Venus Versus Virus will be the first anime series I start, simply because it’s one of the most recent series in 2007, and because it’s one of the series I’ve watched under five episodes (so far). It’s also the only series I’m currently watching that I can take screenshots of accordingly (Eureka 7 will have to wait for a bit, until I can get my computer to work properly with it. DVD-RW computers tend to be cumbersome depending on the software you use :/)
Read onward in terms of my impressions.
What drew me to this series? Hard to say. I came across the description under interesting pretenses: about two girls, one dressed in gothic lolita clothing (and with an eyepatch that makes her look like a pirate XD), and another in a common school uniform, slinging guns and fighting against a supernatural enemy, appropriately called “Viruses”. The girls actually work under an agency called “The Venus Vanguard” and help those who come for their aid. Yet, as one will see through the series, it’s not necessarily anyone who enlists their help, but rather special “clients” with a talent for seeing the nasty buggers. I saw the animation from the manga of the same name and liked the artwork as well as the inital storyline, so I’d give it a shot. Note that I haven’t read past the first chapter of the manga, so i couldn’t tell you much about the story from that angle. I usually like supernatural anime series, even in episodic contexts (a la Nightwalker, Vampire Princess Miyu).
Well, i wouldn’t say on inital impressions that the animation is as clear cut as the manga counterpart. It’s a bit inconsistent to start, but I think certain elements make it stand out, such as the colouring of the eyes and the overall shading of the characters. It somewhat reminds me of my inital impressions of Shakugan no Shana (which I have yet to see). It looks nice on some levels, and others seems rather average.
Music: “Bravin Bad Brew” is a romping, catchy electronic number, well suited to the opening sequence and works in terms of catching your ears and eyes. I’ll have a review up for the OP single in a bit to expand a little more. The ending theme I cannot comment on at this time, simply because it hasn’t really caught along to me yet and I don’t know as much about it.
Voice acting seems well placed from what I can tell. The characters are presented in a combination of action, comedy and supernatural drama. I won’t ever initally comment on storyline to start, simple because it’s hard to judge a series and where it will go in the inital episodes.
I know there are quite a few bloggers covering the series, but I wanted to insert my own angle into the series and, hopefully, give summaries of the events that transpire and my reflections upon them.
Well, suffice to say, t’would be better if I went ahead and started reviewing the first episode, ne? Very well, I won’t dawdle and have a review on the first episode in a little bit.
