Search - Burst Angel, Vol. 1: Death's Angel on DVD

Great anime...

Michael Valdivielso | Alexandria, VA | 08/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The four episodes are great - the artwork is beautiful, the characters are interesting and the combat is realistic. There are wheels within wheels when it comes to the plot and there are two story arches within the DVD,so you get a lot of story for your buck. The main idea is that crime rules most of the city of Tokyo and a team of four girls are trying to help keep the peace. But they are NOT part of the normal law enforcement units (think A-Team or Bubblegum Crisis). Rapt seems to run the city, but there are hints of other powers fighting for the top of the hill. In fact the girls seem to follow commands from somebody else (all we get is a name - it could be a person or a business).
There are also a ton of extras, such as radio dramas, one commentary track, funny outtakes, textless songs and, of course, trailers. The English Voice Actors are the best. Jo is played By Monical Rial (Gasaraki, Azumanga Daioh), Meg is played by Jamie Marchie (Fruits Basket) and Kyohei Tachibana is played by Greg Ayres (Full Metal Panic, Gunslinger Girl). We also get Sei played by Clarine Harp and Amy played by Alison Retzloff (from having been in Kiddy Grade).
Now, heres the bad new. First, it is ONLY in surround sound, so for guys like me who have only 2.0 stereo, lots of the audio is lost or too soft. Also, there are subtitle problems. The opening song, for example, has the subtitles right over the credits. The radio dramas, but for the first selection, have non subtitles. Also, the textless closing song in the extras, the English version, has subtitles which can't be turned off. All this little issues add up and take a little away from the enjoyment.
Yet hearing Monica Rial play a female gunslinger, with cussing and all, made my day. That is why I only took one point away. Great anime, nice selection of extras, but sloppy work on putting the DVD together."

Cool characters and fun to watch

K. Johnson | 04/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had my reservations when I first starting watching the series. However, to my surprise this series is just as good as Robotech/Macross. Each character is distinct, actually has a personality and there is more focus on the personalities while the science is put in the background. Which is rare since a lot of other Japanese Anime have characters that always seem to be cardboard cut outs of each other and focus to much on the scientific-war plot, if I wanted to see all that than I would watch the Discovery channel. Burst Angel is NOT like that since, it focuses on the character's and is just fun to watch with it's varying levels of chemistry and character development. They are not hard to look at either with there seductive wardrobe. I loved the packaging of the DVD which includes little books with detailed pictures of the characters. This is a DVD that is well worth the money since, the extras are fun to watch also. The only thing that I would have liked to have seen in the extras is the actors who actually did the American voices since, they were cool to listen to in the commentary. But, nothing is 100% perfect. Burst Angel is pure fun, cool, action packed and has perfect visual quality."

Another classic from Gonzo!!!!

jbur450104 | Huntsville, Alabama United States | 05/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gonzo keeps bringing the most quality anime Gravion, Last Exile, Kiddy Grade, etc. They never fail. This one did not upset. In this anime, anybody in the general public are now allowed to carry guns. Bazookas whatever they want can be carried. This is an action-packed series and will please Cowboy Bebop fans the most. Mecha fans should not go into this show with high mecha expectations. Mecha are in it but it is not a mecha series. It is a girls with guns/mecha series with a cool plot. The only reason I gave this series 4 stars because the main character lacks perosality and can be very boring and this series does not explain itself much at all. Still, is one the best of the year.

Animation - A- Gonzo always provides quality looking anime.
Plot - C+ - Started off kind of weak with no background of what was going on in the series.
Music - A - The intro is a rock and hip hop mixture with wacky lyrics but is very cool. The music in the series is kind of a heavy metal type sound which works well with the series.
Overall - B+ - Get this series. It will not dissapoint action fans but mecha fans may take down one or two stars."

Decent series, albeit not entirely that interesting.

Joey F. Kolber | Culver City, Ca United States | 09/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Burst Angel certainly has potential to become interesting. It starts off with an interesting story: A young man going to school to become a chef gets a job as the cook for a rag tag group of gunslingers who are paid to take on missions. The primary "mercenary" is Jo, a quiet, tough young woman who shoots first and asks questions later. She is joined by Meg, the seemingly useless, typically big breasted cowgirl of the group (minus the accent), Sei and Amy. While it starts out with some pretty nifty stuff, the focus shifts a bit. The cook becomes less interesting, and to me he's the most interesting character. Meg and Jo seem to take on the spotlight, and they are just a bit too cliched for my tastes. On the other hand, the rest of the series is quite good. The setting is interesting and fun to watch. The action is excellent and well animated. So, if your into something that doesn't require too much focus, but is pretty fun, Burst Angel is worth a check. You might be surprised and like it more than me."