Customer Reviews

Burst Angel: The Complete Collection (includes OVA) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I personally enjoyed Burst Angel, but I realize it is not for everyone. It seems to be a series that is either loved or abhorred. While the former category might be more accurate for me than the latter, I will try to be as objective as possible with this review.

A futuristic Tokyo is plagued with crime. The corrupt agency RAPT is in charge of keeping the peace, which is of little comfort to the city's upstanding citizens. As if that was not enough to keep the average Joe on edge, there is a secret lab that has managed to fuse organic cells with machinery, creating the ultimate weapon. This city needs a hero. They are getting four.

Jo, Meg, Sei and Amy are Tokyo's Batman, though the Dark Knight has never looked this good in a bikini. The buxom beauties, with a little help from their friends and giant robot, Jango, strike fear in the hearts of criminals, and are the only ones equipped to take on the menacing bio-machines.

The spaghetti western overtones sets this series apart. It is an amazing mix of east meets west, old v. new. Mech battles often resemble a high noon duel more than a traditional battle of the titans, while the many gun play scenes could easily take place in a dusty street of a ghost town. All this while a Spanish guitar plays over a jazzy progression. However, the western feel never smothers the futuristic urban vibe. Meg and Jo's clothing is a good example - contemporary with a western spin. The balance is perfect.

The story is easily the weakest part of this series which can be a deal breaker depending on your taste. While it's an interesting premise, the story is never fully fleshed out. The girls relax, Meg is kidnapped, the girls fight bio-machine, Meg is rescued. Lather, rinse, repeat. There are no twists or surprises, just straight up action. There are a lot of sub-plots going on, but none of them are fully realized. For instance, it is hinted at that Jo and Meg are more than just friends, especially in the final episodes, but this is never fully realized. Had this conflict been more in the forefront from the beginning, Meg and Jo would have been more three dimensional. You would care about them, and the decisions they make. All the characters suffer from this same issue - they are 2D.

The action, however, is excellent. Bullets fly, explosions erupt, and buildings crumble. Battles are always fast paced and interesting. In between the action, you are beat over the head senseless with fan service. Panty shots are frequent to the point that you start to notice when you're NOT staring at Meg's cotton clad crotch. The girls clothes couldn't possibly get any skimpier. The lower half of Sei's breast are always exposed, Jo wears little more than a pair of panties, and at least one of the bad girls wears even less. This said, it never feels sleazy for the sake of sleaze. However, there is one episode, which takes place at the beach, that is a bit over the top. All four girls are clad in very revealing bikinis. Meg's bottoms barely conceal anything while Sei's breasts struggle to escape her skimpy one piece. While it is treading sleazy water, it is just one episode.

This box set includes all 24 episodes as well as the OVA, Burst Angel Infinity. Infinity digs a little deeper in Meg and Jo's background noting of real substance is revealed. It shares the same weaknesses and strengths of the series as discussed above.

Picture quality is excellent. Lines are crisp and colors are vibrant. Audio is equally impressive. Blu-ray is definitely an improvement, and worth the upgrade. Special features are what you expect them to be - commentaries, behind the scenes, etc. Nothing too exciting, though the commentaries are often funny as the discussions digress from the episode to what kind of underwear men really prefer women to wear and why white is always best regardless of style. I said funny, not enlightening, insightful, etc. The English dub is generally good, but never exceptional. Packaging consists of 3 discs in 2 standard size Blu-ray cases with a box.

Burst Angel had great potential, but it feels half baked. The spaghetti western overtones and frequent action is fantastic, but there is little else beyond the surface. The writers attempted to create some deep, three dimensional characters and even added the resemblance of what could be subplots to make us care about them, but this too ended up an uncooked, gooey mess. This is not Elfen Lied - amateur philosophers need not watch this. However, if you can forgive the structural short comings, you will be rewarded with a kick butt action packed jiggle fest lightly seasoned with a cool spaghetti western vibe.

Tech Specs
Video: 1080p, 16x9
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English

Anime checklist...

1.Boobs (check)
2.Serious Heroine (check)
3.Goofy damsel who always gets into trouble (check)
4.Bossy chick with big boobs (double check)
5.Robots of some sort (check)
6.Fan Service (do you even have to ask? Check)
7.Crazy chick that wants to kill serious heroine (check)
8.Over the top villains (check)
9.Under-aged and questionable but oddly mature girl (check/Not my preference)
10.Wardrobes that lack a significant amount of fabric (check)
11.Fan Service (check)
12.Swimsuit Episode (check)
12.Wild girl,serious girl,bossy girl,and nerdy girl combination (check)
13.Wimpy and annoying guy (check)

Welp... that's the check list if you like boobs, robots and swimsuits you'll enjoy this one... I know I did. P.S. If you down-rate this review you honestly won't like Burst Angel.

I can't say this enough, blu-ray, makes anime, look prettay. Burst Angel Complete on blu-ray has all the Burst Angel goodness you could want. Engaging characters, good story and adr commentary. Another great anime from Gonzo and Funimation. Western style, awesome mecha and kick-ass chicks.

Is Burst Angel the best anime series that has ever been made? No, most certainly it is not. Is Burst Angel one of the most entertaining series that you can see that features an all female main cast (excluding our little cook)? Yes!

While this is an anime full of fanservice, from skimpy outfits to the ever amusing episode at the water park, Burst Angel is a series that tailors itself to a younger male audience looking for some nice eye candy in with their violence. It doesn't actually make this a bad series, and it doesn't in any way fall flat like so many fanservice anime series (see Najica Blitz Tactics: Complete Collection ). There is a deeper plot and deeper characters in this series, but you do have to watch carefully to catch that. The relationships between our heroines is at time strained but always close and caring, even when the latter aspect is masked by a sense of duty or revenge.

Set in the future, where we have a pleasant mix of the old and new (think advanced mecha and a still early 21st century society) we find three young women and one little girl all drawn together by circumstance to do the jobs they are assigned to do. Whether or not Jo, Meg, Sei and Amy agree with the tasks they are handed is ultimately inconsequential and the price of either finishing the job or saving the ever unlucky Meg is often a problem for Jo and the rest. The plot centers around RAPT - a corrupt amalgam of a police force and private security contractor - the company that Sei's father is a part of in a big way, and the stories of the girls and what brought them together.

You have the spoilt but technologically brilliant Amy and Jango (her giant robot) who is both typical for a young girl and far beyond her years, Meg who is a tough cookie on the exterior but possesses a heart of gold, Sei who is the stern older sister/mother figure, and Jo the quiet and somewhat psychotic killer who betrays none of the emotion she feels. At first the series seems like a disjointed progression of battles set in a very high-noon end of days duel style, with little else to tie everything together. Don't be fooled, there is a deeper story hidden in the tiny tidbits that the first episodes reveal. As our story progresses we aren't spared the shoot-em-up violence that makes this show so much fun, nor will our characters dress more decently. What we are treated to is more information, just enough to highlight a conspiracy that slowly comes to light, about Jo, RAPT, and the state of Tokyo.

While the end of the series can leave you wondering where all these little threads have come together if you have watched carefully the full vision of Burst Angel is realized. If you want to watch this series as a one-off, taking it an episode at a time with days between you will still enjoy it. It's interesting enough and easy enough to grasp that you aren't going to be missing the overall show by watching it and putting it away for some far more serious fare. In addition, much like any serious anime the love aspects are kept very subtle so you aren't ever going to get a full on heavy love scene between Jo and Meg - though the entire series makes it incredibly clear that this is an anime and not a Western series. That isn't a bad thing, but if you're looking for a lesbian love fest you aren't going to get it, and that's something that makes this a classy fanservice series.

Ultimately for a series that is primarily built to titilate with violence and fanservice Burst Angel does a fantastic job of giving meaning and depth to the characters. You will never see that full 180 degree character development, at the end of the show Meg, Sei, Amy, and Jo will remain essentially the same but you will understand what has brought them to the point in your life you witness. The show does leave a lot open at the end, but closes itself off nicely. The art is always well done, there aren't any episodes or points in the series where you're going to run into badly drawn cells or sudden changes of style. The music fits the show perfectly, from very cowboy-western to futuristic there was a lot of thought in the pairings. Overall Burst Angel is fantastic for what it is trying to do, but it isn't the best of all time. It has great replay value on a lazy weekend afternoon or as before bed fare even if you've watch the whole show several times.

It's a solid four star series, the only thing that would have made it a five is if it had been more plot heavy - but that may have completely destroyed what makes it such a fun and entertaining piece of anime.

This anime was really good in alot of ways. With this boxset you also get the OVA which is really good since it explains more about the two female main characters and their past. I don't know what it is, but this series has a slight feel of Heavy Metal mixed with like Full Metal Panic!. I don't really know how to explain it without giving any spoilers away.

It's actually not as violent as you might expect and the characters really depend on eachother. Jo the main herione while cold to some still has a tight nit bond with Meg. They have been together since the begining. Unfortunatly I don't want to go into too much detail, but I do recommend the series. I am sure one of the other reviewers might have explained it better, but I am trying to stay away from possible spoilers.

If you enjoy English dubs, this collection probably gets about 4 stars.
If you like subtitles or have a TV under 30", this collection rates 1 to 2 stars.

Problems I've Had:
* Don't expect to be able to read menus and messages unless you have a TV larger than 30" - they're just too small.
* While the dubs are okay, though personally not to my liking, the subtitles are VERY had to read even on my new 40" - thin, crisp, white text on the anime's bright backgrounds just does not stand out enough.

One of my best rememberd anime series. Good price for the blu-ray, but the only thing I wish the series had, was an ending :(. It has a little preview of what would be consider 5 years after the last episode, But so far i havent heard of burst angel continueing :/, and plus i think the preview was just a little teaser... to get you thinking.

The basic idea is this review is the lack of coherent plot. From episode after episode there's a lot of jumping from one thing to another so there is absolutetly no character development.

There is a simple rule one can follow in each episode: if a new character appears you will a)never see him/ her / it again., b) same as a), c) same as b). Villain, ally or neutral it does not matter, they simply fill a void in a particular episode and that's it. They're gone.

One reviewer mentioned that Megan keeps getting kidnaped. It's true and it's frustrating.

Picture quality is Ok and fanservice is not as exageated as some reviewers stated before. Not much here to sand out.

Sound quality is also ok. Not much there either.

I can honestly said that I was disappointed with this series. I think that at 24 episodes it waaayyy long. Especially if, like in my case, by the 7th episode you really don't care.

The price is fair, thought. Check it out if you can spare a couple of bucks but don't expect much or you'll be disappointed.

I wouldn't mince words about the action. There is plenty of it and plenty of females kicking butt in the most scantily clad way possible. There is also a rather interesting story happening along with it that keeps you watching. But, there are a lot of minor annoyances with Burst Angel. Characters themselves are all very cookie cutter. There is nothing new or refreshing. In fact, the sidekick character gets kidnapped so much that it just gets beyond stale where you find yourself rooting for the bad guys. Mix in constant attempts at poor fan service and episodes just start getting even more dull.

By the time it ends, you are mixed on whether it was a good end or not. But you also question the point of why there was even a male character in the story at all. Really the kid who they setup as the protagonist sorta disappears from the story about halfway. When it ends you wonder what the point of him being in the story was. He is also about the biggest wimp ever (don't listen to his English voice...it will make you want to kill him even more) and while there is some setup for romance between him and one of the women, that idea flies out the window as if the writer changed their mind about the story before it was ever finished.

Overall, Burst Angel is not a terrible series to rent or watch online. There are some memorable moments for sure. But it isn't anything new. Avoid paying full price if you really want to get it.

This was a good series i enjoyed every minute of it it was most definitely worth the price. I do recommend this series if your looking for an action packed comedic series.