Customer Reviews

Mezzo - Shell One

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

 

 

"Mezzo" is the latest entry in a rapidly growing genre, that of the cute and cutesy schoolgirl-types wielding an amazing arsenal of guns as well as some super-human action abilities. In this case, the cute young lady is Shaolin expert and Bruce Lee fan Suzuki Mikura, resplendent in her skin-tight orange jumpsuit and Colt GM.

Coming from the film "Mezzo Forte," creator Yasuomi Umetsu brings back the DSA (Danger Service Agency), an action-force for hire, supplying their services to anyone willing to pay, consisting of punk-haired techno-geek Harada Tomohisa, ageing ex-cop and leader Kurokawa Kenichi, and the aforementioned "girl with gun" Suzuki Mikura. A possible long-term new member of the cast is found in Elementary school student Asami, a shy girl who is being bullied by her classmates, but winds up in the middle of some DSA action.

"Mezzo" is long on action, and short on plot. This is clearly an action series, with dynamic fighting scenes, slow motion and reality-defying leaps and bullet dodging. Mikura has no problem throwing the hapless Asami out of the window of a five story building, sliding down the elevator shaft and then catching Asami back outside. All in a days work! This first series shows the team being hired by vengeance-seeking ghost and a sexy weather girl in basic one-shot adventures, but these are really just McGuffin cases, like transporting a stereotypical suitcase full of "something everyone wants" that serve little purpose other than to get the team in action.

The TV series "Mezzo" is much more toned down than the film "Mezzo Forte." There is no sex or nudity, very little fan service, and the violence is relatively non-graphic. Yasuomi Umetsu must have found these elements distracting and unnecessary. It is a bit of a surprise to see such a "clean" series after "Kite" and "Mezzo Forte."

Good for fans of stunning action, great character design and familiar simple plots. I liked it!

"Mezzo" is the latest entry in a rapidly growing genre, that of the cute and cutesy schoolgirl-types wielding an amazing arsenal of guns as well as some super-human action abilities. In this case, the cute young lady is Shaolin expert and Bruce Lee fan Suzuki Mikura, resplendent in her skin-tight orange jumpsuit and Colt GM.

Coming from the film "Mezzo Forte," creator Yasuomi Umetsu brings back the DSA (Danger Service Agency), an action-force for hire, supplying their services to anyone willing to pay, consisting of punk-haired techno-geek Harada Tomohisa, ageing ex-cop and leader Kurokawa Kenichi, and the aforementioned "girl with gun" Suzuki Mikura. A possible long-term new member of the cast is found in Elementary school student Asami, a shy girl who is being bullied by her classmates, but winds up in the middle of some DSA action.

"Mezzo" is long on action, and short on plot. This is clearly an action series, with dynamic fighting scenes, slow motion and reality-defying leaps and bullet dodging. Mikura has no problem throwing the hapless Asami out of the window of a five story building, sliding down the elevator shaft and then catching Asami back outside. All in a days work! This first series shows the team being hired by vengeance-seeking ghost and a sexy weather girl in basic one-shot adventures, but these are really just McGuffin cases, like transporting a stereotypical suitcase full of "something everyone wants" that serve little purpose other than to get the team in action.

The TV series "Mezzo" is much more toned down than the film "Mezzo Forte." There is no sex or nudity, very little fan service, and the violence is relatively non-graphic. Yasuomi Umetsu must have found these elements distracting and unnecessary. It is a bit of a surprise to see such a "clean" series after "Kite" and "Mezzo Forte."

Good for fans of stunning action, great character design and familiar simple plots. I liked it!

Mezzo is the TV version of the OVA - "Mezzo Forte". Its not as bloody as Mezzo Forte, telling the story of the 3-person private security team called the Dangerous Service Agency, but I found myself laughing at the funny parts and the animation is well above average.

Mikura and her partners run DSA - which stands for Danger Service Agency - who do almost anything dangerous for the right amount of cash. While there is a lot of action, and fan service, the artwork seems a tad choppy or too still, like there was a low cell count during much of the episodes. Also, some of the plot lines, like the one about aliens, were lame. The last two out of the five episodes DID seem to have a better, strong, story - maybe because they used two episodes to tell the story from different points of view? The two-episode story also used Mezzo's background, from the OVA, and seemed a tad touching at times.
Extras, like the opening/closing animation, ADV previews and production sketches were nice, but even after the first five action-packed episodes the whole series already feels weak and the disc did not seem worth the money I dished out.
Get it used and only if you're already a big fan of Mezzo Forte/Kite anime. Suggested for 15 and up.

Mezzo is an odd study in contrasts. The female character designs in this show ooze cuteness, yet it is a bloody affair. The real star of the show is Mikura, a pink-haired girl who seems rather adorable except for the fact that she can wipe the floor with just about anybody and swears like a sailor.

Mezzo is the adventures of the DSA--the Danger Service Agency--a group consisting of an ex-cop with a knowledge of the underworld, a hardware genius who builds androids in his free time, and Mikura, who's the brawn of the outfit. Together, they take on dangerous jobs of any sort.

The show itself is much like Mikura. It has a cute side, with a significant amount of humor, but that light-heartedness can evaporate instantly as blood starts flying and bodies start dropping. While it appears episodic, over the course of its 13 episode run (of which this disc contains the first 5), the individual pieces seen in the episodes weave together for a real conclusion. It's a nice piece of work overall, and the English dub is superb, with all the leads nailing their characters from the get-go.

This show is a followup to the two episode series Mezzo Forte, but you don't need to have any knowledge of that--where Forte is relevant, the backstory is briefly explained. In terms of sex and nudity, this show is much tamer than Forte, although there is a scene here and there. The show is bloody, and Mikura does swear like crazy, so anyone who doesn't like swearing or violence should stay away.

Finally, this version contains a box for all three discs in the series. While the artwork on the box is attractive, the box itself is flimsy cardboard and not worth paying a premium for. I'd recommend saving a few dollars and getting the regular version.

I was disappointed that this show Mezzo was nothing like it's hentai version Mezzo Forte and Kite. To me that doesn't look right seeing the same character with two different sides of life. In theis series she suppost to be some kind of an action star or whatever the violence wasn't even bloody that suck. Just one more thing I want to add if amazon can sell Mezzo then they should sell Mezzo Forte.