Customer Reviews

Saber Marionette J (Ultimate Collection Box)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Saber Marionette J is one of the only anime series that actually made me almost cry. Saber Marionette J takes place on Terra 2, an all male planet. Because it is an all male planet, marionettes were created to replace the human female. The main character is a man named Otaru. One day, Otaru somehow(don't want to ruin the story)woke up a marionette named Lime. Lime, unlike other marionettes, has emotions. Otaru also awakens two other marionettes(Cherry and Bloodberry) with emotions as well. And thats just a summary about the series(Not very good huh?).

Anyway, the animation of J and J Again was excellent(J was better). The animation for J to X looked more simple and childish. The English VAs are different for each series. J has a good dub, J Again has an average(good VAs, but not accurate)dub, and J to X's dub is terrible(stay away from it). If your listening to the Japanese, you won't even notice(by the way, the Japanese VAs are good)! The songs are great. The opening song for J, J Again, & J to X and closing song for J and J to X are sung by Megumi Hayashibara. You'll most likely start buying SMJ soundtracks.

Now about the box. The box is strudy, but too tight so you may have to tip over the box and get the dvds. There are 14 DVDs in seven 2-discs sets. The box and cover art looks nice and the box has the signature of the character designer and is individually numbered. There is no volence and not a lot of sexual situations. Even though, this series for preteens to adults. There are some things to complain about SMJ, but this series has a good plot, lovable characters, excellent music, great animation(I'm talking about J and Again)so it is a must see for all anime fans.

To start off I will be breaking this review into three seperate sections

1)Saber Marionette J

2)Saber Marionette J again

3)Saber MArionette J to X

1)Saber J, was one of the best animes I have ever seen. The story was funny and dramatic. The series made me burst out laughing and brought a tear to my eye. Ounce the story gets going, which is in the second disk, if you have the import version, it just becomes just a solid and wonderful piece art. The english voices, I felt, were fine. Otaru's voice could have been done better and the Japenese voice do sound better, but the english cast does a great job really get into character. All around, Saber J was a fantastic anime and I will whatch it again and again.

-I give Saber Marinette J a 5 out of 5

2)Now moveing on to Saber J again. In this ova version, which occurs after the first series, anybody will quickly relize the voice changes in the cast. Otaru's voice could have been better and Lime's take some getting used to, but as for the rest of the cast there fine. Saber J again still had comedey and dramatic scenes wich made up for the change in the voice cast and turned out to be a good 6 episodes.

-I give Saber Marinette J again a 4 out of 5

3)Saber J to X thou is where this collection goes to crap. The J to X season is all filler episodes up until episode 11 or 12. Ther is some meaning in some of the episodes, but anyone who had seen Saber J would be disappointed. Ounce the series picks up it does better, but yet again the cast changes and this time they ruined Cherry, my favoirte character. On top of that, the animation style and character desighn also changed which, in my opinion, sucked. If I were to recommend the Saber series to a friend I would tell them to only watch Saber J and Saber J again.

-I give Saber Marionette J to X 3 out of 5

All in all the series and collection is a great buy. Just to own one of the 5000 made is cool. I would just keep the second season as a collectors idem and countinue to whatch the first season and ova over and over again. I know I am.

When I bought this dvd, I had never seen any episodes. All I had to go on were reviews from the discs and hope. After purchasing and viewing this set, I can honestly say that spent my money well. The series all start out kind of comical, but as they go on they make an effortless transition into pure action with drama. I watched the entire series in about four days (thats a total of 57 episodes) and i wanted more. There are only two things that I can say that I don't like is the voice acting on the j to x series. It seems monotone and dry. They sound like their reading cue cards not a movie script. Although the actual story line makes up for the lack of acting. The other thing is that one of my favorite marionettes Marine is only around in the six episode ova. All in all its one of my favorite series.

Saber Marionette J has to be one of the most heartfelt anime series ever made. Though dismissed as just some male fantasy of having three gorgeous android girls fawn over some guy, SMJ is nothing like that! Well, maybe a little... but for most of the time, you forget that Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry aren't human. The story itself is touching, and by the end of SMJ to X had me in tears. SMJ Again and SMJ to X, are just as heartfelt, and I'd dare to say, better than the first SMJ. The story lines continue, and you get to know all the characters much better.
As for the DVD...
This is an incredibly good buy, considering you get 57 episodes ..., and the series cannot disappoint you! It has something for everyone- cute girls, funny boys, love, action, and makes you think about humanity as a whole. If you've always wanted to see Saber Marionette J, but were daunted by how much there was of the series, get the boxed set! You get every episode and fun extras that will make you love it all the more. So if youve got some extra $ and want something well worth every penny, buy it. You won't be disappointed!

OH MY GOD! This was, by far, one of the best animes I've ever seen. The storyline was not only funny but dramatic (a very dangerous combination) and the voice work was awesome. Even though it took some getting used to each English Cast (Which changed with each series) I found they all did great. I'll admit that SM JtoX had the weakest of the VA's, but I still loved it anyway (it had it's bad moments, but still did a good job). Of all the characters, I love Lime. She is so cute, and all three of the VA's did her great (I couldn't believe the SM JtoX Lime was the same voice as Reece the blue devil from Zoids Chaotic Century). The Humor was hilarious. I could watch it over and over and still crack up. The drama had me on the brink of tears once or twice. The storyline is very original and movie. The animation was great (if you'd exclude the obvious CGI-house scenes)

The one thing I love about anime is that, unlike some american spin-off's or series sequals, animes never done anything less than equal if not surpass their predecessors (I.E. DB to DBZ, Sailor Moon to it's spin-offs, and especially Saber Marionette J). I highly recommend this DVD set for all. If you never watched an anime before but would like to, START WITH THIS ONE! You'll never regret it.

This limited item (5000 total made) should be picked up now. It's an excellent value (14 discs, roughly 1400 minutes) on a strong show.

What is Saber Marionette J? Technically, this comprises three related series: SMJ, SMJ Again, and SMJ to X. The premise is simple: a colony world populated only by men, who build female robots (the marionettes). The hero, Otaru Mamiya, unwittingly activates three special marionettes who possess real personalities and emotions. SMJ is a direct ancestor of more recent shows, such as Hand Maid May and Mahoromatic. It is a typical, but lively and enjoyable action/comedy combined with a harem show (as Otaru's marionettes are all in love with him). The marionettes are appealing (although the real show-stealers are the three enemy marionettes who also possess personalities). One running gag which might raise some eyebrows is the constant (but unwelcome) advances of one male character toward the hero, Otaru. Another issue is that, moving from SMJ to Again, the level of fanservice jumps enormously--there are several long sequences of SMJ Again in which multiple marionettes are parading about in very little.

The original SMJ is clearly the strongest part of this collection. The quality declines in the sequels, though SMJ Again is still quite good, and J to X is better than average. One significant problem, if you're watching the dub, is that each program has a different cast, and the casting choices get progressively worse. The SMJ dub is better than SMJ Again, and dramatically better than J to X. All are watchable, however, and might not even be worth mentioning if they weren't placed right next to each other (and the difference made more jarring to the ear). If you're watching in Japanese, this isn't an issue at all.

If you can get this set, get it. It's a good, sometimes great, show at an unbelievable value.

The Saber Marionette J Ultimate Collection actually consists of 14 discs in 7 keepcases for the following series:

Saber Marionette J

Saber Marionette J Again

Saber Marionette J to X

The collector's box is individually signed and numbered by co-creator and character designer, Tsukasa Kotobuki, and is limited to 5,000 pieces.

This would have been a true Ultimate Collection, if Bandai could find a way to include "Saber Marionette R" which is licensed by Media-Blasters.

One of my all time favorite anime series. The characters are great as well as the plot. However I must suggest that anyone who watches this watch it in japanese with Engligh subtitles!!! The voices are so much better, Lime's is absolutly adorable. The English dubed voices just plain suck. To get the full effect, use the japanese audio with subtitles!!! A must see!!

Excellent shape, and the entire series itself was a great watch and I was glad to receive one of the 5000 copies that was made for this whole Ultimate Collective Edition copy of Saber Marionette J series. It's a must have if your a fan of anime itself.

Very complete box set, with some special features like textless openings and endings, and nice menus, It has the First season (SMJ), the OVA and the second season (SMJ to X).
First season and OVA are in english, spanish and Japanese., the second season is in Jap, and Eng.