The story, while not impressive at all to me, tries to stay true to its roots. Wolverine and his whole japan outlook lifestyle with the people from there. Yes, in this one he's in love Mariko Yashida, a Japanese woman. And so, he pretty much fights an organization that has held her against her will in order to be reunited with her once again. At first, I had trouble accepting this "storyline" because recent versions of Wolverine I had seen. It's pretty romantic sure, but romance in Wolverine will not please audiences of this nature. I want a rebellious attitude Wolverine, one that just doesn't give a damn. For the most part, this anime failed to generate Wolverine's unpredictable nature.
The art remains decent throughout the anime, though common failures to generate more gore/bloodshed from Wolverine's claws disappointed me. I believe Marvel held back in some scenes here, but overall I don't think the art was truly ever considered a failure. It's not bad, but it's not the best thing world either. It's acceptable.
Where Wolverine truly begins to plummet is the sound. There are literally few or no memorable tunes with this show. Marvel could of came up with something but didn't. Ending episode themes fit but are irrelevant because they are in the manner to detail the shows ending climax. Disappointing, but ok.
The characters is where Wolverine really dropped the ball. Yes, Omega Red is present (thank god) and outta that is probably in my opinion the best fights in the show between him and Wolverine. But these are just lame excuses for Marvel to stick characters where they don't belong. Marvel could of done a whole other anime/saga with Omega Red but decided "we gotta get him in there somehow!" While I don't blame them for trying to entertain us, nothing really comes together as they should be. Is Kikyo suppose to be the Silver Samurai? Why does his sword look so childish when it comes out? What purposes do Yukio really serve other than being Wolverine help mate? Where the hell is Sabertooth? I mean if they can throw in Omega Red somehow why not more characters Wolverine is accustomed to seeing?
It's a show that doesn't go without its flaws. Some fights here are worth checking out, but most aren't memorable at all. This version of Wolverine tries to make him into something he really isn't. It's not a complete disaster, the show just isn't seen particularly well by die hard fans.
