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Saber Marionette J (Ultimate collection)

Saber Marionette J (Ultimate collection)

List Price: $199.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great anime!
Review: Before I get to my review, here's a little disclaimer:

Beware if you are buying this boxset--mine was not packaged well at all, and as a result several of the discs were damaged! The DVD's are packaged two discs to a sleeve, and when they arrived, nearly half of these discs were floating around in the cases (the holders had broken, apparently during shipping) and were getting scratched in the process! Another of the cases had THREE discs (one was a duplicate) floating freely around in the case; they are all damaged. The last time this happened was when I purchased a VHS boxset and several of the tapes were not functional. I just wanted to give everyone whose interested a head's up. I wish I had been warned. But onto my little review:

This show is nothing ground-breaking, but I found it entertaining nonetheless. The character designs aren't really my cup of tea (they are remniscent of The Slayers), but the animation is pretty well done.

I found the characters to be pretty hard to like, honestly. Otaru is just a WEIRDO--I don't care if his robots look like girls, they are robots! Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry are ROBOTS. I don't care how "cute" they act, it doesn't change the fact that they're machines. And the whole "Master, we love you" attitude of the marionettes got to be grating. It did!

Another bothersome aspect was how all of the main characters relentlessly picked on the character Hanigata! I mean, the guy could be annoying, but is that any reason to punch him everytime he says something or push him off cliffs, or give him over to the enemies to save yourself? What kind of a "hero" type character does that? Suffice to say, I came to sympathize with Hanigata the most, and not give a rat's tail about the main cast.

Yet, despite its many flaws, this was an enjoyable watch.

Yaoi and shounen-ai fans might enjoy Hanigata, voiced by the popular Koyasu Takehito, whose also lent his voice to characters like Aburatsubo (another flamboyantly gay character) from Magic User's Club and Mosquiton from Master of Mosquiton. Hanigata develops an undying love for Otaru (who knows why) and constantly flirts with him--and is violently rejected each time. It's really hard to believe that there isn't MORE homosexuality in this show, however, seeing as these characters inhabit an all MALE planet. In that context, I don't understand why it would be considered so unusual by Otaru for another guy to like him.

And one more note: I'm usually not one to say this but AVOID the dubs! The voice actors were not chosen well at all, and they aren't even consistent, as they changed casts with each series. Stick with the subtitles on this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Review and a Cautionary Warning
Review: Before I get to my review, here's a little disclaimer:

Beware if you are buying this boxset--mine was not packaged well at all, and as a result several of the discs were damaged! The DVD's are packaged two discs to a sleeve, and when they arrived, nearly half of these discs were floating around in the cases (the holders had broken, apparently during shipping) and were getting scratched in the process! Another of the cases had THREE discs (one was a duplicate) floating freely around in the case; they are all damaged. The last time this happened was when I purchased a VHS boxset and several of the tapes were not functional. I just wanted to give everyone whose interested a head's up. I wish I had been warned. But onto my little review:

This show is nothing ground-breaking, but I found it entertaining nonetheless. The character designs aren't really my cup of tea (they are remniscent of The Slayers), but the animation is pretty well done.

I found the characters to be pretty hard to like, honestly. Otaru is just a WEIRDO--I don't care if his robots look like girls, they are robots! Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry are ROBOTS. I don't care how "cute" they act, it doesn't change the fact that they're machines. And the whole "Master, we love you" attitude of the marionettes got to be grating. It did!

Another bothersome aspect was how all of the main characters relentlessly picked on the character Hanigata! I mean, the guy could be annoying, but is that any reason to punch him everytime he says something or push him off cliffs, or give him over to the enemies to save yourself? What kind of a "hero" type character does that? Suffice to say, I came to sympathize with Hanigata the most, and not give a rat's tail about the main cast.

Yet, despite its many flaws, this was an enjoyable watch.

Yaoi and shounen-ai fans might enjoy Hanigata, voiced by the popular Koyasu Takehito, whose also lent his voice to characters like Aburatsubo (another flamboyantly gay character) from Magic User's Club and Mosquiton from Master of Mosquiton. Hanigata develops an undying love for Otaru (who knows why) and constantly flirts with him--and is violently rejected each time. It's really hard to believe that there isn't MORE homosexuality in this show, however, seeing as these characters inhabit an all MALE planet. In that context, I don't understand why it would be considered so unusual by Otaru for another guy to like him.

And one more note: I'm usually not one to say this but AVOID the dubs! The voice actors were not chosen well at all, and they aren't even consistent, as they changed casts with each series. Stick with the subtitles on this one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: good fisrt half bad scond
Review: first half is good with good voice cast. second half j to x is badly dubed and the voice are different and flat sounding. sadly that ruins the whole box set

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AMAZING Just AMAZING!
Review: OH MY GOD! This was, by far, one of the best animes I've ever seen. The storyline was not only funny but dramatic (a very dangerous combination) and the voice work was awesome. Even though it took some getting used to each English Cast (Which changed with each series) I found they all did great. I'll admit that SM JtoX had the weakest of the VA's, but I still loved it anyway (it had it's bad moments, but still did a good job). Of all the characters, I love Lime. She is so cute, and all three of the VA's did her great (I couldn't believe the SM JtoX Lime was the same voice as Reece the blue devil from Zoids Chaotic Century). The Humor was hilarious. I could watch it over and over and still crack up. The drama had me on the brink of tears once or twice. The storyline is very original and movie. The animation was great (if you'd exclude the obvious CGI-house scenes)

The one thing I love about anime is that, unlike some american spin-off's or series sequals, animes never done anything less than equal if not surpass their predecessors (I.E. DB to DBZ, Sailor Moon to it's spin-offs, and especially Saber Marionette J). I highly recommend this DVD set for all. If you never watched an anime before but would like to, START WITH THIS ONE! You'll never regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AMAZING Just AMAZING!
Review: OH MY GOD! This was, by far, one of the best animes I've ever seen. The storyline was not only funny but dramatic (a very dangerous combination) and the voice work was awesome. Even though it took some getting used to each English Cast (Which changed with each series) I found they all did great. I'll admit that SM JtoX had the weakest of the VA's, but I still loved it anyway (it had it's bad moments, but still did a good job). Of all the characters, I love Lime. She is so cute, and all three of the VA's did her great (I couldn't believe the SM JtoX Lime was the same voice as Reece the blue devil from Zoids Chaotic Century). The Humor was hilarious. I could watch it over and over and still crack up. The drama had me on the brink of tears once or twice. The storyline is very original and movie. The animation was great (if you'd exclude the obvious CGI-house scenes)

The one thing I love about anime is that, unlike some american spin-off's or series sequals, animes never done anything less than equal if not surpass their predecessors (I.E. DB to DBZ, Sailor Moon to it's spin-offs, and especially Saber Marionette J). I highly recommend this DVD set for all. If you never watched an anime before but would like to, START WITH THIS ONE! You'll never regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWESOME series. Absolutly loved it!!!!
Review: One of my all time favorite anime series. The characters are great as well as the plot. However I must suggest that anyone who watches this watch it in japanese with Engligh subtitles!!! The voices are so much better, Lime's is absolutly adorable. The English dubed voices just plain suck. To get the full effect, use the japanese audio with subtitles!!! A must see!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SUGOI!
Review: Saber Marionette J has to be one of the most heartfelt anime series ever made. Though dismissed as just some male fantasy of having three gorgeous android girls fawn over some guy, SMJ is nothing like that! Well, maybe a little... but for most of the time, you forget that Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry aren't human. The story itself is touching, and by the end of SMJ to X had me in tears. SMJ Again and SMJ to X, are just as heartfelt, and I'd dare to say, better than the first SMJ. The story lines continue, and you get to know all the characters much better.
As for the DVD...
This is an incredibly good buy, considering you get 57 episodes ..., and the series cannot disappoint you! It has something for everyone- cute girls, funny boys, love, action, and makes you think about humanity as a whole. If you've always wanted to see Saber Marionette J, but were daunted by how much there was of the series, get the boxed set! You get every episode and fun extras that will make you love it all the more. So if youve got some extra $ and want something well worth every penny, buy it. You won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SUGOI!
Review: Saber Marionette J has to be one of the most heartfelt anime series ever made. Though dismissed as just some male fantasy of having three gorgeous android girls fawn over some guy, SMJ is nothing like that! Well, maybe a little... but for most of the time, you forget that Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry aren't human. The story itself is touching, and by the end of SMJ to X had me in tears. SMJ Again and SMJ to X, are just as heartfelt, and I'd dare to say, better than the first SMJ. The story lines continue, and you get to know all the characters much better.
As for the DVD...
This is an incredibly good buy, considering you get 57 episodes ..., and the series cannot disappoint you! It has something for everyone- cute girls, funny boys, love, action, and makes you think about humanity as a whole. If you've always wanted to see Saber Marionette J, but were daunted by how much there was of the series, get the boxed set! You get every episode and fun extras that will make you love it all the more. So if youve got some extra $ and want something well worth every penny, buy it. You won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great anime!
Review: Saber Marionette J is one of the only anime series that actually made me almost cry. Saber Marionette J takes place on Terra 2, an all male planet. Because it is an all male planet, marionettes were created to replace the human female. The main character is a man named Otaru. One day, Otaru somehow(don't want to ruin the story)woke up a marionette named Lime. Lime, unlike other marionettes, has emotions. Otaru also awakens two other marionettes(Cherry and Bloodberry) with emotions as well. And thats just a summary about the series(Not very good huh?).

Anyway, the animation of J and J Again was excellent(J was better). The animation for J to X looked more simple and childish. The English VAs are different for each series. J has a good dub, J Again has an average(good VAs, but not accurate)dub, and J to X's dub is terrible(stay away from it). If your listening to the Japanese, you won't even notice(by the way, the Japanese VAs are good)! The songs are great. The opening song for J, J Again, & J to X and closing song for J and J to X are sung by Megumi Hayashibara. You'll most likely start buying SMJ soundtracks.

Now about the box. The box is strudy, but too tight so you may have to tip over the box and get the dvds. There are 14 DVDs in seven 2-discs sets. The box and cover art looks nice and the box has the signature of the character designer and is individually numbered. There is no volence and not a lot of sexual situations. Even though, this series for preteens to adults. There are some things to complain about SMJ, but this series has a good plot, lovable characters, excellent music, great animation(I'm talking about J and Again)so it is a must see for all anime fans.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Solid, Valuable Collection
Review: This collection is definitely one of the best values as far as anime goes. There are single-season collections that sell for more than this SIGNED collection of 2 seasons and an OVA.

It might be worth noting that the pictures for the collection can be misleading: each of those cases contains 2 DVDs; 6 DVDs J, 2 for OVA, and 6 for J-X. Although there's 7 cases, there are 14 DVDs.

Extras on the DVDs include Photo galleries (with character explanations that are so childish it's embarassing; "This is Lime! She's the happy one!" etc.), textless openings and endings, interviews with the creators, etc.

Before I bought this, I had already seen J and OVA, but hadn't seen J-X.

The story can be hokey at times (especially the later stories), but all three marionetts tug on your heartstrings in their own way. The OVA and J-X definitely don't have as compelling of a storyline as the original. They feel somewhat forced, and seem to be without the drive of the original series. Don't get me wrong, the OVA and J-X are enjoyable, but they didn't have me rivited to my seat in the way that that J did.

A great buy and definitely reccomended.


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