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Article Info:

	Author:
	Callan Hall
	Date:

  

Anime Info:

Arjuna 1 - Rebirth
Type: Review
Format:	TV Series
Language:	Japanese/English
Genre:	Drama

Disc Review:

Content:	B+
Audio:	A
Video:	A
Packaging:	A
Menus:	A
Extras:	B

Disc Info:

Released by:	Madman Entertainment
RRP:	$29.95
Region:	4
Aspect Ratio:	16:9
Colour System:	PAL
Running Time:	75 minutes
Rating:	PG

Features:

- English DD 5.1 - Japanese DD 5.1 - English subtitles - Arjuna Karaoke - TV Spots - Episode Previews - Artwork Sketches - Madman Propaganda

Anime DVD Review: Arjuna 1 - Rebirth

Audio:
Arjuna comes with Japanese and English 5.1. I watched the disc through in japanese and spot checked the English track here and there, and everything sounds good to me, with no problems to speak of. Having seen the first episode in English on the promo DVD that came with the first Newtype USA magazine, I can say that the dub is fairly decent on most accounts, and thankfully doesn't sound to flat. That said, the Japanese track is still the superior of the two - The original and the best.

Video:
Carrying on the trend with a lot of more recent anime, Arjuna is presented in widescreen and looks quite simply gorgeous as you would expect from a recent and wholly digital production. I can't find much to complain about here outside of some things not looking as sharp as they perhaps could, but that's hardly noticable and quite possibly just me being fussy.

As well as traditional looking 2D animation, Arjuna makes good use of cel-shaded 3D animation aswell, with some prime examples being the scenes with Juna and Tokio on a motorbike. It looks fantastic, and meshes with the 2D feel perfectly. Unfortunately a small minority of the 3D isn't seamless, with Ashura, a large robotic looking creature Juna has the ability to summon when in trouble looking completely out of place, as it looks fully 3D rather than 2D like the other examples, and as a result sticks out like a sore thumb and looks quite goofy, something which can be attributed to not only it's looking out of place, but also it's design.

Packaging:
The cover is quite bright and eye-catching, with our main character Juna holding Gan Deeva, a mystical Bow and Arrow which comes as part of the Avatar of Time package deal. The background is a very earthy orange colour, with the earth and another, faded picture of Juna, with the series logo up top. The back contains the standard blurb and extras info and the technical details of the DVD aswell as a few screenshots.

The inside houses breif episode sumaries and promotion for other Madman releases in FLCL, RahXephon, Spirited Away and GTO. All up the packaging is very attractive, and if you're anything like me you'll be hard pressed to leave it sitting on the shop shelf, in favour of having it on your own shelf at home.

Menus:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen like the show itself, the main menu with A closeup of Juna's face, and her Avatar of Time appearance in the center as a short peice of background animation place with the title and options fading in. The menus are in keeping with the colour scheme of the cover, with everything appearing a light orange colour. Access times between each menu are nice and fast.

Extras:
The extras here consist of firstly a Karaoke clip, with with subtitles for the japanese to sing along to or an english translation. Next up are some TV ads for the video and DVD release in Japan. Making their appearance in the extras section rather than being tacked onto the episodes are the epcoming episode previews. Finishing up the Arjuna related extras are some character designs for the main cast. Rounding the package off is the standard Madman propaganda, with Spirited Away, Tenchi Muyo, Jubei chan, .hack//SIGN, Geneshaft and FLCL trailers. Not an awful lot, but it's all reasconably interesting and worth a look at.

Content:
I remember fondly coming home from primary school, turning on the TV and sitting back to watch Captain Planet and the Planeteers fighting the good fight for the sake of our environment with power rings and envorinmentally friendly airplanes against rat-men bent on polluting everything, Radioactive men who looked like they were made from corn trying to poison any and everything and all manner of other nasty Eco-villans. What does this have to do with Arjuna? Well, Arjuna is much the same as far as it's overtones and messages go, and while it may not be so in your face with characters screaming at you to recycle your coke bottle or die, the message is non the less there as Juna is thrust into her role as earths protector to fight on behalf of the planet.

It all begins when Juna and her boyfriend Tokio head off on his motorbike for a trip to the sea and crash on the way. Afterwards, Juna dies in hospital. She can see herself, and what has happened, and in her state sees the fate of the planet as it is choked with pollution and waste and all manner of envorinmental unfriendliness. Then she is given the chance to have her life saved and become the Avatar of Time, to protect the earth and fight the Raaja, strange creatures that appear in areas affected by humanaties wasteful ways and destructive nature. Juna accepts and is immidately thrust into the role of earths protector as she is whisked away by the S.E.E.D. organisation to a nuclear powerplant under threat of meltdown. Chris, the former avatar of time who saved Juna is also there, and gives to Juna the 'Drop of Time', a stone which gives Juna her powers and enables her to transform into the Avatar of Time, complete with a bright pink suit and stange hair, not to mention all sorts of powers and Gan Deeva, a mystical Bow which can kill the Raaja.

Arjuna isn't your average anime series, as while Juna must fight and learn about herself and what she is needed to do, there is also an emphasis on her relationship with boyfriend Tokio, so in a sense it's a big twist on the standard mahou shojou formula. While the overtones and messages relating to environmental problems may deter some people, it isn't presented as preaching, and while thought provoking it isn't patronising in the way it presents and deals with the issues it raises, which I am quite thankful for. From this disc, Arjuna looks to be a very promising and interesting show, and most definately worth a look in.

Anime Inferno is developed and managed by Adam Hicks, MCMXCIX - MMII. All rights reserved.