The Weiss section of the bunker was originally meant to be no more than a gallery. But as my interest in the series grew, so did the amount of info on offer.
Of course, where there's Weiss there's Schwarz. I wasn't going to feature them here then I thought, why the hell not? You think maybe Schu was messing with my mind??
Two of the Weiss boys and Schwarz's Schuldig have their own pages, and you can follow their links if you want to know more about them.
As this is an old series, I'll only give a quick overview of it. Please note that I am only dealing with the original television series and not with the OAV or Glühen.
Weiss is a group of four assassins who work for an organization known as Kritiker. Each member has a troubled past and each has his own reasons for being part of Weiss. During the day, they work as florists, but at night they carry out their deadly trade. Their missions are given to them by a man known as Persia, who communicates with the team via video and through his assistant, Manx.
Persia, Manx - noticing a trend? Yep, almost everyone who works for Kritiker has a cat codename. Why cats? I honestly don't know.
For the curious, here are the codenames of Weiss:
Abyssinian - Aya
Balinese - Yohji
Siberian - Ken
Bombay - Omi
Like any group of good guys worth their "Heroes" badges, Weiss have counterparts who favor their darker sides. Say hello to Schwarz, arch-rivals of Weiss.
Schwarz act as bodyguards to Reiji Takatori, an ambitious and nasty politician, but they are actually part of an organization known as Eszet. Three members of Schwarz possess psychic powers, while Farfarello, their resident loony, feels no pain and seems to heal with amazing speed.
Not to be out-done by Weiss, the members of Schwarz also have codenames. I just know you want to know what they are, so here ya go!
Oracle - Crawford
Mastermind - Schuldig
Berserker - Farfarello
Prodigy - Nagi
Events of the past play a big role in the storyline and the series delves into the pasts of the Weiss members in varying detail, with a heavy focus on Aya/Ran Fujimiya and the reasons behind his hatred for Reiji Takatori. Of Schwarz we learn only a little. Farfarello's past is the most detailed, and there is some mention of Nagi's childhood. Crawford and Schuldig remain enigmas, with nothing of their pasts being revealed.
This series has been lambasted for its bad animation and gaping plotholes, but I enjoyed it tremendously. In my opinion, Schwarz steal the show and the series is worth watching just to see one of the coolest gangs of anime bad guys in action. |
