The future is a bleak, desolate place. Criminals infest the streets; with a murderous syndicate on the rise, daily life for the people of a distant future Tokyo is a maddening struggle. For Kyohei, an aspiring pastry chef on the verge going to a prestigious cooking academy in France, the dream of being a gourmet chef lies just out reach lest he can put together the funds. Answering a seemingly innocent want ad looking for a private chef, Kyohei winds up working for four amazingly lovely girls -- Jo, Meg and Sei and Amy. Everything seems par for the course, until Kyohei finds himself hog-tied by a gang of bloodthirsty syndicate gangsters bent on bringing those four previously sweet girls down.

Just who are Kyohei's new employers? They're the Burst Angels, subjects of the latest hit show from animation powerhouse Studio Gonzo, recently licensed by Fruits Basket and Kiddy Grade purveyors FUNimation. The show comes from a fine pedigree. Gonzo is responsible for some of the most watched and beloved anime series from the last five years; Hellsing, Last Exile, Peacemaker Kurogane and Vandred to name a few. Directed by Kōichi Ōhata, the guy behind the post-apocalyptic sci-fi saga Blue Gender: The Warrior, and the mecha designer behind perennial fan favorite Gunbuster. Why are fans so excited about Burst Angel? The answer is simple: Girls, Girls, Girls.

Jo, Meg, Sei and Amy work as a ruthless mercenary team, using colossal armored robots armed with twin pistols and a bevy of other dangerous armaments to bring the increasingly advanced syndicate to their filthy knees. In addition to piloting their own specialized mecha, the girls wear as little clothing as possible and tease the hell out of Kyohei and each other. There's comedy, action, a little romance and a whole lot of gunplay as the Angels tear up the crime-ridden streets of Tokyo. The show's thrills come threefold. Complicated relationship triangles spring up like wildfire, the girls deal with a complicated plot involving the syndicate that threatens the very fabric of Tokyo life, and the four of them barely keep personal and public demons under control long enough to keep the team together.

The show blew the doors off of Japan when it originally aired back in March, and immediately garnered American attention having studio Gonzo's trademark blend of 2D and 3D animation. A lavish animated trailer hit the web (among several promotional DVDs included in Japanese anime magazines) and the anticipation hit a fever pitch; now, the series is set to bow on American shores in 2005 from FUNimation on DVD. Fans of Gonzo's previous “hot girls with massive weaponry” series (such as Kiddy Grade) would do well to check this series out; a deceptively simple storyline and expensive animation make it a Top Shelf, big-budget, A-list title for 2005.