Product Details

• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, 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: Geneon [Pioneer]
• DVD Release Date: September 20, 2005
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009Q0EW4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,502 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New breeze in the Mecha animes!, January 26, 2007

By 

Niko - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fafner - Ultimate Sacrifice (Vol. 2) (DVD)

OK people, what is Fafner?

Before I get into the story, I will try to answer a hypothetical question first: Who should not and who should watch Fafner.

To begin with, if you are a die-hard fan of Evangelion or Gundam etc. than most probably you will not want to watch this one because it has some similarities with the previous mention animes indeed; and you most probably will `blow away' a great anime like this. On the other hand, people who would like to watch a very good anime, with strong storyline, twists, romance, lots of action and of course Mechas (belongs to the so called sci-fi category) than you should watch this one.

Let us proceed to the storyline:

It starts with the life of people, teenagers going to school, adults to work etc. by introducing the viewer to their everyday life. The place where the story starts is called Tatsumiya Island. To make the long story short, aliens attack earth and obviously the Island gets under attack, devastating their lives and throwing the teenagers into battle; basically, because they are the ones who are able to fly the Mechas. Additionally, power games will start to evolve, exhausting battles all over the globe will occur, between sort of government and military parties etc. and all the teenagers are caught in the middle of all this. As the series proceed, many questions will be raised (which will be answered - directly or indirectly - in the end of the series), the bounds between the main protagonists will become stronger (and of course romance), the viewer will witness all the emotional rollercoaster that these youngsters will go through and some of them will even die.

This sums up the story. I could get into more details and tell you what will go on in every episode but I refrained myself from doing this because I believe that if someone decides to watch the series than I would give away the entire suspense and twists of it.

Overall critique about the series:

If you are into Mechas for a while, then most probably you have watched Mecha series and are familiar with the common pattern that this kind of animes are following: teenagers are the ones who can fly the Mechas, alien invasion, battles, romance, power games etc (as for the good guy vs. bad guy, in the Mecha series this usually presents a grey zone). Therefore, why should someone watch Fafner? If you are not into animes for a long time, should you watch Fafner?

The answer would be yes. First of all, because of its animation, which is very good. Second, because of its storyline, which although is based on the common pattern that is been explained above, yet, it manages to bring forth new ideas, a solid and strong storyline, many twists and mainly till the final episodes you will not be able to foresee its final conclusion. Even if you are a die-hard fan of Evangelion, RahXephon etc. this one is definitely worth a watch from you. As for the action, the series are packed with it. Third, because of its dub; in other words, if you belong to the category of people that instead of Japanese would prefer the English dub, it is very good done and professional orchestrated. Thumbs up!

Apart from it, if you buy the box set or the complete collection, then the box is exactly the one you see in the picture, which is very strong, like a shelf and doesn't brake easily. As for extras, the usual stuff like previews of other animes, not credit opening/ending and so forth.

To the most obvious question: Buying it or not? To be honest, if you can afford the money than I will definitely recommend these series to you, if, you can not afford the money than try to rent it and watch it.

To conclude these series are highly recommended!

I hope that I could help you...

4.0 out of 5 stars Paradise Lost, October 23, 2006

By 

James Vaughn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fafner - Ultimate Sacrifice (Vol. 2) (DVD)

Life just hasn't been the same for the children of Tatsumiya Island. Since the island came under attack by the mysterious Festum, Kazuki Makabe and his friends have become embroiled in the struggle for survival and the search for the truth. While Kazuki has gradually settled into his role as Fafner pilot, his friends, on the other hand, seek a balance. Some seek to become avid Fafner pilots and do their part to protect the island. Others, like frail Shoko Hazama, wish to retain some illusion of normalcy. Kept from expressing her feelings for Kazuki by her chronic illness, Shoko seeks to bring her friends together again from time to time, if only to grasp briefly for the way life used to be.

But peace is fleeting and evasive when the island and its many mysteries once again become the object of intense scrutiny, not from the alien Festum but rather the Neo United Nations. Faced with the potential loss of Alvis' autonomy, Commander Makabe, Kazuki's father, opts to capitulate to the Secretary General of the Neo UN by offering her the newly restored Fafner Mark Zecks. A UN convoy is dispatched to Tatsumiya Island immediately, only to come under fire from a Festum while in transit. Makabe again sorties Kazuki in the Fafner Mark Elf to rescue the convoy. Before long, however, the residents of the island are again besieged, this time by a larger and more menacing Festum that immediately assails Alvis with all of its might. With Kazuki fighting a desperate battle at sea, and the island's defenses crumbling, young Shoko Hazama defies her mother's wishes and climbs aboard the Fafner Mark Zecks to do battle with the new invader. She goes willingly, born of the wings of a promise....

Thus begins the second volume of Fafner. Like the previous installment, Volume 2 is short on answers but brimming with the kind of action and drama that should keep mecha fans coming back for more. While this brings us to episode 8, there are still many questions surrounding Tatsumiya Island and its gifted inhabitants, and many more yet to be revealed. Despite the lack of initial clarity, there are some telling hints of things to come. A heart-wrenching, pre-launch conversation between Shoko and her mother offers clues to the true nature of Tatsumiya Island's family units, and perhaps why only the children are chosen as candidates for Fafner duty. New Fafner units make their debut along with some new weapon systems. Even the Festum begin to appear in different varieties. And there is talk of an Arcadian Project, of which Tatsumiya Island is but one of several such places that have remained hidden from the eyes of man and Festum alike.

Hopefully these mysteries will be addressed in one form or another in the near future. But for the time being, Fafner continues to gather momentum as an entertaining saga in the vein of anime great Neon Genesis Evangelion.