BURST ANGEL
 VOL 2: A NEW TOKYO
 (MVM Region 2 PAL DVD)
(2005)
review by Blackgloves

Volume 2 of GONZO's new kick-ass, futuristic, sci-fi anime series features two, two-part adventures that largely ignore the complicated back-story sketchily outlined in the previous four episodes; instead, the relationships between the four female protagonists is explored with sometimes surprising results. As mentioned in the review of the first volume, with this series, studio GONZO have taken a great many familiar anime conventions and jammed them together in a luxuriously animated, vividly coloured neon splurge of CGI-assisted, cell-animated action -- featuring several varieties of large-eyed, scantily-glad, gun-toting anime babe; loads of transforming mega-giant robots, slugging at each other in mid-air; and a gauche, clueless teenage boy hero who regularly gets himself entangled with foxy babes whose clothes have a habit of disappearing at inopportune moments.

The series takes place in 2050 when Tokyo has become a gun-ridden hellhole that, nevertheless, still looks quite cool and sleek -- even the slums have lots of pretty bright colours to break the jagged skyscraper-dominated skyline. We have been introduced to our protagonists through the eyes of a teenage trainee pastry chief called Kyohci who, one day, finds himself employed by a mysterious dark-haired beauty in a sleek red sports car who goes by the name of Sei. It turns out that he is expected to cook well-balanced meals for a group of crack ... er ... babes -- in figure hugging spandex!? In fact, we've never been told exactly who this group are, what their agenda is, and who the enigmatic Bailan (apparently their unseen boss) really is. The girlie, red-haired Meg; the dour, sullen but intensely loyal Jo; and the energetic pigtailed preteen Amy do, apparently, urgently require four good square meals a-day though, to help them do battle against a seething underworld of crime -- hence the confused Kyohci's involvement!

After vague talk in volume one of a police death-squad called RAFT, which may be involved in secret genetic experiments beneath the city, this instalment switches emphasis to some apparently unrelated adventures which reveal something more of the loyalties and characters of
the female protagonists Meg, Amy, Jo and Sei. The first two episodes reveal the strength of feeling between Jo and Meg when an undercover mission sees Meg posing as a transfer student at a strange girls' boarding school located in a remote clearing in a dense forest. The St. Luciana Academy looks more like an English country manor than a bustling school for girls: its Gothic hallways, with their ornate decor and lush portraiture, now echo to the chatter of the offspring of the moneyed upper-classes -- one of whom apparently is the daughter of Bailan: our heroines' mysterious leader. Or at least she was at the school; that was until she was rushed to hospital suffering from outlandish hallucinations. It is Meg's job to discover just what really happened behind those hallowed manor walls. Soon, she discovers a strange, secret schoolgirl society called the Ishtar Club, whose members enjoy "special privileges" in their luxury locked rooms; she finds some of the girls often appear to be in a kind of hypnotic semi- trance, and one of them has to be saved from jumping off of the roof of the building. However, Meg's snooping doesn't go unnoticed and Jo has to be dispatched to save her from the untold terrors that lurk deep in the darkest recesses of the school.

The two episodes that make up this adventure reveal the contrasting characters of Meg (the flighty, immature, food-obsessed girlie-girl) and Jo (the hard, aggressive, taciturn tomboy) while hinting at some unknown connection that binds them together in unbreakable loyalty. This theme becomes even more pronounced in the second adventure on this disc when, yet again, Meg gets herself into danger and has to be rescued. This time though, Jo's loyalties set her against the rest of the group and even risk young Kyohci's life!

A huge mechanical bird has been seen above Tokyo City and is kidnapping young girls! Kyohci is walking home with a young female friend from his college, when they are attacked and the friend is whisked away by the mechanical claws of the strange beast. Kyohci runs to tell his new employers of this bizarre event, but they find it hard to believe such an outlandish tale -- apart form Jo. When Meg, Jo and Kyohci set out to look for the bird, they too are attacked and once again -- this is becoming something of a habit! -- Meg is kidnapped. Jo wants to go looking for her straight-away, but Sei has arrived with the girls' new mission: an important dignitary is arriving with the prototype of a new nanobot weapon and they must ensure he gains safe passage through the City. Reluctantly, Jo agrees to go along with her boss, but when the mechanical bird attacks the holder of the nanobot, and it becomes obvious that this man is its real target, events take an unexpected turn: Kyohci is injected with the nanobot to put the creature off the scent -- but Jo seizes her chance and takes the hapless lad prisoner and goes on the run from Sei and the forces of Bailan, determined to use Kyohci as bait to lead her to Meg. Unfortunately, if the nanobot is not surgically removed from Kyohci in six hours he will die! Poor little Amy is left with a dilemma: does she assist Sei to hunt down Jo? (and risk the lives of both Jo and Meg) or does she covertly help Jo and risk the life of new friend Kyohci?

This second volume sees two inventive, action-packed and suspenseful stories brought to life with studio GONZO's reliably colourful animation. As well as the undercurrents of romantic interest between Meg and Jo, we also see more of the maternal feelings between Amy and Sei, and Jo's developing acknowledgement of "new boy" Kyohci -- especially when they end-up on-the-run and handcuffed together in a "Thirty-nine Steps" homage. Once again, we get several interesting extras on the disc: a commentary track for one of the episodes features some of the American voice artists and the American voice director commenting on the on-screen action. Also, there is another episode of the insane Japanese cast radio show (plus two, three minute bonus tracks of even more insane squawking!). in high-pitched hysterical voices, the Japanese actresses who play Meg, Jo and Amy indulge in meaningless banter, play various tongue-twister games and act out little skits sent in by listeners: I can't imagine a more inhumane form of torture than forcing someone to listen to this inane drivel all the way through -- it's excruciating! Even with the on-screen translation it's well nigh impossible to make sense of much of it but it gives us a taste of the popular publicity machine around the series.

"Burst Angel" is developing nicely into another regular anime favourite -- once again, this is well worth looking up.