Joseph Luster
December 4, 2007 Those finding themselves late to the Burst Angel party are probably ready to skip past this OVA write-up in favor of something they’re more familiar with; something that isn’t already drenched in history. We all know how intimidating established worlds can be to new viewers, but thankfully, this little ditty is a prequel! Prequels can also be a volatile method of presentation, though. Conceptually ideal for newcomers, they often depend on an investment in the characters and setting to remain remotely meaningful.
Burst Angel: Infinity is kind of along those lines, as well, but come on; this is a series by Koichi Ohata, madman director behind such wild, balls-out anime as Genocyber and MD Geist. It’s understandable to find this credential irresistible, just be forewarned when considering this one-shot as an easy entry point to the series: it will lose a good deal of its relevance if you haven’t been watching Burst Angel in the first place.
In this adventure, Jo and Meg set off to avenge the young girl Shirley, who is now hospitalized thanks to a nasty attack by some bizarre scythe-wielding sicko on the streets. Throughout the brief course of their vengeance, they come face to face with this voyeuristic grim reaper who preys on the weak, and duel a “guerilla combat cybot•bCrLf (direct quote) outfitted with countless blades and a mean metal mug.
All of this is set up, executed, and pulled to a tight closing within the time constraints of a TV-length episode. If anything, the action goes by a little too quickly. There isn’t really a proper balance between the spark that sets everything off and the payoff that’s delivered, making it seem slightly incomplete. There’s also this lingering, unfulfilled hope that the police officer Sam will go all Fred “The Hammer•bCrLf Williamson circa Vigilante on the bad guys, but he stays firmly planted behind his desk for the most part. Maybe it’s a good thing that they leave the audience wanting more, especially if someone is being introduced to the gang for the first time, but it suffers a bit as a stand-alone piece of animation.
Since the entire running time of Infinity hits a modest 25 minutes, a good deal of the weight of this disc’s value falls on the bonus features. It’s a good thing that they’re so beefy then, coming in at over 80 minutes longer than the feature itself. The most illuminating of these extras is “The Lightness and Darkness of Jo,•bCrLf a full episode that tracks the heroine before she knew Meg. Its opening moments may be littered with wall-to-wall fan service, but the rest is pretty solid back-story with heart and a dose of action. Burst Angel may not be a very “deep•bCrLf show, but it knows it and has fun with what it does.
Honestly, this episode is pound for pound the better of the two. Add a borderline feature-length “Battle Record of All 24 Episodes•bCrLf bonus (which follows the series in capsule form from beginning to end), previews of the TV series and this very OVA, and a short special on character designer Ugetsu Hakua, and you’ve got yourself a meal that might refresh some fans while falling just short of being palatable enough to satisfy a newcomer. For the latter, do yourself a favor if you’re interested in Burst Angel: grab the series, dig the violent and scantily clad mercenary protagonists, and then come back later for this extra slice of Ohata pie
