Anime Blu-ray Review - Burst Angel: The Complete Collection (includes OVA)

Blu-ray, Bullets, and Babes. That’s what you’ll find in “Burst Angel: The Complete Collection in on Blu-ray. This series is light on story and heavy on action.

Burst Angel (Bakuretsu tenshi) is set in a future Japan where guns are legal because crime has taken over the city. We are introduced to Kyohei Tachibana, a young culinary genius with dreams of becoming a pastry chef. Kyohei is recruited by a group of mercenary women, lead by Sei, to be their chef. The story quickly transforms into a guns blazing action adventure filled with beautifully drawn Anime vixens, guns and a hint of mech. Most of the time, Jo (the group’s killing machine) is trying to rescue the red haired Meg. However, throughout the series the main plot doesn’t really get a chance to fully develop. Instead, the most development comes from the relationship between Jo and Meg. This is great for those Anime fans that are die-hard lovers of Anime gals, but not so great for fans looking for a thought-provoking plot. The series reminds me a lot of Project A-ko (Purojekuto A-ko). The blurred lines between friends, co-workers and lovers in Burst Angel are vaguely reminiscent of that between A-ko (Eiko Magami), B-ko (Biko Daitokuji) and C-ko (Shiiko Kotobuki).

What Burst Angel lacks in story, it more than makes up for in exceptional art. The style combines 2D animation with CGI for 3D landscapes and movements. Each scene is a joy to watch as bullets fly spaghetti western style. Watching this series in HD does it an absolute service, as each frame is sharp with bright-crisp visuals. The animation is simply flawless. I actually wish we got a chance to see more use of Jo’s mech because these scenes are amazingly presented in 3D. Unfortunately, the cybot, Jo pilots, seems more like an after thought.

There appear to be a ton of Anime special features, but when you watch them they are just re-edited pieces of the main show. There is commentary from the English voice actors as well as some SD footage of the 2003 interviews with the Japanese creators. These creator interviews are surprisingly short.

If you want action and tons of women (notice the theme here), you’ll definitely enjoy Burst Angel. The premise of legalized guns would have been great to fully explore, but it never really develops. You do get a nice back-story about Jo meeting up with Meg, as well as Meg’s development into a killing machine. But, if you’re really looking for an awesome tale on killing machines, you’ll want to check out Gunslinger Girl. Just be warned, thankfully, you won’t find any egregious dolly shots in that series.