Customer Reviews

Burst Angel, Vol. 1: Death's Angel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The four episodes are great - the artwork is beautiful, the characters are interesting and the combat is realistic. There are wheels within wheels when it comes to the plot and there are two story arches within the DVD,so you get a lot of story for your buck. The main idea is that crime rules most of the city of Tokyo and a team of four girls are trying to help keep the peace. But they are NOT part of the normal law enforcement units (think A-Team or Bubblegum Crisis). Rapt seems to run the city, but there are hints of other powers fighting for the top of the hill. In fact the girls seem to follow commands from somebody else (all we get is a name - it could be a person or a business).
There are also a ton of extras, such as radio dramas, one commentary track, funny outtakes, textless songs and, of course, trailers. The English Voice Actors are the best. Jo is played By Monical Rial (Gasaraki, Azumanga Daioh), Meg is played by Jamie Marchie (Fruits Basket) and Kyohei Tachibana is played by Greg Ayres (Full Metal Panic, Gunslinger Girl). We also get Sei played by Clarine Harp and Amy played by Alison Retzloff (from having been in Kiddy Grade).
Now, heres the bad new. First, it is ONLY in surround sound, so for guys like me who have only 2.0 stereo, lots of the audio is lost or too soft. Also, there are subtitle problems. The opening song, for example, has the subtitles right over the credits. The radio dramas, but for the first selection, have non subtitles. Also, the textless closing song in the extras, the English version, has subtitles which can't be turned off. All this little issues add up and take a little away from the enjoyment.
Yet hearing Monica Rial play a female gunslinger, with cussing and all, made my day. That is why I only took one point away. Great anime, nice selection of extras, but sloppy work on putting the DVD together.

I had my reservations when I first starting watching the series. However, to my surprise this series is just as good as Robotech/Macross. Each character is distinct, actually has a personality and there is more focus on the personalities while the science is put in the background. Which is rare since a lot of other Japanese Anime have characters that always seem to be cardboard cut outs of each other and focus to much on the scientific-war plot, if I wanted to see all that than I would watch the Discovery channel. Burst Angel is NOT like that since, it focuses on the character's and is just fun to watch with it's varying levels of chemistry and character development. They are not hard to look at either with there seductive wardrobe. I loved the packaging of the DVD which includes little books with detailed pictures of the characters. This is a DVD that is well worth the money since, the extras are fun to watch also. The only thing that I would have liked to have seen in the extras is the actors who actually did the American voices since, they were cool to listen to in the commentary. But, nothing is 100% perfect. Burst Angel is pure fun, cool, action packed and has perfect visual quality.

Gonzo keeps bringing the most quality anime Gravion, Last Exile, Kiddy Grade, etc. They never fail. This one did not upset. In this anime, anybody in the general public are now allowed to carry guns. Bazookas whatever they want can be carried. This is an action-packed series and will please Cowboy Bebop fans the most. Mecha fans should not go into this show with high mecha expectations. Mecha are in it but it is not a mecha series. It is a girls with guns/mecha series with a cool plot. The only reason I gave this series 4 stars because the main character lacks perosality and can be very boring and this series does not explain itself much at all. Still, is one the best of the year.

Animation - A- Gonzo always provides quality looking anime.
Plot - C+ - Started off kind of weak with no background of what was going on in the series.
Music - A - The intro is a rock and hip hop mixture with wacky lyrics but is very cool. The music in the series is kind of a heavy metal type sound which works well with the series.
Overall - B+ - Get this series. It will not dissapoint action fans but mecha fans may take down one or two stars.

I was pleasantly surprised by this anime. I kept away from this title after all the terrible reviews I've read about it. I guess that goes to show you have to actually watch the show to know if you're gonna like it or not. This show's got robots, guns, and hot chicks in skimpy outfits...a mix for some serious fun! I was hooked by the first episode, it has some great mecha & gun action with good looking cgi. The girls? What can I say? This show has some very hot looking ladies! Whether you keep watching after the first few episodes is up to you. But the first volume is definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something exciting to watch.

Burst Angel certainly has potential to become interesting. It starts off with an interesting story: A young man going to school to become a chef gets a job as the cook for a rag tag group of gunslingers who are paid to take on missions. The primary "mercenary" is Jo, a quiet, tough young woman who shoots first and asks questions later. She is joined by Meg, the seemingly useless, typically big breasted cowgirl of the group (minus the accent), Sei and Amy. While it starts out with some pretty nifty stuff, the focus shifts a bit. The cook becomes less interesting, and to me he's the most interesting character. Meg and Jo seem to take on the spotlight, and they are just a bit too cliched for my tastes. On the other hand, the rest of the series is quite good. The setting is interesting and fun to watch. The action is excellent and well animated. So, if your into something that doesn't require too much focus, but is pretty fun, Burst Angel is worth a check. You might be surprised and like it more than me.

I was'nt really into burst angel but this was good, monica rial did a nice job voice acting jo but this was good.

Okay at first when I saw the cover I was a bit hesitant, but for the fact that it had a redhead in the series I couldn't resist. When I watched it I was actually very suprised to find that it was a good anime. The fact that really disgusted me was when I saw the CG animation mixed with 2D animation. However, used to watching crap anime like Zoids... this blended the unique CG animation next to a 2d world, which impressed me very much. The characters are loveable. I don't like the male character reminds me of the Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion. But if you like a little fan service with some action, I reccomend this series. I have personally collected five out of the six volumes. I can't wait until I get the sixth. It is a good series, and it has all the potential to be a gem, and personally it is.

Burst Angel is another one of Gonzo Digimation's many releases this year (Gantz, Samurai 7, and Gankutsuou). It's one of those mecha/girls with guns series, only different in that it's a great deal better than the rest. That's not a surprise, as the director, Koichi Ohata, directed great anime films like M.D. Geist and Cybernetics Guardian. How else is it better? Well, read on.

First off, episode one starts out with pure action, and displays quickly what the series will offer in terms of animation quality, as the CG mixes almost perfectly with the 2D effects. Then it goes from there to introduce the main characters, all of them, as quickly as possible: Jo, the fighter without a heart, Meg, the constant Damsel in distress, Amy, the tech-freak, and Sei, the leader of the bunch. They also introduce Kyohei, the lucky chef who gets to take care of these women's meals. After that's out of the way (it takes up probably five minutes of time) they quickly get back into the action. Episode two picks up immediately after as a continuation of episode one, and also introduces us to the dark setting of New Tokyo, devastated by natural disasters and crime, and the monstrous enemy robots called Cybots, free-thinking creatures that love destruction.

From there, episode three starts a new side plot and also reveals the history of the story, how crime became so prevalent on the streets of Tokyo, and the police force known as RAPT that has taken control in more than one way. In this episode, the girls hunt an apparent psychopath who gets kidnapped, and they are forced to follow. Episode four continues this storyline and shows how multi-faceted the series will be, as this episode has action, comedy, drama, and even a little bit of horror. The climactic scene is a blood-fest that leaves you wanting more.

Final impressions: action seems to be the important part in this series, and none of it is generic or recycled. It's mature enough to carry an adult along but still great for older teenagers.

Other bonuses include a great western-style soundtrack, with a beginning theme song that's reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop's opening theme "Tank." The voice-acting is top notch, with voices familiar to most Funimation productions. And for those of you who love pointy breasts, this series has fan-service to no end. Plus, it actually has special features, a rare thing in anime DVDs, in the form of outtakes, a radio drama, and text-less songs, not to mention the small art-book that comes with the DVD.

This series reminds me a lot of Bubblegum Crisis 2040, but with a mixture of Mezzo and Armitage along with it. I'd recommend Burst Angel to anyone who enjoyed these anime, or to fans of other Gonzo films.

`Burst Angel', a futuristic city is defended from giant robots by a government task force consisting of busty girls with guns...

Wait a minute... isn't this the exact same anime I saw and reviewed yesterday? From the previews and from the reviews I was expecting another recycled plot with some fun animation by Gonzo studios.

I was pleasantly surprised. `Burst Angel' truly goes down as one of the best of its genre. The fast paced directing is great, as well as the music, characters, and action. Gonzo really out does themselves with their animation. It's easy to see why they're considered the best in the biz. `Burst Angel' is somewhat of an extension of Gonzo's `Heat Guy J.'

The plot will really not persuade you to see `Burst Angel' since you've already seen it, but trust me, you've NEVER seen it done so well.

In conclusion, although the trailers make `Burst Angel' look like just another anime, it's really TONS of fun. Gonzo gets everything right. I can't remember since `Big O' seeing an anime of this genre that was this good.

i really liked this anime, i read about it online once and i went ahead and ordered it off amazon and it turned out to be pretty good. it wasnt exactly what i expected but i was very pleased with what i got. the animation is well done and the story lines are pretty good too. i definitely would suggest buying it if you get a chance.