Avenger

This is going to be a contrarian review but personally I think Avenger is great and highly underrated.

The basic premise of Avenger is set on Mars in the future under a dystopian backdrop where children are not being born and are replaced with dolls. The main characters are Layla Ashley a mysterious young woman who has a grudge with superb fighting skills, Speedy a happy cheerful mechanic and Nei a mysterious 'doll'. Layla is not a friendly person by any means but she cares for Nei. Character development is minimalist with Layla's hunger for revenge and her relationship with Nei being the major focal ... points.

The art and animation is fine for it's day with rather odd and interesting camerawork and angles that match the harsh Martian landscape. The music is done by the eclectic Ali Project with a space opera aesthetic which I enjoyed, the track 'Kofuku no Zouhei' with it's mix of soulful desolation and private intensity was my favourite.

What really stood out for me in Avenger though was not the story, art, sound or character. It was the anime's economy of concept and execution. Without spoiling, Avenger to me has the single mindedness of a fable with metaphors imposed on the characters and ideas (Domes, barberoi, gladiator battles) to express it's themes with a powerful atmosphere intense and harsh as Mars itself. This unity of concept/execution/atmosphere made it a great show for me.

From above I understand Avenger is an anime that isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. If you like more experimental/art/indie anime shows or atmospheric/ minimalist storytelling and where things are not explained and answered, Avenger might be for you. For me this anime is unique, immersive and got me thinking.

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 The society is fated to collapse as children cannot be born anymore — these have been replaced by androids called "Dolls".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.

As one might expect, the studio Bee Train we offer a lively strange to Black or. Hack / / SIGN, for example with very good graphics and original music. Here, we fall into an apocalyptic world where mankind is about to disappear. The atmosphere is quite mystical and unusual action in the indefinite future where fighting for survival are commonplace. Speaking of fighting, we can say that they are quite stylish, even if they are short, giving back gains interest when you start falling asleep