Burst Angel
Most anime fans love an excellent Adventure anime, topped off with some great comedy. Sprinkle some Mecha and Sci-fi from the sides, and there lies a recipe for greatness. But anime series are mostly hit, miss, or somewhere in between, no matter how many promises they may hold.
Burst Angel, also known as Bakuretsu Tenshi, is such an Adventure, Comedy, Mecha, and Sci-Fi genre-centered anime series. This TV anime series spanning across 24 episodes, which started airing on April 7th and went up until September 15th as a Spring 2004 anime. GDH, TV Asahi produce it, and Imagica, licensed by Funimation and brought to life by Studio Gonzo.
This is an original series, which stemmed from the adaptation of the Bakuretsu Tenshi: Angel's Adolescence manga by Murao Minoru, who handled both the story & art. The manga was a 3 volume series serialized by Dengeki Comic Gao! In 2005. It included some other genres: Action, Ecchi, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Shoujo Ai, and Shounen. A single prequel OVA episode was released for the series titled the Bakuretsu Tenshi: Infinity in 2007.
The story is set in Japan's not-too-distant future, where crime had become something so familiar that the government had no choice but to legalize firearms for citizens to use as self-defense tools. To combat this new wave of crime and wrongdoings, the Recently Armed Police of Tokyo was established with hopes of hunting down criminals using even lethal force as necessary.
One of the protagonists, Kyohei Tachibana, is a gifted culinary student who dreams of one day saving up sufficient money to pursue his dream of becoming a pastry chef in France. But his life takes a fateful turn when four young mercenaries ask him to be their cook.
He is now forced into making a very decisive tough choice. The mercenaries in question, named Jo, Meg, Sei, and Amy, take on the bloodiest jobs in the overly chaotic city of Tokyo daily without batting any eyelids. I mean, someone’s gotta do it, right? Now Kyohei must brace himself for an imminent descent into the world of crime within the city, and it’s a given that he will end up doing a lot more than just simply cooking!
The story looks at Kyohei Tachibana, who was in the middle of looking for a job. He seemingly does find a job as a cook for a family consisting of Jo, Meg, Amy, and Sei. Everything was okay at first, but it didn't last for long as this so-called “normal family” is actually a group of bloodied mercenaries, and now it was inevitable for him to get dragged along for the wild ride soon to begin.
The premise is pretty interesting, but do not expect too much because it is mostly average. It is in no way terrible, but as quickly as the synopsis can hype a potential viewer up, it loses some luster once the watch actually begins.
The synopsis covers the core plot, but for some reason, the series focuses more on stand-alone episodes and fillers rather than the main story. This is a bad aspect because it leaves viewers thirsting for the main plot, only to be disappointed once it is delivered.
The characters of Burst Angel are practically stereotypical. The worst part, though, is the sheer lack of character development. The minor character development feels inadequate, and they only cared enough to take Jo's background into account, along with her meeting with Meg and the group's very roots. Despite being the largely “normal” protagonist, Kyohei does not have any role more significant than being the group’s uneventful cook.
One would expect him to play a more substantial part, but he just doesn’t, even towards the end, which is a significant downfall. Then comes the issues with Meg; it’s like she exists solely to get kidnapped. This does not bode well for one of the female protagonists, and to top it off, she delivers more fan service than necessary. Even amidst all this, Jo is still likable and one of the fan favorites. When compared to the other characters, she is pretty decent.
As expected of Studio Gonzo, the art and animation are unique, and so are the character designs. The Studio is well known for its orthodox but catchy art styles and iconic designs, and they deliver in this regard pretty well. The characters are visual eye candy but are not without any flaws.
One big flaw is that the setting is actually in a futuristic time zone, but in contrast to this, the characters are very traditional and old-fashioned-looking. This is very evident, especially in Meg, who wears a cowgirl-like outfit. The main reasoning behind this is none other than basic fan service, nothing more. Just one look at the characters, especially the females, makes this fact painfully obvious. This doesn't help the plot or development in any way and swings more towards the hidden ecchi factor of the series.
There's also the issue of inconsistency; it manifests in the form of characters’ body proportions changing throughout the series. This can be very weird and off-putting while watching it. When it comes to the Mecha designs, they have really done a great job. Jo's mech Jango, in particular, is badass and awesome! The animation itself is decent to mediocre, without anything really standing out.
The Opening theme is "Loosey" by THE STRiPES throughout the series, and the ending theme is "Under the Sky" by Cloudica, which also lasts the entirety of the series. The sounds, music, and voice acting of the series are decent, neither great nor bad.
The fast and catchy opening song coupled with a Pop ending song makes for a nice combo, bringing out the feel of this series. The OSTs (Original Sound Tracks) also go pretty well with the anime's themes, blending in nicely to fit each scene and occasion. The most noteworthy one is the Cowboy music, which is really catchy and great to listen to, even people not particularly into that genre of music. The voice acting is also great as far as the Japanese dubbing goes. Lastly, the sound effects are decent, really, not necessarily harmful.
The ending of Burst Angel occurs when it is not entirely warranted. Simply put, no character, whether he or she is the main character or just a character that adds to the plot, is safe. This is one of the great aspects of this anime, and it ought to be appreciated for this. There is nothing absolute in this series, and that's a strong point.
On the other hand, the CGI is actually pretty decent considering the era of this series. For a 2004 series that was quite probably a budget anime, the CGI is impressive. Towards the end of the series, the CGI of the Mecha battles is pretty great, really standing out amidst other aspects of the anime. It is enough for almost any viewer to stop and think, “Woah, that was pretty gripping and amazing!”.
Typically, viewers assume that none of the main characters would die in battle; thus, the non-absolute-ness of the series shines when it hits unsuspecting fans, and it hits hard. The greatness of the CGI is not consistent, though; there are plenty of battles that are overly cliche with the “good” robot blowing up the “bad” robot and then proceeds to look at the screen during the (overused-trope) explosion. The many good CGI moments included very fluid and fun scenes, which are very entertaining to watch.
At first glance, Burst Angel promises viewers giant Mecha robots, a large cast of female characters, and lots of guns of all varieties. They deliver in this regard, no complaints there. There are very few males protagonists, but it feels like they were just added to show viewers that the series is not entirely one-sided to a gender.
The series has its ups and downs, but unfortunately, the downs outnumber the ups. Regardless, when it comes to great action and sultry fan service, this anime delivers pretty well. Just do not expect much of a plot because that aspect is seriously lacking. On its own, though, this is a great anime. After all, it is an action anime, and this genre is featured well enough for most fans to be entertained.
