Spirited Away Anime Movie Review

Spirited Away
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Disney)
Movie - 125 mins. - 2 discs
$29.99 (2003)
ISBN 786936213843
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Hayao Miyazaki
Studio - Studio Ghibli

Synopsis: Chihiro is moving to a new town with her family because of her father's work.  She had to leave all of her friends behind and feels sad.  Her father gets lost on the way to the new house and ends up on a deserted road.  Chihiro follows both her parents into a spooky passageway leading to a deserted train station. The station appears abandoned and they continue outside across a field of grass to what appears to be a deserted shopping district.  All of the shops look empty, but food is ready at the restaurants and her parents sit down to eat.  They stuff themselves greedily with no one around and her father makes an excuse to pay the shop owners later.

Chihiro drives with her parents to find their new home.  They don't
seem to care that she has just left all of her friends behind.

It becomes dusk and lanterns begin to glow all along the streets.  Strange shadowy figures coalesce in the streets and Chihiro's apprehension advances to growing dread.  She knows something is wrong, but her parents are oblivious.  Pleading with them to leave she is horrified to find they are transforming into hogs even as they shovel more food into their lengthening snouts.  Panicking she rushes to cross the grassy field and escape, but it has filled with water to become a river with the deserted train station now lit up on the other shore.

Chihiro frantically runs through the previously deserted streets
as the disturbing shadow blobs proliferate and solidify

Chihiro is frightened and alone with the shadowy figures solidifying into bizarre creatures all around her until an authoritative boy tells her to leave before nightfall.  Unable to leave and losing cohesion as surely as the shadows come into form she wanders hopelessly toward the entrance of a grand bathhouse.  The boy, Haku, pulls her aside and bids her eat something lest she evaporate from being.  He saves her and she is led into the bathhouse in order to obtain a job, which is the only way to remain there rightfully.

Haku helps Sen by bringing her to visit her transformed parents,
giving her food, and telling her to always remember her name

Yubaba is the owner of the bathhouse and a powerful witch (with a giant head).  Chihiro signs a contract for a job, but the condition is her name is changed to Sen.  If Chihiro forgets her real name she will be a trapped as a servant forever.  Her parents remain hogs in the bathhouse's pens among the other swine.  Sen vows to rescue them and return to the real world.

Yubaba is very scary and has a really big head!

Sen begins her menial work at the bathhouse by scrubbing floors and cleaning tubs.  She is befriended by another worker named Lin who is gruff, but kindhearted.  The two are given an incredibly odious job to clean out an especially dirty tub and help a disgustingly smelly stink spirit.  The bathhouse patrons are largely from the spirit world and not always what they seem.

Lin and Sen work to clean a particularly dirty bath before
getting assigned an especially smelly customer

Remaining true to herself and drawing on her own inner strength in order to deal with the impossible situation, Sen manages to hang in there and keep a level head.  She is very kind and her good intentions cause a terrible situation which endangers the bathhouse (involving a creature named No Face).  Haku is a powerful spirit himself and trapped in a contract with Yubaba.  Can Sen possibly return to the real world and save her parents from being eaten?

No Face offers Sen some bath tokens.  Initially gentle and
unassuming, the creature later becomes a serious problem

Pros: Wonderful story - just like a fairy tale, beautiful animation with hand drawn scenes meshed flawlessly to computer-aided effects, imaginative character designs - particularly the spirits, highest grossing film in Japanese history (at the time), won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, immerses viewers into a bizarrely magical world, good dub especially Suzanne Pleshette as Yubaba/Zeniba, nice soundtrack, decent subtitles

Chihiro works alongside the soot sprites in the
boiler room to feed the boiler for the bathhouse

Cons: Might be a little scary for some younger kids (particularly sensitive viewers) at some points (especially No Face), I didn't like the one cartoony part where Sen crashes into a wall and goes flat like a pancake (this isn't Looney Tunes), not a Western cartoon and some folks just may not get it (or they'll consider it really weird), plot can jump around too quickly with all of the strange happenings at the bathhouse, things wrap up too neatly and characters can be too nice

Chihiro rides the elevator with a big yet kind radish spirit

Mike Tells It Straight: Spirited Away is easily one of my all-time favorite films and especially among those from Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli (together with Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke).  It's a wonderfully imaginative coming-of-age story which continues to delight me to this day.  This film is another masterpiece by Miyazaki and garnered international acclaim while breaking serious new ground in America after winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2002.

Some Yokai patrons of the bathhouse

The film is not perfect and although I'm highly biased toward giving it an unabashedly favorable review it may not be equally received by other viewers.  My two-year-old loves it, but she hasn't developed a strong sense of fear yet.  Slightly older children may get scared in a few parts (like when No Face eats one of the bathhouse workers).  The plot can be called too whimsical (mostly near the end with the visit to Zeniba's house) and lacking in structure.  Things happen without explanations - some people will dislike when this happens.

Chihiro/Sen on the train with No Face to see Zeniba

On the whole Spirited Away is a creative triumph in animated storytelling.  Chihiro's tale is a great metaphor for being an outsider in a new place and drawing on inner strength/conviction/belief to overcome those feelings of isolation.  She makes mistakes and learns from them.  The characters are not all black and white, good and bad.  Each one has their positive and negative sides, much like real people.

The soot sprites at feeding time - party! party! party!

Spirited Away is long overdue for a Blu-Ray release (or just another release period).  This one I would say is safe to buy before watching - it's that good.  How does Chihiro find her parents among all the other swine?

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Rune Soldier Anime Review

Rune Soldier
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 6 discs
600 mins. - 24 episodes
$39.98 (2005)
$39.98 (2008)
ISBN 702727127922
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Yoshitaka Koyama
Studio - J.C. Staff

Synopsis: In the land of Ohfun there exists a band of female adventurers: Melissa is a priestess of Mylee, the god of war, and awaits the time when her chosen hero will be revealed so she can devote her life to him; Genie is a former soldier and powerful warrior; Merrill is a thief, obsessed with money, and works twelve part-time jobs to make ends meet while not adventuring. 

Genie, Melissa, and Merrill interview Ila (sitting) to be their fourth
member, but she's not interested

Due to a rise in the number of hostile magical creatures they encounter, the group searches for a magician to become their fourth member.  What better place to find a magician than Ohfun, the location of the Magician's Guild and training academy for all the magicians in the land?  Well, apparently not such a great place after all.  It appears all the magicians in Ohfun are academics and none want to risk their lives adventuring!

Instead they get this genius - Louie!

Only one student magician named Louie is interested.  He's loudmouthed, a brawler, and as far from a regular magician as you could possibly imagine.  Plus his magic stinks because he spends more time working out than studying.  His adopted father runs the Magician's Guild and he got a free pass to attend the academy.

Louie breaks his magical wand on their first adventure
by smashing it on a monster's face

With no other options the group tries him out and are sorely disappointed by his performance.  He rushes into every fight, can't cast a spell to save his life, and falls for every pretty girl he meets.  Ila is his friend, a decent magician, and tries to help them out, but she faints at the sight of danger!  It's a tough job for these adventurers and their incompetent magician.

Louie trains with Genie to sword fight

What's worse - Melissa receives a sign pointing to her valiant champion - Louie!?  Eventually Louie learns rudimentary magic which helps the group on their adventures, but he's still more likely to use his "Louie punch" on a magical creature than a cast a spell.  He slowly wins over the girls through his stubborn tenacity and unwavering loyalty, but will it be enough to save the kingdom from an onslaught of magical beasts?

Can Louie and the group save the kingdom from fiery destruction?

Pros: Some genuinely funny moments, decent animation/character designs, lighthearted and enjoyable, just a tiny bit of fan-service, ending theme song was great (not typical to anime)

Louie fantasizes about getting all the treasure and the
beautiful ladies as an adventurer

Cons: No bonus features, could have used some more fan-service, episodic, no real plot, silly, lukewarm ending

Louie gets on Merrill's bad side

Mike Tells It Straight: I was pleasantly surprised with Rune Soldier - it was lighthearted and dumb, but somehow very charming.  Each character was endearing and their personalities were perfect - the tough warrior-woman, conniving thief with a heart of gold, straight-laced priestess, hot nerd classmate, and then there's Louie - completely clueless and well-meaning.

Louie creates a malfunctioning golem to help Merrill

This show doesn't take itself too seriously and dishes out consistent, mindless comedy.  The plot is mostly nonexistent and only hints at a greater underlying mystery (like who is Louie's real father?).  Set in the same universe as Record of Lodoss War (shares the same writer), but nothing like it.  Writer Ryo Mizuno must have wanted a lighter story after the serious plots in Lodoss War.

Merrill gets her wish - bathing in sparkling gold coins

Almost suitable for the kids, but has some very mild fan-service gags (Melissa loses a swimsuit top while Louie is fishing, Merrill loses her clothes while suffering the worst unlucky streak of her life).  No major nudity or jiggly breasts (which could have kicked this show up to the 'naughty fun' category) and the jokes are not too vulgar (although Louie does ruin a magical potion by peeing in it).

Another typical adventure with Louie

If you're looking for something fun and simple with decent animation and good characters - then check this out.  It's a solid show and doesn't make the mistake of getting serious at the end (like E's Otherwise).  Just good consistent comedy.


TO BUY and Recommendations:

Elfen Lied Anime Review

Elfen Lied
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 3 discs
325 mins. - 13 episodes
$34.98 (2011)
$39.98 (2009)
$49.98 (2006)
ISBN 814131018212
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Mamoru Kanbe
Studio - ARMS

Synopsis: A secret government facility studying a rare genetic mutation suffers a catastrophic breakout by one of its most powerful subjects.  Lucy is a Diclonius - a mutant with incredibly powerful psychic abilities and complete disregard for human life after years of intense torture as a test subject.  She literally rips the facility's security forces to shreds before finally being wounded by a high-powered rifle shot ricocheting off her head.

Lucy faces down a squad of guards during her breakout.  This
doesn't look like a fair fight.

Lucy falls into the ocean and washes up on a beach in Kamakura, completely naked.  She is found by Kouta, a college student, and his cousin Yuka who attends the same college.  The head trauma Lucy suffered from the ricochet has altered her personality into a child-like, innocent state.  Kouta and Yuka bring Lucy home and attempt to help her.  Little do they know a vicious killer resides within the body of the girl they rescued - who they dub "Nyu" because it is the only thing she says.

Nope, not a fair fight at all.

Diclonius is a mutant born from a special virus which infected a regular human male.  The Diclonii possess bone protrusions on their heads (kind of like horns) and strong psychic powers, called vectors, which make them tremendously dangerous.  The body count keeps rising as the government throws more soldiers at Lucy in an attempt to kill her.

Kouta and Yuka find Lucy on the beach - she's assumed the
innocent "Nyu" personality (obviously or else their heads
would be ripped off already)

Kouta suffered a massive childhood trauma which left him hospitalized for an entire year.  Yuka is secretly very happy that Kouta is going to the same college as her - she has strong feelings for him.  How can Kouta and Yuka stay safe with a ticking time bomb in their midst?  Especially when the government unleashes even more unstable and deadly Diclonii to take down Lucy?

Nyu (Lucy), Yuka, and Kouta share a moment in class

Pros: Nudity (mostly in the intro), terribly violent and gory, mature themes which make for compelling motivations, an interesting plot, suspenseful (you never know when Lucy will become the dominant personality and rip off all their heads), show still has a sense of humor while depicting ultraviolence, opening sequence pays homage to Gustav Klimt's artwork (famous for The Kiss), good ending

The girls of Elfen Lied - Mayu (w/puppy), Yuka (top), Nyu (Lucy),
and Nana

Cons: Blending of genres (harem, psychological, graphic violence) is jarring (but after the first episode you have been conditioned), brutally violent and unforgiving, two cousins having feelings for each other (i.e. incest) may be offensive, prosthetic arms/legs seem a little too easy to use

One of the fun tests the Diclonii endure at the research
facility - "Can you stop all of the bullets?  Let's find out!"

Mike Tells It Straight: I have rarely seen an anime this gory and violent yet simultaneously captivating and suspenseful.  Make no mistake - Elfen Lied is incredibly bloody and graphic.  It has mature themes and I must warn off young, squeamish or sensitive viewers - this show is not for you.

The innocent and child-like Nyu

Watch the first episode - you'll know within the first minute if this show is something you'll like (because the breakout is easily one of the most violent sequences I have seen).  Disclaimers in full effect because you can't let the cute looks fool you - it's brutal.

Lucy's personality resurfaces - this face is the last one you'll
see before your head is ripped off

Many people like this show for its mash-up of genres, but some also dislike it for the same reason - too many incompatible genres together.  Graphic violence and gore one minute and lighthearted cuteness the next.  I found the mature themes contrasted against the innocence of some of the characters to be masterful. Definitely not something you'll find successfully accomplished in many anime.

School life was especially difficult for a young Diclonius
...and the janitor

I give Elfen Lied a hearty, head-ripped-off-with-an-erupting-geyser-of-blood recommendation.  It took me awhile to finally watch this show and I was caught off guard (in a good way).  Not at all what I expected, not for kids, and highly suspenseful.  I might like the anime better since Kouta, in the manga, is much harsher to Lucy and completely unforgiving (well, you can't really blame him).

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Dante's Inferno Anime Review

Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic
Anchor Bay (Starz/Manga Entertainment)
Movie - 88 mins. - 1 disc
$9.98 (2010)
$19.97 (2010) Blu-Ray
ISBN 013138249180
English Audio - English/Spanish Subtitles
Directors - Shukou Murase/Yasuomi Umetsu/Mike Disa/Victor Cook/Jong-Sik Nam/Sang-Jin Kim/Lee Seung-Gyu
Studios - Production I.G/Film Roman/Dong Woo Animation/Manglobe/JM Animation/Moi Animation/Digital eMation/BigStar/EA Pictures

Synopsis: Dante returns from the Crusades to find his beloved Beatrice, his father, and servants gruesomely slain my a mystery attacker.  Beatrice dies in his arms and her soul is dragged down to hell by Lucifer himself.  Dante is unable to stop her abduction and rages at the gates of hell.

Dante and Beatrice before he leaves for the Crusades

He is approached by a wandering spirit named Virgil who offers to guide him into hell.  Calling upon his faith, Dante is able to break through the gates of hell and Virgil follows along with him.  They attempt to cross the River Styx on Charon's ferry boat, but Charon attacks them.

Dante talks to Virgil while they walk through hell

The pair descend through the nine circles of hell:

1. Limbo - filled with virtuous pagans and unbaptized babies.  Here Dante learns a tragic secret Beatrice had kept from him.  Dante must overcome the demonic King Minos who judges the damned and chooses the circle they will reside (and be tormented) upon.  
2. Lust - where the damned are endlessly flung upon the winds of passion and know no rest.  Dante must battle through a horde of succubi before revealing a startling sin which begins to shake Beatrice's faith in him
3. Gluttony - the damned are eaten by Cerberus, the three-headed hell hound.  Dante must best Cerberus to reach the next circle
4. Greed - the greedy damned are boiled in molten gold, crushed in money presses, and crushed by mountains of gold coins.  Here Dante must defeat a familiar face trapped in the bowels of hell
5. Anger/The City of Dis - Dante and Virgil enlist the aide of a demonic giant to gain access to the city in pursuit of Lucifer.  More disturbing flashbacks of Dante's time during the Crusades unnerve Beatrice
6. Heresy - here the damned burn eternally.  Dante meets an old enemy before descending to the next circle
7. Violence - Dante faces the Minotaur and enter the Forest of Suicides.  Here Dante learns a startling secret of his mother.  Later he journeys to the Abominable Sands and comes face to face with his fallen comrades from the Crusades.  They ain't happy to see him
8. Fraud - Virgil departs leaving Dante to stop Lucifer from marrying Beatrice.  Dante reflects upon his sinful behavior and realizes he is the cause of his own undoing
9. Treachery - Dante faces Lucifer alone under the crushing weight of his own failings.  Can Dante possibly save Beatrice's soul and stop Lucifer's perverted reign from spreading outside of hell?  

Surrounded by succubi Dante gets a glimpse of what lies beneath
their attractive facades

Pros: Some nudity, action-packed violence, decent animation, some extras: EA game trailer and animatics, inexpensive

Lucifer holds Beatrice's soul captive

Cons: Superficial story, six different animation styles - Dante and Virgil look completely different each time, not a very good adaptation of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (of which Inferno is the first chapter), Dante is not a likable character by the end of the movie

Virgil lights the way for Dante as they traverse hell

Mike Tells It Straight: Dante's Inferno is based on a hack-n-slash video game of the same name - this was my first clue the animated adaptation would probably suck.  It was 88 minutes of brainless violence with some weak attempt at moralization of the main character.

Beatrice corrupted by Lucifer's influence and Dante's sins

Too many different animation styles!  Six was too many and the shift of style was abrupt although most styles were fairly decent.  The story was 'loosely' based on the classic first chapter of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.  Turned it into a pure testosterone- and gore-fest.

Dante wields the power of his faith and a really big axe!

The only redeeming quality may be to get viewers interested in checking out the original literature.  Hell is a fascinating concept which shaped the perceptions of Christians throughout history and even today.  If you're looking for mind-numbing violence, some nudity, and really liked the video game then this movie will be a good pick.  Looking for a good plot with some characterization?  You better run like a bat out of hell (or fly)!


TO BUY and Recommendations:

Dragonaut: The Resonance Anime Review

Dragonaut: The Resonance

Funimation
Complete Collection - 4 discs
650 mins. - 26 episodes
$59.98 (2010)
$29.98 (2012) S.A.V.E.
$49.98 (2009) Part 1
$49.98 (2009) Part 2
ISBN 704400098628
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Manabu Ono
Studio - Gonzo

Synopsis: Twenty years ago a rogue comet entered our solar system, destroyed Pluto, and has remained in a menacing orbit ever since.  The asteroid was dubbed "Thanatos" and possesses a malign sentience with the world governments keeping it a secret to the general population.  It is determined Thanatos will eventually invade Earth after a group of extra-terrestrial 'dragons' crash land on the planet causing localized devastation.  The world governments form the ISDA (International Solarsystem Development Agency) to prepare countermeasures for Thanatos and to save the planet.

Thanatos menaces the solar system from outside of Pluto's orbit

 Jin Kamishina was planning to be a shuttle pilot like his father - a distinguished former-military pilot.  His father was piloting the shuttle to take Jin and his family into space for Jin to begin his training, but a tragic accident destroyed the shuttle and only Jin survived.  Jin's father was blamed for the accident and Jin has lived in shame/resentment ever since.  No one knows the truth - the shuttle accident was caused by the earthfall of the 'dragons' from Thanatos. 

Jin and Kazuki promise to go into the astronaut program
before the tragic shuttle accident which kills Jin's family

Two years later Jin is a bitter young man who has estranged all of his friends and is living with relatives.  He meets a girl named Toa and witnesses her transformation into a massive space dragon in order to battle a rogue dragon.  Toa is something called the 'Album' - an original dragon from Thanatos.  The ISDA has developed clone dragons which are paired with humans in a process called 'resonance'.  The dragons all have the ability to assume human form (called their 'communicator' form) and resonance brings out higher performance capabilities for the dragons, but they are practically slaves and must obey the wills of their human resonance partners. 

The lovely ladies of Dragonaut - Akira, Machina, Widow,
Sieglinde, Toa, and Garnet

Jin and Toa develop a strong relationship, but outside forces threaten to tear them apart.  Toa was sent from Thanatos (her 'mother') to retrieve the dragons from earth and ultimately Thanatos wishing to alter life on earth based on its intergalactic travels and mission.  Jin's childhood best friend Kazuki becomes a Dragonaut with the ISDA and experiences resonance, but the dragon he is bound to (named Gio) ends up forsaking him for Toa.  Now Kazuki possesses a burning jealousy to rip Gio from Jin and Toa.

Howlingstar and Amadeus in their dragon forms

The three unlikely allies - Jin, Toa, and Gio attempt to build a peaceful life for themselves, but external situations force them to a deadly crossroads.  Can Jin and Toa's love for each other abort the annihilation of the human race as we know it (will love prevail)?  Will the ISDA get ahold of Toa (an original dragon) and perform experiments on her to discover Thanatos' weaknesses (killing her in the process)?

Gio says "Get off my bare naked ass, Kazuki!"
Kazuki replies "WHINE!"

Cast of characters:

• Jin Kamishina - lost his family in a tragic shuttle accident which was secretly caused by the original dragons, loves Toa and will protect her no matter what happens
• Toa - original dragon called the 'Album', transforms into a powerful dragon due to her original status, loves Jin (who doesn't know she is responsible for the shuttle accident which killed his family), Toa has above-average breasts
• Gio - newborn earth-dragon who went through resonance with Kazuki, but rejected him and swears protection over Toa, later communes with Thanatos
• Kazuki Tachibana/ Widow - Kazuki was Jin's best friend until the shuttle accident when Jin retreated from social connections, Kazuki was drafted into the Dragonauts and went through Resonance with Gio who later defected to protect Toa, later Kazuki teamed up with Widow (a dragon who lost her human partner) to get Gio back, Widow develops feelings for Kazuki who only sees her as a tool, she has enormous breasts
• Kiril Zhazhiev - leader of the ISDA and D-Project, believes dragons have the power to defeat Thanatos
• Baisil Sakaki/ Laura - Baisil is the director of the D-Project and lost his wife and daughter in the same shuttle accident which claimed Jin's family, a phantom of his lost daughter Laura lives with him - what is her secret?
• Raina Cromwell/ Howlingstar - Raina leads the ISDA's Lindworm Unit and is partnered with Howlingstar - a rock-star in his human form
• Akira Soya/ Machina - members of the Lindworm Unit, Akira and Machina develop strong feelings for each other (they're both chicks), they believe the bond between dragons/humans after resonance is stronger than a mere tool/master relationship, side with Toa and Jin, Machina has ridiculously large breasts (which embarrasses Akira due to her smaller breast size)
• Sieglinde Baumgard/ Amadeus - Sieglande is the daughter of a wealthy businessman from Northern Europe, she resents her wealth and family due to not having her family present for most of her life, Amadeus' form is that of Sieglinde's deceased grandfather who she shared a special bond with, her breasts are just slightly above average (for this show at least, in real life they would be pretty big)
• Keiichi Amagi/ Spirytus - Keiichi becomes unstable early in the series causing his dragon Spirytus to lose control, Jin witnesses Toa transform for the first time when she attempts to stop Spirytus' rampage
• Itsuki Habaragi/ Otohime - members of the Vritra Unit, from France, attracted to Raina, Otohime looks like a twin of Itsuki, they both possess enormous breasts
• Kasuga Nozaki - head researcher for the D-Project, mysterious past and hiding a shocking secret
• Yuuri Kitajima - researcher for the D-Project under Kasuga, interested in studying Toa to learn her genetic secrets, ridiculously large breasts, has an ongoing secret relationship with reporter Ko
• Ko Yonamine - reporter who works with Yuuri and has some type of relationship with her, appears to have a secret agenda and unknown who he is really working for
• Asim Jimar/ Garnet - Asim is the prince of the Gillard Empire which has authority over the ISDA and a powerful military force, the prince lives on Mars in a palace, Garnet is a high-ranking military commander and ruthless warrior, both care little for others, Asim wants to possess Toa for sport, Garnet has the largest breasts in the entire show
• Thanatos - massive/immense organism which traverses the galaxy, speculated to be dragon-like yet shape is more like an asteroid, glowing central red eye, sends 'dragons' to earth for reconnaissance, motives unknown although speculated to be the end of humanity
• Ostrum - dragon sent by Thanatos to destroy all dragons on earth and speed up the process by which Thanatos assimilates the planet

Throwdown at the hot springs on the moon

Pros: Lots of fan-service - practically all of the girls have big boobs and some of them are incredibly large, show has good story pacing although it takes a lot of episodes to really get going, nice opening/ending theme songs (2 ending theme songs) and soundtrack, two hot springs episodes

Akira is a little jealous of Machina's impossibly huge chest size

Cons: Excessive fan-service - too many unrealistically-large-breasted women to take the show seriously, CGI (computer generated image) dragons don't look natural, characters can be annoying/bland (a lot of yelling Toa! Jin! Gio! constantly), the characters never change their clothes - even after they get them ripped up or dirty (same clothes, always!)

One of the original dragons in action

Mike Tells It Straight: Dragonaut looks like a compelling show - the character designs are slick/creative, there's some fan-service for the otaku, and the story revolves around a mystery invasion from outer space.  Great sci-fi, right?  Not so much. 

Machina goes berserk in her communicator form

The characters look good, but are very bland and vapid.  We get a character like Gio who spends the show as a third wheel to Jin/Toa without any real development.  The fan-service is over-the-top with revealing outfits on girls with giant breasts - I can dig a little fan-service here or there as a tongue-in-cheek joke, but this show had so much I got bored of it.  The two hot springs episodes should have tipped me off.

Toa and Jin frolick

This show is worth watching for the entertainment value - nice animation, good soundtrack, decent pacing (a few suspenseful moments) and maybe the plethora of fan-service (if that's your bag).  It's definitely not a keeper - I could never get comfortable with the mecha CGI dragons (they just looked awkward) and most of the characters were pretty lame. 

We all have a favorite Garnet boob shot

Your significant other will mock you for watching this show.  The girls' breasts are that big and unrealistic.  Otherwise an enjoyable (highly disposable) sci-fi anime, but not one to rush out and see.


TO BUY and Recommendations: