From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bus Gamer (ビズゲーマー,
Bizu Gēmā?) is a short-lived Japanese manga series created by Kazuya
Minekura. It only exists as a single volume 'Pilot Edition' due to
difficulties in serialization. The manga has been licensed for North
American distribution by Tokyopop.
The series follows the story
of three young men hired by a mysterious company to participate in a
business game, in which companies gamble against each other for
corporate secrets.
It has also produced a Drama CD featuring the voices of Suzumura Kenichi, Suwabe Junichi, and Hiroki Takahashi.
An
anime adaptation of the manga premiered on the Japanese television
network KBS Kyoto between March 14 and March 28 of 2008, airing a total
of three episodes. It is directed by Naoyuki Kuzuya, produced by
Frontier Works, and animated by Studio Izena. The characters are voiced
by the same voice actors in the Drama CD.
Plot
An illegal
dog-fight conducted in strict secrecy, the Bus Game is a battle
simulation game where gamers are selected by various corporations to
compete three-on-three on a battleground which is usually inside Tokyo.
The teams are divided into "HOME" and "AWAY". The "HOME" team is given
a disk containing their corporation's secret files to protect while the
"AWAY" team attempts to steal the disk. The "AWAY" team wins if they
are able to steal the disk within the given time limit where the "HOME"
team wins if they are able to keep their disk safe.
The game
information and details are distributed to the gamers via mini-disk.
The businesses participating in the Bus Game wager large amounts of
money on each game, watching the action from a distance. In other
words, the Bus Games is a gambling pasttime in which the gamers are
pawns for their amusement.
In exchange for putting their lives
at stake, the gamers stand to gain large amount of money, through their
contracts and through winning each match of the Bus Game.
When
three complete strangers, Toki Mishiba, Nobuto Nakajyo, and Kazuo
Saitoh, are hired by a corporation to compete in the Bus Game, they are
given the team code of "Team AAA" (Triple Anonymous or No Name). This
group of three who differ entirely from their living environment and
values to protect each other’s lives --- but without mutually wiping
out their mistrust of each other or prying into each other's privacy,
it would be the worst sort of teamwork, conflicting in every way. They
only have one point in common, simply that each of them need a large
amount of money for their individual circumstances. And to get the
large monetary award, they must play in the game despite their very own
lives being at stake.
My Thoughts
What initially perked my interest was that this animé only has 3
episodes and so I thought I want to give it a try. Although it's pretty
much the same old clichés on the first episode, I still like the
thought of these hot bishies fighting together for money 
although their
reason has yet to be revealed (I hope so). The main characters are
pretty much strangers to each other although they coincidentally dined at the same restaurant, which also happens to be their favorite...
I pretty much like Kazuo's
jolly personally though he really sucks at fighting 
(or maybe he's just
pretending to suck at it?...) Oh well, I'm pretty much waiting for the
3rd episode now although I hate to admit that it really sucks to end
only at 3 but I hope that it'll end with a blast... 
-----
Bus Gamer at its end...sad but true...and yes, this one will definitely leave us - fans - with an
incomplete feel...
the manga is only 1 volume
because "It only exists as a single volume 'Pilot Edition' due to
difficulties in serialization." (Wikipedia)
i doubt if it'll be picked up by another company and do another season
out of it since it's pretty much already been said in this series (or
so i thought) but still, i'll keep my hopes up that someday, the
mangaka would create a sequel to this one because it's such a shame to end it that way!
the final episode didn't leave a lasting impression on me except the fact
that i wasn't satisfied with how it all ended at all!...quite a
disappoinment
and since i haven't read the manga nor found one, i guess
i'd never know if they got the prized money or not (though i think they
had a high probability of winning it
)...and the real motive behind
joining the game wasn't revealed either so i guess i was expecting too
much out of a 24-minute final episode
but on the brighter side, it
ended with the three bishies alive and well (a relief to the fans i
tell 'ya 
) and maybe a promising friendship in the future?...that, i'll
leave to our imagination...
oh well, so much for that "incomplete feel" i've
been mentioning about...now, it's really sinking in...the series is
over and done with.
now off to another animé! 
cheers!
