Customer Reviews

Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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!!!

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...

A bit about my background. I like some anime, but I'm no otaku. Fact is, I rented this because I am getting a PhD in Egyptology, and at the time I saw this, was heavily studying Alexander the Great and his successors.

That said, I liked this movie. I liked how it took the story of Alexander and tried to make a fantasy space-opera out of it. It works a lot of the time. They didn't even have to exaggerate too much. I laughed when they got things wrong and laughed harder when they got things right. It rewarded my scholarship and entertained me. The art direction and character design are ridiculous, I got used to it. Besides, don't tell me that androgyny and flexible sexuality has no place in an Alexander story.

The later volumes of the series are not as entertaining, and they waver from what I like about the historical character too much for me to ignore, and I was dissapointed in the ending. But if I find this volume on sale for a discount somewhere, I probably will pick it up.

I can't recommend this to anime fans. They might hate it, they might like it, but I just don't have enough background. And I can't recommend it to the casual observer, because the plot is kooky even for someone with graduate-level knowledge of the subject.

I will recommend it to anyone who knows a thing or two about Alexander the Great and has an open mind to see what Chung and his associates did with the story. Listen with the Japanese-language track and sing along to the ludicrous J-pop love song theme, or use the English track with its slightly more appropriate theme song. Either way, rent this at your local video store before you buy.

I caught this series on Cartoon Network from day 1, and loved every minute of it. I immediately bought this dvd the day it came out, and have enjoyed it even more. I saw 2 reviews complaining about it having only 4 eps, but that is standard for anime. Ok complainers, do you buy the Dragonball Z dvds that have 3 eps on it, and is about 86 vols long? I don't, but this series I think is worth it. Anyway, there is a lot of weird situations in it, and the art is different, which it is nice to see a change, but this series is not for everyone. Watch it on CN or rent it first, then if you like it, buy it if you want. I can't wait to own the whole series.

I am an anime freak. Actually, I'm an animation freak. This series is absolutly beautiful. There will not be one single momment that you are watching this series when you ask yourself whether or not it was worth the money - YOU WILL LOVE IT. Can you say breath-taking?

Reign: The Conqueror was developed by some of the most creative and influential forces in anime today. The anime features character and concept designs by Peter Chung, (Creator of MTV's Aeon Flux); is produced by Rintaro (Astro Boy, Metropolis) and Masao Murayama (Trigun, Cardcaptor Sakura); and showcases animation by the famed Madhouse studio (Trigun, Vampire Hunter D). Each episode is a visual feast of cutting-edge animation that follows characters along an intricate plotline highlighted by majestic battle sequences.
DVD 1 SYNOPSES:
Episode 1
A Prophecy Born This Day
In the 4th century A.D, a pagan shaman prophesies that Olympias, Queen of Macedonia, will give birth to a baby who will grow up to destroy the world. Enter Alexander ...
Episode 2
The Thunder Of Battle
The battle between Macedonia and Greece begins ... and, as a result of Alexander's aggressive tactics, the Macedonian cavalry wins the day. Upon his return to Macedonia, Alexander is feted by the people as a greater hero than his father, King Philip II ... a fact which does not go unnoticed by Attalos, advisor to the King ...
Episode 3
A Failure of Diplomacy
Persia is the center of the known world. Alexander discovers that Athens has sent a secret mission to Persia to seek an alliance against Macedonia. He journeys to Babylon, the capital of Persia, and begins to wreak some serious havoc ...
Episode 4
Ascension To The Throne
Alexander saves King Philip from an assassin's arrow, but the King then falls victim to a zombie-like soldier who stabs and kills him. At nearly the same time, Eurydice, who is the Queen and a daughter of Attalos, and her baby, who would become the successor to the throne of Macedonia, are killed by a curse cast on them by Olympias, the former wife of the now-dead King, Philip II ...

This series will have you staring in awe at your television - and wanting more. Bummer that it's only 13 episodes... ^_^

If you like fast moving, fantasy based sci-fi, awesome fighting, beautiful scenery, imaginitive characters and just a great viewing experience, get this DVD.

If you liked Aeon Flux (either the Liquid TV shorts or the longer episodes), then you'll like Reign. If you have no idea what Aeon Flux is, then you should watch it or an ep of Reign before committing to buying the DVD. The animation style is very unique, and not everyone likes it. It doesn't look like what people have come to expect from "anime." It's really sort of a post-anime style. I'm not sure why there are all those other people's names in the credits, because this show has Peter Chung's fingerprints all over it.

The plot is decent and makes the viewer pay attention. The show actually makes you think about what is going on. In fact, some of the plot is *gasp* ambiguous. So if Trigun's plot taxed your noggin, maybe Reign is too far in the deep end for you. The one improvement over Aeon Flux is that the plot makes a heck of a lot more sense and hangs together throughout the series.

As others have mentioned, the clothing choices are somewhat bizarre (similar to Aeon Flux), and the sexual persuasion of some of the characters is ambiguous (not sure what someone who has a sexual preference for snakes is called), so if you're not comfortable with that, maybe you should move on.

A unique and cutting-edge animated series.

I found this last night at the 0.99 cent store (well the $0.9999 round up to a dollar store). The part that suckered me in was the Director of Metropolis, and the Creator of Aeon Flux. The part that really set the mood of the series to me was the theme song, after that my attention pretty much wandered off. Its pretty clear why this ended up at the $0.99 cent store.

This IS My First Review. But I Own More Anima, Cartoons, And Movies. ON DVD Than Block Buster Video Has Tapes, I Think I can Make A Good Call! THIS REIGN IS THE BEST!! A MUST HAVE "I WOULD GOLD PLATE IT {IF I COULD}" Others have talked about Style Ect. BUT LET ME TELL YOU IT'S ALL GREAT! I CAN ONLY HOPE MORE LIKE IT ARE COMMING. So Quit Wasting Time Buy IT. SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE and forgive the older movies for seeming less GREAT.THIS IS A SET TO BE WATCHED 2,3 TIMES TO TAKE IT ALL IN! So Understand If Some Don't Get-It The First Time. IT AN'T BUGS BUNNY!! {I Do Still Like} BUT REIGN 1-4 I'LL Be Playing For My Grandkids 1 Day......NUFF SAID!

This would be it, and what a child it is! Now, I have not yet seen the DVD edition, but based on the first two edited episodes I caught on Adult Swim, this series is going to kick tail, and the look of it is great on the television, so the DVD can only enhance it. This is a great watch for anyone who likes Aeon Flux, anime, carnage or just a whacked-out story with rich, luscious visuals. What are you waiting for? Buy this now!