Product Details

• Actors: Alien Nine
• Format: Animated, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, 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: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Us Manga Corps Video
• DVD Release Date: July 8, 2003
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009MGER
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #99,868 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Yuri Otani, the 6th grade heroine of this 2001 OVA, is elected by her class to be their "alien fighter:" With Kasumi and Kumi, she tracks down weird beasties that appear at their elementary school. The girls, who look like bobblehead dolls with no nose, wear a "symbiotic alien borg"--a sort of winged frog--on their heads into battle. Yuri spends all four episodes of the series sniveling about how scared she is, how she doesn't want to deal with aliens, etc. Irritating as Yuri is, the viewer may pity her, because she's stuck in a story that makes no sense whatsoever. Sometimes the girls destroy the aliens with drill-like tentacles the borgs sprout; sometimes they keep them penned up at school. The disc is loaded with extras, none of which make anything any clearer. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, nudity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description
In the not-too-distant future, alien invasion is a daily occurrence. Gross, slimy aliens are everywhere, particularly in elementary schools. Someone has to save the day, so Yuri and her 6th grade classmates are elected for this most popular assignment. Can this trio of cute schoolgirls defeat terrifying creatures from outer space?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychologically entertaining !!!, July 29, 2003

By	lemurlady in the cookie jar (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

I had ran accross this title awhile back when it was first released in Japan.

Looking over the design work I had wondered, "WOW, what a cute and interesting looking show." Unfortunately at the time this film, was in the stage of, "Here's another interesting OVA series that might not make it over here." And it was a surprise that it was picked up and released here. I'm glad that they did.

I had the opportunity to view this title over the weekend with a friend. And all I can say is "wow". Very original in it's simplicity and complexity.

While some at first glance may look at it as being cute on the outside the series hides a dark side, a side that is "reality". The whole point of it looking cute was a cover-up. And I must say the creators did a good job at pulling at it off. This is not your typical anime film that manages to "spoon feed", it's viewers. Oh no, this is a very highly psychological piece of work. I say this because, while the film projects one view of things, what you're seeing is not what it appears to be. Many of the elements in this 4-part series are very "symbolic". It's key factor "ADOLESCENCE. The driving force behind what the film is trying to display in another light. Many will not get the references on the first watch taking it as it is.

For example, in one point of the film there is a scene where all the students gather in what appears to be a gym. All the kids there are practically naked except for their gym shorts. They get their measurements taken. Like taking a physical. Yuri Otani, stands on the scale to get weighed and height checked. She notices that she grew an inch or two. One of the girls from a neighboring class (if not the same class) hears this and makes a comment to some of her friends,

"I hear they say that the girls from class ... who wear 'Borgs' on their head, grow an inch taller."

Yuri overhears this. While some of the girls giggle about the comment her friend jumps to her defense even though they were only making fun and didn't mean anything cruel. Looking at this scene directly, it would look like you're typical scene of about something out in open, when in reality it's showing symbolism.

The 'Borgs'symbolically represent an extension or push into adolescence. Basically, the characters Kumi, Kasumi and Yuri are put into these roles that are meant for adults. In other words growing up sooner than they would like. The constant licking of the back area that they get from the 'Borgs' looks like in one view "feeding", when in actuality they are the stimulus to growth. If anyone knows anything about the 'brain's anatomy,that the hypothalamus and pituitary glands are responsible for the secretion of GROWTH hormones. And thus given the understanding behind, "girls who wear 'Borgs' on their head grow faster than everyone else".

You really have to pay close attention to what's said and the visuals in this series to draw a conclusion about some of the elements. Nothing is to be taken literally. This film was meant to make you think.

Although the rating on the case states that the film is for ages 13+ and up, I would not expect anyone under that age to understand this series. Especially, due to some of the more mature if not disturbing issues, that I will not mention. Older viewers may find this a challenge. But eventually understand and enjoy it. Giving insight to younger individuals.

But all in all it's an excellent purchase and worth seeing. I've even recommended this video to our institution's library [School of Visual Arts--NY, USA] video collection. We've just getting courses for anime as part of the animation curriculum. Such film recommendations as this one are a must for students here. We are in the process of getting the manga's as well. Although different from the OVAs, will present a another view of the same story.

Just to clear up some confusion, 'Alien 9' was not created by the same team that did 'Excel Saga'. It was created at the same studio that did 'Excel Saga', but not by the same creator. The same goes for the 'Cowboy Bebop' creator. Just the director for the movie 'Cowboy Bebop: KOHD', worked on this project. The creator of 'Alien 9' is Hitoshi Tomizawa'. He is the true creator. The others were responsible for animated work. Companies here that release anime of such titles, need to be more clear about these things. Vague information can send people the wrong information about a project.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awe-some, June 11, 2003

By	"ran-chan2100" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

this 4-part OVA series is not just another anime series -- it is an intersting psychological plot, a wonderful set of character designs and graphics, manifested into a refreshingly unique style. The animation is smooth and elegantly executed, and by the end of the fourth episode, I guarantee you'll be ravished for more. I shall not ramble the plot at you, rather, I believe you'd benefit more from experiencing this phenomenal dvd yourself. I severely recommend this to those of you interested in drama, shoujo anime, or anyone who appreciated plenty of action in the context of a meaningful plot.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, Powerful, and Unfinished, June 17, 2004

By	Timothy Perper (Philadelphia PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A group of girls saving the world from aliens and other yucksome thingies -- wonderful stuff, such stories: Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Shadow Lady. And aliens, some of them distinctly yucksome, abound in Alien Nine, together with three 6th grade heroines named Kumi, Kusumi, and Yuri. Rollerblading around the school with lacrosse rackets and wearing their borg helmets - a type of symbiotic alien who protects them with what look like long, thin, and very dangerous wriggly drill bits - the girls catch aliens who otherwise would do yucksome things to everybody. The only tiniest problem is that Yuri is scared, just plain terrified. --- In Alien Nine, we see beneath the cheerful superheroine antics of chasing aliens. Kusumi is a lonely overachiever, Kumi a lonely leader of her schoolmates, and Yuri is just lonely. Depressed and sad, Yuri wants nothing to do with deadly aliens nor the lunatic boys who use their own borgs to attack her nor crazed teachers who seem to have set up these alien-chasing games as an arcane test of things unsaid and unstated. --- And so we encounter not yucksome alien thingies from spaceships, but the alienness of what is within, the fear of growing up into a (sexual) adult, the terror of losing oneself in the all-engulfing needs of another person, the lethal dread of being abandoned. --- So why watch Alien Nine? Because Yuri hasn't given up yet. Lonely, terrified, she rollerblades onward, crying, having nightmares, unable to aim her dart gun, and, in one genuinely stunning scene that's worth the price of the whole DVD, turning and killing her attackers. --- Alien Nine is not about aliens, yucksome or otherwise. It's a superb exploration of what alienation truly means: of being a child and having to grow up because your body is changing out from under you. The aliens - and this holds for the manga as well - are a metaphor for becoming someone else. Not everyone makes it, either. Unfortunately, the DVD is unfinished, and we do not find out what happens at the end. Maybe that's part of the message: we don't know, not really, how life will turn out. But (in the meantime) Alien Nine is well worth watching: haunting, grim, powerful, and ultimately completely convincing.