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Argento Soma

Argento Soma
Animation - 7.8
Sound - 7.8
Story - 7.8
Character - 8.0
Value - 7.1
Enjoyment - 7.8
Average - 7.7

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Argentosoma    2008-01-15 19:28:56
Average 8.7
Animation 9
Sound 8
Story 9
Character 9
Value 8
Enjoyment 9
Argentosoma is great to watch if you are a fan of Evangelion for example, it really is similar in several aspects but also quite diferent in many others. The anime overall was good and is worth watching even though is not one of my favorites, the mecha scenes are it's best aspect indeed but the story got really intriguing specially after the true nature of the aliens was revealed. Look into it is not half bad.


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Summoner (2007-09-08 03:22:12)   2007-09-08 03:04:14
Average 5.5
Animation 5
Sound 5
Story 6
Character 6
Value 5
Enjoyment 6
Unidentified living beings from space are landing in earth and trying to get into one particular point of it, for no visible reason, destroying everything in their paths. Humans, of course, are trying to stop them from reaching that point, as we all fear of what is unknown. Anyway, some scientists try and succeed to awaken one of the dead alien bodies, however, it kills everybody except for one person. What will he do? Will he try to take his revenge on aliens? Or will he shut himself in from losing everything he held dear before?

Argento Soma often tries to be what it's not. It naively thinks that everybody will love its characters from the first sight and pay attention to their dialogues. It hopes that after a few first episodes everyone's going to be so interested in the aliens that they will feel compelled to watch a dozen of monster per week episodes. It throws various philosophies, which barely work in those particular situations and it creates a story, which proves to be too ambitious for itself. Basically, while this show isn't bad, it looks like a huge box, full of holes, leaking everything it contains and falling under its own weight. Argento Soma tries to shoot the mark, but never hits it.

If you really want to watch some sci-fi and you really really don't have anything better to watch, well, give Argento Soma a shot. Don't expect too much though, interesting ideas fall apart thanks to the "off the mark" scenario.
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nauXolo    2006-10-17 17:55:08
Average 6.8
Animation 7
Sound 6
Story 8
Character 7
Value 6
Enjoyment 7
Argento Soma is backed by a solid storyline and fluid fight/action scenes. Although the beginning 10 or so episodes feel a bit slow and are full of angst from the main character, things begin to pick up around episode 13 where the story marches forward at a very solid and steady pace, tackling the issues of the mysteries of the aliens, the conspiracies of different agencies and various conflicts between different parties.

The main downfall to Argento Soma is that there's nothing particularly special about any aspect of it to boast about. The characters are likeable but not loveable, the story is solid but not groundbreaking and the presentation evokes satisfaction but not awe. Essentially, for the first half of the series, we are hammered with the hateful feelings that Ryu Soma feels towards Frank. We get occasional flashbacks, but never enough to get the whole picture. The beginning half serves as some foundation work that allows for changes to happen in the latter half. As a result of this repeated hammering, the beginning really does require quite a lot of struggling and persistence to get through. The lack of any meaningful dialogue (not meaningful because we just don't care about the characters yet) or interesting action sequences just makes it that much more difficult.

For the second half, there is more unity within the Funeral team; they are no longer strangers and Ryu Soma feels more like part of the team. Nevertheless, he still has his internal secrets and problems and it serves to drive his actions. As more and more aliens come and Funeral begins to rely more on Frank to defeat them, we also begin to find out more about Frank - perhaps he isn't just a hunk of metal. Well, we knew that from the beginning but now Ryu Soma and gang realize it too. Finally, at the climax, we find out who the true enemy is and things begin to unravel.

Overall, Argento Soma lacks a real solid punchline and moral of the story. Rather, if one looks at it more from a character drama from within the Funeral headquarters under the heat of constant battling where one doesn't truly know what one is fighting for, then one might enjoy this a little bit more. If you aren't really expecting much from the character's actions, nothing world-changing or revolutionary, and just enjoy the story elements as they come, then Argento Soma is a decent watch. Again, while Argento Soma deals with potent and controversial themes, don't be expecting anything profound...


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Villain    2006-04-23 03:14:58
Average 6.8
Animation 6
Sound 6
Story 8
Character 8
Value 6
Enjoyment 7
A weird character-driven mecha-series with tragic incidents, confusing conspiracies and tormenting angst. And plenty of Engrish.

Aliens threaten the earth and humans try to fight back with parts salvaged from their destroyed enemies. Argentosoma suffers from unfavorable comparison to Neon Genesis Evangelion, but is luckily not just another Eva-clone. The unique visual style might turn some random viewers away, but those who yearn a serious story and deeply disturbed characters should take a closer look. Because Argentosoma delivers in those areas.

The central character in the series is a lone young man who loses his life and gains another: when Takuto Kaneshiro dies Ryu Soma is born. Driven by vengeance Ryu enlists to a special unit that tries to stop the aliens from reaching a place called "Pilgrimage Point". Ryu's motives are far from pure, but secret agendas weigh little in the fight against the aliens. Enter a freak young girl who has a special connection to a resurrected alien whom she calls "Mr. Elf", and we have the ingredients for a most unusual soup.

The story appears rather confusing at first, as very little is explained. Slowly, the pieces come together and form a perfectly clear picture in the end. Some of those pieces are rather unrealistic and the climax (which comes in episode 24) is a bit of a letdown, but overall the storyline is well constructed and decently executed. The side-characters gain enough room to reveal their interesting personalities, even though none of them really stand out. From early on there are plenty of hints and signs for the upcoming twists and turns in the storyline. Those hints might appear meaningless at first, but once their signifigance is revealed several episodes later, they become obvious, giving the audience the always-so-pleasant feeling of "I should have seen that coming".

Argentosoma is not completely flawless, however. The common problem of many character-driven anime series strikes again: there's plenty of mono/dialogue and much of it feels quite unnatural. Characters make silly observations and exclaim "it can't be" time and again. Combined with the less than stellar acting by certain voice-actors it lessens the effect of some dramatic scenes greatly. I'm not sure if I should blame the script-writer or the director for this. Probably both.

The mecha-fights are not terribly inspired, but certainly not boring either. The people of Sunrise have learned their lessons from their previous mecha-series Gasaraki - Argentosoma is far less realistic, but way more exciting. There's a firm balance between action and politics, and the episodes link together very well. I especially like how this is portrayed through the episode-titles: the first episode is called "Rebirth and Death", the second "Death and the Maiden", the third "The Maiden and the Meeting", etc. with the final episode closing the circle with "Love and Rebirth".

Argentosoma was never made for the masses (who'll probably find some Gundam much more appealing), but for the fans of post-Evangelion mecha I certainly recommend this series. If you can look past the unconventional style and want something different, Argentosoma might be your new favorite anime. It did not become my favorite, but I can easily understand why someone could rank it very high.
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Caireen (2006-12-22 09:47:28)   2006-02-20 04:28:18
Average 8.8
Animation 9
Sound 8
Story 9
Character 9
Value 8
Enjoyment 10
Having watched 4 episodes of this about 2 years ago, I was never impressed enough to bother buying anymore DVDs or so I thought! I was searching for my Sailor Moon movies and came across an entire boxset of Argento Soma DVDs - talk about chuffed ^_^
I finished watching the entire series last night and I want to point out a couple of things:
1/. you CANNOT judge this anime on half a dozen or even a dozen episodes, it takes a while to get going, but once the motor's up and running it speeds along like a champion racer ^_^
2/. this is the nicest, most comprehendible "alien invasion" sci-fi I have ever seen (and I don't just mean anime either).
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CyBeR (2005-10-30 01:40:35)   2005-09-26 15:32:48
Average 9.0
Animation 9
Sound 7
Story 9
Character 10
Value 9
Enjoyment 10
Well this is unprecedented in the time since I write reviews: I actually waited for my impressions on Argento Soma to cool off before I actually started writing this review or else I might have succumbed to rating this anime as a 9.5+ series. Why? Because I simply loved Argento Soma to bits. I've been at a stalemate with mecha anime recently so AS came as a refresher after a lot of anime that really couldn't appeal much to me. So I watched AS after having put it off for about a year. I must say it has been one of the best anime experiences I ever had, partly because of the main character that I found to be at times extremely interesting and at others very annoying (more on this later) and partly because of the story that truly becomes a masterpiece as it progresses and lastly...because of the mecha action of course. He he...read through this to see my reasoning for my noting.
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...: :c a l v i n : : . . . .......    2005-07-23 16:24:55
Average 9.7
Animation 9
Sound 9
Story 10
Character 10
Value 10
Enjoyment 10
This is one of the reasons i started watching anime and magna, the vast storyline and overall enjoyment of watching this show is impressive. Its an enjoyment to watch a war against alien invaders taking over the earth, but when a foriegn alien machine and various character plots mix in with the main story line it enhances the story value making it an amazing show.
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SugarAddict    2005-04-23 06:53:07
Average 8.7
Animation 7
Sound 8
Story 9
Character 8
Value 10
Enjoyment 10
If you, like me, have at thing for sci fi and anime I think you'll enjoy this one as much as I did. In many ways it is a direct copy of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it doesn't mater. It is the differenses that mater. Very serious, deep at moments and actionfilled.
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De Baer (2005-06-16 09:35:09)   2005-02-18 01:54:23
Average 5.5
Animation 6
Sound 7
Story 5
Character 6
Value 4
Enjoyment 5
Über Argento Soma zu sagen das sich die Serie an Evangelion orientiert wäre eine schamlose Untertreibung. Es ist zwar nicht ungewöhnlich einen Anime vor sich zu haben der sich verschiedene Elemente aus dem legendären Klassiker zu Eigen macht aber im Falle Argento Somas sind die Gleichheiten so gravierend das von "Inspiration" kaum noch die Rede sein kann: Vom ahnungslosen Jüngling, den es urplötzlich in eine mysteriöse Einrichtung verschlägt, bis hin zu Außerirdischen die alle nach einem Ziel streben und Mechas die aus Teilen selbiger bestehen um den Kampf gegen sie aufnehmen zu können. Und das war bei weitem nicht das Ende dieser Liste sondern viel mehr ein kleiner Auszug. Ebenfalls gegeben sind Charaktere die tiefe psychische Narben aufweisen und als Überbringer verschiedener Botschaften fungieren sowie der Plot der verschachtelt an der allseits beliebten Frage "Worin liegt die Daseinsberechtigung der Menschheit" kratzt. "Lieber gut geklaut als schlecht selbst gemacht" würde ich jetzt gerne sagen, allerdings trifft es im Falle Argento Soma nicht wirklich zu. Man hat sich hier sichtlich bemüht der Serie eine ähnliche bedrückende, depressive und finstere Stimmung wie dem offensichtlichem Vorbild zu verpassen, so sehr das alles sichtlich erzwungen wirkt und aus diesem Grund nur wenig überzeugend rüber kommt. Die Story und die Figuren konnten mich einfach nicht fesseln und das liegt nicht nur an der Tatsache dass man, wenn man Evangelion bereits gesehen hat, das Gefühl hat nichts Neues vor sich zu haben. Der Plot erzeugt zu wenig Spannung und tritt fast durchgängig auf der Stelle. Man wird von einem Haufen Fragen überhäuft auf denen sich die gesamte Geschichte zu stützen versucht die jedoch viel zu lange unbeantwortet bleiben, was nach einer gewissen Zeit frustriert und bei mir das Interesse am Ausgang der Geschichte mehr und mehr schwinden ließ. Die Charaktere haben damit auch heftig zu kämpfen wobei hier noch erschwerend hinzu kommt das ein Großteil des Casts völlig belanglos und flach bleibt und gerade mal 1 einzige Figur die Serie halbwegs über die Runden trägt. Das alles wird gepaart mit vielen belanglosen Episoden die dem Verlauf der Handlung kaum zu gute kommen und wenig spannende Kämpfe gegen Aliens die sich von Angriff zu Angriff weiter entwickeln aber, so hoffnungslos die Situation auch aussieht, letztendlich doch zur Strecke gebracht werden (aus welchem 1996 erschienenen Mecha-Anime kommt uns das wohl bekannt vor...?) Es gibt zwar gegen Ende einen, überraschenden und ziemlich unerwarteten Twist und die Serie wird tatsächlich noch halbwegs interessant aber das kam für meinen Geschmack ein wenig spät. Man hätte die gesamte Geschichte locker in 13 Episoden erzählen können, dann wäre sie nur halb so langwierig und ermüdend herüber gekommen. Zu guter letzt bleibt mit Argento Soma nicht mehr als ein nicht großartig erwähnenswerter Versuch etwas Ähnliches wie Evangelion zu schaffen was, trotz aller ausgeborgten Elemente, jedoch letzten Endes deutlich vom Schatten des großen Vorblids überragt wird.
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Colorful_Words - Tanya    2004-11-19 22:19:43
Average 8.0
Animation 8
Sound 8
Story 9
Character 7
Value 8
Enjoyment 8
dramatic science fiction title with a lot of interesting psychological work
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Gingy (2005-03-03 18:24:56)   2004-09-30 07:13:51
Average 8.2
Animation 9
Sound 9
Story 7
Character 9
Value 8
Enjoyment 7
The animation is pretty good in some parts, such as the graphics. The sound of the animation is ok, but the voice of Harriet gets annoying after awhile because all she does is call out Frank and Youse-kun. She doesn't have a really nice smooth voice, instead is a little high peatch, so it gets annoying after a while. Other than that, the sound effect and characters' voices are pretty good.

The story is really slow and boring up to episode 8. It is really hard and you just want to fast foward or forget about the anime because is taking too long to get to the point. However, it gets interesting after episode 8, where the character's past starts to be cleared. Also understand where does Frank comes from, and the past of some characters. The main idea of this story is the desired to achieve or find out more knowledge about something or someone.

The characters were pretty interesting and played an important part in the story, specially the person that plays the role of the Devil. It makes you wonder how is manages to find out so much information and stuff without letting anyone know until later, who he is and what he does. There was no idle character that they throw in just for no reason what-so-ever. You also find out that Harriet is really like Maki in som ways. Therefore, there is constant reference about Maki's looks and personality in her. There are also other relation or similarities in other characters too.

I only enjoyed the anime after episode 8. I have to say that if u are able to pass episode 8 the other episodes are MUCH more interesting and better. But is really hard trying to pass the first 8 episodes (cuz it took me amost a month too pass it, and i had to force myself to watch it too). Another thing that I didn't really like was the ending, episode 25. You are expecting a nice ending after all you had to go through in the frist 8 episodes, but the ending was a continuation to the sequal....


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Kaze no Koe    2004-02-17 02:16:52
Average 7.7
Animation 8
Sound 8
Story 6
Character 9
Value 7
Enjoyment 8
Well, I liked this one.

I really liked the art and character design. Ryu Soma; best anime hair style EVER! And design wise Sue is one of the greatest female characters ever.

Sound was fine, I really dug the music. Opening theme was great!

Story-wise it's moves rather slow and doesn't get very deep until the last quarter.

Character wise; I really enjoyed the characters. Most people say Ryu is a little whiney bitch, but I didn't think so. When everyone worked together is was really cool, you could feel that close knit team work.

All and all, I'm really glad I saw this one, but I don't think I'd watch it again. Which makes me sad, but it's the truth.

This is definitely a watch alone anime. I don't think a group of people could keep interest and stay focused on this one.
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Ses4ever    2004-01-28 21:34:33
Average 6.8
Animation 7
Sound 8
Story 6
Character 7
Value 6
Enjoyment 7
I was greatly dissappointed with this anime series. First it wasnt what I expected story wise. And on that note for story, it was so boring until episode 20 when they explained stuff finally, and they did that in one episode, maybe two, who cares. The animation was boring, the characters werent that interesting, the music was average. I do not recommend this anime, nor will I own it.
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Shinomori Aoshi    2004-01-01 03:50:26
Average 3.8
Animation 5
Sound 6
Story 4
Character 2
Value 3
Enjoyment 3
It's not so much that Argento Soma is bad, but more that it just really didn't hit the mark. There are much worse pieces of anime out there, but I simply feel that whatever it was they were trying to achieve with Argento Soma just didn't come out right.

The animation is ok, it could have been classed a fair bit higher if they didn't reuse the same model for every single alien invader. The rest of the animation is quite decent, really.

The music is generally decent, with the OP (Silent Wind) being the standout of them all. I hate the ED theme, but that's just me. A bit of a hit 'n miss with the BGM, some of it is good, some isn't.

I actually had high hopes for the story right until the very end, to be honest. The mech scenes never really interested me in Argento Soma, I have to say, they didn't really pull them off all that well. However, it's the very end of the series that really shoves it back into place for me, because it basically makes what has happened up until now insignificant. There is nothing wrong with a plot twist, but this one just seemed to make the rest of the series completely redundant. The waiting and waiting for the revelation really just doesn't give any payoff.

However, by far the worst part of the series, the only part I really have a dislike for, are the characters. Well, Hattie anyway, it only took a few episodes before I wanted to strangle her. Ryu Soma is definatly an interesting character, but none of the rest of the cast seemed to grab me at all.

I'd say that Argento Soma is worth a watch, as it has some traits that could make it an enjoyable series.


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zelgadis    2003-08-11 14:09:55
Average 7.7
Animation 8
Sound 7
Story 8
Character 8
Value 7
Enjoyment 8
It's was a real surprise when i start watching it. The animation is well done and the art, while not being outstanding, is still very good. It would have been good to put a bit more details in the aliens maybe (or a bit of difference between them, they ALL look the same, now to wonder how they found those parts for yousei-kun which never appeared on any kind of alien)
The sound is good, i didn't really like the intro and outro song but i rarely do so. Voice acting fits well the characters, who would ask for more ?
The story is interesting, if you go past the few first episode, it gets hard to forecast and by the end asks some philosophical questions (nothing like eva, don't worry)
Characters are well thought, they all have a rather deep background, but there are still some wierd things here and there (the fabulous skills ryu acquires in one night ...this red guy that appears and disappears by magic before ryu ... at first i thought he was the devil, which would explain his 'magic' and ryu's transformation, but he's not, so i'm kinda confused)
Overall a serie very well worth watching, if you liked eva (not talking about the end) then you'll most likely like it too.


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eugidog    2003-04-26 19:05:31
Average 9.3
Animation 8
Sound 9
Story 10
Character 10
Value 10
Enjoyment 9
I really liked this anime, not only beause it was my first addition to my collection of anime, but it because of its engaging story and its events. Right now im listening to the intro of Neon Genesis Evangelion, a series that they kept on saying that Argentosoma got its story from. The thing is, its not half true. Sure there may be ALIENS (not angels) attacking the world, but thats about it. ALIENS for god sake not ANGELS, and these aliens are a must watch, instead of just sticking to "KILL THIS ANGEL" event, argentosoma takes care of the ANGELS BEING EVIL thingy and fit the story more. OK, now let me re-explain. In NGE, angels attack for no reason, and past events in the history of the world fit nothing to WHY these angels attack, and worse, nothing is explained during the long run of the TV series.
In argentosoma, the aliens are more explained to WHY they are exactly there. And i think later on they explain what the reason is for their attack.
Whatever, i just got to say tha Argentosoma is good, if it wasnt for the horrid character design, which was a downer for most people anyway.

-DarkRaven
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Eugenio    2003-02-28 08:31:43
Average 9.2
Animation 8
Sound 8
Story 10
Character 10
Value 10
Enjoyment 9
Wow, to confess to the subject, this was my very first dvd volume i got. The first volume. I overall hated the character design, plain disgusting for anyones tastes(where are the noses?).
Well, they are pretty nice nonethelss if we are talking about their insides. I got to say that argento soma tought me lots of things, much like evangelion did, and i like its presentation as well (the pattern of rebirth and death-death and the maiden-maiden and the meeting and so on.) The first five episodes are nice, the only ones i've watched. Well, i expect a little more or less from argento, as it develops. LOVE TO SEE A MOVIE FINALE!. even though there is alredy a tv series finale.
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Canadian Crippler    2003-02-17 02:53:30
Average 7.7
Animation 8
Sound 7
Story 8
Character 8
Value 7
Enjoyment 8
Sorta got the been here, done that feeling after watching it. Its not a EVA clone but it does borrow some themes and storyline elements. Similar anti-hero archetypes, and you've got robots battling some alien-like invaders, which we've seen many times before, EVA aside. Still, even with an ages old theme, the story starts well, and builds up with some nice mysteries and suspenseful moments. However, the middle bogs down into a bunch of filler type episodes with big battles that don't move the storyline along until near the end of the series. As said before, it starts and ends well, but they did little with the middle. So much time wasted. I'm not a big fan of the character design. Original designs, but sometimes downright ugly, even if Ryu has an excuse. Balanced by solid animation throughout. Another strong point is in the development of the characteres. Overall, an enjoyable watch. At its best when it doesn't revert into your standard fare 'duke it out' mecha show.


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pLue    2003-01-22 05:13:32
Average 7.2
Animation 7
Sound 9
Story 8
Character 7
Value 4
Enjoyment 8
An underrated anime, that begins very interestingly but gets bogged down in the middle. The stroyline is of aliens invading the earth, and an organisation called Funeral assigned to prevent them from reaching the pilgrimage point.

I felt the story really kicked in after mid way through the series, and its ending is the real redeeming point of this anime. I enjoyed it enough to recommend it to other mecha fans. However i wont be watching it again hence the low score for value.


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Ruika    2003-01-03 16:28:14
Average 8.5
Animation 9
Sound 8
Story 8
Character 10
Value 8
Enjoyment 8
It's good, not perfect. I myself am not fond of mecha, but still I enjoyed this serie very much. It's not like the basic mecha-story: One boy has a cool mecha and defeats every enemy.
Ryu Soma loses his girlfriend because the mech-robot Frank (called frankenstein, since he's put together by humans) tried to escape from a building, and while it collapsed his girlfriend got killed by the falling rocks. He himself got hurt too, and that's why his face looks this weird (like two different persons). Now Ryu wants revenge, and is planning to destroy this robot called Frank.
Sometimes it can be a bit boring, but still I liked it better than Evangelion (which can be even more dragged on sometimes).


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