Title: BlazBlue Alter Memory Complete Series
Director: Hideki Tachibani
Studio: teamKG, Hoods Entertainment
U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment
U. S. Release Date: June 30th, 2015
Format: DVD / Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Gaming
Age Rating: TV14
Overall Personal Rating: B
Synopsis:
Long ago, an insidious black beast sought to obliterate the human race, but the monster was defeated by a valiant Band of Heroes wielding the power of Ars Magus: a potent combo of magic and technology. Now, a roguish outlaw known as Ragna the Bloodedge seeks to wreak havoc upon the Librarium, a clandestine organization that governs Ars Magus. Armed with the mighty Azure Grimoire, Ragna quickly becomes the target of vigilantes, scientists, vampires, and Librarium foot soldiers. As he spirals toward a violent showdown with the maniacal Hazama, Ragna will discover just how closely his fate is tied to the future of our world!
Commentary:
As the wotld of gaming anime goes BlazBlue is about as standard as they come. You have the clueless hero who has both the power and the moral streak to stand against evil but always end up being too nice a guy to do any real damage. Then there is the evil who have enough power to end it all early but for some reason just doesn’t pull the trigger. This dynamic sets up all of the typical power plays that run through the series and in the end it felt like a poor brother to a game that maintains some reasonable fan base.
The animation was the saving grace and most of the time that is the back bone of these game themed series. It may not be a beautiful as Final Fantasy but because of the simple structure of the series it does have plenty of Eye candy to keep you watching.
Overall Grade: B
I can’t say there are any major flaws in the story or that it is poorly written. What I find is that it is an average anime that is trying to feed off a popular game. It may bring some of the characters from the game to life, and expand on the universe a little, but all in all it is easy to watch and even easier to turn off.
BlazBlue is some that a fan of the game is going to run out and get and for the rest of us it is some thing we might watch a few episodes of just to get a feel for the series. There is one aspect of the story that is done week and that is giving hints to the past and slowly building the plot line. Ok, gamers time to get you Bloodedge on.
