Search - Ex-Driver: Perfect Collection on DVD

Very good series, though short

08/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Definitely a very memorable series overall. There is action to be found in Ex-driver, but don't watch it looking for a body count. The animation for the cars, characters, and scenery are very well done, and the voice dubbing isn't too bad either. The story could have used a little more developing, and I feel that they might have been better off making it into a 2 hour movie rather than 6 25 minute episodes. I watched the series by renting it, and I plan to buy the set when it comes out. It's a great buy, and a must for anyone that's into anime and cars."

Lotusing Onwards

Wraith 11 | 08/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can I say. This is a great little OVA, especially if you happen to be a car lover, or you happen to have a soft spot for anything with a Lotus or Lancia badge on it.

The story is set in the future where cars are driven by AI computers and most people have lost the ability to drive. However, the AIs sometimes glitch, sending the cars wild. Enter the eX-Drivers: Lisa, Lorna and Souichi, driving 20th century cars, tasked with chasing down the run-aways and reighning them in (preferably) before they can do any serious damage.

One thing I really did like about this (apart from that it features some of my favorite vehicles) is that often the characters dress in period clothes associated with their cars.

The only real problems I had with it were that the people who did the dub into English obviously didn't take the time to research the cars they were talking about. Hence the car names are invariably miss-pronounced, to the point of calling the Lotus Europa as "European Model Lotus". The OTHER problem was that it was way to short (only 6 episodes).

Personally, I really enjoyed this. A must buy for any fans of old cars."

A Great Little OVA, especially if you like cars

Hiyo_2366 | Texas, USA | 03/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the kind of anime to watch when you feel tired or sad; it's very pretty, easygoing, and doesn't make a lot of demands on your intelligence or emotions. I found "Ex-Driver" a charming, relatively lighthearted show with a ridiculous premise which allows the animators to show us many scenes of pretty girls driving fast cars. Kosuke Fujishima's familiar character designs (Oh My Goddess, You're Under Arrest, Sakura Wars) and his love for mechanical devices are on display as Lisa, Lorna and Souichi do their work saving a near future Tokyo (considerably cleaner and more elegant looking than today) from runaway AI cars. Characterization is okay but simple; as usual with Fujishima, the characters are very distinct and somewhat stereotyped, but I liked them anyway and found them fun to watch. The animation is better than it had to be; some of the jerkyness that another Amazon reviewer described as "dicey" comes from the relatively low frame rate of anime in general. The cars are very well realized for such complex machines. I understand that Fujishima's manga of the same title goes into more plot and character development; the anime basically contents itself with an episodic story. In short a light, amusing, friendly anime with a little fan service and a lot of "car service." Enjoy!"