Rating: 
Summary: A GOOD START FOR NATURE GIRL
Review: After reading less than stellar reviews about this dvd, the only reason I really picked it up was for the composer of the music, Yoko Kanno, the same genius behind the music of Cowboy Bebop. I figured she wouldn't lend her name to a project that was totally awful. I was pleasantly surprised, with some reservations, by Arjuna Volume 1.Teenager Juna Ariyoshi and her boyfriend, Tokio, are riding his motorcycle to see a beautiful sunset when an accident kills Juna. While she is dead, a mysterious entity known as Chris offers her a deal. He promises to resurrect her in exchange for her becoming the Avatar of Time. You see, Earth has become infested with demons known as Raaja which in time will destroy our planet. It is Juna's task to purify the planet of these spirits in order to save mankind. She won't be alone. There is an organization named S.E.E.D dedicated to saving Earth who will back her up. She also has some weapons, such as a sacred bow, and a protecting spirit she can summon. She'll need him because the Raaja make Godzilla look like a midget. These first three episodes are mainly setup of the story with Arjuna's origin, her first battle, and her struggle to become the proctector of the earth. Struggle, because as is usual in these types of stories, Chris, supposedly her mentor, talks in riddles, and doesn't just come out and tell her everything. Add to this the fact that Tokio is at a loss as to what has happened to the person he loves. I felt like the premise of exorcising spirits from the earth and the appearance of these wraithlike Raaja was very copycat-like of Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within. This wasn't helped by the fact that the Raaja are CG animated just like in FF. The CG of the monster looks very clumsy and out of place in the film. There are some very beautiful scenes in these episodes. It had film quality animation except in the CG Raaja. The soundtrack, as expected, is great. Arjunas's costume takes a little to get used to, a little too Tinkerbell for me, but the series is very good about taking its time to develop her character. It does have a 5.1 Japanese along with
English sound. You can also isolate the score. You can also pick up all the volumes in one Arjuna complete collection set. Would've given it 4 stars except for the CG.
Rating: 
Summary: Another gem from Kawamori...
Review: Earth Maiden Arjuna is the latest entry in the anime field from legendary Shoji Kawamori (Macross, Escaflowne). It encompasses an environmental theme, with the premise of a young girl being given a second chance at life, if she will protect the earth as the "Avatar of Time". While I sort of questioned the plot at first, the first 3 episodes on the disc quickly changed my mind. We are quickly introduced to Juna, a young high school girl who struggles in life and archery. After she is involved in a motorcycle accident and is in the hospital unconcious, she is approached by a strange apparition who grants her her life in exchange for taking up the fight against strange creatures called the Raaja. Not really knowing what she is getting into, Juna accepts and is thrust into a world she simply does not understand. With the help of the former Avatar of Time, a seemingly lifeless boy in a wheelchair, Chris, and a mysterious organization known as S.E.E.D., Juna begins to accept the life she will now lead. One of the funnier moments is when oridinary people (her boyfriend) see Juna fighting the Raaja, as they cannot see what she sees, and only see a girl talking and performing strange movements to no one. The animation is eye dropping, with a mix of hand drawn and CG work, the template of what will be used in Kawamori's upcoming Macross Zero OAV series. Music is done by none other than Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop)and her music as usual is glorious and really fits the subject matter well. This DVD features great sound, with a 5.1 mix for both Japanese and English tracks...I didn't listen to the dub version, so I cannot comment on it, but the Japanese mix sounds fantastic, especially with Kanno's music in 5.1 Dolby Digital glory. I enjoyed these 1st 3 episodes,and I eagerly await the next disc in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Visually and musically breathtaking anime with a plot!
Review: First, "Arjuna" was created by Shoji Kawamori of "Escaflowne" and "Macross" fame. This series is definitely on par with those two masterpieces. Animation, character designs, voices (even the dub), music (two words: Yoko Kanno!) and story are all as amazing as Kawamori's other work, but that is where the comparison ends for the most part. Further, Arjuna's story is unique, with a intricate, yet not convuluted depth rare in anime. In short, it makes you really think about the subject matter it explores. Rather than just throwing out abstract ideals, Arjuna really examines a less common point-of-view about nature, as well as human nature. Finally, the perspective is offered from a 15-year-old girl as she searches for her identity and faces a lot of very normal stuff along with the supernatural, magical-girl adventure. I recommend this series for fans of Kawamori, those who love beautiful animation, those who like great character relationship development or anyone who wants to really stop and think about the man vs. nature conflict. Its not a stereotypical shoujo, magical-girl, mushy plot at all, in fact, its a refreshing mix of top-notch animation and music with introspection. The DVD release is well done with nice extras and very good A/V. The soundtrack is a typical Kanno masterpiece too!
Rating:
Summary: Visually and musically breathtaking anime with a plot!
Review: First, "Arjuna" was created by Shoji Kawamori of "Escaflowne" and "Macross" fame. This series is definitely on par with those two masterpieces. Animation, character designs, voices (even the dub), music (two words: Yoko Kanno!) and story are all as amazing as Kawamori's other work, but that is where the comparison ends for the most part. Further, Arjuna's story is unique, with a intricate, yet not convuluted depth rare in anime. In short, it makes you really think about the subject matter it explores. Rather than just throwing out abstract ideals, Arjuna really examines a less common point-of-view about nature, as well as human nature. Finally, the perspective is offered from a 15-year-old girl as she searches for her identity and faces a lot of very normal stuff along with the supernatural, magical-girl adventure. I recommend this series for fans of Kawamori, those who love beautiful animation, those who like great character relationship development or anyone who wants to really stop and think about the man vs. nature conflict. Its not a stereotypical shoujo, magical-girl, mushy plot at all, in fact, its a refreshing mix of top-notch animation and music with introspection. The DVD release is well done with nice extras and very good A/V. The soundtrack is a typical Kanno masterpiece too!
Rating:
Summary: Very Compelling
Review: I have only seen the first episode of Arjuna, as it was made available on a bandai promotional DVD given away at Otakon. Arjuna is a very compelling little story that although follows a different story line, reminds me very much of Escaflowne. Just like Escaflowne, Arjuna follows a struggling high school girl athlete as she takes a mysterious trip leading to what may hopefully become 26 episodes of Anime Goodness. Sharp mix of computer animation coupled with the painted cell artwork. In fact, This is the first Anime I've seen with this much CG effect. Great music, the opening track sounds like a slow paced Yoko Kanno original (although it is not) I am looking forward to the full release of Arjuna, I can only hope that Bandai rushes these out instead of torturing us with one volume every few months.
Rating:
Summary: I dont know, this show is getting annoying.
Review: I just watched the first 4 episodes and I am getting kind of turned off by the environmentalist type stuff in the series. Wanting to stop polution and stuff is good just keep it out of my Anime. The artwork and english dubbing is verry good, though the CG could have been better in the way of character designs. Hopefully the plot will start going somewhere soon, mabe the next couple of episode will redeem my interest. I still have hope that this series can get better, so hopefully it will.
Rating:
Summary: Arjuna is a must have!
Review: I must admit that I was hesitant to add this series to my collection. However when I first saw the preview edition from Newtype USA Magazine DVD insert, I imediately went online to purchase this DVD. For those who fell in love with the popular Escaflowne title, this series will not disapoint. From the crisp and hybrid animation to the very familiar Kanno soundtrack, and innovative story, this series seems to do no wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven animation, mean-spirited ecological preaching
Review: I thought the animation was rather poor. They relied too much on whiz-bang computer graphics, and so the cel-style animation of the characters is rather sub-par: it doesn't seem shaded properly. Many of the computer graphics are indeed excellent, but sometimes even they are lacking: one particular shot of "natural" forest featured trees that were spaced so regularly as to appear to be a Christmas tree farm.
The characters of Takeo and Juna are pretty well done. Juna is a bit whiny, but she's going through a lot, and that's to be expected. As a matter of fact, this highlights one of my biggest complaints: her mentor, Chris, and his helper (whose name I don't recall) are hateful to her. They constantly berate her for her ignorance (though they don't actually explain much to her), are astonished when she does anything right, and are generally unhelpful and mean.
The plot is pretty standard save-the-world fare, but in this case saving the world is literal: Juna is to save the _Earth_. S.E.E.D. doesn't seem concerned about the fate of the planet's inhabitants, as long as the natural ecosystem is intact. Juna is the new "Avatar of Time", which would literally imply that Time is a god, but the only god worshipped here is the Earth. Chris is willing to let her die in order to prepare her for saving the Earth. I got the impression he almost hoped she _would_ die so maybe the "Avatar of Time" would be reincarnated into someone less stupid.
Oh, and nuclear power is always bad: better stick with nice, clean coal. Or better yet, stop using electricity altogether. Humans have a lot of nerve using air conditioning.
Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful..
Review: I was first introduced to Earth Girl Arjuna through my anime club, where I promptly fell in love with the gorgeous animation and compelling storyline. I soon realized that I was one of the only people there who was enjoying it. The story of Arjuna is not one that everyone will take to - many people prefer not to be confronted with the realities of the world we live in, and the manner in which "Earth Girl Arjuna" uses to showcase the problems with society and the environment has been criticized as "preachy" and "too Captain Planet-esque" for many anime fans. I cannot disagree more. The most eloquent review of Arjuna that I have ever read stated this: "Arjuna condemns no one... it is after all a 'cartoon' that's meant to entertain. However, it seems to ask the viewer to stop and consider one's place in the world and to deeply ponder the things that we do and why we do them." (Mark, The Black Moon) Within Arjuna, fans of most genres will find something they like. Arjuna is a social commentary disguised as a 'magical girl' show, wherein an ordinary high school student is given fantastic powers. However, these newfound abilities come to Juna, the main character, with several unhappy effects: first, she has to die before she gets them, and once she has the ability to resonate with the Earth, she discovers that a normal life is no longer an option for her. Eating a fast food hamburger becomes a form of torture as Juna is forced to see and experience the process through which the meat was made; everywhere she goes, Juna is the only one who can see the giant worms called Raaja that are intricately connected to pollution and societal breakdown. Juna's family is not the happily clueless bunch so often seen; her newly divorced mother cannot accept Juna's new life and is breaking down because of it, her sister wants nothing to do with her, desiring only a typical teenage existance, and her father only shows up once in the entire series and has no idea how to handle his child. As Juna learns to deal with her powers, her fledgling relationship with her best friend Tokio, and the great responsiblity thrust upon her by a mysterious organization called SEED, the viewer is shown scenes of heartbreaking beauty and disaster in a magnificent use of CG-animation. I never really felt that this series was slapping me over the head with a message: on the contrary, "Arjuna" expects you to walk away with your own moral, just as Juna is left to solve her problems on her own. Do not pass this series up - one of the best to come out of Japan recently should not be missed.
Rating:
Summary: The New Avatar of Time
Review: It starts out with this ordinary highschool archery student named Juna, and her boyfriend Tokio. At the start of the movie, Juna is feeling bumed that she didn't do well in the archery contest, buckling under pressure. Her boyfriend decides to cheer her up, and wishes to take her to "a real coast," to see the sunset.
What is meant by "a real coast" is due to the fact, that where they live, the ocean water is so unhealthy and dirty. So Tokio takes her on his bike to the ocean. But this is where things take a turn for the worst. The bike hits some distortion in the road, and Juna is flung off the bike and begins fighting for her life.
She sees herself dying on a hospital bed, and her boyfriend praying that she lives.
It it at this point she recieves a vision, where she becomes the sole witness to the destruction of earth, and everything on it, by this evil life form called the Rajah. It is here that Juna is given a second chance at life, under the condition that she becomes the Avatar of Time, and wields the powers of the Earth.
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