Ranked #3468

Avenger

Sometimes you wonder about the 'Why?' of things. For example, why make a movie that will bore the audience to tears? Why bother writing a book if you're going to write poorly? Why throw blue paint on a canvas and then try to call it art? There are some things in life that are just pointless, and I think Avenger happens to be one of those.

I am a Bee Train fan. This must be understood. It hurts to be harsh on this anime, but it is what it is: pointless.

Now, Avenger tells the story of, well, an avenger, Leila Ashley, who lives on the colonised red planet itself. Mars has become a sort of dilapidated planet, with ruins of almost Roman-esque buildings, and it houses scattered groups of humans and androids. It is pretty interesting that children are no longer being born on this dusty planet, thus substantiating the number of android kids who have become a shell-like replacement for real children.

And in this backdrop, Leila Ashley seeks her revenge on the King/Emperor/President (?) of Mars. It all seems pretty interesting, huh? It is. Sadly, the execution of this decent set-up is unforgivably flawed, and there are more questions being asked rather than answered. The numerous plot holes serve only to take away from the development of the story as well.

The art is fairly good, I will admit. The animation is also good. However, there is a really dull use of the colour palette which is ironically, very colourful, with lots of shades of darker colours. There isn't a defined, crispness in the art, and it shows. Also, while some of the first battle and action scenes were done well, the rest seem to fall flat or drip in mediocrity.

Now, you have to be wary of the sound. It's sort of a opera-fuelled techno, so if you're not used to Bee Train's signature sound and their even more signature use of the Ali Project, you may not like the music. While I am partial to the sound, the OP and ED did nearly make my ears bleed with its "screechiness" and sloppy arrangement.

It's sort of a wonder to have the two protagonists of a series to be both vacant and mostly non-communicative throughout the entire show. Both Leila and Nei remain underdeveloped throughout the series. Note, I did not say that they were undeveloped, just underdeveloped. They throw two potentially good characters at us, however they do nothing in terms of development for the duration of the anime. Leila and Nei's relationship however was very interesting, but I can't say this alone was strong because Avenger did nothing but present this relationship rather than dig deeper or give us more than just a surface look at it.

Sadly, Avenger is not an enjoyable anime. With dozens of plot holes, a literally 'Huh...?' ending, stagnant characterisations, mediocre art and sound that clearly is only made to suit certain tastes, it was a frustrating experience and not one I would ever repeat or ever recommend to another to try out. read more

*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 travles 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 straigt 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 straighforward 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.

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.

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Story
Kind of cliche post-apocalyptic sci-fi in a far future. Mars is colonized by men. But the fabric of society is torn, it is all deteriorating. The new martians have a hard time struggling for survival. The remnants of the original settlers, a kind of 12 "olympian gods", are the rulers, notably the tyrant Volk, who is aware, somehow, that their time has come. The society is fated to collapse as children cannot be born anymore — these have been replaced by androids called "Dolls". Goods are earned in gladiatorial arena combats. Layla Ashley is the representative fighter for Serena City. This is also about revenge as Layla seeks vengeance against Volk and Garcia against Layla.

Animation
2nd rate, reminds me of Saint Seiya. Fightings are way too sketchy. But it has some cult charm.

Sound
Mixing is poor, at least in the version I've got. Music themes are diverse enough, varying from the plastic-sounding 90's arcade games pan flutes to the ominous chuch organ that heralds the bad guys.

Characters
Speedy is a simple, easy-going, anti-glamourous doll repairman, who reminds me of Rakushun (the rat-man in Juuni Kokuki). The gloomy gladiator Layla Ashley is (in the best Japanese style) just like the brooding Kuchiki Byakuya: an ambiguous character, primarily a positive hero, but also taciturn, unfriendly, cold. All this stemming from past dramas. Nei character is irresistibly cute and demands a protector. But in general they didn't care for character development and most of them are empty shells.

Enjoyment
Avenger has its charm, and it was fun for me to watch. Main characters are fugitive, wandering from town to town across the eerie Martian landscape and the relentless dolls chasing them. That huge red moon in the sky gives a blade-runner feeling. read more

The soundtrack was done by Ali Project, whom some listeners hate. Ali Project did the soundtrack to Noir, so if you like the opening to that show, you owe it to yourself to listen to the soundtrack.

Sadly, listening to the soundtrack and reading the lyrics is the best part of this show. Overall, I found that this show got my hopes sky-high and then crushed them down again.

The setting was incredibly promising. The story could have had excellent sci-fi and drama. The first few episodes hinted at amazing character interactions. However, by about the fifth episode of thirteen, the story was flailing all over the place. The writers were trying to keep too many mysteries and not communicating any information. There were fight scenes, but the fighting was the least original part of this series. There is even an episode near the end that is told in a much different way than the other episodes, which is a nice touch, but it's nowhere near enough to rescue the plot or the lost opportunities for character development.

I still have the soundtrack on my MP3 player and I listen to it frequently. The show, however, is at the top of my list of how not to do an anime. read more

First to say, Avenger is a show that's a bit slow.
Many moments were filled with facing the characters eyes.
But even so it has good action scenes in it.

At all it's not a bad show but the ending is really frustating.
To much questions and no answers.
It seems that everything, what was createt in the show itself is broken for a new beginning.
But without a really sence. The actions from Layla in the end is a mircale for me...

Yeah pretty, not really the big Enjoyment but okay~

Avenger at all gives nice scenes between Leila and Nei. People wich likes protecting a lil one stuff, may be found the rigth show, others should better make a big bow around it.

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