You know that slightly sad feeling you get when a movie ends, and you're sorry to see the characters go?  After a marathon viewing of Beck, that's the way I felt at the conclusion of Volume 6.  The final volume wraps the series up in a satisfying package that leaves just enough questions to let us know that Beck's story isn't over, and that the lives of the characters will continue on, long after a layer of dust gathers on the dvd box.

Fourteen-year-old Koyuki Tanaka leads a sheltered life.  He goes to school, works hard, and follows the rules.  He's certain there has to be more, but feels as though life has already passed him by.  Then he rescues Beck, one funky-looking Frankenstein of a dog, who belongs to a local musician, Ryusuke Minami.  Slowly drawn into Japan's underground music scene, Koyuki finds that passion he's been missing.  Encouraged by Ryusuke, he takes up guitar and gains confidence in his singing and songwriting abilities.  Eventually, he joins Ryusuke's band, named after the dog, Beck.  Koyuki, being a very green guitarist, gets a sudden shot of reality playing in front of a live audience--along the lines of teaching a person to swim by throwing them in the river.  Sink or swim, Koyuki finds a passion that truly means everything to him.  Now, how many people can honestly say that?

Volume 6 concludes the series with a culmination of everything the band has been working toward.  Still very raw, and considered amateurs with potential, Beck plays the largest outdoor music festival in Japan, Greatful Sound.  Between crooked record producers, a pop idol boy band fronted by Ryusuke's former bandmate, tension from within, and dreadful weather, not everything goes as planned.  The performance will either make or break Beck as a band.

There are a few heavy-handed moments in the final episodes, in the form of commentary from a Greatful Sound organizer that belabors a point that had already been made by the action on the screen.  It's a brief, minor thing, and easily overlooked, but it bothered me.  Probably because the rest of the series is considerably more subtle.

Beck is an endearing coming of age story, with characters that are well-rounded and interesting.  No one is flat or simply two-dimensional.  You've met these people.  The sweet, quiet kid that stared out the window in homeroom.  The slightly scary, but likable shop owner down the street.  That loud guy, who is so obnoxious, but has so much energy, you can't help but like him anyway.  They were classmates, maybe neighbors, and it makes the series all the more engaging for their easy recognition. 

In many ways, the series is a slice-of-life, showing regular people dealing with the everyday grind.  Koyuki encounters the typical problems and experiences that come with  middle and high school, like bullies and girls.  The series has the added dimension of music, which is great if that's your thing.  It's very much mine.  I enjoyed the musician's life aspect as much as I liked watching Koyuki grow up.  As his interest in music grows, he has to choose between following the expected, safe traditional route of doing well in school and finding a good job, or doing what makes him feel alive.  The choice is no contest.

The artwork in Beck is quirky and a little rough.  Personally, I loved the different style.  The backgrounds are beautifully drawn with an eye toward realism.  Instruments are drawn in loving detail.  There's trash on the street and graffiti on the walls.  Concrete is gouged, and the paint in the subway station is chipped in a most appealing manner.  Dives and seedy bars look just as well-worn as one would expect; you can almost smell the cigarette smoke and beer.  The music scenes in particular are nicely done.  Depending on the performance, the lighting ranges from soft to extremely harsh, and the slight graininess of the picture is a lovely touch.  One scene is rendered almost completely in monochrome, all color washed out by the bright lights or hidden by deep shadow.  It's brilliant. 

The character designs are unique.  There's no mistaking one character for another.  Some of the designs are a little creepy, though.  One character in particular, Tanabe, Koyuki's middle school friend, looks disturbingly like a man on the cusp of a mid-life crisis.  Not the look one wants for a fourteen-year-old.  Other than that, the designs fit the overall style well.

The rough quirkiness of the characters and backgrounds adds to the feel of the series.  If the style had been sleek and pretty, it wouldn't have given Beck any credibility as a story about a rock band.  The series places a strong divide between bubblegum pop and genuine rock played by truly talented people.  Sleek and pretty designs are what one would expect for pop.  The imagery in this series needs to be as gritty as the style of music it portrays.

Since this is a series about music, it's a good thing the sound is well done.  Music that is loud inside a building is appropriately muffled to those standing outside.  When the action takes place on the street, there's ambient traffic noise.  Summer insects, and even a cat yawning are taken into consideration as well.  As for the sub and dub, I actually liked the dub better, but the mix of English and Japanese in the original version is very interesting.  Ultimately, I just thought the dubbed version sounded really natural, and I liked the English voice actors' singing.

I very much enjoyed Beck, and Volume 6 finishes the series in a most satisfying way.  The emphasis on regular people leading their own lives without the influence of magic or sci-fi elements, and its focus on realism sets Beck apart from most anime out there.  It's different and draws you in right from the first episode.  It's definitely worth purchasing, for the excellent coming of age tale as well as the musical aspect.  Why are you still here?  Go watch.  Shoo! 

A note: Beck is rated TV-MA for a reason.  The themes aren't child-appropriate, and there's a good deal of creative vocabulary.  Leave the little ones at home for this one.

Details: Runtime 100 minutes, contains episodes 23-26.  Extras include a guitar pick, music commentary that is definitely worth watching, music video, textless songs, and some trailers.