Kevin C. Wong

Anime - Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune (2023) [+]

Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune is a 6-episode Netflix anime series based on a manga.

The setting is several decades in the future when Earth is contacted by space aliens and it turns out the galaxy is very inhabited with many factions and Earth is a primitive world with no resources except humans. There are lots of low-level brush wars out there and the various factions require disposable soldiers who come from the primitive worlds. The Trade Federation uses Earth as a recruiting depot for its low-budget army. Humans are called Yakitori due to a translation miscommunication.

The story revolves around a human infantry squad who are part of the garrison on a Trade Federation trade world. Trade Federation being cheap and exploitative the population is a bit restless, has lots of high tech weapons bought from the Trade Federation, and the TF embassy/military base is mostly fodder troops with a few TF Marines to command and back them up.

In episode one the natives launch their rebellion and the Yakitori are caught in the middle of it and they turn out to be surprisingly effective compared to the fodder. They are then tapped to infiltrate the rebel city and destroy their artillery then they have to somehow get back to base in time to be evacuated.

The whole series is this one battle plus flash backs to their training where it turns out they are an experiment. Trade Federation trains fodder troops using direct mind transfer. The experiment is training their squad using the old-fashioned method with a drill sergeant and lots and lots of physical training. In the end that results in a cohesive and flexible squad though they do bicker a lot.

Good graphics. Good infantry combat action. A short enough story that it doesn't get boring. Plots are resolved so a direct sequel is possible but not necessary.