Patalliro!

Introduction

Patarillo! is set in a society much like ours in most ways, with one decided twist. The manga on which it is based is one of the much-read works produced for adolescent Japanese girls that features a healthy proportion of gay men and beautiful teenagers aka bishounen (beautiful boys). Most of the action takes place in Marinera, the land of eternal spring, located somewhere in the South Seas. The country is a major producer of diamonds; they provide much of the basis of conflict in the anime series. They come from one of the most prolific mines in the world, owned by the king of Marinera, the vertically challenged but horizontally endowed boy-king Patarillo himself. The International Diamond Syndicate - a huge semi- criminal organization/ secret society dedicated to taking over the world's entire diamond supply- wants that mine and will stop at nothing to get it. In the early episodes they send off a number of bishounen assassins to do in Patarillo, which necessitates his having a bodyguard, the English MI6 agent, Major Jack ('Bishounen-Killer') Bancoran. Bancoran's nickname doesn't mean he shoots bishounen in cold blood. The soubriquet comes from the fact that no male under the age of 17 can resist his sexual fascination. This, to Bancoran's eternal disgust, includes Patarillo himself. The action switches often from Marinera to MI6 headquarters in London (London seems to be an easy two hour's flight from the South Seas) or Bancoran's palatial condo in the suburbs of same. (MI6, be it noted, looks a lot like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, while Jack's 'apartment' bears a passing resemblance to Randolph Hearst's spread.) The action also goes into the past and future and out into space. Patarillo evidently gets around. (Source: aestheticism.com)

Audience ratings

MyAnimeList / Tenrai : 7.4/10 · 2011

1/10	62
2/10	26
3/10	26
4/10	62
5/10	149
6/10	215
7/10	432
8/10	435
9/10	313
10/10	291

Audience reviews

2 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.

jabutigemido

Patalliro! is a revolutionary anime. The most known impact that this anime has made must be the fact that it was one of the firsts animes to show a scene of two males kissing, and for being incredible ahead of its time in terms of inclusion in general. But for me, this anime has a more special reason to be so special: it is so freaking good! So good that is timeless! In the 80's and 70's, a bunch of animes were made with a specific formula in mind to better adapt themselves at the way animes were distributed at that time - most people would wait weekly for their favorite anime to air on a specific channel, on TV. So, knowing that, animes would adopt a more episodic style, each episode being independent from each one, rarely having an "arc", as we call nowadays. Anyone that watches anime…

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Hendy

PAPAN-GAPAN! In my opinion, Patalliro is a ‘grower’ not a ‘shower’. It’s an acquired taste but I think it’s one that’s worth acquiring because it really is a delightfully weird little gem that deserves more love. Phew, it’s hard to even know where to begin with explaining Patalliro to those who haven't seen it. It was absolutely ground-breaking for its time for being the first ever shounen-ai on Japanese TV. I would say it's a psychedelic adventure involving a Japanese, gay James Bond and a wacky, time-travelling prankster dictator who solve diamond thefts and other mysteries. It has all the charm of those really classic shoujo shows where all the tropes were established. STORY: This show is weird and wacky but in the best possible way. You never know what’s going to happen especially b…