review provided by Katie and Andrew
Title: Jewel Bem Hunter Lime: The Complete Collection
Director: Tetsuro Amino
Studio: Ashi Production
Author: Kenichiro Nakamura
U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks , Section 23
U.S. Release Date: November 4, 2014
Format and Length: DVD / 3 Episodes / 90 Minutes
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Industry Age Rating: 14 and up
Overall Personal Rating: B
Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Inu Yasha, Those Who Hunt Elves, Disgaea, Hyperdoll
Synopsis:
Imagine if a demon managed to scatter six magic spheres through the gate between the World of Magic and the planet Earth. These magic spheres are incredibly dangerous and powerful magical artifacts, capable of absorbing negative emotions and transforming everyday objects into monstrous bug eyed monsters (BEMs.) So of course, someone must get them back before the transformation begins. That job falls to master of disguise Lime, the sometimes monstrous and generally lecherous monster hunter Bass, and their ooey-gooey shape-shifting slime companion Poogie. However, they are probably not the best choices for a task of such monumental importance and urgency. On the other hand, this entire situation is sort of their fault to begin with so they should be the ones to deal with it. But their choice in how to get the BEMs back is a little strange and oddly timed. Will this motley band of would be BEM hunters be up to the task of finding and dealing with the BEMs and save the planet? You will have to watch Jewel Bem Hunter Lime: The Complete Collection and find out.
Commentary:
Jewel Bem Hunter Lime: The Complete Collection is the three episode OVA series based off the 1993 Japanese PC game of the same name. It was originally released in the U.S. in 2000. Personally, I love the fact that these older titles are being re-released and I hope that this trend continues, so these out of production titles can be seen by the next generation of anime viewers. With Jewel Bem Hunter Lime: The Complete Collection what you see is what you get, a bit of simple nostalgia without the weight of a larger series (since nothing else was ever released, even in Japan) or something that is considered more well known and important in a way. The simple three episode series is very much a comedy, and is light and never very serious. The premise of the story is very obvious from the beginning, and they do fill you in as they go. It’s hard to build a good story in such a short time, but they do manage to get the basic idea out. The same issue persists with character development, but the cliché character archetypes make it pretty easy to figure it out. The art work and the music are very similar to many animes of the early 90’s era, and may seem cliché today. One disappointment is of course they never finish the story, but that is not uncommon with several previous series based on games, as they were usually an attempt to get you to pick up the game itself. Overall I enjoyed it very much, and as someone who started in anime in the mid 90s, I found the nostalgia factor also very much appealing. Overall, it’s worth checking out.
Extras:
This release includes both English and Japanese with English Subtitles as language options.
Overall Grade: B
