Battle Athletes Victory

reviewed by Magus Darkstar

Episodes reviewed: 1-26

What: In the far future, human girls from all over the solar system compete in contests of physical speed, endurance, and strength. They try and gain the most prestigious title of all, the title of "Cosmo Beauty". Battle Athletes is the story of one such girl. Her name is Akari Kanzaki. She is the daughter of Tomoe Midoh, one of the greatest Cosmo Beautys of all time.

The Good: This anime has a great spectrum of emotions it causes in you. Some scenes are hilariously funny, others are so touching, they could bring one to tears. The episodes really flesh out the characters, making it easy to love or hate one or another. You wouldn't think that a simple race could be made dramatic or very awe-inspiring, but Battle Athletes Victory pulls off just that, and it does it beautifully. Plus, there are many scenes in this anime that are just simply "shocking". You don't expect them, and when they happen, they knock you off your feet. Lastly, 8 bilingual DVDs with a price tag of $15 each, you can't afford NOT to pick this series up!

The Bad: The ending, I must say, seemed a little rushed. Too much information at one time, I believe. Much of it should have been foreshadowed, at least (has Chrono Cross flashbacks). They have a great ending four episodes before it ends, then suddenly, everything you know is wrong. However, this can be considered a good thing. It was a very original thing to do, and it fleshed out alot of the characters a little bit more. Either way, that could be split. Either you love the ending or you hate it.

The Bottom-Line: Reccomended. You'll have a fun time with this series. It's cheap, it's good, it'll tug at your heart strings and tickle your funny bone. I say, give it a look.

Dub: Tolerable. There are times, however, where the dub just falls flat. So, as always, I reccomend the DVD (which is so cheap, you could get two for the price of a regular DVD!)