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Putting the ESP in Espionage: The Alternate History of Night Raid 1931

Should You Choose to Accept It.

Finding a new anime to watch isn't as dangerous as international espionage, as it's not likely to involve cyanide capsules, micro fiche, or even shoe-phones, but the mission to find a series that matches your taste can always be made easier through some choice intel from a confidential source.

In this spy metaphor, let “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog” be your network of informants. Each week we provide additional info and cultural context for a title in Crunchyroll's library in order to help anime fans decide whether they'd like to try out an unknown series, or whether they'd like to disavow any involvement if it fails to capture their interest.

What's Night Raid 1931?

Night Raid 1931 is an original TV anime from 2010 with direction by Atsushi Matsumoto and animation production by A-1 Pictures. Crunchyroll describes Night Raid 1931 as follows:

The year is 1931. The City is Shanghai. Ten years before America will enter World War II; the hydra's teeth planted by the first great global conflict are beginning to germinate, hatching into spiders weaving the complex web of plots and conspiracies destined to inevitably draw entire nations, against their will, to the brink of destruction once more. And caught in the heart of these webs, desperately seeking to separate lies from truth, is "Sakurai Kikan," an ultra-secret intelligence agency staffed by extraordinarily talented individuals with abilities far beyond those of normal humans. Their duty: stop the darkest plots and eliminate the greatest threats. But in a city built on intrigue, can even a team of clairvoyants, telepaths and espers stand against the ultimate forces of destiny? As the Japanese Imperial Army rolls across China, documented facts and fantasy intermingle in the breathtaking exploration of alternative history that is Night Raid 1931.

One part spy thriller, one part political drama, and one part alternative history science fiction, Night Raid 1931 follows a group of psychic spies in 1930's Shanghai as they search for a military commander who has gone rogue, in the process uncovering a terrifying conspiracy that threatens to shake the modern world to its core.

Cloak and Dagger.

Although the heroes of Night Raid 1931 are gifted with various superhuman abilities such as psychokinesis, clairvoyance, and telepathy, the narrative doesn't lean too heavily on these science fiction elements as a shortcut to spying. Much of the espionage relies on traditional techniques such as shadowing, interrogation, and intelligence gathering. This is because each esper's powers come with clearly defined limitations.

Yukina, a telepath, must first inhale the fragrance of a flower before she can read a person's memories or an object's psychic signature, while Kazura can only teleport a limited number of times per day, Aoi's telekinesis only lasts for a matter of minutes, and the utility of Natsume's remote viewing ability is tied to the phases of the moon. It's an interesting wrinkle that prevents the protagonists from unraveling the plot's mysteries too quickly.

Lingua Franca.

Night Raid 1931 does an excellent job in establishing its setting and its sense of a specific time and place in world history, and one of the ways that it does this is through language. In addition to Japanese, characters routinely converse in Mandarin Chinese, Russian, German, and English, giving the series a truly international feel.

The disparity between the rich and the poor, the colonizer and the colonized, and the politically powerful and the politically marginalized is also thrown into sharp relief as the Sakurai group navigates all layers of society in their quest. Night Raid 1931 does an excellent job of capturing the clash of tradition vs. foreign influence in a time period of drastic social, political, and economic upheaval.

Idealism and Ideology.

As much as it is a story about shadowy conspiracies and secret organizations attempting to change the course of history, Night Raid 1931 is also a story with heavy political themes that examines otherwise admirable qualities (such as a love of one's country) can lead to oppressive results (such as ultra-nationalism).

Like real life, Night Raid 1931 is full of shades of gray and moral ambiguity. For example, many of the conspirators simply wish to throw off the shackles of colonialism that impoverish their nations and dictate the lives of their people. Likewise, the antagonists' ultimate goal is to prevent the Second World War, but their plans for achieving this goal are monstrous, inhumane, and unethical.

Coming in from the Cold.

Crunchyroll currently streams Night Raid 1931 in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The series is available in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. Night Raid 1931 was previously released on DVD and Bluray in North America by Sentai Filmworks, but these versions are now out-of-print.

The slow-burn pacing and heavy political intrigue of Night Raid 1931 may not appeal to the tastes of every anime fan. If you're in the mood for a spy story that has a meticulous attention to historical detail as well as just a hint of the uncanny, and if the series is available in your area, then please consider giving Night Raid 1931 a try.

Is there a series in Crunchyroll's catalog that you think needs some more love and attention? Please send in your suggestions via e-mail to [email protected] or post a Tweet to @gooberzilla. Your pick could inspire the next installment of “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog”!

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Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

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