Product Details

• Actors: Lee Tockar, Kathleen Barr, Lisa Ann Beley, Ian James Corlett, Laura Harris
• Writers: Brooks Wachtel
• Producers: Daniel S. Kletzky, Kenzo Tsujimoto
• Format: Animated, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, 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: January 13, 2004
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00011ZBSE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,130 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Darkstalkers - Battle Storm (Vol. 1)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

DARKSTALKERS:BATTLE STORM - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sorry, but *I* think this is a good cartoon series, October 2, 2007

By 

K. T. Ong (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Darkstalkers - Battle Storm (Vol. 1) (DVD)

For those who don't know, 'Darkstalkers: Battle Storm' contains the first five episodes of an American cartoon series based on characters and concepts from a horror-based Japanese video game, and an anime series different from the series reviewed here has also been produced based on this game. Now I've come across many people online who have been ranting away on how the American production totally ruins the original game concept, how much better the anime really is, and so on. Well, with all due respect for all you oh-ta-koos out there, I beg to differ.

I've watched all the five episodes, and I've found it most enjoyable. The most important reason is that this series is FUNNY. Everytime the mummy Anakaris appears, I just have to laugh at his antics. And the eternal squabbles between Demitri and Morrigan are great fun, too. The art really isn't all that poorly drawn IMO. One also finds many of the signature moves made by the Darkstalkers in the original game being faithfully reproduced in this series, particularly how all those magical beings arise from Donovan's giant rosary.

By contrast, the gore and grim seriousness of the anime simply do not appeal to me in the least bit. A serious, gory, adult-content cartoon? Can you imagine a remake of SCHINDLER'S LIST or SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in which all the characters are Teletubbies? I really don't think the art of the anime is THAT much better, either. Donovan appears to have no chin at all in the anime. And it honestly gets a bit tiresome how absolutely all females in anime have to be depicted with huge, sparkling eyes and tiny, lipless (!!) mouths.

As for the charge that the American producers have completely distorted the storyline, what I say is that the Darkstalkers are from a GAME and not from a novel. I've seen up to three different storylines by different Asian comic artists, serious. Why can't American producers come up with yet another one, then? And if the Japanese can pinch all sorts of things from Western literature (Dracula, Frankenstein, Celtic myth and legend) and twist them into anime and video games, I don't see why Americans can't reciprocate by pinching a couple Japanese video games and turning them into cartoon serials. Finally, I'd like to know why Capcom itself would give this 'atrocious' cartoon series its seal of approval, as can be seen in the credits at the end of each episode.

My final verdict is that this is an entirely fun and highly entertaining cartoon series for the family. I'm glad I didn't follow the advice of one of the reviewers here to 'avoid' this 'at all costs'. Thumbs up for the producers of this series. (Pity they've produced only 13 episodes in all and the original DVD set titled 'Out of the Shadows' is currently out of stock.)

1.0 out of 5 stars Anyone who enjoys this series clearly has no taste, January 29, 2008

By 

Manuel A. Saez "animation head" (New york, N.Y.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Darkstalkers - Battle Storm (Vol. 1) (DVD)

I'm sorry to say, but my title sums it up nicely. This was a disgrace to the franchise, an abomination of animation and a complete hack job to an otherwise highly revered series. Much like the new transformers series airing on TV now, it clearly demonstrates that American studios still believe that animated programming should be aimed at kids, instead of exploiting the versatility and intricate character traits that some of these creations possess. Watching the Anime retain the horror, action and drama that can only be envisioned through the videogame, its hard to sit through this and not be disgusted by the character design, animation and tone. DO NOT BUY THIS.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent little collection for the price., March 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Darkstalkers - Battle Storm (Vol. 1) (DVD)

I remember watching this show some Sunday mornings before church. It isn't/wasn't the greatest animation in the world and the production value isn't all that high, but the show has a certain charm to it.

Morrigan was probably my favorite character. The accent seemed to fit her and she looked pretty good. One thing I'm sort of disapponited in is that they really didn't look that good for a succabus until maybe the 3rd or 4th episodes, which is a shame since episode 2 is the one dedicated to her mostly. I guess she had to steal some life force to get her looks back, lol.

Donovan was a great character in that episode too. I like the way they showed him in this series vs the 4 episode OAV series which IMHO kind of stunk. The first episode of that one was good, but then...I digress, the dark hunter was quite an interesting and powerful character, even if he did seem to be wearing a skirt thing.

Harry, the whinny little kid is the weak link of the show. I really didn't care for him all that much. The bad guys were much more enjoyable to watch. It's really too bad Pyron never flash fried him. If I'd been directing the werewolf would have gone rabbid and eaten him, but I guess that might have upset some network censors.

In a nutshell, this DVD is not anime. It is a fun little series that you'll probably enjoy if you like quirky comedies. It has its high points and its low points, but for the price you can't go wrong.