The series is normally split in to story arcs made of two or more episodes (There is the odd one of episode) and they normally have a common theme or item that connects the story in the final few episodes. The main story itself and the arcs are fun and interesting enough, they range impressible from blood hungry monster plots to the quite bizarre samurai and cyberspace roaming that you would not expect to find in this type of anime and while it normally works well the plot sometimes try’s to be a bit deeper and darker then it can actually manage (And the main idea of a Tokyo with guns gives it the right to at least try) In the end it works much better as a fun, over the top series.
Burst Angel is mostly a Sci-fi/Action series and as you would expect each story includes some fun mech or gunslinger battles which while mostly impressive, sometimes do end up feeling a little bit tedious after a while (Must point out however that this is the first mech series I have really watched all the way through)
The characters are a big highlight of the series and while they may be a little stereotyped in there ways (Loud kid, well endowed leader, quite gunslinger, the one who always gets kidnapped) but each are given there own quirks that help define them more as the series goes on and end up giving the story a good dose of needed emotion as the series concludes
The most fascinating character was Jo, whose striking crimson appearance just screams how cool she is. She’s a bit of a typical ‘gunslinger with a mysterious past’ at first, and it takes a bit of time for her to develop, but when we do learn more of her past and her relationship with Meg it’s worth the wait.
Meg is basically there to get caught or kidnapped in each episode, which at first gives her character a light weight, stereotypical feel. But as the series develops we get to see more of her relationship with Jo and find that there is a little more to her character then you at first think.
Kyohei is one of the few male characters and when he appeared in the first episode, I started fearing that this anime would become a typical Harem, yet by the end of the series I was surprised at how underused he actually was! In the end his job is to basically introduce us the viewers to the plot and characters of the show and do little else. After the first few stories his appearances become more and more sparse and by the time we know the main characters and there back stories he is more or less ignored at the end.
The supporting cast is great too, though I think Sei had more potential then she was given and the addition of Leo felt a bit too random, he adds little in the end other then being another guy.
Watching this in Sub I found the cast to be great if nothing to special and the music really matches the energetic and fun feel of the show. I have yet to hear the Dub but the cast sounds good enough for me.
The animation is very impressive, the characters are well designed and have there own cool looks and colors. The Mechs could have been better designed I think, with a little but more originality and flare but animation wise they usually deliver the goods and the CGI doesn’t feel out of place with the rest of the animation ether.
Overall this turned out to be a brilliant and fun anime, just don’t expect anything as deep or as dark as Black Lagoon despite the gunslinger similarities.
