Product Details

• Actors: *
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Tokyopop
• DVD Release Date: May 27, 2003
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007K00O
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,714 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Funimation Prod Inc Release Date: 02/25/2003 Run time: 120 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars O-M-G, July 14, 2010

By 

M. Zveris - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension (DVD)

This series can be best summed up as a train wreck, you know you shouldn't watch but you just can't bring yourself to look away. I would, honestly, have given this show a negative rating if it weren't for the fact that: while the plot is full of liberties taken with the life of Alexander the Great, the characters are all hermaphroditic in appearance, the voice acting is grating, and it's generally tripe...it isn't horrid. The plot is coherent though twisted, loosely historically based, and at times nothing more than an attempt to reach the heights of vulgarity. The art is while not my style in the least (men in thongs, strange sexually charged scenes, overuse of purposeful body morphing) still artistic and well drawn. The voice acting is annoying but the voices fit the characters.

This is one of those anime that is probably going to be "make or break" based on your taste. I liked Aeon Flux (also Peter Chung's work) but despised Reign the Conqueror. I am not going to go into the plot because you can find it on Wikipedia, ANN, or most of these reviews. It is unique, I will give it that! At times the plot is even engaging it's just whether or not you can pay attention to the plot while you suffer through the rest of the goings on.

I felt like this entire series was reaching for greatness and tried to take on too much, it was like watching a teenager attempt to be edgy which always fails miserably. There was so much shock value that sitting there I just felt like I was waiting for the next over the top, ridiculous liberty to be taken with the characters, storyline, or the visual presentation. I would recommend this series to a pre-teen or teenage boy, I think they would find it entertaining and while it is absolutely a mature (rated R or higher) series it isn't really worse than what children watch on television these days.

I was incredibly disappointed in Peter Chung in regard to this project because I do believe it could have been fantastic, and he was very close to making it there. I am not sure what happened to Reign the Conqueror, and I'm not sure I want to know, but I was disappointed. In the end it was just too much for me to swallow and too badly pulled together for me to appreciate even though it is outside the realm of my usual taste in anime. There were good elements that just ended up being lost in the muddle of this overly ambitious series.

As I said earlier this is one of those series I believe you will either love or hate, and because there seems to be no real middle ground I highly suggest you watch some of the episodes before you commit to purchasing this show. Or, if you want to see how much your stomach can handle pick up the whole show you may even be able to show it to some friends as an example of what they should never, ever, buy.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical anime, but still one of the best I've seen, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension (DVD)

As other reviewers have said, if you didn't like Aeon Flux then you may not like the artwork of Reign. My wife couldn't get beyond the character styling until I forced her to sit through an entire episode. Now she's hooked! Although different, the styling has its moments where the quality shines through. The English voice track is excellent, and fits both the characters and adult mood.

Yes, this is very much an adult-oriented anime; for reasons other than the nudity, etc. Although obviously based on several factual/historical elements of Alexander's life, it deviates in many ways that I'll leave for the viewer to discover. This imaginative reworking and time-forwarding of Alexander's life is still completely captivating. It manages to place all of the elements that made Alexander the larger-than-life historical figure into a completely different context, yet still preserves the essence of his life that has drawn readers to the story of "Alexander the Great" for centuries.

Reign is another beautiful facet in the growing collection of world-class anime on DVD that should rank favorably among the other greats like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Hellsing, Vampire Hunter D. It's a highly imaginative and inspiring anime!!!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gorgeous anime, February 28, 2003

By 

verbminx (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension (DVD)

I don't have the DVD yet, and like the last reviewer I am basing my review on the episodes which have aired on Cartoon Network (unusually for anime, the show has had its US premiere on television, rather than video).

This is not stereotypical anime. It's closely based on the story of Alexander the Great, who was tutored by Aristotle, and deals with a prophecy that he will "destroy the world." The usual big-eye style is not in evidence, because characters and general designs have been done by Peter Chung, who did the gorgeous and strange AEON FLUX in the 1990s. His art resembles that of the great fantasy illustrators of the early 20th century, such as Kay Nielsen, as well as more recent illustrators like Michael William Kaluta who were influenced by the earlier greats. Figures tend to have a lush facial beauty and an elongated form. Costumes in REIGN will be familiar to AF devotees, as they are a slightly ancient Grecian take on the cyber-fetishistic-armor clothes worn by characters in the earlier series.

But all the visual awe in the world can't save a series with a weak plot or a lack of dramatic tension, and fortunately, REIGN doesn't suffer from those problems. The story involves the attempts of the Pythagorean Cult, supreme mathematicians, to assassinate Alexander before he can "destroy the world," the reasons for this prophecy (which have to do with a secret ritual attended by Alexander's parents on the island of Samotrace), a lost jewel of unimaginable power called the Platohedron, the evil plans of Alexander's witchy mother Olympias, plotting among courtiers, and Alexander's rivalry with Persia's great king Darius. There is excellent tension and drama, and some fantastic combat scenes. My only real complaint here is that the character of Roxanne, Alexander's love interest, is weak and underdeveloped. One more episode in the series could have done more with her. The real Roxanne was supposed to have been very intelligent and learned, but REIGN's Roxanne mostly just sits around looking demure and/or perturbed.

So, if you love animation, or are interested in history but won't mind the great liberties taken with Alexander the Great's life story, this is a must-see...