Customer Reviews

Battle Athletes Victory, Vol. 1: Training

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even though the box art and the character design may lead you to believe that this may be one of those "cute girls being happy and giggly then its over" kind of anime that we have seen gazillion times. Well, it is. At least in first volume that is. But trust me, if you continue to watch the series and get to know the characters better, then this series will grow on you. In fact, between all those silly comedies, there are powerfully emontional scenes that may actually move the audience. I did, and I am not the type who normally get moved by anime, or any type of films. Character development has been seriously lacking in anime these days, but Battle Atheletes is one of few exceptions. Anyway, if you like anime series, by any means go check it out. It is my favorite since Revolutionary Girl Utena. P.S. I want to mention that this series contains lesbian subtext (it gets more deliberate by the fourth volume). Nothing explicit, but this might bother someone (or interest someone).

"Battle Athletes Victory", or Daiundokai, is truly an amazing series in disguise. Although the character lineup and artwork point to another "see it for the Half Naked Girls" type series, the story is actually quite deep and the character developement is one of the best I've seen. Laugh, cry, and cheer these very human stars as they develope their own personalities and traits. The characters are readily identifiable from each other, though the humor may be slightly a bit too politically incorrect. The only flaw with the English Dubbed version involves inadequate voice casting. The english dubbers miss cues, improvise, Over Americanize and even use profanity (there is none in the original script). If you want the best experience the script has to offer, watch the subtitles only, and leave the voices in Japanese, this makes it slightly inconvenient but a much better experience.

I picked up this DVD on a whim, remembering seeing an episode several years. And even though it didn't catch my attention when I first saw it, I decided I might as well watch the first volume. What I found was one of the most original and well-made anime series I had ever watched.

Set around three thousand years in the future, Battle Athletes Victory follows several athletes from earth training to become the coveted Cosmo Beauty, the greatest athlete in the universe. Quite a silly premise at first glance, but when you look deeper you will find much, much more: Excellent character development, a smile on your face (or a tear in your eye) at the end of each episode, and a strong plot of friendship and the will to succeed.

The main focus of Battle Athletes Victory is 15-year-old Akari Kanzaki, the daughter of the most famous Cosmo Beauty ever to hold the title, the late Tomoe Midoh. Akari longs to hold the same title her mother did, but unfortunately it doesn't look as if she inherited the skill from her. She's dead last in all the events, which causes her to be depressed whenever she's not competing, hiding in a cardboard box she marked "Akari House". Other main characters include Akari's best friend, Ichino; Tanya, a young girl from Africa who just wants to have a good time; Jessie Gurtland, a determined blond American who wants to follow in Tomoe Midoh's footsteps herself, and thinks that Akari doesn't deserve to; The tomboyish Russian, Ayla Veferascca who is in direct competition with Jessie; and Wong Ling-Pha, the crazy Chinese girl just thrown in for comic relief.

The first volume focuses more on introducing the secondary characters and developing their personalities rather than Akari's, which is a nice change in pace from most anime series where secondary characters are all but ignored. During all this, Akari pretty much stays depressed, which while keeps her quite one-dimensional for now, allows for some great interaction between her and other characters.

Once I bought this first DVD, I couldn't wait for the other volumes to arrive, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way about it if you just give it a chance.

I wasn't expecting much out of this series. It looks like a show for little girls, but some of the cursing means I wouldn't let an 8 year old watch it. There is a lot of depth in this series, especially in later discs. I was actually quite impressed with the subjects the series raised and how the series dealt with these issues. Also, its very funny and the pacing is excellent. I never felt like I was slogging through any sections, even though Akari can get a little annoying in these early episodes.

This series is so underrated and definitely a steal for the DVD price.

i LOVED this show! it was a million times better then i expected. i loved the humor and the characters (my fave was definitely the chinese girl, ling-pha, she is soo funny!) also i agree with the other reviews that this is deeper then it looks! it really says something about competetition in our society. i think that, along with "lain", this is the best anime dvd release this year! go get it; you won't regret a minute! <g>

The first 10 episodes (or 3 DVDs) of this anime tv series take place before the original Battle Athletes OAV (original animated video). These episodes set up the whole premise of going to the University Satellite, and the struggle to get there. Long story short it is very good. Worthy of watching, if for nothing else to see the sports drama. There is a slight lesbian sexual undertone, but that does not detract from the main story. One of the best things about this DVD is the dubbed version of the show. Sure they add profanity to a script that had little to no profanity before, but the diversity of the voices that is used is outstanding. The only draw-back that the DVD has is that the production company grouped all the episodes together taking out the Opening and Closing sequence/theme and the previews for the next episode. This series should be a must for any collector, and at the low price of only $16 a disc, what is stopping you from buying it.

I didn't know exactly what to expect when I picked up this title. I've heard bits and pieces about it from various sources but I didn't have a clear picture of what it would be like. I'm happy to say this is one of the most entertaining series I've had the pleasure to watch in a while. It has a good mix of action and comedy which had me chuckling out loud quite often. The only thing I didn't like was the opening song which was too cheesy for me, but after that it was all great. The animation is decent and the background music for the action scenes were good enough. It's only the beginning but I'm definitely looking forward to what will happen next!

This show is great, don't get me wrong, but there were some things that caught me. One was the whole lesbian undertones. Now I read something that says that there is no romance, boy were they wrong. While nothing happens some girls get hit on by other girls. Also the language is actually worse in the dub than the sub! Usually it is the other way around, but this time the girls are swearing in english!

The show is cute, but alot of things hold it back from being a child or pre-teen safe show. I mean there are some great things on friendship, but they can get over looked because some character starts yelling "S#!T". I would recommend it, but it really doesn't get it's target audience with the swearing and other content.