, and his pet dog, named Beck (like the title). Through inner conflicts, outside troubles, and practice from an unlikely person, Koyuki becomes the 4th member into the newly formed group: Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. From then on, we see his life not only as a student, but also as a rising musician.

Beck: MCS is a 26 episode anime, licensed by Funimation and featured on their channel. The anime came from a lot of influence, as many well known names in music (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, etc.) are heard and referenced in the anime. The key influences were seen in the characters themeslves. Chiba was influenced from Rage Against the Machine's vocalist, Zack de la Rocha, in terms of attitude, appearance and style. Koyuki's handling of the guitar was influenced by Tom Morello, also from RATM. Ray is influenced by Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin, and in terms of playing, is also similar to Tom Morello at times. In the English adaption, the voices are as follows for BECK's members:

• Koyuki: Greg Ayres
• Ray: Eric Vale
• Taira: Jerry Jewell
• Chiba: Justin Cook
• Saku: Johnny Yong Bosch

Interesting to note, a live-action film was also made last year. The anime itself was generally well received overall. I myself found it extremely enjoyable, especially its English Adaption, something that rarely happens. It falls as another perfect title to me, sharing the spot with Ai Yori Aoshi as a 10 of 10 anime title. K-ON! is nice, but I think Beck: MGS truly catches me as a musical anime for sure.