Ranked #5601

Avenger

*Constructive* criticism welcome, just leave me a comment.

If you want a quick, no-nonsense action anime, Avenger is your ticket. People looking for good character development and a fleshed-out story will be fine skipping on this.

The story on this one is relatively stripped down and straightforward, though it unfortunately gets a little derailed and doesn't do much to answer many questions or present a complete ending. However, like I said, if you're looking for action, you'll find it here, as much of the story centers around Layla fighting her way to the end of the anime, and there's enough of a difference in her fights to keep your attention. No rehashed fighting animations here! All the cities involved in the story are all unique as well, so you won't feel like the characters aren't going anywhere; it manages to convey that 'going on a journey' feeling quite well, complete with wandering through the barrenness of Mars between cities.

The story fails a little where development is concerned; the Dolls definitely could have been explained more especially since they seem like they should have had more of an impact on the story, as well as Layla's history with Cross. There's a lot of stuff going on in the story concerning the 'Original Twelve', a red moon getting too close to the planet and causing all sorts of ruckus like no babies being born, as well as the general drama associated with the characters. Thirteen episodes is painfully short for how much Bee Train tried to cram into the series, and unfortunately it becomes evident as the story gets holes in it that don't get filled at the end. At some point, it's pretty easy to wonder just where everything is going and what the connection is; it's a frail thread, but the story never quite breaks completely.

The sound and animation, however, are above-average, with themes by the famous Ali Project, and exceptional graphic quality. Like I said, no rehashed animations here! The character designs are all unique, especially that of the 'doll' Nei, and the Original Twelve, not to mention all the differing cities, which are all known by a specific trait that the others do not have. They do well conveying this, so every place manages to look different and doesn't get too repetitive.

When it comes to development of these colorful characters though, the art of it will be obviously skin-deep. Some of the major characters aren't fleshed out at all, leaving you to wonder just what their background is, and what it is that is making them do what they do. However, if all you want is someone having a reason to punch someone else in the face, odds are you probably don't care much about their family drama. XD; There is an attempt to explain Layla's bizarre past, and it is all done in flashbacks that never give you enough pieces to really 'get it'. It is made very obvious why she has a grudge, however, even if her cliche taciturnity is a bit overdone. Unfortunately, most of the characters are forgettable, with the exception of Speedy. He's kind of the black sheep in this anime, and provides the rare moments of needed comedy. I really really wish they had explained Nei completely, for reasons which you will find out, as it is a huge spoiler. XP

Going through this anime, odds are you'll either watch it all to see the fighting, or to see if it ever explains itself. There's not really much to get out of it, just like a summer action blockbuster, but with less explosions. If it had been longer, it definitely would have faired better, but with the amount of story points that were stuffed into it, its easier to just accept it and its flaws and just watch it for the pretty and the unique concept. read more

Being the BEE TRAIN fan I am I decided to buy Avenger in the complete collection form while at an Anime convention. I don't think it was a total waste of money but still it wasn't and won't ever be a personal favorite from them. It has their trademarked styles which I love, but the execution and ultimate conclusion left me dissatisfied. I wouldn't write Avenger entirely off like I would some other animes, if you are bored and looking for a short anime maybe you want to give this a try. If you are looking for a short or moderate length anime with a deep story line, than this isn't for you. Overall Avenger is a series where you might want to turn your brain off and just watch it.

The story is the usual post-technological apocalyptic world that we've seen in countless Mecha animes, so you may be surprised that there aren't any giant robots in the obvious setting. The idea is fairly unique having it on Mars instead of Earth was different from the usual ways of doing things, but not different enough. The story features again a mopey female character who has been long exploited and has a chip on her shoulder to work out. She also has this adorable little doll (spoiler spoiler spoiler******Who is actually human******spoiler) who travels by her side. And of course you have the macho can do mechanic. The characters are fairly typical and predictable there aren't any surprises there aren't any unique traits they're pretty strait forward and one-stringed.

The writing is pretty dull and unentertaining, the battles are few and far between for something that is suppose to be about gladiators but most of the time it's traveling and fleeing from little Minion Dolls that are out to capture them. Overall there aren't a lot of surprises or unique revelations that we already could have probably guessed by now.

Music was better than I was expecting though cliched at times. I can't say I'm much of a fan of Ali Project, I've had fun with their Noir Opening as well as their one composition for the My-Hime Video Game, but at the same time this is the same pair that couldn't pull of .hack//Roots. The pair has made some memorable compositions in this show and their themes are rather typical including the second ending theme which is a half-way rip of a classical piece of music (I'm thinking it's "In the Halls of the Mountain King" But I'm not certain). The music was more fitting in this atmosphere than their music for Roots but it wasn't anything breathtaking or groundbreaking and it wasn't entirely new for them.

Mashimo has a much more solid direction handle on this than say Blade of the Immortal but I think it could have been more. I wasn't going in expecting a whole lot, and I didn't come out with any surprises. This is a short and pretty typical straightforward Anime that is very much in BEE TRAIN's style. The color pallet by Makiko Kojima is fairly cosmic and expected for a show of this genre and the cinematography is dark and dreary and depressing.

Without further spoiling anything more the ending was probably the worst I've ever seen in any shows. I'm fairly forgiving of endings but this made absolutely no sense to me, and totally changed all the rules of the play at the last minute. Then again there really weren't any rules of the universe set up.

Avenger is mediocre at best. So okay it's just average and not worth putting much effort into.

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