Rating: 
Summary: Flawed But Worthwhile
Review: The idea of Weiss Kreuz is rather better than its execution. The series doesn't make the most of its material, either in plot or in character development, and between that and the distinctly lackluster animation it gives the impression of not quite living up to its potential.That said, it's still worth watching, and I give it four stars for a good try and a great idea. Although they could have been explored more fully, the characters are intriguing, in part because although they are assassins who hunt and kill evildoers, they do not consider themselves particularly righteous men - they call themselves a necessary evil and expect to be held accountable for the lives they've taken. Each of the four main characters has his own reason for being in Weiss; each one suffers over the course of the series, and each one at least considers the possibility of quitting and has to choose whether or not to stay. Sometimes it works, sometimes it... doesn't quite. Yoji's first spotlight episode leaves one with the impression that he's not nearly as competent as the Weiss boys are supposed to be - but in a much later episode, he dishes up one of the most gutwrenching moments of the series in his final encounter with villainess Neu. And any episode featuring Aya is bound to be fascinating. Where the series fails to plumb the full depths of its main characters, it makes up for the lack by doing surprisingly well by its supporting characters. In particular, Weiss handlers Manx and Birman and the mysterious Persia acquit themselves better then you might expect from this kind of series. With a few exceptions, Weiss always get their man - or woman - but the series largely refrains from being repetetive. Plot points crop up for a few episodes, subside, and then pop up again to be developed a little further. The series is also, as will be made clear by the opening of the first episode, not afraid to kill people. Sometimes the heroes arrive in time to save the day, but just as often they can only enact bloody vengeance after the damage has been done. Even supporting characters who've appeared in several previous episodes are not sacred. The first season, aside from the episodes dealing directly with Schreient and their leader Masafumi Takatori, is mostly superior to the second; the Takatori clan makes for a more effective source of antagonists and evil plots than the second season's villain organization, which has a more supernatural bent. The DVDs include outtakes from the English dubbing sessions. The dub itself is typically bad and should be skipped if possible, but the outtakes are hysterical and nearly worth the price of the collection on their own. Then there's Gluhen. Weiss Kreuz: Gluhen is either the third season or the second series of Weiss Kreuz, depending on how you want to look at it. It isn't currently available in the US, but it looks as though it will be released starting in July as Knight Hunters: Eternity File. The animation is greatly improved from the original; however, because of legal issues, the designs of the four main characters were changed. Aya and Ken fared all right, but Yoji looks as though he had a fight with a weedwhacker and lost, and wears an awful hat to boot. Gluhen also introduces two new members of Weiss, who take up a lot of the focus of the series, to the point that Ken and Yoji don't even appear for about seven episodes. The story is also improved - sort of. In the first two seasons, the main villains have various operations which Weiss foil, so there's something of a sense of progress and there are distinct character arcs. In Gluhen, there are simply events which occur and which Weiss must face, and which frequently pass without much resolution. It's a better depiction of the covert-ops sort of organization Weiss is supposed to be - in the earlier seasons, the team was usually just given a target and sent out to kill them, with the intelligence work already done - but can give viewers the impression that they're missing a big chunk of the story, particularly when the other two members of Weiss finally show up and are just finishing a related mission. The first two seasons sometimes seem a bit rushed - Gluhen is the opposite. All told, Weiss Kreuz is worth watching. Don't go into it with high expectations; it's not perfect. But if you can accept it for what it is, it's solid entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Ah
Review: This is a great series, worthy to soon be a classic. The art is kind of messy sometimes with the fire and stuff (well, I do respect its all done the old good way, all hand drawn, and I guess if I had to draw about 10 different frames per second for an entire series, I would do the same). The characters are all pimp as well as the story. The ending episodes are the great ones. Well worth buying and watching over and over.
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