Customer Reviews

Divergence Eve - Welcome to the Watcher's Nest (Vol. 1)

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

 

 

This is one of ADVfilms newest titles, and even with the character designs, it's actually very entertaining. The key here is to be open minded, at least in my own opinion.

Set in the future, Misaki is a young woman trying to live a military career. However, a run in with a "Ghoul" while on the way to Watcher's Nest with 3 other cadets, causes something inside her to stir, and sets the stage for action, comedy, horror, and so forth. The voice acting for both the English Dub and Japanese with English Subtitles is very descent, and I didn't have any problems with it. The story for this first DVD plays out well, as you want to keep watching it and know more. The animation is crisp and clean, and while the 3D animation isn't as sharp, it still does it's job. The mecha designs for this anime are also interesting to see, as they have a realistic look to them.

It's important to note that the same director and character designer were from the anime comedy "Amazing Nurse Nanako", with that said, that explains why the women are...well, not small needless to say. But that is just the cherry on the cake. The chocolate layer and frosting are the story and so forth. Once you get into the story, you don't really pay too much attention to how big the women are. If you don't pay attention to it and focus more on the story, the female cast are just as normal as any other person or character.

This is actually a VERY good anime, and is worth a shot. Some may find the character designs for the women weird, but for it, it's not bothering me, as I can pay attention to the story, character development and such.

Give this title a shot and see for yourself about why "Something wicked is waiting to be unleashed."

To start out, I got two words for you......bouncy, bouncy. The animaters of this series really didn't hold back on the large breast and the countless bouncy scenes. Although the cool 3D graphics mixed with regular animation give a very interesting feal to the anime and make it seem amazeing at times, but of coarse there are better examples of this being done, such as Appleseed, but that is in a different class in its self.

The overall story is about these four chicks who have come from earth and have been appointed to under go training in a large space station called watchers nest. This is where the humans of earth have been monitering and containing the materialization of a alien race code named Ghouls. The four females are then introduced rather forcefully to there enemy and are thrown into turmoil. The series does a great job on developing the main character who's name is Misaki. The mystery about her past and the very strange scenes that happen when see comes into contact with the ghouls are very interesting and leave you wanting more.

I really had no compliants about this first dvd except for somethings thou. For instance the first episode is rather confuseing and takes some time to grasp and understand and one of the most odd things has to be the bizare ending theme song? What the heck is that? This series is a serious anime and really isn't funny accept for some scenes, but over all the anime in its self brings a atmosphere that is more of a Neon Genesis atmosphere then a perky comedey like Love Hina?

But in the end the first dvd is promiseing and would have any anime fan looking forward to the next dvd. It just is a series you got to see all the way threw to understand it all and even then you may be left in the dark. I myself have all of the dvds and I'm looking forward to finishing the series.

"Divergence Eve" is for guys. Young guys, around 19, who like topheavy women, blazing guns, robots, aliens, and a decent science fiction backdrop.

If you don't like fanservice, look elsewhere-- this one is brimming with it. You won't see much actual nudity (the cadets-- all young adult girls from 18 to about 22-- turn their backs a lot), but you will see a ton of undies.

The English track can be a little annoying and shrill, but not so bad as other stuff I've seen.

The writing is very good; a starbase full of soldiers (seemingly mostly female cadets, for some reason) faces a mysterious alien race, the Ghoul. There are some stylistic references to MechWarrior, Babylon 5 and a few others, but it's easily forgiven. There is even a slight attempt at realistic-sounding pseudoscience, involving interdimensional travel and "baby universes".

The effects in here are very bright and colorful; lots of flying bullets and lasers, rockets, etc, but the actual physical science is very iffy. The strangest part of the vehicles, for instance, is a seeming lack of rear jets, even when the ships move forward; weirdly, the undercarriage jets (pointing straight down) blast away even when the ship is moving straight forward.

All of this is secondary to the real story-- that of the interactions between the characters. The mystery involving the main character is engaging, and the reasons behind the girls' actions make sense.

Fanboys will love this, but so will people who like SF anime.

Divergence Eve is a pretty good anime. The plot is somewhat interesting, though not very original. The main thing about the plot is how it is arranged. After watching the first episode you will sit and think to yourself, "what the hell is going on???", then it slowly gets explained.

The main problem with the show is the excessive fanservice. Note that the fanservice does get toned down a little in later episodes. Personally I like the character designs, but they would be soooo much better if their boobs weren't the size of planets. The technical jargon is a little over the top as well.

But in the end I give it 4 stars. It's not the greatest anime you will ever see, but it's certainly not the worst. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys horror/sci-fi anime.

Anyone remember "Plastic Little"? An anime known for it's fan service and action, along comes a 2004 anime television series that is reminiscent of the popular OAV.

I recently had the opportunity to watch a two episode screener of ADV Films upcoming anime series "Divergence Eve".

The main storyline is that in the 24th Century, intergalactic space travel has become a reality.

One of the major outposts in the space is the "WATCHER'S NEST", an inflation hole drive portal that is being under attacked by these mysterious force known as GHOUL.

A group of young female cadets who have just finalized their training as elite pilots of the Seraphim Squadron are about to meet their match against the GHOUL.

The main focus among the female cadets is Misaki, your typical cute and clumsy girl who happens to go through some unusual, mysterious transformation when she comes in contact with a GHOUL.

First, it's very hard to comment on the series with just watching two episodes because episode 1 appears to be an episode that takes place in the future. Episode 2 seems to take place when Misaki first joins the team of cadets.

In a way, I found the two different stories a bit confusing I'm hoping that throughout the series, viewers will find out more about Misaki, who are the GHOULS and also the purpose of certain characters in the series.

As I mentioned before, this anime reminds me of "Plastic Little". Why? Let's just say that the character designer of this anime series must have a boob fetish because these female cadets and the officers (with the exception of the female android) are enormously well-endowed and the television series spares no expense in giving the viewers some fan service.

As for the anime, the animation is nice and there is some use of CG during the battle scenes. The CG is not the greatest when compared to what other anime has brought to the table with CG but the GHOUL still looks cool.

The screener copies only featured the English Dubbed but from what I have heard, the voice acting is well done.

It's too early for me to give an all out review but going from the two episodes I have seen so far, nothing really makes sense yet.

In one instance, you have a serious storyline with characters preparing for battle against GHOUL. Then you have another storyline which focuses on the main character, Misaki, who joins in training and changes in batttle against the GHOUL.

Unfortunately, my lasting memory of this anime series is not the storyline but Misaki and her comrades in many scenes showcasing their assets.

I hope there will be more character development in the next episodes of "Divergence Eve" because right now, the plot is too confusing. For fans of anime with plenty of fan service, you'll definitely dig this series.

The idea behind Divergence Eve seems simple at first. In the 21st Century mankind find out that portals in space, holes in the fabric, allow faster than light space travel. The holes, in theory, go to smaller universes where ships can move between the entry and exit points at a much shorter time period than in our normal space. A short cut allowing them to step around, but not break, the laws of time and space.
The episodes happen in the 24th Century and mankind has spread out his grasp to the stars. But not all is right with the universe. It seems that an enemy is trying to use the one of the portals, Watcher's Nest, to enter our space. They have been given the name GHOULS and the military has deigned war machines, such as Rampart Armor, and special equipment to fight them. Normal, traditional, weapons don't do anything against them. The story follows four cadets as they are thrown into training to become elite pilots for the Seraphim Squadron.
The commander of the combat unit is Lyar Von Ertiana, voiced by Shelly Calene-Black (Noir), and the main character is cadet Misaki Kureha, voiced by Kira Vincent-Davis (Those Who Hunt Elves). Other voices are supplied by Chris Patton (Excel Saga), Greg Ayres (Burst Angel), Hilary Haag (Dragon Half), Monica Rial (Princess Nine) and Triffany Grant (Azumanga Daioh).
There is lots of action, good special effects, great music, characters from all over Earth. Many of the people living on the station at Watcher's Nest are from Sweden, France, Germany, Japan and Mexico to name a few. And there is lots of jiggle factor.
With five episodes, production sketches, promotional spots, commentary for the second episode with some of the English caste and crew, clean opening and closing animation and a mini-manga the disc is well worth the price, new or used. Even the case has a profile insert of four of the characters and a glossary on the reverse side of the case jacket.

DIVERGENCE EVE takes place in the future when humankind has accomplished intergalactic space travel. Unfortunately, this knowledge has come with a price and sometimes something else comes through the gateways: giant, demonic beings dubbed Ghouls. To combat these creatures, the military has assembled a small cadre of large-breasted women designated Seraphim. Somehow central to this group is Misaki, who cannot pilot a mecha to save her life but is able to fight off a Ghoul using a hidden, quasi-mystical power which has not yet been explained.

This is a confusing series to start in on. The first episodes are the most frustrating, as the viewer is dropped in the middle of the action with no idea what is going on, and no sign of an explanation. I had to check to make sure I hadn't gotten the wrong volume or selected the wrong episode by mistake. Even after things settle down, the situation is revealed in a vague, disjointed way. Possibly it makes sense if you really think about it, but it doesn't seem worth the effort. The characters are bland and the animation average at best. The fan service is ridiculous; realistic motion is one thing (and welcome), but DIVERGENCE EVE lacks all restraint so as to be laughable. If the creators can't take the show seriously, how can the viewer?

All the elements in this series have been done before and better. If you want to see a group of women fighting a mysterious threat at the far end of the universe, there's Gall Force. If you want to see the story of a young woman's rise from novice to hero (and it seems that this is the direction this show is headed in, though I could be wrong) there is Gunbuster. Both of these are classic space operas full of heart where DIVERGENCE EVE feels hollow. Finally, if you just want to see boobs you can still do better with Amazing Nurse Nanako, which has the same director and character designer but is a comedy and is infinitely more entertaining. This creative team seems more suited to something lighter.

Extras on this DVD include clean opening and closing sequences, production sketches, and a "mini-manga" that was unreadable on my standard size television. The first episode has an alternate audio track in which producer Carl Macek talks to some of the English voice actors about the dubbing process.

I'm fan of "japanimation" and this series is good. The story starts a little bit slow but it gets better in each episode. I like the fact that there's five episodes in this dvd ( other dvd only have two or three ). The video and audio are great. It has some fan service: big sized girls, bouncing boobies and little nudity but once you're into the story, this go to second place.

Hopefully this is going to give you some really helpful tips about this series.

When this series first aired they showed the second to the last episode first. A lot of people complained about this and apparently after reading another review they followed the same pattern with the DVD release.

The fansub group that was doing this series originaly added pictures of the characters in this series and it sparked a huge debate. The banner was changed eventualy. The viewers complained about the series being on about the same level as Hentai.

On a frequent basis the main characters close will suddenly explode leaving her completely bare. I won't give you any details as to why if you do decide to watch this series.

This series in the end landed in my pile of never to watch again.

I will admit though the ending song is probably one of the best songs I have heard on any anime series. It's one that I want for my primary music collection.

Divergence Eve is a Frankenstein-monster like assemblage of parts: the story attempts to be hard science fiction (hard meaning it tries to rely on physics, rather than being a space opera ala Star Wars), the character designs are pure fanservice, full of girls with enormous chests, and this is combined with computer generated graphics which don't work well at all with the cel animated characters.

Even setting aside the mishmash of parts, Divergence Eve has some problems. First, the show is not told in chronological order: Episode 1 is, chronologically, somewhere around Episode 12. Thus, the start of the show throws you into a crisis with characters, problems, and even a setting which you don't know. Episode 2 then sets the stage, and clearly should have been the first episode. Also, the English dub is surprisingly poor, with some stilted performances, particularly in Episode 1. It improves quite a bit after the second episode, but it's odd hearing good actors perform so poorly. I suspect the actors had a hard time starting out with Episode 1, just as the viewers will.

With all that said, it's not a bad show. The story is actually pretty good, and a reasonable attempt at hard science fiction within the limits of anime. Frankly, what weighs this show down are the top-heavy girls. It's hard to take a serious story at face value when the girls bounce all over the place. There is also a fair amount of actual nudity--as opposed to mere bounciness--for those who want to avoid that. If you can wade through--or if you like--the character designs, Divergence Eve is worth watching. It just would have been much better if the parts fit together better.