Search - Avenger: Complete Collection (Collector's Edition) on DVD

DVD of Destiny

AMP | Somewhere on Earth | 11/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"13 complete episodes for twenty bucks? Sure, I figure that I'd try it. And hey, it turned out to be a good deal.



The story, though it admittedly has parts that don't make sense, is still interesting; it's about a gladiator named Layla who wanders around Mars with a little robot girl named Nei. Earth has been destroyed, humans can no longer reproduce, the moon somehow threatens to wipe out the planet, and in the middle of it all, the two main characters are being hunted down by a pair of immortals who rule over part of the planet.



It certainly has its slow parts, but the occasional fight scenes and some good-quality animation makes up for it all. The characters are kind of likable, but not entirely engaging. The packaging for this is awesome; it's a metal tin with all three discs securely fastened to either end of it. And it comes with four free film cells.



The whole series is like "Noir" mixed with "Iria," and although it may not be up to par with either one, I would reccomend it if you liked them. I'd also reccomend it if you enjoyed such things as "Madlax," "Dot Hack Sign," "Planetes," and maybe "Outlaw Star.""

A Short Review.

W. A. Scott | Oklahoma, USA | 01/09/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, having literally just finished watching this, I must say that this show left a lot of questions unanswered.

The series starts off feeling like you've missed out on some important details, like you should already know what's going on. It's possible that this started out as a manga and evolved into an animated version of it, I'm not sure. Maybe I've overlooked something somewhere, but after checking several websites across the Internet, I haven't found any other information on it so far.

The artwork in this is great. However, the storyline is a bit slow to develop and the ending was very unsatisfying for me. Flaws aside, it's still worthy of three stars."

A Forgiving Three

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 01/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The story Avenger, at least as far as I got, takes place on a future Mars, where the air is breathable, and people live in tightly packed cities with their form of entertainment being the gladiator contests. Layla Ashley, a young woman with exceptional skill, is just such a gladiator. Though quiet and moody, she's obviously driven by a want for revenge. Traveling alongside her is a man named Speedy who works in dolls, mechanical, child-like servants, and a doll named Nei who doesn't seem like a doll at all. Nei is the only thing to be able to get some emotion out of Layla.



The story sounded interesting at the time I purchased it, and after seeing Avenger in a magazine article I figured it at least

had some potential. If a big-named magazine like New-Type USA would spend valuable space on this anime, then it has to be good, right? Right? My rating is a very forgiving three, and I'll explain why.



I gave Avenger one star because I didn't finish watching it, giving it the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't finish it; every time I sat down to watch the series, I always ended up turning it off after one episode. It's a boring anime, with repetitive dialogue, and often cheesy drama. I gave it a second star because, despite the boring episodes, the animation was pretty good, and some of the earlier action scenes were exciting to watch, despite recycled animation (brief moments that are repeated in an anime). You even get four animation cells inside the DVD bundle to look at. I gave it a third star because of the bundle. You get the entire collection for a little more than thirty dollars. It comes in a reflective, tin case, with DVDs that are well protected despite the fact that the case is over-sized. Though it's difficult to sit through, I know I have all the time in the world to eventually watch the rest, with no further obligation or money spending on my part.



I can only recommend this collection for its value, so if you're a collector of all things anime and are looking to expand you collection, then Avenger is a good, cheap choice. Some of you out there with unique interests may find this anime good.



"

A flawed but still decent series

Dorothea | 04/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This show has a lot of weaknesses, but it's still one of the few action/sci-fi shows that has a decent female lead who a) doesn't have huge [...] get her clothes torn off every fight, b) isn't a ditz and c) isn't obsessed with her own gender. There's no romance, goopy scenes, stupid comedy, or annoying/lame magical-girl elements. Even though a lot of things are left unexplained, Layla is a great character and Avenger was a refreshing change from the usual, sexist action anime out there. It's a very good show at least for female anime-fans who like genuinely strong, independent female leads rather than female leads who are supposedly strong but who are actually totally lame and weak when you think them over carefully. The fight scenes are a bit different from the norm, but they're great--I only wish that there were more of them. Art and music were decent. The story wasn't great, but it kept things moving. The first episode is very representative of the series, so if you don't enjoy that first ep, you should probably just quit."