Customer Reviews

Strange Dawn - Strange World (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(3)
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Strange Dawn is both everything you might expect of the "Magical World" genre of anime and everything new and fresh. Taking the simple formula of two school-girls transported to a new world, Strange Dawn pushes the usual trends and common cliches of this genre to utter break point.

Instead of the instant friendship "Magical World" animes usual host, Yuko and Emi must learn to accept one another, no matter how difficult this may seem. They must suffer the inconveniences of a world without creature comforts (or spare underwear for that matter!) while struggling to find common ground between their highly opposing personalities.

If you think the world they've landed themselves into is cute, then think again! The small people who have acclaimed them as legendary Guardians suffer a war of politics, backstabbing and intrigue that is more complicated and realistic than one would expect of such charming little people... With mutiny, tactical movements and political intrigue, this is definately not a Overthrow the Evil Emperor type of story.

The characters, from transported girls to cold-hearted villians, are all realistic and endearing. Strange Dawn's art is something smooth and stunning, while the music alone is enchanting enough to keep one interested. Overall, this is truly a breath of fresh air for one who has seen what the "Magical World" genre has to offer!

If you've got an open mind and a love for new ideas, then Strange Dawn is a MUST HAVE.

Well, I took the plunge and, based solely on
the tiny illustration of the front of the package
shown on Animenation.com, bought the first
DVD release of Strange Dawn. Folks, this is
a remarkable series. I recommend it without
reservation.

The story concerns two high-school girls who
have been magically brought to another world
populated by tiny human-like creatures under
siege. The little people believe the 'giant'
girls are their Great Protectors, but the girls
just want to go home.

The art direction and design are outstanding.
The backgrounds, character designs and
animation are all top-notch.

The characters are charming and have a depth
far beyond the usual Japanese fare. Subtle
political struggles are intertwined with human
events and emotions.

One of my chief complaints about dubbed anime,
is that the actors are annoying or amateurish
or both. The English-language cast of Strange
Dawn, however, is quite good. The actors come
from a variety of countries and include American,
English and European accents. Rarely do I prefer
the dub to the sub, but the Japanese voices are
a bit too close in character and make it difficult
to understand who is saying what. My only
complaint ( and it isn't much of one ) is that
the dubbing doesn't match up with the movements
of the mouths -- a decision, most likely of the
director to favor acting over accuracy.

Incidentally, the sound quality of the dubbed
version is about three times as good as the
subbed -- which is almost never the case.
I was about blasted away, when I switched
between the two.

Some of the other Urban-Vision titles include:
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Final Fantasy and
Wicked City; but Strange Dawn is safe for almost
all viewers.

I'm hooked, and plan to buy the entire series.

This is a charming series packaged and seemingly aimed towards the kids, but this collection is for every fan of mesmerising animation stories.

The whole thing is kept simple. The story is simple. Two schoolgirls are suddenly transported to another world or another dimension ? who can tell - and who cares its a mysterious world portrayed with beautiful artwork and touching characters. And on arrival the local and unfeasably little inhabitants proclaim these girls to be Protectors of their country ! We are introduced to the main characters and lesser characters. They all play a part in this story in their own way. We see how people react to change - in anger, in shock or in fear. So for a simple story there is certainly plenty of depth in there if you need it.

The music is wonderful. The main theme is really memorable, it pulls you into this strange fantasy world with ease. Great in Japanese or the English vocals. The animation is beautiful. Detailed landscapes combined with simple and clean character designs. I loved the super-deformed inhabitants ! and we get a treat with the usual SD characteristics - short legs=fall over when run too quick, short arms=lose momentum when fighting with sword etc;

Im looking forward to the next volume, which apparently isnt out til April ! Aaarghh ! I would recommned this volume to anyone who like good animation, cuteness, interesting characters and locations and simple yet deceptively involving stories.