DVD

Amon Saga (Manga)
Reviewed by L T Rhodes

Enter the Anime Zone!

Amon Saga takes place in a mythical land of sorcery and barbarians. Not a bad setting for a plot line: science fantasy has always been very popular mining ground for anime. The major problem with Anon Saga's story line, though, is that it adds nothing new to the genre.

Amon Saga chronicles the exploits of Amon on his quest to right the wrongs that were perpetuated on his home village, and specifically, to avenge the murder of his mother. There are also subplots involving an evil emperor who has imprisoned a princess for use as leverage against her father, who holds a map that will lead the emperor to the City of Gold, ripe for him to loot and pillage.

The character design reminds one of Vampire Hunter D, and it should, considering that Amano Yoshitaka did the artwork for both films. However, the niceties in Amon Saga stop there. The plot does not expand beyond the basic revenge storyline, with the solemn hero riding off in to the sunset with his newfound cohorts. Amon Saga could actually be one of those Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, with the difference being that those westerns may have been short on plot but long on action.

That's the missing element here -- there's very little action. One could be more forgiving if the running time were longer, but since it's only 68 minutes long, the characters need to be developed rather quickly. Since that's not accomplished here (the princess, Lichia, is the only character that is delved into), it leaves a void in the film that better action sequences could have been filled.

We all know that, in the end, Clint never got the girl. In fact, in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", there was no girl. But that was never the point of the story. On his way to the sunset, he left us with a lot of action to remember -- enough to actually make you want to watch again and again. Amon Saga, with its lack of character development and action, is "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" -- without the "good" part.

Amon Saga is released on Manga Video and are available now. Special Features include English 5.1 Surround Sound, English Stereo, Japanese Stereo, English Subtitles, Photo Gallery, Manga Video Previews, Manga DVD Catalog, Merchandise and Catalog Info, Palm Pictures DVD Previews, PC & Mac Web Links, and Japanese Production Credits.