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Review

by Maral Agnerian,

Angel Links

DVD 4 - Eternal Angel

Synopsis:
Angel Links DVD 4 - Eternal Angel
Volume 4, the culmination of the Angel Links story, deals with Meifon's reaction to the revelations of the last volume. The shock of discovering her true nature is too much for her, and she runs away for a time, but soon enough she comes to realize that she has to face Goryu and herself.

Episode 11 deals primarily with Meifon's breakdown, but more information is given regarding the relationship between Chenho (Meifon's grandfather) and Goryu/Leon, and their connection to Meifon. The final two episodes show the final confrontation between Goryu/Leon and Meifon, and there is even a small piece of the Meifon puzzle left to be revealed.
Review:
Ah yes, the dramatic ending. No cliche is left unturned--Meifon pulls a Miaka ("I have to do it all by myself so I won't hurt anyone") but is taught the value of friendship and teamwork by her loyal crew, Goryu makes creepy passes at Meifon again, there's the lengthy explain-the-plot-while-dying scene, and the obligatory villain's-death-causes-the-building-to-explode scene, which in this case makes even less sense than usual. Fortunately the very end makes up for it, with a very understated and sweet closure to a less-than-fabulous show.

As for the disc itself, we finally get some decent extras--this disc includes a 'Secrets of Angel Links' segment in which an SD-Meifon and Taffei talk about the details of the ship, how it works, etc. It's quite cute and fairly interesting, and includes new material as well as concept sketches. The dub, however, appears to have gotten even worse since the last volume--Goryu/Leon sounds like he's on Valium, and the rest of the cast deliver their lines in a very stilted, artificial manner. Art and animation are still good, although in the last episode the character designs (especially Meifon's) look a bit odd--perhaps they switched animation teams.

But despite its numerous flaws, Angel Links is mercifully short. With only 13 episodes, there wasn't much time to waste on boring and pointless episodes. Sure, there were a few, but most of the episodes were used for advancing the main plot, and for that it gets some points. It's a very average sci-fi adventure show, and everything here has been done better elsewhere, but at least it doesn't drag on forever and ends neatly. If you've stuck with Meifon and crew this far, it's worth watching this disc just to see how everything turns out.
Grade:
Overall (dub) : C-
Overall (sub) : C+
Story : C+
Animation : A-
Art : A-
Music : A

+ Nice clean ending; interesting extras
Final confrontation rife with cliché

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Production Info:
Director: Yuji Yamaguchi
Script:
Masaharu Amiya
Yasuko Kobayashi
Jirō Takayama
Storyboard:
Yasunao Aoki
Yutaka Kagawa
Masakazu Obara
Go Sakamoto
Yoshihiro Takamoto
Megumi Yamamoto
Yūsuke Yamamoto
Story:
Takehiko Itō
Hajime Yatate
Unit Director:
Tōru Kitahata
Masakazu Obara
Kazuhisa Ōno
Hiroshi Tsuruta
Tetsuya Watanabe
Megumi Yamamoto
Yūsuke Yamamoto
Akira Yoshimura
Music: Toshihiko Sahashi
Original creator:
Hideaki Ibuki
Takehiko Itō
Hajime Yatate
Original Character Design: Hiroyuki Hataike
Art Director:
Hiroshi Katō
Hiroshi Okubo
Manabu Ono
Masaru Satō
Animation Director:
Hideo Maru
Asako Nishida
Takuro Shinbo
Noboru Sugimitsu
Tsutomu Suzuki
Akira Takahashi
Susumu Yamaguchi
Kohei Yoneyama
Animation Character Design: Asako Nishida
Mechanical design: Rei Nakahara
Sound Director: Masafumi Mima
Director of Photography:
Shūichi Itō
Koji Toki
Producer:
Naotake Furusato
Atsushi Sugita
Licensed by: Bandai Entertainment

Full encyclopedia details about
Angel Links (TV)

Release information about
Angel Links - Eternal Angel (DVD 4)

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