BURST ANGEL
If these are angels, I’d hate to see what devils are like
Review by: Craig “Burst Belt Buckle” Norris
Length: 24 episodes
Genre: Action, mecha, sci-fi
Watched: All, subbed
They called me crazy. They said that there was no way that my carnal desires for hot chicks with guns would consistently point me toward high quality anime. Well, who’s laughing now? Actually, not me; there’s not much about this series to laugh about. Still it is very good, and very powerful. And yes, it has hot chicks with guns.
Plot synopsis: Culinary student Kyouhei Tachibana is studying hard to be a master pastry chef. To earn extra money, he answers the ad of four girls, Sei, Meg, Amy, and Jo, and becomes their personal chef. But these aren’t just any girls; they are a hardened group of bounty hunters working for the powerful Bailan family. Between those four and the police organization RAPT, which has a stranglehold on the entire city of Tokyo, each meal Kyouhei cooks could very well be his last.
Artwork: The art for the series is an excellent mix of cell work and CG, with the two blending together almost seamlessly. Character designs give adequate uniqueness when called for, but they avoid crossing the line into gaudy. Fight scenes and mecha battles are enthralling, to say the least. All movements, whether they be rendered by ink and brush or computer software, are exceedingly fluid and a true joy to watch. This is the type of artwork that could have a very long shelf life, and may still be impressive even ten years down the road.
Music: The soundtrack is very catchy on its own, but does an even better job of supplementing the action on screen. The jazzy opening song reminded me of the theme from Cowboy Bebop, and the rest of the soundtrack, while not quite on par with Yoko Kanno’s masterpiece, is extremely successful. Some tracks, especially during action sequences, have a tendency to get overused, but I honestly didn’t mind hearing them over and over again because they were so high quality. This soundtrack is not among the elite, but it is way above average and serves its purpose very successfully.
Characters: Like any good group of bounty hunters, each member has a unique personality different from the others, and yet they all find a way to get along. Kyouhei, possessing no special combat or technical skills, constantly feels like a fish out of water, and is teased quite a bit by the girls at first. However, his naturally innocent and concerned nature endears him to them quickly. Sei is the organizer of the group, and is first in line to inherit the leadership of the Bailan family. She is the most level-headed of the four girls, often being forced to reign in the personalities of the others. She sometimes uses her connections with the police force to help during assignments. Jo is one of those people who won’t pay attention to you unless you piss her off. When not working she comes across as very listless and disinterested, preferring to be by herself with her gory horror films. However, put a gun in her hand and she becomes an unstoppable killing machine. Even those around her remark that, once she gets serious, everyone will see Hell. Meg had been palling around with Jo since before they began working for Sei. Sei seems to be the designated damsel in distress, as she winds up getting captured about half the time. When Meg is in danger, Jo goes absolutely ballistic, forsaking the safety of all others to retrieve her unharmed. Amy is a young computer hacker who is responsible for a lot of behind the scenes work. She is somewhat immature, but values her friends and is very open with most people she meets. The four girls often receive help from Leo, who designed and built Jo’s battle mecha, Django. He usually just repairs everything when it gets busted up, but he sometimes tags along when the girls need an extra set of hands. An effective aspect of the character development as a whole is that there was no single central character; each of the main characters was at the focal point of the series for a least a noticeable portion of the time. Thus, we are treated to several different points of view, and see what each character means to the others.
Plot: The whole concept is not extremely original. It’s basically a marriage of two tried and true devices: a girl with amazing combat prowess discovering her dark past, and a militaristic organization seeking total control of a city. Even throwing in some subplots about genetic engineering and a (possible) romantic relationship can’t hide the fact that this sort of thing has been done before. But the series pulls it off well, and makes for a very entertaining and somewhat emotional plot. A good plot does not necessarily have to be an original plot, and this series proves that flawlessly.
CHICKS!: You think I would go through a review of a series about female bounty hunters and not talk about the hot chicks with guns? You don’t know me very well, do you? Let’s start with the chick that has the biggest guns, Jo. She has the Ayanami look; pale skin, vacant red eyes, and light grey hair. Unlike Rei Ayanami, however, she does have one overarching emotion. Wait, is violence an emotion? Anyway, that’s what she is. Though her most outstanding quality seems to be her ability to kill, she also is capable of caring, as seen by her devotion to Meg. Meg is first seen in the series as rude and boorish, and seems very pessimistic. However, as the series progresses it is revealed that she is merely determined, and is actually a sweetheart. Plus, it sometimes appears that she wants to be more than friends with Jo, and the thought of her in some girl-on-girl action makes me very happy. Not to mention that she has a gorgeous rack. But if it’s a rack you want, you can’t do much better than Sei. She acts as a big sister for all the girls and is usually quite soft spoken. However, she is very resolute and can act with extreme conviction if warranted. And my lord, does she have a set of hooters. Sweet Jesus, they are fabulous! They toe that fine line between really big and freakishly large, and fill out every inch of her top without sticking out or wobbling excessively. They are truly a wondrous thing to behold. If admission were charged, they would definitely be worth the price of it, whatever amount it may be. Even not taking into account Sei’s superb chest, the chicks aren’t bad at all. Then again, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen an ugly female bounty hunter. Well, none that is a main character, at any rate.
Overall: I was still thinking about this anime long after I finished watching it. The fact that it is worth remembering makes it highly successful in my eyes. This is a title that I appreciated on just about every level, and I highly recommend it to everyone who isn’t repelled by violence. If you are repelled by violence, I feel sorry for you; not only are you missing out on a very memorable anime, but you’re also depriving yourself of some very hot chicks with some very cool guns.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Excellent animation
+ Enjoyable soundtrack
+ Effective character development
- A bit unoriginal
Rating: 9/10
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