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Reign - The Conqueror - Ascension (Vol. 1)

Reign - The Conqueror - Ascension (Vol. 1)

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $26.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I hate to doo-doo in everyone's Easter basket, but....
Review: I hadn't intended to write a review, thinking that the series would be written off as a misfire, but I was dead wrong. At least I can post a dissenting view to add something to the mix.

'Reign' is an ambitious project, no doubt about that. Furthermore, it makes an aggressive and heartfelt attempt to woo anime buffs with its sweeping rewrite of the story of Alexander the Great. But that's about all the series has to recommend it.

'Reign' has a low-budget feel that manages to reproduce the grotesquerie of the 'Aeon Flux' shorts that appeared on MTV's Liquid Television way back when, without any of that series' remarkable style or visual appeal. The intentionally muddled story plays out as a Cronenberg-inspired, anachronistic nightmare, and everything about it screams overly self-conscious. Historical figures are presented in a way that suggests the creators, like countless college freshmen, followed up an intro to philosophy course with a "Whoa, dude" evening of pot-assisted theorizing. Reign is deconstructionist, but seemingly without intent-- including without the intent to have no intent. It floats uncomfortably between wishing to be a genre-defining masterwork and an in-your-face nihilistic manifesto. When a commercial project sets the latter as its goal, it might at least have the good grace to be entertaining, thought-provoking, or challenging. Reign isn't even much to look at, with much of the animation being on a Saturday morning cartoon level. Static backgrounds, limited detail, and a washed-out palette all undermine the attempts to create an animated epic. And the music is regrettably of the flavor-of-the-month electronic variety.

In short, Reign is all heat and no light. In trying to be everything, it manages to succeed at nothing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reign: The Conqueror is HOT!
Review: I have never really been into anime, in fact this is the first anime show I have ever watched. I saw it on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network and it is so GOOD, I can't even desribe it. I haven't got the DVD yet, but I will, and I know the show will be even better unedited. I suggested everyone check it out on television at least, to see what I'm talking about.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Only 4 eps?
Review: I have really enjoyed catching bits and pieces of this series on Cartoon Network (after the excellent Home Movies) and while I'm not an animation nut (...) I think it would be very cool to have some of this because I was a huge fan of Aeon Flux when it was on Liquid Television and this series seems pretty good.

But what is with only having 4 eps on a DVD?...

Basically, this is the worst value I have seen since Farscape started releasing their DVDs. Disgusting, and I can see why a black market for this programming over file sharing serives has sprung up.

5 stars for Reign The Conqueror. 0 stars for value. Total rating: 2 stars. 2 instead of one *only* because I'll probably still buy the first DVD so I must think it has some value.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: 4 eps??
Review: I have really enjoyed catching bits and pieces of this series on Cartoon Network (after the excellent Home Movies) and while I'm not an animation nut (having only Akira and Princess Mononoke currently in my DVD collections with Spirited Away, Iron Giant, and The Last Unicorn--whever they get around ot putting it on DVD--soon to be added) I think it would be very cool to have some of this because I was a huge fan of Aeon Flux when it was on Liquid Television and this series seems pretty good.

But what is with only having 4 eps on a DVD? If you are going to have approximately the same length of content as a feature-length movie, then don't price it above $20!! What's more, subsequent volumes apparently only have 3 episodes, a running time of 75 minutes, and each is still priced above $20. That's ridiculous IMO. The 4 volumes will cost about $100 once you factor shipping for 13 eps. I can get Seasons 1 *and* 2 of of The Family Guy for $40, The second season of Babylon 5 for less then $80, a 3-disc Futurama with a running time of *299* minutes for under $40 shipped. Let's see, 1st season Osbournes uncensored--approx $25 shipped. Complete Buffy seasons $40. Complete season 1 Angel $50 shipped. 1st season DS9--$100. Yah, that one ain't a great value either. I can see Showtime and HBO seasons costing more because you'd have to subscripbe to get them, but a series on Cartoon Network? Please. If they want to charge $150 for X-Files or Sopranos or whatever that's fine, but for Reign I think it's pretty excessive.

Basically, this is the worst value I have seen since Farscape started releasing their DVDs. Disgusting, and I can see why a black market for this programming over file sharing serives has sprung up.

5 stars for Reign The Conqueror. 0 stars for value. Total rating: 2 stars. 2 instead of one *only* because I'll probably still buy the first DVD so I must think it has some value.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reign
Review: I loved it. TOKOYOPOP strikes again. It's quality video at it's finest.

Sue

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I can't belive it, I don't believe it. You people are MAD!
Review: I read some 5-star reviews saying how great this anime is. Great? It's awful. The worst anime next to Beyblade. "Oh it has gorgeous animation and character designs..." WTF?! Yes the character designs are different...I guess Peter Chung doesn't like to see men wearing pants. Oh no, he likes to see his men in METAL THONGS! WTF?!!!!! Of ALL the things he could think of, metal thongs? Wouldn't those hurt like hell? Not to mention how nasty they look x_x I'd rather see them in mini-skirts! Chung ruined Alexander. He made him look like a cross-dresser (o_0) It's all VERY historically inaccurate and 100% disgusting. Monsters crawling out of navels...gross.

I have no clue WHAT Chung was smoking when he made this. The anime itself looks like it's on drugs. No kidding, when do you see an anime where guys are wearing metal thongs? Oh and before you tell me, "Dont listen to all those ppl givin bad reviews! Theyre non-otakus (anime fans)!!! this show rox!!" I love anime. I've seen Nausicaa, Trigun, Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop, Princess Mononoke, Inuyasha, Spirited Away, Naruto, and many others. This one is probably the worst (along with Beyblade x_x). DO NOT SEE IT. Not even worth one star. A big fat ZERO from this otaku.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Aeon Flux Fans will Enjoy This Drivel
Review: I watched this and found myself wondering "Why did I waste my time?" This is just your basic MTV ..., just like "Aeon Flux" was. The character design was not very original or stunning. It was like a ten-year old drew it and some adult artists filled in the bodies. The backgrounds are well drawn and look very good. The voice acting on both the Japanese and the English tracks isn't good at all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Alexander retold
Review: If you like history or retellings of it you will probably like the retelling of Alexander's rise to power. Reign is directed by the same man as Aeon Flux and has the same type of artwork. The bad guys look it and the good guys do too. A refreshing way to look at history

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Did you like Aeon Flux?
Review: If you liked Aeon Flux (either the Liquid TV shorts or the longer episodes), then you'll like Reign. If you have no idea what Aeon Flux is, then you should watch it or an ep of Reign before committing to buying the DVD. The animation style is very unique, and not everyone likes it. It doesn't look like what people have come to expect from "anime." It's really sort of a post-anime style. I'm not sure why there are all those other people's names in the credits, because this show has Peter Chung's fingerprints all over it.

The plot is decent and makes the viewer pay attention. The show actually makes you think about what is going on. In fact, some of the plot is *gasp* ambiguous. So if Trigun's plot taxed your noggin, maybe Reign is too far in the deep end for you. The one improvement over Aeon Flux is that the plot makes a heck of a lot more sense and hangs together throughout the series.

As others have mentioned, the clothing choices are somewhat bizarre (similar to Aeon Flux), and the sexual persuasion of some of the characters is ambiguous (not sure what someone who has a sexual preference for snakes is called), so if you're not comfortable with that, maybe you should move on.

A unique and cutting-edge animated series.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Watch it on the tube, before even thinking of purchasing
Review: The subject says it all. I'm a great fan of animation and always looking for something new to watch. As already said, Reign is the work of the fellow responsible for Aeon Flux. Which means, if you didn't like Aeon Flux...you probably won't like Reign.

The character design was basically carried over and as one person mentioned, the costumes merely altered to appear more graecian than futuristic. The storyline and writing are fine, but if you're like me and can't get pass the character design and even some of the animation, its not good enough to overcome those obstacles.

In many ways, the creator has some sort of love for the androgynous, which unless you're a big fan of bishonen in Anime, is hard to appreciate. The style of drawing is peculiar, be it lined around the lips or the shape of the torso and thigh, and sometimes is simply too much for fans of anime, as the style of Aeon Flux is authentically its own.

I applaud any animation headed by someone from the West that escapes the cartoon quality of episodic dailies, but often times the animation style itself is too artistic to please anyone but a small minority audience.

If you're looking for anime, this isn't it. Like an orange in a line of apples among the anime presented on Cartoon Network, while it might be preferred more than or liked along with apples, its still not an apple.


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