Search - Figure 17, Vol. 1: Soul Mirror on DVD

Awesome start to an awesome story.

Will | Anywhere | 08/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first DVD of this series serves as an excellent introduction to an excellent story with beautiful animation.The series starts with our introduction to the young girl Tsubasa, a troubled child who has just moved to Hokkaido from Tokyo with her father, leaving her friends behind.While in Hokkaido, Tsubasa witnesses an alien space ship crash. Unfortunately this ship was carrying a dangerous cargo, which has escaped. The resulting encounter introduces her to DD, the alien pilot (suprisingly humanoid), and the Riverus - an intelligent, sentient alien armor - one of which merges with her and creates Hikaru.The story does not move at a high pace, an advantage given that each episode is roughly 42 minutes long, twice the length of most shows. As well, the Sci-Fi aspect is prety minimal, serving only as a catch that allows the core of the show to exist. Hikaru becomes permanently ingrained in Tsubasa's life, and the show extrapolates on this beautifully. This isn't to say the alien aspect is left discarded. It to plays a critical role in the story, and the action sequences are second to none.This series will run a total of 6 discs, for 13 episodes (as opposed to the Japanese release of 13 discs) and is worth each and every cent."

Buffy meets Ultraman(?)

Henrik | in the Anime aisle | 03/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A friend of mine in my college's anime club described Figure 17 as "Buffy meets Ultraman", and that's not far off the mark. That being said, I found it engaging and fun, with a minimum of silliness except where absolutely necessary.Others have detailed the content, so I won't bother. What I find most interesting is the ability to merge the two plots (SF adventure/monster fights in the vein of Ultraman and a coming-of-age story of a little girl who moves from the big city to the country). The result is a tight story, intentionally made paced slower than most anime, which makes the viewer really care about the characters."

Magical Girl / Sci Fi / Slice of Life

Mark E. Summers | 09/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've seen this series in a fan-subtited version and am eagerly awaiting the US release. Superfically, elements of the plot would lead one to place it in science fiction/action genre.But the core of this series is about love and relationships, both in everyday life and in extreme circumstances. In that, and in the transformations involved, it fits in a shoujo "magical girl" model.The lead character is a shy girl living in a rural area of northern Japan, who is on one hand brought out of her shell, and on another, forced to lead a double life to prevent the spread of an alien threat to life on earth. It's like watching two or three stories running in parallel, one very prosaic, about life on the farm and at school, another with bursts of action and danger, and a third about the characters' inner feelings."

Inexplicably enchanting

Robert J. Kang | Los Angeles, CA, USA | 03/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Others reviewing this production have aptly described it as having nothing new. I agree: the plot devices are all familiar, if not exceedingly so. That being said, I really liked this video. I don't know why, considering that any twelve-year old high on kitty litter could figure out what was going to happen next. However, the film has some kind of magic to it - something that makes you want to watch the DVD more than once. That really is the best way to describe it.Give the DVD a try. You'll like it."