Attack on Titan Season One Anime Review

Attack on Titan Season One
Shingeki no Kyojin
Funimation
Complete Collection - 8 discs
625 minutes - 25 episodes +
$49.98 (2014) Parts 1-2/ea. DVD/Blu-Ray
$89.98 (2014) Parts 1-2/ea. DVD Blu-Ray Limited Edition
ISBN 704400072611
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Tetsuro Araki
Studio - Wit Studio/Production I.G

Synopsis: The Titans appeared and humanity was almost wiped out.  Giant, human-like creatures with little intelligence they scoured the world and devoured humans wherever they could find them.  They were utterly relentless and nearly indestructible, pushing humans to the brink of extinction.  Only the construction of a city guarded behind a series of enormous walls could keep the Titans out.  The last remnants of humanity reside behind the safety of their walls as the Titans roam freely through the world.  It has been 100 years since the last time a Titan has been within the walls.

A massive Titan appears outside of Wall Maria, Shinganshina district

The three walls are called Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina.  Those who live in the innermost walls are more wealthy and safer from the Titans.  The army trains and defends against the Titans, but those stationed within the walls act more as police.  Only the Scout Regiment goes outside of the walls and face the Titans to secure supplies from open land.  They typically sustain heavy casualties and can be both revered and hated depending on the success of their missions.  Eren Yaeger and Mikasa Ackermann, his adopted sister, are both watching as the Scout Regiment returns from outside of Wall Maria when a massive Titan appears outside of the wall.

From left: Mikasa, Eren, and Armin

The Titan is skinless and even taller than the massive walls (while most Titans are much smaller than the walls).  It is a terrifying, abnormal Titan and manages to kick open an outer gate allowing the smaller Titans to get inside Wall Maria.  The humans are frozen in fear as they watch the Titans begin devouring people.  It is a massacre as the Titans wreak havoc within the wall and people desperately flee to the inner Wall Rose.  Eren, Mikasa, and their friend Armin somehow manage to survive, but not without witnessing the true horror of the Titans.  Both vow revenge and sign up for the army when they come of age.

The omni-directional gear gives humans the enhanced agility necessary
to battle the Titans

Now the friends are army trainees learning to use special equipment for avoiding the Titans.  These include the omni-directional mobility gear which is a special harness utilizing metal cables, grappling hooks, motors, and compressed air.  It allows soldiers to swing through cities or dense forests quickly to avoid capture by the slower Titans.  The harnesses are difficult to operate and the trainees have their work cut out for them.

Eren joins the army to get revenge on the Titans for eating his mother.  His
singular drive makes him an adept soldier

It is revealed that Titans are vulnerable in the napes of their necks.  Specially designed blades with increased hardness/sharpness are used which can pierce the Titans' thick skin.  The trainees learn to maneuver and operate the harnesses while developing pin-point accuracy with their slashes.  It's incredibly grueling training and a few star trainees rise to the top.  Eren's fervor and enthusiasm for getting revenge on the Titans drives him harder than most recruits.  Mikasa's unnatural skill and calmness make her stand out from the others.  Their greatest opponents will be the abnormal Titans who are different from the more predictable and slow regular Titans.  The Colossal Titan is an abnormal type, but many others exist with less significant differences.  They are the most deadly Titans.

Facing the Titans is truly horrific and many soldiers lose their nerve

The recruits believe themselves to be ready to fight the Titans and are assigned to various groups within the military.  Some selfish recruits want to join the military police behind the safety of the innermost walls.  Other, braver recruits like Eren choose the Scout Regiment at the front lines of this war for humanity's survival.  Will they truly be ready to confront the unbridled horror of the Titans?  How can they possibly stand up to these unnatural, unique Titans like the one that breached Wall Maria years ago?  They will be eaten alive if they fail.

Eren finally gets to confront the Colossal Titan that breached Wall Maria
five years ago, but can he defeat such an abnormal beast?

Pros: Intense story with a lot of twists and turns, Eren is a great protagonist with an indomitable will (even when he's getting chewed on by a Titan), lots of interesting characters among the army troops, Mikasa is a badass, the Titans are simultaneously ridiculous and horrifying, doesn't pull any punches with graphic and violent deaths, omni-directional gear makes for dynamic action sequences, same director as Death Note, can't wait for Season Two!

Another abnormal Titan appears which seems to be attacking the other Titans

Cons: A lot of questions left unanswered at the end of the series, art style can be a little rough (dark black outlines of shapes and feels really sketchy), the omni-directional gear is total impossible in real life, only two expensive Blu-Ray/DVD combo sets are currently available (Funimation's got to milk it), long multi-episode story arcs without much happening, can't wait for Season Two!

The army manages to capture two small Titans for study.  Don't get too close!

Mike Tells It Straight: This series was highly recommended by several friends and it lived up to the hype.  I think Attack on Titan (AoT) is the most popular manga and anime series of this decade.  The anime is based on the ongoing manga series by Hajime Isayama and this first season of the anime covers almost through the eighth volume.  Isayama's art is rough and highly stylized showing his relative inexperience as a professional manga artist (an AoT one-shot was his first official work in 2006).  He's been criticized pretty heavily for having poor artwork (although it's gotten better as the series has progressed), but there's something to be said about how creepy he can draw Titans.

Mikasa ends up being one of the most skilled soldiers against the Titans

The animation style is modeled after the manga with heavy line work, especially around the silhouettes of the figures.  It looks pretty unique among other series and gives a rougher edge to the show.  The creepy Titan faces are replicated splendidly and most of them look ridiculous while perpetrating horrific acts on the hapless humans they catch.  Some may not like the animation style due to the 'rough outlines', but it didn't bother me at all.  Let's get this straight - the omni-directional gear is pure fiction and could never function in real life.  It requires some major suspension of disbelief, but gives us interesting action sequences and some plot elements (like when the group is running low on pressurized air canisters).

The Scout Regiment finds an abnormal female Titan

It's an intense series and the end of the first episode really sets the tone.  Eren watching his mother being eaten by a Titan was utterly monstrous.  We immediately know the stakes are real and losing to the Titans means getting eaten alive.  We're introduced to a cast of characters as Eren, Mikasa, and Armin go through anti-Titan training with the omni-directional gear.  When the series hits the first major story arc (The Struggle for Trost) the stakes are high and the death toll is higher.  Talk about suspense and plot twists!  Probably the best thirteen episodes of an anime series I have seen in a long, long time (coming in second is the first season of Knights of Sidonia).

Many of the Scout Regiments' missions end up like this due to the sheer
power of the Titans and weakness of the omni-directional gear in open land

There are two opening and ending theme songs in this first season and I found the ending themes to be more enjoyable.  The opening themes tried too hard to be 'marching' or 'military' themes, but just weren't very catchy.  Knights of Sidonia does the exact same thing with infinitely better results (thanks to a great artist like Angela and a nice bass line).  The ending themes were both catchy and appropriate.  Hopefully the success of this first series will allow the producers to find better songs for the second season themes!

Eren and Mikasa meet Captain Levi, rumored to be the best anti-Titan soldier

I can't recommend this series enough to friends and anime viewers in general.  It's the anime equivalent to a page-turner novel and keeps the viewers attention throughout.  The plot twists are really good and the stakes are high - any character can die at any time it seems.  The Titans are absurd while completely deadly at the same time.  Sure, the second half of the first season is not as good as the first half, but the story still has lots of gas left to run its course.  I don't recommend this show to younger viewers due to graphic content (I'd say it's okay for teenage viewers at the earliest).  I'm really looking forward to the second season when it comes out.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section and thanks for reading my review!

Two abnormal Titans fight each other!

TO BUY and Recommendations:
   

Sword Art Online Anime Review

Sword Art Online
Sodo Ato Onrain
Aniplex
Complete Collection - 4 discs
625 mins. - 25 episodes
$74.98 (2015) Parts 1-4 Blu-Ray
$112.98 (2013) Parts 1-4 Blu-Ray Limited Edition
$49.98 (2013) Parts 1-4
ISBN 850527003325
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Tomohiko Ito
Studio - A-1 Pictures

Synopsis: In the year 2022 the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) genre has advanced into an amazingly realistic and immersive user experience using cutting edge virtual reality headgear.  Users are able to control their avatars with their minds and sensations are relayed directly to their brains.  Kazuto Kirigaya is your regular high school student who is an avid fan of MMORPGs and spends a lot of time online in his room alone.  His parents died when he was young and he escapes into virtual reality as a way of avoiding the real world.  He's pretty good too and was selected as a beta tester for the hottest new game - Sword Art Online!  There's a special new VR headset called Nerve Gear which is the only way to access the world of SAO.

Kirito meets Klein and shows him the ropes on the first day of SAO

On the official release day of Sword Art Online (SAO) ten thousand users login using the Nerve Gear headsets including Kazuto.  They explore the new world of Aincrad and the beta testers note new additions from the version they played.  Kazuto's username is Kirito in SAO and he spends the day helping a newbie named Klein learn the basics of the game.  At the end of the day a tragic event happens.  The sky goes red and a menacing, robed figure appears above the Town of Beginnings.  It announces itself as Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO.  Kayaba tells all the players they are trapped in the game and cannot logout unless they defeat all 100 floors.  Further, the Nerve Gear headsets are wired so that when a player's health reaches zero in the game they die in real life as well.  Any attempts to remove the headsets in the real world will also cause the player to die (which is learned the hard way by a few hundred players).  SAO has become the ultimate game of death!

Kirito meets a hooded girl named Asuna before the first boss raid

The death toll begins to mount as weaker and inexperienced players fall prey to monsters or bosses.  Many players can't handle being trapped in a virtual reality world and commit suicide.  Other players form guilds to support each other as they continue trying to level up and beat the game.  Beta testers like Kirito are especially despised as they are considered cheaters with unfair secret knowledge.  Kirito decides on a strategy to level up as quickly as he can, but remain a loner without a guild.  He makes friends along the way and learns some difficult life lessons.

Kirito befriends a low-level guild called the Moonlit Black Cats

Some of the players Kirito befriends are:

• Klein - prefers to work together with people while Kirito remains a solo player.  Despite their different personalities the pair are friends
• Asuna - meets Kirito before the first floor boss fight and is a powerful warrior.  Kirito befriends her and gives her the advice to join a guild (i.e. not become a solo player like him)
• Egil - wields a powerful axe in battle, but is a better merchant and shopkeeper.  He and Kirito have a friendship based mostly on Kirito bringing rare items for Egil to buy/sell
• Lisbeth - Asuna's friend and swordsmith.  Kirito asks her to make him the most powerful sword she can from a rare element.  She develops a crush on him after their adventure
• The Moonlit Black Cats guild - meet Kirito on a mission and befriend him.  The group are friends from the real world and Kirito admires their camaraderie.  Will the diehard solo player give in and join a guild after all?  
• Silica - a beast tamer who is getting hassled by her former comrades.  She has a pet dragon that helps her on quests.  Kirito comes to her aid
• Yui - a lost child that Kirito and Asuna find in the woods.  She has amnesia and doesn't remember the real world.  What is her strange past?
• Leafa - of the Sylph race and able to fly with fairy wings.  She helps Kirito learn the ropes of flying and politics in Alfheim.  She's got a big secret and is closer to Kirito's offline life than either one of them could truly guess

Asuna is a skilled warrior and known as the Lightning Flash for her speed

Kayaba has developed an incredibly lifelike virtual world.  Some players are too afraid to fight and are able to take up different trades like fishing, gathering resources, cooking, and trading information.  It's even possible to kill another player in the game and an evil murder guild forms to steal the rare items from players.  The towns are neutral territories where players are safe from being killed.    The front line is where players continuously battle to advance the game forward and open up new levels.  Kirito becomes a rare solo player who fights on the front line.

Kirito and Lisbeth go on a quest to find a rare ore to create a powerful sword

His levels are high and he has rare equipment to help him in battle.  He'll need it because Kayaba's SAO world is a virtual prison and impossible to escape.  The greatest challenge lies beyond the virtual world - what has happened to the bodies of the comatose players?  Are virtual relationships as strong as real ones?  Who will survive to see the light of day and who will sacrifice themselves so that others might have a chance?

Kirito takes on a monster in a dungeon

Pros: Great animation - character designs/backgrounds/action, some memorable characters and situations, the love story between Kirito and Asuna is touching, nice soundtrack, first half had a serious feel to it as characters died causing their real world bodies to also die, second half was an adventure, some very mild fan-service

Kirito and Asuna start getting closer even though she's the 2nd in command
of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild and he's a solo player

Cons: First story arc is much more powerful and interesting, final story arc was too cliched with the whole damsel-in-distress thing, relationship between Kazuto and his sister Suguha was a bit questionable, ending seemed a bit too easy (although the series gets dark), as of this review there's no affordable complete collection available which makes this a ridiculously expensive series to own

Kirito takes on Heathcliff, leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild

Mike Tells It Straight: Sword Art Online is based on an ongoing series of light novels by Reki Kawahara.  I watched part of an episode of SAO on Cartoon Network's Toonami and it looked interesting.  I didn't know the story coming in, but knew it had something to do with MMORPGs and knew a little bit about those (a friend was heavily into EverQuest at one point).  I was hooked after watching the first episode!  The idea of players trapped in a virtual world where they die for real was awesome.  .hack//Sign had a similar story where the protagonist was unable to log out from a virtual world, but I liked the grand scale and adventure of SAO.  There was a clear and present danger as players were dying on missions, through treachery, and even committing suicide.  The story contains some heavy themes, but is mostly lighthearted in nature.

Kirito asks Asuna to cook a rare meat for him because she has
a high cooking skill level

The first half of the series was entirely dedicated to the 'death game' theme, but the focus slowly shifts to Kirito and Asuna.  They become allies and then something more.  I really liked how SAO explored the question of 'in-game' relationships.  The whole virtual reality thing gets more serious when you can really experience the sensations of your character (there's a pain setting which I have to assume also governs other sensory input like touch).

Asuna and Kirito take on a high level boss raid together

Kirito is a likable protagonist and you can't help rooting for him, but Asuna was pretty darn cool in her own right.  I really think Reki Kawahara missed it with how he handled her - she's strong, but then gets too sappy and sentimental with Kirito and later on Yui.  Her treatment in the second half of the series is totally weak.  Kirito is a lone wolf throughout the series and I liked that about his nature.  Sure, he gets a little help from other players, but at the end of the quest it's him vs. the boss!

Leafa is a Sylph who Kirito helps when she's getting hassled

I think the series would have been more powerful if it didn't veer off the 'death game' theme to focus on Kirito and Asuna (plus Leafa) as much.  It was still a great story and offered some really interesting views of virtual reality gaming.  The battles and action were really awesome in the boss fights and there was a desperate emotional undercurrent throughout.  Kazuto's sister Suguha was a surprisingly good character.  I read a lot of mixed reviews on this series, but suggest you find out for yourself.  It's worth it and there's even a sequel (Sword Art Online II).

Who is this girl being held prisoner?

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Yugo the Negotiator Anime Review

Yugo the Negotiator
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 3 discs
325 mins. - 13 episodes
$39.98 (2007)
$29.98 (2009)
ISBN 702727150425
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Seiji Kishi/Shinya Hanai
Studio - G&G Direction/Artland

Synopsis: Yugo Beppu is a world-class negotiator who is rumored to have never lost a case.  He uses words as his weapons and his extensive knowledge of human nature allows him to control deadly situations.  The cases he takes are those where a loved one has been kidnapped and he must believe in the person requesting the negotiation in order for him to accept the job.  He lost a friend during a kidnapping gone wrong due to failed negotiation and vowed to help others avoid suffering the same hardship.

A lovely Japanese woman comes to seek Yugo's aid.  Her father is working for a corporation overseas in Pakistan and was kidnapped by a group of rebels.  The company employed a negotiator to get her father back, but the military became involved and the rebels killed the negotiator.  Leading the rebels is a fearsome man who believes his work is blessed by Allah and he will only negotiate with a true hero.  Yugo sympathizes with the woman's plight and takes the case.

Yugo heads to Pakistan to negotiate with rebels

He must infiltrate Pakistan and engage the rebels without involving the military.  They wish to apprehend the rebels and avoid giving them financial aid to continue their resistance with no care for the life of the prisoner.  Yugo studies up on religious zealotry and carefully researches the players involved in the region.  He formulates a plan and has a friend prepare a few gadgets to help him while out in the field.  Once he makes contact with the rebels he must endure extreme torture to prove himself a true hero.  Can Yugo save the woman's father?  Even if he does can he escape the country without the military intervening?

Yugo must negotiate with this fearsome rebel leader

Yugo is sought out by the descendants of Russian royalty exiled in Japan. Two rings exist which when combined contain the secret clues to accessing the Romanov fortune.  One ring is held by the descendants in Japan and the other is in the possession of a granddaughter held by the Russian government.  Yugo travels to Russia to recover the girl and bring her to Japan to be with her family.  He takes the job and heads to Russia.

Yugo must rescue this little girl and her teddy bear (and her ring)

He must infiltrate Russia to find the girl and research the Romanov fortune.  Enlisting the aid of a young, beautiful college girl who studies Russian history, Yugo sets to finding records of a mysterious cargo shipped out of the country when the Romanovs fled.  A beautiful army officer was planted in Japan with the family in order to find the secrets of the fortune.  She was recalled to Russia and Yugo must deal with her on his quest.  The Russian Army wants to access the fortune in a time when Westernization has completely changed the country.  Can Yugo find the girl or will he be intercepted by the army?  Even if he survives the torture, can he survive the Russian winter?

This beautiful Russian officer was a plant in Japan for eight years

Pros: Lots of intense situations where Yugo's life is in danger, beautiful women, two complex stories with cliffhanger moments, Yugo is one tough and determined guy with high moral fiber, great backgrounds in the Russia arc

Ships docked in a frozen harbor in Russia

Cons: Yugo surviving and triumphing over the horrible torture he endures seems impossible, ending to Russia negotiation is completely hokey/impossible, opening/ending theme songs are mediocre, each story arc is written/animated by different people/studios, one Russian officer was a long-haired blonde dude - shyeah right!

Yugo gets tortured by the rebels in Pakistan

Mike Tells It Straight: Yugo is an intense, political anime with adventure and beautiful women thrown in.  Judging from what Yugo goes through to accomplish his negotiations successfully (i.e. torture) I would nominate his job for one of the worst jobs in history.  The writers obviously build Yugo up to be an impossibly resilient man - no one could endure the torture he does and still function as well afterwards.  It's just too much suspension of disbelief for an anime trying very hard to be realistic.

Yugo gets tortured by the Russian Army

I enjoyed the complicated stories and political intrigue, but certain events were hard to swallow.  Animation was decent and scenery (particularly Russia) was good.  Dub was okay.  I was expecting the show to be more episodic with Yugo negotiating a different crisis over a few episodes instead of two involved story arcs.

Yugo negotiates with this bullish female Russian general
Good luck, buddy!

The story felt conflicted with trying to be realistic, but then having these totally unrealistic things happen - Yugo's torture, the rebel leader in Pakistan shooting helicopters out of the air with a rocket launcher, Yugo surviving this crazy blizzard in Russia, and then the characters/ending to the Russian arc.  I came away thinking 'yeah, Yugo is tough, but that would never have happened!'.  The complex and intense situations were entertaining, but my final verdict is mediocre for this anime because of the unrealistic parts.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Infinite Ryvius Anime Review

Infinite Ryvius
Bandai Entertainment
Complete Collection - 26 episodes
650 minutes - 6 discs
$59.98 (2005) $49.98 (2006)
ISBN 669198210334
English/Japanese Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Goro Taniguchi
Studio - Sunrise
TO BUY: Infinite Ryvius

Synopsis: In 2137 AD a massive eruption from the sun flooded the solar system in a sea of plasma.  The effect is called the Geduld and exhibits intensely high pressure/temperatures at varying levels (similar to pressure/cold in deep sea diving).  The year is now 2225 AD and despite the Geduld phenomena mankind has populated the solar system with space travel being commonplace.  Many seek careers as astronauts and schools have been set up in orbital training stations.  One such station is the Liebe Delta. 

Kouji Aiba is training on the Liebe Delta to become a Level 2 pilot along with his flight training partner Ikumi Oze.  Kouji's childhood friend Aoi Housen is also on the station learning to be a flight attendant along with his brother Yuki.  The Aiba brothers hate each other due to their parents difficult divorce and Yuki's resentment of his older brother Kouji.  Yuki often loses his temper and beats up Kouji. 

During a school break the Liebe Delta was sabotaged and began submerging into the Geduld where it started disintegrating due to the crushing heat/pressure.  In a desperate act the remaining instructors sacrificed themselves in an attempt to save the students.  Ultimately the space station was destroyed, but the 495 students were saved by the discovery of a mysterious deep-dive vessel hidden within the station's structure. 

The students are stranded aboard the Ryvius deep within the Geduld and must discover its incredible gravitational power to survive the constant attacks by clandestine military vessels attempting to capture the ship (formerly known as the "Brattica"). A smaller ship and giant robot (called the "Vital Guarder") are found to house the majority of the Ryvius' offensive and defensive capabilities. Attempts are made to seek rescue, but each is met with failure as the Earth politicians falsely label the Ryvius as a terrorist vessel.   

Pushed to the brink and desperate to find safety the students on the Ryvius must deal with their situation.  Some rise to the occasion, lash out at others, fall victim to self-preservation anxiety, or attempt to control the people around them. All must cooperate in order to survive. 

Who is the strangely dressed girl appearing on the ship like a phantom? Can the students survive each subsequent battle while their forced society strains closer to the breaking point?   

Pros: Lots of extras including mini-episodes titled "Infinite Ryvius Illusion" on each disc ("Together with Neya" shorts are hilarious), good production values (no overt CG used) and tons of plot/characters, satisfying ending

Cons: Neya's character is completely random and confusing for most of the show, Kouji is a stereotypical anime weakling (like Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion) and his plight can be frustrating at times, brother-sister love backstory for one of the characters (a common theme in many Japanese anime), zero nudity

Mike Tells It Straight: Complex, emotional, and pronounced Ri-vy-us, this show is essentially Lord of the Flies in space.  Well-received by Japanese audiences when it first aired back in 2000, it gained a lot of attention due to a fusion of American urban culture into it's soundtrack (R&B/hip-hop/J-pop) and graphics (graffiti).  Possessing an ambitious cast of characters (nearly 500 total) with complicated motivations and backstory, this show forces you to sit down and really pay attention in order to enjoy the series.  At times it was painful viewing Kouji's lack of strength and constant beat downs, but the ending was worthwhile.  The whole Neya/Vaia sub-plot was downright confusing, but I liked how the space battles were methodical and slow (adding more realism). I'd give this a cursory recommendation if you're looking for character-driven sci-fi -- it's good quality, but definitely not for everyone. 

TO BUY and Recommendations:Last Exile Summer Wars 

   

Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King Anime Review

Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King
Funimation
Complete Collection - 11 episodes
 255 minutes
$59.98 (2008) $29.98 S.A.V.E. edition (2008)
ISBN 704400083105
English/Japanese Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Hiroshi Nishikiori
Studio - Bones
TO BUY: Jyu-Oh-Sei

Synopsis: In the far future mankind has populated the Balkan system and left a dying Earth behind.  The race has suffered under the different conditions in their new home and birth rates have dropped.  The parents of Thor and Rai are political figures and scientists on the colony Juno.  Odin, the president of Juno assassinates them and drops the twins on Chimaera, a secret prison planet with the deadliest environment in the universe. 

There is a rag-tag society on Chimaera with four "Rings" (or camps/clans) with their own chieftains.  The chieftain who conquers all four rings is crowned the "Beast King" and allowed off Chimaera.  Thor desperately wants to leave Chimaera and exact revenge on Odin for killing his parents, orchestrating his exile, and laterally causing his brother's death.  Along the way Thor is chosen by Tiz as her mate and befriends Third who helps him rise to power in the Ochre ring.  Can Thor conquer the planet and become the Beast King?  What secret agenda does Odin have with Chimaera and where have all the past Beast Kings gone? 

Pros: Good animation, very unique plot premise, catchy and off-beat opening theme song, a few interesting plot twists at the end

Cons: The dub voices for Thor and Rai as kids are incredibly annoying, story is not as violent and bloodthirsty as expected, ending is somewhat anti-climactic and felt a bit rushed, Tiz was somewhat lame too

Mike Tells It Straight: Although Jyu-Oh-Sei has a great sci-fi premise and the perfect revenge story setup it was somewhat disappointing.  It just wasn't savage enough for me and the idea of a feudal society amidst the deadly flora of Chimaera didn't jive.  Thor's rise to chieftain status was too easy and it seemed too improbable.  The twists at the end were good, but again the finale was a disappointment.  11 episodes is an odd number and they could have prolonged anticipation of (or maybe improved) the ending.  Ultimately this show is all hype.

TO BUY and Recommendations: Last Exile Demon King Daimao Dance in the Vampire Bund