Harmagedon (Collector's Series 20th Anniversary Edition)

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I remember a video game called "Bega's Battle" which had different film takes off of this anime. But overall fun to watch.

It's exactly what I wanted and I received it in good time.

I've been looking for this movie for years after I had seen it years ago on IFC. Definitely a must have for any anime fan's collection. The movie arrived in a few days in excellent condition and for a great price. I'd definitely purchase from them again.

While the animation was old and didn't look as good as newer anime, the premise of the story was pretty good, and that in its self was enough to give it 4 stars.

If you're a classic anime fan or a fan of the old "Bega's Battles" video game, it's a must-see, but for modern audiences it's real hard to watch. The story is disjointed, and goes off in directions that never lead anywhere. Wish I could give it more stars.

Yup I gave this 5 stars, deal with it. Yes, this show has horrible animation. Very bad, I agree completely, especially considering when it was produced. However, the I felt was one of the most wonderfully complex and multi-layered stories I have come across in an anime. I've never put too much emphasis animation, although I do enjoy great animation direction, but I can overlook it in some cases including this one. I wish more anime fans could do that instead of being obsessed with how technically advanced the animation is. Obviously this isn't for your run of the mill, immature anime fan who just wants an instant pay-off with flashy animation, instantly relatable characters, and spoon-fed plots. This anime I felt is good because its based on very good source material, and that is why I give it 5 stars. These 5 stars I give less for the producers of the anime and more for Shotaro Ishinomori and Kazumu Hirai who were two of the most brilliant and creative minds that crafted some of the most wonderful stories in fiction. Ishinomori, in particular I consider one of the 3 most important manga-ka in history. This anime is based on Ishinomori's interpretation of Kazum Hirai's Genma Taisen novels. I'm not sure which ones though, since no information is available on them in English. The Genma Taisen series of novels is reportedly incredibly long, having started in the 60's and still ongoing today. The story is said to be one of the most complex and multi-layered sagas ever put to word. This anime relates one of the chapters it this story that follows the lives of the twins, Loof and Jin. I won't go into spoiling the story for you, but subtitle of Eve of Mythology is a good one, because I do believe this is a grand story of mythic proportions. Obviously though, this wasn't the best execution of this story possible with the very badly executed animation, but I still appreciate it much. Perhaps, they had very little budget for animation, but I am grateful I got to witness this story because the Genma Taisan novels and manga probably have a very small chance of making it over the US any time soon. You could defiantly argue it wasn't great, but giving it one star and completely writing it off is just immature and disrespectful. I also feel complaining about the style of the character designs is utterly idiotic. These are the original style of the character designs from Ishinomori's manga. Ishinomori was an apprentice under Osamu Tezuka and his character designs are very similar to Tezuka's. This is the style that all other character designs, including your favorite shows, evolved from. Despite the flawed animation, I enjoyed this show a lot. I suggest picking up the cheap 4 disc collection, which at some places can be found for as low as $23. Also check out Harmageddon which was based on the same series of novels and manga that Genma Wars is based on. However, Harmageddon may be more to the liking of most otaku due to the brilliant animation direction of Rintaro.

Okay, this is my 3rd and final try to review this title. Hopefully it sticks THIS time. I'll cut to the chase:1) Harmagedon and  Genma Wars  are SEPARATE titles, as far as I can discern from available online resources... They follow different plot lines and characters, but may be derivative works from the same original Japanese novels? They share an antagonist named Genma. That's about it. This review pertains to Harmagedon, NOT Genma Wars.2) The plot is so-so. The usual "kid develops psychic powers / must save the world from the evil being from space" schlock that some other series/movies use.3) The animation may be from the 80's or a very good knock-off. In my opinion it didn't age especially well. It looks campy, stereotypical in just about every respect, and uses at least one but maybe more repeated cut scenes. One or two of which take place in the "final battle." That really doesn't play well.4) Character development? What development? Most characters are just dumped on the viewer all at once with no explanation. Remind me why we're supposed to care when they all team up at the end? There's one main character the rest are just useless fluffy filler.5) Watch just about anything else. Really...  Spriggan , I liked.  Akira  is a classic.  Ghost in the Shell  is a "new classic."  Ninja Scroll  and  Wrath of Ninja  do fighting better. Even  Samurai: Hunt for the Sword  I enjoyed more, and I don't know if that's saying much... I guess what I'm saying is money can be better spent on one of the othertitles just mentioned.If you're really into campy 80's anime, or are an anime "completist" get Harmagedon, if not, any of the above are better. Or try something new:  Texhnolyze , Haibane-Renmei , Rahxephon , Wolf's Rain - Collections 1 & 2, Virus Buster Serge, Escaflowne, Legend of Himiko, El Hazard The Magnificent World, The Alternative World & The Wanderers, etc. etc.