Customer Reviews

Star Blazers - Comet Empire: Parts 1-6

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got the first episode of the Comet Empire series, and I was very disappointed. The Macrovision blocker bleeds into the "regular" picture. The sound is awful. It sounds like they taped it off an old tv broadcast and THEN transferred it onto DVD. After the first series was released, I was SO looking forward to seeing the second.
The only reason I gave this 2 stars was for the sentimentality factor. It is great to see an old favorite. It's a shame the company who put this out didn't bother making this worth the $150 price tag.

When I was a kid I admit to giving the second series of "Star Blazers" a pass. I watched it once, then waited patiently for "The Quest for Iscandar" episodes to start again. I think I now understand why. While the first series gave me an emitonally nostalgic buzz, it is a fairly simple and straight-forward story filled with great ideas and outstanding concepts that are easier for kids to digest. But with "The Comet Empire" the characters are so well-developed and the plotting so intricate that when I was young it was simply too much information. Today, however, I prefer this series for a multitude of reasons. The most noticable difference is that the animation has improved ten-fold! There are many scenes throughout the series that rival current-day anime. While "The Quest for Iscandar" was loaded with great ideas, the plotting sometimes took a backseat to inspiration. But here the story is more fluid and diverse, with interesting sub-plots, and with even more great ideas. While the first series concentrated on introducing the main characters and developing depth of character, this second series expands on those characteristics while giving more screen-time to the rest of the cast. Sandor and Orion and Eager and Homer all get more attention, as do the newer characters, like the colorful Sgt. Knox and his Space Marines; the charming Leader Desslok makes his return, as well. As an adult, I enjoy "The Comet Empire" more for the simple fact that there is more going on. Aboard the war machine that is "The Comet Empire" there is devious behavior and political maneuvering, with certain individuals vying for the throne. While at Earth Headquarters, the actions of The Star Force are taken as mutiny at first, but later embraced as their last defense. The complexity of emotion and plot kept me interested all the way to the end. This wasn't the nostalgia-rush I got from the first series, but seriously, everything else here is an improvement. Although, I still gave "The Quest for Iscandar" 5 stars. This is easily one of the best animated series of all-time, and I highly recommend both series. "The Quest for Iscandar" for unbridled nostalgia, and "The Comet Empire" for an excellent adventure story.

Like everyone else who worships this series, I too lived and breathed Star Blazers in my youth. Right after school, at 3:30 on Channel 11 (but occasionally in the morning at 7:00), was my time to get lost in another world. In fact I vividly recall my mother, during the show's morning performances, waking me up for school by turning on my little black and white tv, and I would be roused from my slumber to the theme song: "We're off to outer space..." What a great way to start a day! I tear up just thinking about it. And of course my friends and I would discuss that day's episode at school. Unforgettable, irreplacable memories.
Growing up has not lessened the experience one iota, since Star Blazers contains all the drama and excitement of any adult tv show, without the language and nudity (though apparently some skin existed in the original Japanese version). The character development is staggering (due to the amazing voice actors); the frustration of loss and the elation of victory is palpable.
I prefer the Comet Empire Series only slightly more than the Iscandar series because the artwork is a little better, though neither of them have truly bad artwork. It's not the hi-tech modern anime that we're used to now, but rather the acorn from which it grew. The scene at the beginning of the series where the Star Force is gathered at Captain Avatar's Memorial and the new Andromeda battleship flies toward them covered in lights was quite an advanced piece of work for the time, but that sort of technique wasn't used often in the series.
The dvd extras with the original voice actors is too good to be true, and it's a shame they weren't used on the Bolar Wars series. I will not watch it due to that little detail. It just isn't the same. Wildstar, Venture, Nova, Sandor, Conroy, Orion, et al. are forever to be associated with the voices from the first 2 series.
Even though I realize the Argo should have been destroyed 100 times over with the damage it received (especially from the Comet Empire's "hidden" ship), I will not let that minor technicality sway my opinion of this remarkable, intelligent, moving story. The music is great, the voice actors make you truly feel close to the characters, and the drama and heroism is unmatched by any other "mere cartoon".

Those of you who've read my review of the first series know how I feel about Star Blazers. This series languished in my faded memory for 20 years before I found it on DVD. And then it exploded any expectations I had by being magnificent and beautiful -- one of the best sci-fi series .... heck, one of the best series period to ever hit the small screen.

The second season details the struggle against the awful Comet Empire. The peace and tranquility bought by the Argo's victory over Gamilon is shattered when a mysterious comet wends its way toward the solar system. At the same time, a garbled desperate message reaches Earth and the Star Force reunites to investigate and find out just what the threat to Earth is.

Once again, the talented writers have found the right balance of thinking big and writing small. The story is epic -- monumental. And yet they never lose sight of the human drama. Amidst the stunning battle at Saturn, the Star Force's desperate fight on the surface of Telezart and the final apocalyptic confrontation, we still get those little moments that make Star Blazers so amazing -- Wildstar's developement into a capable commander, the tension between him and Sergeant Knox and a touching tender love story between Trelaina and Mark Venture that brings tears to the eyes of the most cynical viewer.

I wish that someone had spent the time and money restoring the video and audio. The quality of the material is poor. The audio fades in and out, the video has flecks and spots and warps. The problem is the source material. No one imagined anyone would care about this series in 2003 and so no one bothered to preserve it.

But you know what? By episode 10, I didn't even notice. The story had swept me away and I could just ignore the poor quality of the audio/video and embrace the story with the same rapture I did at ten years of age.

The extras on the DVD are even better than last time. They include not only an overview of Earth, the Comet Empire and the weaponry, but interesting interview with the cast members. These people were struggling actors who did what seemed a throwaway job. And they're suprised and moved to find out how much the series meant to the viewers.

But again, this is just a bonus. The real flesh of this collection is the best animated series to hit the small screen. Once again, I advise you to jump in with both feet. You won't be disappointed.

The Star Blazers/Comet Empire Saga is a classic, epic, dramatic anime masterpiece. A follow-up to the Star Blazers/Iscandar Quest storyline, it is a sequel of great merit (in terms of plot, characterization, art, and musical score). Voyager Entertainment transferred the Iscandar Quest onto DVD and produced a winner in terms of video and audio quality, DVD extras, as well as packaging. Is it reasonable to expect the same production values in this Comet Empire DVD release? Yes, but you won't get it in a most crucial respect. I specifically refer to (and condemn) the audio "quality," which is abysmal and worse-than-mediocre; in fact, I was shocked to encounter such poor, smothered sound. And if you ever find that you are too, Yamato fan, try contacting Voyager politely, but firmly about this surprising and significant flaw; I did. And maybe you'll get an explanation; I didn't. Moral: Think twice before you invest in this expensive set from Voyager--your dividends will never be maximized with the product in its current, disgraceful form (released November 5, 2002).

Star Blazers - The Comet Empire - The Complete Series 2 Collection is a DVD box set that contains six DVDs. All twenty-six episodes that comprise the second Star Blazers series are included. Unfortunately, Voyager Entertainment did not go to as much effort to remaster these episodes as they did the episodes for the first series. This means that the audio can be rather soft and muffled at times, and the picture quality is also grainy-looking at times. Some of the discs have problems with the navigation menu; if you select a section of the episode you want to see and watch it, the disc will return to that menu instead of continuing on when you reach the end of the section.

The first disc contains the first five episodes of the series, as well as three bonus features. The first bonus feature is a "Star Force Crew Roster"; this has a page for each character that includes their name, a write-up about them, what their name in the original Japanese series is, and line art pictures of the character. The second feature is "Planet Earth 2201 A.D.," which includes pictures and write-ups of the city where the Earth Defense Forces are stationed and the offworld operations taking place. The third bonus feature is a preview for the second DVD of episodes for the second series.

The second disc contains four episodes, as well as four bonus features. The first bonus feature is "The Faces Behind the Voices"; this is the first part of an interview with Ken Meseroll and Eddie Allen, the voices for Derek Wildstar and Desslok. The second bonus feature is "Star Force Equipment"; this has the names, pictures, and descriptive write-ups for the equipment used by the Star Force and the Space Marines. The third bonus feature is "Inside the Argo," which explains the modifications made to the Argo since the journey to Iscandar. The final bonus feature is "Desslok and the Gamilons," which explains what happened to them after the end of the first series, and includes character bios and mecha details.

The third disc contains four episodes, as well as four bonus features. The first bonus feature is the second part of the interview with Ken Meseroll and Eddie Allen. The second bonus feature is "Comet Empire: Masters and Underlings"; this includes names, write-ups, Japanese names, and line art for the major characters from the Comet Empire. The third bonus feature is "Comet Empire: The Fleet," and it includes names, pictures, write-ups, and measurements for the major ships in the Comet Empire's fleet. The final bonus feature is "Comet Empire: The Arsenal"; it's a lot like the bonus feature about the fleet, except the focus of this feature are the various fighter ships and tanks.

The fourth disc contains four episodes, as well as three bonus features. The first bonus feature is the first part of an interview with Tom Tweedy and Amy Howard Wilson, the voice actors for Mark Venture and Nova. The second bonus feature is "Planet Telezart," which includes pictures and write-ups about the planet, Trelaina, and Trelaina's home. The third bonus feature is "Comet Empire: Gatlantis City," which includes pictures and write-ups about the various sections of the Comet Empire (the city on top, the lower hemisphere, and the Dreadnaught Battleship).

The fifth disc contains four episodes, as well as three bonus features. The first bonus feature is the second part of the interview with Tom Tweedy and Amy Howard Wilson. The second bonus feature is "Earth Defense Forces Personnel," which gives the name, write-ups, and Japanese names for the Earth Defense Forces personnel. The third bonus feature is "Earth Defense Forces: The Fleet," which includes names, write-ups, measurements, and pictures for the Earth Defense Forces fleet and the battle satellite.

The sixth disc contains the final five episodes of the series, as well as two bonus features. The first bonus feature is "Tactical Maps," which shows the positions of the Comet Empire forces during various parts of the series. The second bonus feature is an "Interactive Mission Map," which shows where each episode took place, and provides write-ups for what happened in each episode.

While the audio and video mastering for this set was on the disappointing side, I would still recommend it to Star Blazers fans, because it is the only way to get these episodes on DVD.

After watch this again after 27 years I must say that the Comet Empire story does not get old at all. I've watched Star Blazers in brazilian tv about 27 years ago, and it still stands as one of the best sci-fi show I ever saw. Regarding the DVD, the dub is outstanding, but the sound quality is poor, video has not been remastered leaving scratchs all over the screen and the lack of english sub-titles make life miserable specially when characters are speaking under great stress (try Dr Sane lecture to Knox and Wildstar during their fighting). If you are still not convinced, what if you are impaired?...yes, english subtitles make sense, even in a english audio DVD.

The complete Comet Empire series of Star Blazers is something I haven't seen in many, many years. It was a joy to be able to view it again in its entirety, but I was a bit disappointed when I discovered that the makers of the DVD did nothing to remaster the video or audio. So if you don't mind watching this in its fuzzy, muffled 1970's format, it'll be great.

But make no mistake, the story is an amazing one and it's a joy to be able to see this series anytime I want.

I never wrote a review and figured this was a great one to start with....

This is the second mission for the Star Force. Derick Wildstar is now in command of the Argo and returning from a mission in space. There is a mysterious call for help from a women claiming to have important information. The earth learns of a new danger from the mighty Comet Empire. Led by Prince Zordon, the Comet Empire is taking control of the galaxy and sets it's sites on earth. The Argo sets sail again with it's original crew to find out more about this new menace.

More battles and a great story line. There are new battle ships, twin Wave Motion Guns and not to mention Knox and the Space Marines. People this is a must have if you own the first series. A definate plus for old school.

Did I mention the return of Deslock???????

I bought the entire second Star Blazers series, Star Blazers - Comet Empire, on DVD back in December 2003, and I have lost count of how many times I've seen it.

If there's a classic Japanese animation series that's worthy of collecting on DVD, this is it! The stakes are far higher for the earth and the crew of the Argo this time.

The thing that has always been enjoyable about Star Blazers is its good-versus-evil view of the world. True heroes are identified, as are the true villains, although there is an exception as I will note below.

Prince Zordoff of the Comet Empire and Leader Desslok of the Gamalons are in league to conquer the human race and the crew of the Argo. Theirs is a pact of true evil that the humans must stand up to -- or fall into slavery or destruction. That is, until Desslok sees how misguided he was in his war against the human race and the Star Force. He has a revelation of biblical proportions when he sees Nova cuddling a wounded Wildstar during the battle on his ship.

I especially liked the pipe organ music, because that gives you a sense of despair as the Comet Empire shrieks through the universe.

When evil makes itself felt, rather than giving into darkness and despair, the Forces of Good stand up to it -- no matter the odds or the cost.

I think the other thing that is good and proper about the Star Blazers storyline is that it deals with death -- something that modern animated series like "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" shied away from.

There are many scenes, such as Sgt. Knox on the planet Brumis, where the casualties of war are remembered and honoured. Then there's Captain Gideon and his fleet battling the Comet Empire and its fleet at Saturn. Many people die on both sides of this conflict, and the battles show the destruction.

It's not necessary or desirable to show mangled bodies -- I agree with this. Nor should war be glorified. But, it's important to show the tragic consequences of war, and the sacrifices that are made, and this story does both very well in that regard.

Perhaps the most enduring character in Star Blazers - Comet Empire is Trelana (SP?) of Telezart. How difficult a decision it would be for any of us to have to live with -- the thought that you or I had destroyed an entire civilization with a great mind energy, even though we didn't mean to do it. Then swearing never to use that power to harm another living being, only to be faced with an almost equal threat in the Comet Empire -- and the knowledge that other civilizations like earth's are faced with enslavement or extinction unless she stands up to the Comet Empire. What could be more ambiguous, and more heart-wrenching, than having to make these kinds of choices?

If there are any criticisms of Star Blazers - Comet Empire, they are minor. For instance, in one episode, the leader of earth is a prime minister. In the next, that person is a president. So, there were some minor flaws in the script writing for the English translation of this series.

There was also a problem with the planet Brumis. The Space Marines had to abandon it when the crew of the Argo rescues them. Then, when they return to pay homage to the dead military personnel there, the planet has been made into a huge Comet Empire base. I find it hard to believe that planet Brumis could have been made into a huge and secret base for the Comet Empire in that short a time.

However, these are minor flaws that I can overlook in an otherwise great storyline.

Overall, Star Blazers - Comet Empire is a great science fiction storyline. In fact, it's better than the original because the threat is much greater, and because of the expansion of the number of characters.

I can only hope that Star Blazers - Bolean Wars is equal to this one.