SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Takuto
Kaneshiro is a Metallurgy student at the UN Space training center.
His girlfriend is Maki, is a student of the very strange Doctor
Noguchi. The two of them have been having some problems.
Because of her work with the Doctor, she disappears a lot. Since she
does not talk about or show her feelings, Takuto thinks that she's blowing
him off.
One day, he receives an email from
her. Tracking her down, he discovers that she is a part of a group
called Morgue, led by Doctor Noguchi. The two of them have been
spearheading a project to reconstruct a giant alien, nicked named
"Frank". They need Takuto's knowledge of Metallurgy to
help in the reconstruction.
At the same time, an army strike team
arrives, intent on stopping Noguchi. During the attack, something
goes wrong. Frank disappears, and everyone at Morgue is killed,
except Takuto. The UN anti-alien taskforce (called Funeral) arrives
to investigate the explosion and track down the giant alien, identified as
Extra 1.
In the near by woods a young girl
named Harriet encounters the reconstructed alien, just as a new one
(designated H2) arrives. H2 goes on a rampage, during which it kills
Harriet's grandfather. Just as she is about to be disintegrated,
"Frank" comes to her rescue, and defeats the monster.
During the battle, Funeral arrives in their battle suits called SARG's.
They are able to witness the Extra 1 defeat the new alien. Now,
Harriet and the Extra 1 are under the custody of Funeral.
Days later, Takuto, calling himself
Ryu Soma, has been assigned to Funeral. His hope is to destroy the
Extra 1 and discover the truth about the aliens and Funeral.
However,
is the Extra 1 really as evil as he makes it out to be?
DVD VISION TEST
VIDEO: The quality is excellent.
There are no pixels or errors noted. The colors are solid, and the motion,
fluid.
AUDIO: Rare for me to say,
but there is very little difference between the Japanese and English 2.0 audio
tracks. What difference there is in the surround sound elements. It
will depend on your equipment on which one sounds better.
EDITS: The only edits is that the clean close animation is used. No edits
to the episodes have been made.
EXTRAS: Typical of most Bandai releases.
There is a text less open (with subtitles) and some tech specs. That's
it.
WIDESCREEN REVIEW
STORY:
With so many people involved in this series, it's amazing how put together this
show is. You have the "Original Concept" designers Hajime Yatate
and Kazuyoshi Katayama who came up with the idea. There is Chief Writer
Hiroshi Yamaguch, who is the one responsible for keeping it together. Last but
not least are the screen writers, who vary episode to episode. Each episode is
very well done, with and even amount of action and characterization.
ACTING: Really, the acting on both sides is pretty typical. It's good,
but it's nothing groundbreaking. Both the Japanese and the English do an
even job. It will all boil down to what you prefer, Japanese or English.
FAN SERVICE: None in the panty category. Even the uniforms are very
un-sexy. However, you American Junk Foods connoisseurs will spot the bag
of Chips Ahoy and Famous Amos cookies in episode 5.
CONCLUSION
A gathering of Sunrise Inc. superstars,
Argentosoma is a tightly plotted, well animated follow up to Gasaraki.
Very similar in tone and feeling, this show will keep mecha heads happy, and conspiracies
fans satisfied.
Comparisons to Evangelion and
Gasaraki are going to be inevitable. On the one side you have the aliens.
Like the angels in Evangelion, the aliens seem to be on a mission to
destroy mankind. On the flip side you have the super mecha suits made with
strange technology. The fact that they look like flying versions of
the Tactical Armors from Gasaraki I am sure is more than coincidental.
Of course, you also have the main characters, all traumatized in someway
by the events unfolding before them. There are many more parallels I could
draw, but that is not the purpose of this review.
Personally, I like Argentosoma because of its differences from most
anime. First is the mostly a-typical character designs. The
eyes are smaller for most of the characters, and there are no overly
endowed women. The only problem I have with these new designs is the
fact that their noses disappear every so often. At first it's a
little disconcerting, but you get used to it after a bit.
Setting
the series in North America was a surprise. As typical with any
series, the country that makes it is where it usually takes place.
No offence to Japan, (I lived there for 7 years and loved it), I get tired
of seeing the old familiar haunts. With being set in North America,
it gives the series a broader appeal, and more chances for interesting
locations for battles.
While I
do enjoy the series as a whole, I can not stand the character of
Harriet. Typical to most anime girls, she is the cute, annoying, and
basically stupid character that dot the landscape. While my words
may seem harsh, considering the events in her life, she is a waste of
space. Really, if the alien had killed her, I think the series could
have gone on.
The only other
thing I don't get is why Takuto is so upset over Maki's death. When
we meet her, we learn that the two of them are having problems.
Takuto is infuriated with her because she is very cold and distant. She
never tells him how she feels. Right before the explosion, they have a
fight. So, he's mad at her, she dies, and now he wants
revenge. I just don't understand.
The
story is mostly a techno-thriller, with some conspiracy theories thrown
in. Unfortunately, I can go into to much detail. Otherwise,
why bother watching it, if you know the whole story. Suffice it to
say, if you like Tom Clancy or other series of this genre, this is a no brainier.
The
best part of Argentosoma are the mecha. The SARG's are way cool, and
so is the transport carrier. The airborne cousins of the Tactical
Armors, these things are another example of why humanoid weapons are so practical.
If
you enjoyed Evangelion, but were frustrated with the bizarre tone of the
series, give Aregentosoma a try. It's a low risk, high entertainment
DVD for your collection.
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