Product Details

• Actors: Steve Blum, Brianne Siddall, Michelle Ruff, Melissa Fahn, Barbara Goodson
• Format: Animated, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Section 23
• DVD Release Date: April 17, 2001
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056PXZ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,116 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arc the Lad is a very good show! I highly recommend it!, June 2, 2003

By 

Janelle Bruggeman (Taberg, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1) (DVD)

This show is very good. I suggest you read up on it before you buy anything so you know all the facts. I really like it, I bought all six volumes on video. It is rated for ages 15+ so it's not anything for your little brother. There is some gore but it doesn't bother me ( I watched it with my mom, she's not that into anime but she says she likes this show). At a point in the story the main character Elk will seem to go crazy (volumes 4 to 5) but I still suggest that you buy them. I don't blame him as everyone important in his life is dead. Don't worry though, he snaps out of it just in time to help his friends defeat the evil threatening the fate of the world. The last tape is the best of the set. There are some familiar voices (the character Clive is voiced by Ethan Murray, the guy who does the American Express commercials). The other voice actors are very good. The intro is almost classical music (trumpets, etc.) and the ending song "Happy Tomorrow" is very good. It changes to "Rest In Peace" as you get towards the end of the season and will change back to "Happy Tomorrow" for the last episode. The story is a little gloomy as the world where the characters live is full of violence and the fate of the world is on their shoulders. If evil can open the arc then all is doomed. The show is great and I would like to spread the word!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Based on the Playstation games, "Arc" has a lot of potential, May 5, 2001

By 

"nogana_naishi" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1) (DVD)

Arc the Lad, the animated series follows the story line of the first two Playstation RPGs, which will soon be released in the US in one huge collection. Until then, ADV gives us this first volume of the anime series, and while it didn't draw me in, it's certainly a step above most anime series based on video games.

Arc the Lad follows Elk, a young "Hunter" (apperantly short for Bounty Hunter) and his master, Shu, who saved Elk's life at a young age. Elk vows to one day hunt down Arc, a mysterious man with a huge bounty on his head who supposedly killed Elk's parents. The first episode starts with Arc and another Hunter trying to save an Airship from a hijacker. In my opinion, the first episode could've easily been turned into 10 minutes. Instead, the first 15 minutes start out pretty slowly, and then suddenly during the last 5 minutes, things start to speed up.

A major complain of mine would be the episode length, 21 minutes. This is absolutely awful. With only three episodes on the disc, this DVD barely lasts an hour... for 60 minutes of video was fine a few years ago, but now it's just insulting.

Animation & Video: Absolutely excellent. This series is only a few years old, so it looks excellent in both animation and video quality. While the quality certainly isn't that of an OVA series, the animation is fluid with a lot of cels used. The transfer is mostly excellent; In fact, I noticed virtually no problems. This is simply a great looking DVD.

Music & Audio: The opening and ending themes sound absolutely great, as does all dialogue and music inside the show. I noticed no problems here either. I'd also like to mention the English dub, which I must say is by far one of ADV's best jobs. All the voices fit very well with the characters, and I congratulate them on a job well done. The dub is very enjoyable to listen to with none of the ADV-type extras with annoying voices.

Extras: What extras?

The Good: Great Video and Animation; Superb dub

The Bad: First volume is a bit boring; Only 3 episodes on the first disc, instead of the standard 4; ... the episodes are only 21 minutes in length each.

This series has a lot of potential to be great, but the first volume of "Arc" might disappoint a lot of people unless it starts to improve quickly, and ADV puts more of it on each DVD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful animation for a game based anime, April 24, 2001

By 

Hyung Kim (Laurel, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1) (DVD)

This anime is based on a popular Japanes RPG, Arc the Lad 1 and 2. From the three episodes seen in volume one, it is interested enough to continue purchasing the rest of the volumes. It is suppose to be romantic and dramatic, but none like it is revealed yet. Arc the Lad is similar to Final Fantasy in use of magic casting and fighting monsters. The world is exactly like the world you see in Final Fantasy, like vast trees and forest areas yet there are urban and modern cities. Not much of the plot is revealed so far, but I think it's really going to be good. I can't sy much because I may ruin it, so try this Anime. Although the title is Arc the Lad, Arc may not be the main character. The story seems to revolve aroud Elk, a bounty hunter after Arc. If your into Final Fantasy or Fantasy RPG, then this is an Anime for you. This DVD is rated for ages 15+, but there are some gross scenes of Chimera monsters.