An Arms Dealer's Perspective

"Her name is Koko, she is loco, I say oh no,' says two of the tracks from Jormungand's soundtrack, Time to Rock and Roll, and Time to Attack. And while it is needless to be redundant, I must say it again: Koko is loco.

Jormungand's logo as it appears in
its second season's opening

Jormungand is a twelve-episode anime from White Fox studios while its second season, Jormungand Perfect Order, also has twelve episodes. The series is faithfully based on a manga by Keitaro Takahashi of the same title. The first season of the series aired on Japan from April 10, 2012 to June 26, 2012, while Perfect Order, aired from October 10, 2012 to December 6, 2012.

As already is apparent, the series focuses on the escapade of an arms dealer, Koko Hekmatyar, and her hell-raising around the world in pursuit of, ironically, world peace. Although not exactly the cup of tea on most peace advocates, to those who are not, Jormungand is sure to deliver one fun and exiting ride.

After all, she is Koko, she is loco, and she's an arms dealer.

Koko Hekmatyar, Jormungand's
all-too-awesome arms dealer

The series start with the entry of Jonah -- a boy soldier with tremendous fighting aptitude who serves as one of the show's main protagonist -- to Koko Hekmatyar's team. The team was rather phlegmatic of Jonah's entry, except, maybe, of their reaction regarding how the wee boy already "got iron". Nevertheless, upon the young Jonah having proven his mettle and ability on his first mission, they welcomed him to their ranks. From then on, everything was history, and shows only the spree of Koko and her team around the globe selling weapons to various military, mafias and militias. Shallow and aimless as this may sound, the series' main point was hinted on as early as the first episode, wherein Koko mentioned to Jonah how she was selling weapons for world peace.

This is where the series' second season kick in.

Jormungand Perfect Order jump starts with one of Koko's team, R, dying, with his death revealing how CIA had planted a bug on Koko. Although the presence of Scarecrow, a CIA agent, had already made viewers aware of the agency's interest in Koko, it is from this point on the timeline where bigwig institutions such as the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), NSA (National Security Agency), and SCS (Special Collection Service) have begun acting more aggressively to leash the arms dealer who was, in their judgement, becoming too dangerously powerful. 

Koko, on the other hand, continues her occupation as an arms dealer, while dodging the said agencies on one side and picking items off a list for her goal of "world peace" on the other. As the story develops, we were hit by the revelation on why Koko has been so hard-working in getting as rich as possible, and on how she used her cash from arms dealing into building the compulsory world peace she had mentioned on the anime's maiden episode.

Koko Hekmatyar's squad; from left to right: Mao, Wiley,
Valmet, Lutz, Koko, Lehm, Jonah, Ugo, Tojo, and R

__characters____

Jormungand's roster of characters is a myriad of variation which makes the show more interesting than it already is. From the sly Koko, to the epitome of cuteness that is Jonah, and up to the maniacal Hex, one would not get bored over how this diversity rolls over itself.

The series' central characters are mainly Koko and her team. Composed of ten members, including Koko herself, they are mostly former military personnel with varying personalities, pasts, and specialties. Koko aside, their names are Jonah (the kid soldier), Lehm (the oldest team member and secondary sniper), Valmet (close quarters combatant), Lutz (primary sniper), Tojo (intelligence specialist), Wiley (demolition expert/bomber), Mao (artillery officer), Ugo (the driver), R (the, uh, pretty boy).

Aside from them, other arms dealer teams are also featured. First of, is the Kaspar Hekmatyar team which includes himself, Chequita, Edgar, Alan, and Poe. The second to be introduced is CCAT's Curry group of three: Mister Curry, Mildred, and Lew. Next is a Euro Group representative: Amalia Tolohovsky and her bodyguard. Then there's the Daxinghai Corporation of Chen Gouming, Karen Low, and Lee.

Aside from arms dealers, we were also introduced with the many men and women of 'law'. Starting from the CIA, we were introduced to Scarecrow, Shokolade, George Black, Hex, Spin, and other unnamed people. We also get to meet Tony Plame, Woody, and some other characters from their respective factions. Japan's SR Squad was also mentioned, with the most prominent members of it being Yosuke Hinoki, Kurosaka, and Kaburagi.

There's also the more 'humble' of men. They include the Orchestra -- Chinatsu and her master -- the assassins Dominique, Lilliane, and Gregoire, the Balkan Dragon Dragan Nikolaevitch, and many others.

And lastly, the scientists Amada "Miami" Minami, Elena Baburin, and Leila Ibrahim Faisal.

__Celly says____
Jormungand is my present favorite anime, followed by Ergo Proxy and Psycho Pass (but we won't focus on the other two now because we're basically sitting in Jormungand's page). 

Anyhow, I knew I would love Jormungand when I first laid eyes on a picture of Koko Hekmatyar. The white hair, the equally white skin and her grin which you just know hides more than you could imagine is just the embodiment of a perfect villain which I, strangely, have always been fascinated towards. And as I guessed, I did not just love Jormungand but I love love love it. 

What I like about Jormungand? Aside from it being one adrenaline and blazing guns filled joyride, it also features the cunning of a girl arms dealer over the more complex thatch of conspiracies and an ultimate project. Unlike most animes which rely on mere looks and fanservice, Jormungand has a lot more to offer than just visual spectacle but of mental puzzles, some more and more of them tools of mass murder, and the most outrageous of methods in deceiving others which would surely lead one to raise a few hairs.

All in all, Jormungand is a pretty enjoyable anime with more brains than what seems to be like a simple holocaust trip that it implies on its earliest of episodes. And while we're at it -- me, at least -- we suddenly realize how we like to be arms dealers ourselves. 

Uh, no.