Burst Angel: Complete Box Set

LABEL: MVM
RUNNING TIME: 650 mins approx.
RATING: 15
VIDEO FORMAT: 16:9 Anamorphic
AUDIO FORMAT: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
DVD REGION: 2
AVAILABLE: Out Now!


Synopsis
In a Japan of the near future, crime has escalated to the point that ordinary citizens are allowed to carry – and use – ballistic weapons. In order to control the freshly-armed public, the Police start resorting to criminal methods themselves, and mercenary groups turn a huge profit by risking their lives in the more dangerous zones. In the midst of all this turmoil, a catering student stumbles on to a life-changing opportunity when he accepts a job cooking for a team of mysterious young women...

Review
It's a very sad truth of the anime industry that the medium very rarely sells to outsiders on its own merits. More often than not, the only way to generate interest in a new movie or TV series in the wider media is to deliberately draw comparison to a western property, in the desperate hope that some of its mainstream popularity will rub off. So, in due deference to this now-traditional method of journalism, allow me to make the following similie: BURST ANGEL is a little bit like FIREFLY. But only a little bit, in so far as it marries Western themes and ideals (that's “Western” as in the genre now... do keep up) to a SF-set fantasy. So, er, not really much like FIREFLY at all.

In actual fact, BURST ANGEL is probably better compared to its peers. On the surface, it's a fairly transparent merging of EVANGELION-era naval-gazing mech drama, MATRIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO-style humour and ensemble mercenary shows like COYOTE RAGTIME SHOW and COWBOY BEBOP (both, ironically, much closer to FIREFLY than BURST ANGEL will ever be), but persevere long enough and it shows surprising depth, as characters grow and evolve without the need for Ikarian* manic depression or comedic mania. Ostensibly a gunslinging action piece, it nonetheless goes about its business by the way of Louisa May Alcott, even naming its female leads after the characters in LITTLE WOMEN – not exactly your run-of-the-mill anime.

Unfortunately there's still a lot about the series that's clichéd and horribly tired, with those NADESICO and EVANGELION vibes running deeper than the pigeon-holing of plot. Each of the protagonists has a direct counterpart in one or both of those shows, inviting direct comparison in which, sadly, BURST ANGEL is never going to come off favourite. It's not that the series does anything particularly wrong, it's just that the same has been done before, and better.

At around £35.00 Amazon and Play, and with a plethora of extras on offer, this boxed set makes for exceptional value, but with equal measures of pros and cons it is, perhaps, not something to purchase blind. Instead, rent a couple of volumes and see how it takes you before parting with your cash – whilst highly entertaining, the series is certainly not to everybody's tastes.


Picture
A stunning transfer, as we've come to expect from MVM. There's a little artefacting on the deep blacks, but with an upscaling DVD player you're not even going to notice.

Audio
MVM have once again worked wonders in converting a Japanese stereo track into a 5.1 English dub. Sound effects are well-directed, and suitably meaty, whilst dialogue packs enough punch to avoid being drowned out in the interim.

Special Features
Brace yourself; this could be the best extras package ever seen on an anime title. For your consideration we have: dub cast commentaries, radio dramas, featurettes, Japanese cast interviews plus the usual selection of trailers and textless credits. In a sea of bare bones discs this stands out as a shining beacon of the way things should be done. Brilliant stuff.




Matt Dillon


*Yes, that's right; I've turned “Ikari” into an adjective. Don't worry, Journalists are allowed to do things like this.