Burst Angel Box Set

Great set- complete series w/ extras

PROS>
Great animation, great soundtrack. hot chicks with guns. I like how the voices of the actors each sound so different. I've watched so many animations sometimes when I close my eyes and listen the voices force me to think I'm watching something I already saw months ago. This series has a fresh vocal talent. Well at least to me

CONS<
No blood- And Red neck accents on Asians residing in tokyo WTF?!

This set is the best set to get if you're a collector who wants the complete series. Comes with 6 books in a slim designe metalic packaging containing the entire series.
October 8, 2008

Action packed Anime!

Alright, I'll admit it, I like action movies. I also like giant fighting robots like in Battletech and Mechwarrior. Based on what others have said, I'm more than likely going to enjoy watching this. Yes, my foray into Anime continues and I greatly enjoyed this action packed series. The series began on fairly loose footing, but by the end I was sucked into it. I won't pretend that Burst Angel is going to revolutionize the industry or even has a wildly new kind of story line, I won't even say it's worth the full five stars, but I think it's a strong 4/4.5 (so I'm rounding up since Amazon doesn't let me rate something in halves). If you're looking for a really fun anime to watch that's action packed, I would definitely recommend this. It's not the kind that makes you sit down and question existence or anything profound, although towards the end they do have a bit of that, but for the most part it's pretty straightforward.

Welcome to a future Tokyo that is mostly in shambles. Citizens can legally carry guns to defend themselves and society has simply degenerated. The organization RAPT has been called in to "police" the city, but their motives are almost anything but dealing out justice. Instead they look upon the populace as their little area to conduct strange biological/technical experiments. It feels like there are only four people ready to stand against RAPT and they make up the main team for Burst Angel. Granted some new friends step into the ring from Osaka as things escalate.

The primary fighter is Jo and her Cybot Jango. She has a mysterious past, but has a huge purpose and destiny to fulfill. The series mainly focuses around her character, especially since she basically does all the fighting... and this is an action Anime of course. Then we have Meg, who was a character I really didn't like at first, and granted she is kind of useless, but I really did end up enjoying her in the end. Basically she's more there for comic relief and it seems like she's always getting captured. I really did wish she had some serious fighting skills, like martial arts of something to go with Jo's intense gun wielding prowess. I smiled with pleasure during the episode when the old guy enhanced her warrior chi; I was hoping she would stay in that mode! Alas, my wish was not granted, however, she does seem to have a bit of a purpose in performing a lot of reconnaissance missions for the team. She's also one of the main characters that adds the "sexiness" into the show with her practically "bursting" out of her clothes, if you will, for an animated person at least. I did really like the comic relief she provided when interacting between the other characters though. I tend to like this humor a lot more because it's based around wit rather than solely on slap-stick humor where characters are falling all over the place or what have you. Although, I have to point out I really didn't get her outfit. I know she was American, but what's with the cowboy styled outfit? In her background story she's from New York. (Yes I know people from New York can dress like that if they choose, but it's hardly a defining element of that region.) That's really the primary thing that made no sense to me. The youngest member of the team is Amy. She's certainly not to be underestimated, because she's actually the computer hacker genius of the group and in a technological charged world of this Tokyo, she's absolutely essential. She was really funny to watch interact with the others, especially when she gives Meg a hard time! The final member of this four angel team is Sei, heir to the Bai-Lan organization and basically the source of all their funding. She's basically the voluptuous organizer behind all their missions that get directed through Bai-Lan. Now the stage is set for action to start!

The opening episode was sort of loosely put together and I thought the show was going to focus more on the misadventures of Kiyohei, the aspiring pastry chef. But that was more of a random chance meeting between him and Jo to preface the fact he would be hired as a cook for the girls. The bizarre thing is he ends up going on a few missions here and there with them. Considering he's usually afraid of most of those intense situations, I always wondered why... I assume it's for the general comedic factor. Anyway, there isn't a huge amount of character development, but this is an action film. You do get into the characters a little more and their backgrounds do get explained for the most part, which I thought was really awesome and interesting. For example, Jo likes to spend her free time watching a lot of grotesque horror movies, but is otherwise very unemotional about almost everything except when fighting. Other than that there isn't a huge amount of depth to the characters until you really get to the end with the tragic ending, but it really is a blockbuster ending for sure! There are a lot of story arcs based on government intrigue and what seems like average missions turns into so much more throughout the series.

I have to say I did enjoy the animation in this. I really appreciated the character designs a lot, because it didn't rely on overly busty females being put in provocative situations. Rather Jo is average sized and should be for her role! I think this was a smart move because you're not going to have a single audience group watching it for that reason. The Mech's were awesomely designed though, and Jango was one of the coolest. Granted it's completely unrealistic for robots of that size to pull off some of the martial arts maneuvers Jo does with Jango... but this is animated after all. All the monsters had a really cool and strange design, at least different from most of the monsters I'm used to viewing.

If you like an action packed anime then I definitely have to recommend this. It has just enough comic relief throughout the show to make you laugh when it comes up, which made me glad because sometimes these shows can be overly saturated with such things. The writing does take a serious tone most of the time as the characters try to overcome new obstacles and new missions. I was also surprised at the low levels of gore, there were some parts that were pretty violent and bloody, but nothing compared to something like Elfen Lied. The box set is wonderfully designed and comes with six booklets of character overviews. These include sketches of the characters, some backgrounds, weapons detail or common items the character has. It was a really awesome addition to the box set and I'm really glad they included that. So, are you ready to fight with the Angels now? July 9, 2008

Teenage girls with guns and boa constrictor tight clothes!

Burst Angel really doesn't have anything else going for it besides the action and average fan service. But atleast it's better than Kiddy Grade and Najica Blitz. And that's saying alot.

The story is so flimsy it's barely worth mentioning. And just about all of the story arcs are two to three parters that leads to the action packed end. Speaking of the action, the action is Burst Angels only strength. Lots of gun battles in which the character hardly ever reloads. Very stylish mecha battles that takes full advantage of the animation. If there is a reason to see Burst Angel it is the action.

The main characters are four teenage girls that work as mercenaries. Very cliche and sterotypical. The useless busty girl who always gets caught, the mature leader, petite hacker, and silent but deadly type. The characters are likable but a little bit of character development never hurt an anime. Outside of learning how they met and one of the characters past being dived into. There really isn't much there and I never really became attached to any of them.

The animation is pretty good and well detailed. It's especially well done concerning the fan service. They don't pull too many punches there. The character and mecha designs are a plus for the most part. The soundtrack; putting aside the ending theme which is really good. The music score is kind of weak and annoying at times. Switching from rock type to country type. It really felt out of place several times.

Burst Angel gave me that "saw that before" feeling. Plus it seemed like it only ended for the sake of it. Despite it's glaring flaws Burst Angel is still worth watching for action and fan service buffs. I didn't think it was too bad but I was never gripped by it's story telling. I say this is worth a rental at least. The boxset comes with all six disk in shared packaging with 6 "who's who" booklets.
March 19, 2008

Locked, loaded, and amazingly cool!

It's not often that there's truth in advertising these days...but when it comes to "Burst Angel" the reviews hit home. This anime is excellent on all fronts. Visual effects, story, drama, comedy, action, and most importantly...hot chicks in skimpy outfits and big guns. Studio Gonzo really outdid themselves on this series.

Admittedly I was a bit put off to buy this one when I first heard about it but I got the first two discs of the series and was hooked in. However I didn't have the time or money for a long time to purchase the rest of the series. Finally the boxed set came out and I said, "Ah, why not." and picked it up. It was WELL worth it.

The box is really nice looking with a metallic sheen that really sells the whole imagery, which is equally complimented by the amazing artwork of Ugetsu Hakua. Inside the box are two smaller boxes, all decorated with more of Hakua's stunning art. One box has all the guide books for each disc that you normally get with the single discs. This is unlike usual boxed sets, in a good way. The discs come in a special 6 disc case which is pretty well designed to not take up the massive space the whole collection would if you just bought the single discs. Each disc has loads of extras and everything you'd expect from a series of its caliber.

My vote: BUY IT! For any fan of giant robots, sci-fi, westerns, gun slinging on a matrix-esque playing field, and did I mention the hot chicks in skimpy outfits and big guns? February 10, 2008

bust

How I wanted to love this show, but I just couldn't, there was something missing from it, and I think the fanservice was tame, too tame, like, there was none to speak of, I gave this show some chances, but I am done with it, I wouldn't buy it, and I stopped renting it, its too bad January 25, 2008

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