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91 Days
Say Hello to my Little Friend
Series in a Sentence
After seeing his family killed before his eyes during his childhood, Angelo Lagusa joins the mafia family that committed the crime in order to destroy them from the inside.
What I liked
Man, this show got started a lot faster than I expected it to and I loved that. Starting with Vanno’s death in the second episode, things never felt like they let up and I really loved that. This being a short series, it was able to really utilize its momentum to the fullest allowing for events like Angelo befriending Nero, Angelo finding out who the people that killed his family were, and Angelo having to kill Corteo to clear his name to still feel natural and set up despite an expedited pace. Bonus points to the showrunners for still finding a way to include more cookie-cutter mafia moments tht were still enjoyable, like Fango serving up human meat pies to other mafia members. Along those same lines, Angelo’s ultimate plan of destroying the Vanetti family played out beautifully and watching the seeds of doubt he sowed begin to sprout as well as the various deceptions throughout the series lead to an ultimate demise never felt rushed and felt extremely natural. At times I thought the pacing could have been better as it appeared that Angelo’s plans were leaked or were sprung to early but in each instance such beliefs only helped add to the tension and really didn’t amount to much more (in a good way). If I had to pick a moment that encapsulated everything I loved about the show it would have to be Corteo’s death. You had the interpersonal drama, the presented fact that a man that has lost seemingly everything could in fact lose more, the set up from the rest of the series, and the feeling that maybe they could get out of this somehow all wrapped up into one intense scene. Ultimately, the writing, pacing, and setting all made for an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that can be wrapped up by a word I used in the last sentence: Intense.
What I Didn’t Like
Man, that ending was a buzzkill. I’m not trying to say that the ending wasn’t the way it should have ended, as Nero and Angelo’s road trip to the sea served as both a reminder of their friendship despite the circumstances and an illustration of how they both lost everything, but I am saying that it’s not the way I thought it was going to end given the drama-fueled fast paced episodes preceding it. In a way, I felt like the episode before where Angelo’s plan in the theater finally played out could have been extended to be a more satisfying conclusion pacing-wise. I mean, imagine going to an amazing restaurant and eating the best meal only to get a desert that, while good, was something that you could have gotten somewhere cheaper. That’s kind of how I felt about the ending. Sure, it was enjoyable and sure, it executed a different type of storytelling that still gave the series a nice conclusion but I was still yearning for some big confrontation between Nero and Angelo. Was it more complex and did it explore the ultimate differences between the two characters? Yes. Was it what I wanted as a fan? Not really. As I’ve rewatched the series I’ve come to definitely appreciate it but I still can’t get that feeling of my first watch out of my head. A small thing to nitpick on as it is just one episode but I feel as though in my mind it was a large enough departure to justify feeling disappointed in.
Overall Feelings
Despite my uneven feelings concerning the ending of the series, 91 Days remains on my mental list of modern day classics. Not often do I watch an anime that has my more casual friends calling and texting me after an episode to discuss what Angelo is going to do next or how crazy a death was and that’s the sign of something special. Pacing was extremely engaging, the writing was smart, and character interactions were a joy. Sprinkling in classic mafia tropes felt like a nice nod to western media and despite the story being a typical revenge tale it never felt too worn out in its tropes. Watch 91 Days, get people to watch 91 Days, and man even buy 91 Days. To me it was just that good. Revenge is a dish best served cold.