EVOL Episodes 1 2 3

EVOL, the most recent manga series from rising comic artist Atsushi Kaneko (DEATHCO, SEARCH AND DESTROY), digs deep and hard into the dark-superhero setting, cranking the teen angst to a searing intensity and shining a harsh light on matters more often ignored in Japanese pop entertainment—virulent racism, vicious homophobia, sexual violence. Transforming EVOL into a live-action miniseries for the streaming platform DMM was a brave move, and director Santa Yamagishi and company retain the manga’s ferocious, defiant energy. Shocking, wild, and weird, riddled with sharp humour and bruised but resilient compassion, EVOL makes its debut beyond Japan’s borders when Fantasia screens the series’ first three episodes of six. – Rupert Bottenberg