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Jun 11, 2023
The prologue is an in-universe, Gunpla 10-vs-10 team battle. Episode 3 of the TV series "The Protector" starts with showing the conclusion of this battle, overlapping both.
Instead of a prologue, I would treat it as an extended scene from that episode. If one is curious about how the battle looked from the beginning and wants to briefly meet some new characters, they are welcome to take a peak. In the end, it's barely 12 minutes of runtime.
Watching this between episode 2 and 3 of the TV series seems optimal, though not necessary for changing the overall enjoyment of the series.
It's hard to treat it as
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a standalone piece. An inoffensive animation showcase that was just fine. (6/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 18, 2023
Who is this for?
This is the first question that seems to pop up while watching something that one could keep up with, only because of previous contact with the manga it was based on.
But let’s start at a beginning. It’s an early 90s OVA that comes with all the characteristics of its counterparts: action, blood, a little convoluted plot, sharp style and animated a little better than a standard tv series.
What makes GUNNM special is definitely the source material that elevated and at the same time hindered this particular production. And while the first instinct is to judge something on its own merits, it
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feels impossible to divorce the two, in this case.
Saying the pace is going at a speed of light is no exaggeration. Awkward edits and cuts are happening almost every minute and a first-timer will definitely find themselves lost and confused. It makes it impossible not to see how the story got cut, minced and put together again, into some sort of Frankenstein’s monster. On top of that, new elements and characters were added to help keep some sort of coherency, at least from the storytelling standpoint, to a varying degree of success. New faces were introduced and then immediately dropped. Seeds of plot points and ideas planted but never allowed to grow. It’s all remnants of something bigger and the audience only sees the ghosts that are trying to portray the atmosphere and feel the adaptation was trying to convey.
On the more positive note, the animation and action scenes are hype, though a little floaty. From Madhouse, I expected a little more but it’s good enough to have fun. Whatever music there is, it’s atmospheric. Reminding me even of “Kaneda” from Akira movie with a heavier beat. Also, there is a compelling story hidden in-between the snapshots of a full plot.
Coming back to the question “Who is this for?”. People not acquainted with the manga, will find this at most an ok hour of their life or at worst a confusing mess. Though, maybe the charming lead and concept will make them curious about the source material.
Fans will be reminded all the time that they could be reading a better version of this story instead.
It feels like a demo or a proof of concept. Which may be not far from the truth since the live action movie was made. It kept even the weird, new additions original to the OVA.
With a heavy heart, I can’t really recommend watching it. Maybe if one is extremely curious or doesn’t have anything else to do for an hour. But in any other case? Please, read the manga, you won’t regret it. Or even watch the movie. It’s definitely a better version of this particular version of the story.
Average, not bad enough to make fun of it and not good enough to sing praises. (5/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 11, 2022
Levius was interesting to pick apart. At first glance, everything should work to pull in the viewer for a fun ride. The talent behind the show is apparent and the concept interesting enough to earn itself an anime adaptation. It makes people turn their head but not stop and truly interest them further.
Mild spoilers, existence of characters mentioned, nothing plot-related.
Animation: Very Good
This is an anime with strong art direction. Possibly the mangaka, whose beautiful artwork can be seen in the outro, helped a lot. They seem to have strong fundamentals and the high quality of art can be seen throughout. Character designs are simple but
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sharp. The light in some environment shots is lovely and gives an amazing atmosphere.
Of course, it brings us to the CGI. While it is often something people scoff at (not without reason), all the fundamentals come out on top and “Levius” just looks good. The movement is more often snappy and expressive than floaty and awkward that CGI can struggle with. There are still some stumbles though. The facial expressions could be pushed further if they were hand-animated and some scenes in the town lack a bigger crowd to make the city feel more alive. Then again, they are rare enough that they don’t take away from the overall enjoyment.
Music: Very Good
The music definitely takes a step back to bring forth the sound design. The soundtrack is subtle and elevates instead of hyping up. What deserves a shoutout is definitely the opening and ending songs that at some point, I was more looking forward to than the main story itself. Sound design is satisfying and does a lion share of making the punches feel real but it is nothing revolutionary.
Story: Fine
It’s simple. It’s a boxing anime with the standard formula and it’s own twist on steam-powered technology. Still, there is some exposition thrown for how this world’s politics work in regards to the sport, the main character and not much else. It makes it feel a little empty on the inside. It introduces the viewer quickly but fails to make them want to dig deeper.
While inoffensive, it gave me the feeling of going from point A to point B because it was written in the script, instead of flowing naturally from one event to the next.
Characters: Average
For a sports anime with a dose of drama, it should be the strongest point but instead, is the weakest. Like the story, the characters are simple and nothing beyond that. They lack depth in most cases and probably screen time. Instead it’s given to the main character - Levius - who is not a charismatic protagonist at all. He is serious and determined, yet we don’t get to see his inner motivations until very late and it’s hard to relate to him in any way.
In a case like that, foil characters are added. The Uncle, Bill and Natalia have more colourful personalities and bounce off of Levius like a ball on concrete wall. It’s fun watching the ball but it’s less fun when camera mainly focuses on the concrete wall. The most illustrating example, is how Natalia's character was a brilliant move to add some emotional stakes and bounce to the overly serious and mundane dynamic at the gym. Yet, she is never given enough weight to really influence the plot and even lacks a few steps in her relationship to Levius. Her whole arc at the end, while necessary for the story beats, feels unearned and out of nowhere.
The story drives the characters instead of the other way around.
Often it felt, in small ways, that someone was making a decision because the script needed to go to point B, not because it felt right or natural for the established personality. Which is mind-boggling, because the characters are so simple that it should be easy to make them drive the story forward and have bright, contrasting scenes between them.
Maybe it were some changes for the adaptation. Maybe time constraints (yet, the pacing didn’t feel rushed, so I doubt that)? But the end result has a feeling of such a wasted potential, I was even a little sad while finishing watching it.
Conclusion:
Levius had all the right cards. Interesting concept, simple and well-tested story formula, good art direction and animation, yet it somewhere, somehow fumbled along the way. It lacked the final “oomph”, to really bring all the ingredients to something special.
The highlight was definitely the Malcolm fight, so the first half was worth seeing if not for the story then for the animation. While it sounds harsh, the anime itself is not bad by any means and would probably make for a good watch in the evenings for the less demanding audience (which again, is not a bad thing at all). It fits quite well in the Netflix library.
While Levius deserves some praises, the competent execution can get the story only so far. And it would feel wrong to give it anything over a “Fine” rating. (6/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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