I am not a Halo fan nor a Halo player. Sure I pick the game up on occasions when I'm with friends or something. However I am a big anime fan and the thought of a Halo Legends anthology anime did interest me. When I found my all time anime directing idol was attached (Koichi Mashimo) I was excited and knew I had to check it out. Here is my overall breakdown of the collection.
Origins I&II (1/5): Origins from Studio 4°C was probably the worst of the bunch. I found it boring and tedious and the production quality strikingly amateurish that no anime fan would forgive from a lesser known studio. While it is a good idea to give the background of the Halo universe for non Halo players, the choice of doing it in a narration format was just duller than dirt. I could have saved my self the $20 and read the history for my self at Wikipedia.
The Duel (2/5): animated by Production I.G, I was taken aback by this one at first. The insane style really threw a curve-ball at me but in the end it kind of grew on me when I realized it was a very unique style choice and innovative. But the color pallet and visual style really didn't do much for the story. Felt like I was looking through a glass window trying to watch a TV. The character designs are ugly and they look like dinosaurs or something. The final nail in the coffin was the all to obvious "NOOOOOOOOO" when he finds the body of his wife. Of course that would be upsetting but does everyone have to scream No in film and television? It's an innovative and interesting episode to watch but feels more like a Samurai story set on an alien world than a sci-fi action story. Not that's a bad thing necessarily either.
Homecoming: (5/5) After the continuing disappointments the collection finally picked up with this great episode. Animated by Bee Train (with support from Production I.G) is one of my favorite segments yet. After the disappointment of The Duel and that storybook they called an episode (Origins) my hope was withering for these stories to pick it up again. Having full faith they could do a good job I watched with anticipation. Frankly the dark turn of events was really not something I was predicting for anything Halo ever. I'm glad they kept such strong contrast in the color pallet by not going dark just because it's a dark story like probably most other studios would have done.
The bear might have been cliché but you know, it really worked and it was a very melancholic touch. The music was great having a bit of a retro feel but still not too retro. People at Bee Train to me have always been masters of using music to it's full potential and this was no exception either. The ending bit with Master Chief was really just the best, while I didn't burst into tears like I have on some other sadder anime series I still felt moved by the story. The animation quality is also extremely well done in this as well the character designs and art pallet are quiet beautiful.
Prototype: (5/5) My other favorite of the series! Prototype animated by BONES really caught me off guard. I'm not a fan of BONES they make overrated and over hyped series and to many fall into useless clichés (like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0). This episode on the other hand was both dramatic and action packed as well as sad enough to make a little tear in my eye. A very powerful well written and animated drama was the perfect installment. This episode and Homecoming were my two favorites and there is no way I can chose one over the other as my 1st and foremost.
Odd One Out (5/5): Harking back to the good old day of Anime right? Well maybe. Animated by Toei Animation, Odd One Out isn't well liked here among the fans but being a non-Halo fan that is probably why I enjoyed it. Amazingly funny and just felt like DragonBall franchise colliding with Halo. A lot of fun and a lot of laughs come with this one and it's just awesome.
The Babysitter: (3/5) The Babysitter was the first episode I saw through Halo Way Point and I liked it. Didn't have much hopes for this being from Studio 4°C and their usually super deformed style of art but I did like this episode.
An interesting bit that provided good animation but not a particularly engaging storyline. Apparently it's about rivalry between the two groups but it seems to be playing more to one kid's ego and pride which has only been done 30 million times in film and elsewhere. Not the most ingenious or creative but not the worst.
The Package: (3/5) Casio Entertainment's Big finale was a pretty fun adventure. Really great Sci-fi action and adventure topped off with a space battle is the icing on the cake. The story sadly suffers from some mediocre writing with cheesy one-liners and a predictable plot line.
So in the end Halo Legends is another in the collection of anime Anthologies. What I like about projects like these is you get to see several creative minds give their take on a storyline. Halo Legends has it's good and bad and I think fans and non Halo fans alike will enjoy it.
Origins I&II (1/5): Origins from Studio 4°C was probably the worst of the bunch. I found it boring and tedious and the production quality strikingly amateurish that no anime fan would forgive from a lesser known studio. While it is a good idea to give the background of the Halo universe for non Halo players, the choice of doing it in a narration format was just duller than dirt. I could have saved my self the $20 and read the history for my self at Wikipedia.
The Duel (2/5): animated by Production I.G, I was taken aback by this one at first. The insane style really threw a curve-ball at me but in the end it kind of grew on me when I realized it was a very unique style choice and innovative. But the color pallet and visual style really didn't do much for the story. Felt like I was looking through a glass window trying to watch a TV. The character designs are ugly and they look like dinosaurs or something. The final nail in the coffin was the all to obvious "NOOOOOOOOO" when he finds the body of his wife. Of course that would be upsetting but does everyone have to scream No in film and television? It's an innovative and interesting episode to watch but feels more like a Samurai story set on an alien world than a sci-fi action story. Not that's a bad thing necessarily either.
Homecoming: (5/5) After the continuing disappointments the collection finally picked up with this great episode. Animated by Bee Train (with support from Production I.G) is one of my favorite segments yet. After the disappointment of The Duel and that storybook they called an episode (Origins) my hope was withering for these stories to pick it up again. Having full faith they could do a good job I watched with anticipation. Frankly the dark turn of events was really not something I was predicting for anything Halo ever. I'm glad they kept such strong contrast in the color pallet by not going dark just because it's a dark story like probably most other studios would have done.
The bear might have been cliché but you know, it really worked and it was a very melancholic touch. The music was great having a bit of a retro feel but still not too retro. People at Bee Train to me have always been masters of using music to it's full potential and this was no exception either. The ending bit with Master Chief was really just the best, while I didn't burst into tears like I have on some other sadder anime series I still felt moved by the story. The animation quality is also extremely well done in this as well the character designs and art pallet are quiet beautiful.
Prototype: (5/5) My other favorite of the series! Prototype animated by BONES really caught me off guard. I'm not a fan of BONES they make overrated and over hyped series and to many fall into useless clichés (like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0). This episode on the other hand was both dramatic and action packed as well as sad enough to make a little tear in my eye. A very powerful well written and animated drama was the perfect installment. This episode and Homecoming were my two favorites and there is no way I can chose one over the other as my 1st and foremost.
Odd One Out (5/5): Harking back to the good old day of Anime right? Well maybe. Animated by Toei Animation, Odd One Out isn't well liked here among the fans but being a non-Halo fan that is probably why I enjoyed it. Amazingly funny and just felt like DragonBall franchise colliding with Halo. A lot of fun and a lot of laughs come with this one and it's just awesome.
The Babysitter: (3/5) The Babysitter was the first episode I saw through Halo Way Point and I liked it. Didn't have much hopes for this being from Studio 4°C and their usually super deformed style of art but I did like this episode.
An interesting bit that provided good animation but not a particularly engaging storyline. Apparently it's about rivalry between the two groups but it seems to be playing more to one kid's ego and pride which has only been done 30 million times in film and elsewhere. Not the most ingenious or creative but not the worst.
The Package: (3/5) Casio Entertainment's Big finale was a pretty fun adventure. Really great Sci-fi action and adventure topped off with a space battle is the icing on the cake. The story sadly suffers from some mediocre writing with cheesy one-liners and a predictable plot line.
So in the end Halo Legends is another in the collection of anime Anthologies. What I like about projects like these is you get to see several creative minds give their take on a storyline. Halo Legends has it's good and bad and I think fans and non Halo fans alike will enjoy it.