Greece Hotels Travel - Reign The Conqueror, Vol. 1: Ascension
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List Price: $29.98
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Manufacturer: Tokyopop
Starring: *
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0645573013929
Format: Animated
Label: Tokyopop
Manufacturer: Tokyopop
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Tokyopop
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2003-05-27
Running Time: 100
Studio: Tokyopop
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-01
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Editorial Reviews:
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This bizarre reworking of the story of Alexander the Great features character designs by Peter Chung (Aeon Flux). It's a singularly weird mixture of anime conventions, sci-fi and fantasy elements, special effects, and muddled ancient history. Alexander's comrades and future generals, including Hephaestion and Ptolemy, have been recast as effete courtiers. Bucephalus ("Ox-head"), his steed, is a flesh-eating monster. His mother is a Medea-esque sorceress, and his tutor Aristotle has the inevitably spunky niece, Cassandra. The magician-disciples of Pythagoras appear and disappear, searching for the "Platohedron." The elongated, mannerist figures bear Chung's distinctive stamp. The women wear revealing robes; the men run around in bits of armor and codpieces. Reign is slated for the Adult Swim bloc on the Cartoon Network, but editing this violent series to American broadcast standards will pose real challenges. (Unrated; suitable for ages 17 and older: violence, nudity, alcohol use, grotesque imagery, sexual situations) --Charles Solomon
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The first volume is the best of the series
Comment: A bit about my background. I like some anime, but I'm no otaku. Fact is, I rented this because I am getting a PhD in Egyptology, and at the time I saw this, was heavily studying Alexander the Great and his successors.
That said, I liked this movie. I liked how it took the story of Alexander and tried to make a fantasy space-opera out of it. It works a lot of the time. They didn't even have to exaggerate too much. I laughed when they got things wrong and laughed harder when they got things right. It rewarded my scholarship and entertained me. The art direction and character design are ridiculous, I got used to it. Besides, don't tell me that androgyny and flexible sexuality has no place in an Alexander story.
The later volumes of the series are not as entertaining, and they waver from what I like about the historical character too much for me to ignore, and I was dissapointed in the ending. But if I find this volume on sale for a discount somewhere, I probably will pick it up.
I can't recommend this to anime fans. They might hate it, they might like it, but I just don't have enough background. And I can't recommend it to the casual observer, because the plot is kooky even for someone with graduate-level knowledge of the subject.
I will recommend it to anyone who knows a thing or two about Alexander the Great and has an open mind to see what Chung and his associates did with the story. Listen with the Japanese-language track and sing along to the ludicrous J-pop love song theme, or use the English track with its slightly more appropriate theme song. Either way, rent this at your local video store before you buy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Did you like Aeon Flux?
Comment: If you liked Aeon Flux (either the Liquid TV shorts or the longer episodes), then you'll like Reign. If you have no idea what Aeon Flux is, then you should watch it or an ep of Reign before committing to buying the DVD. The animation style is very unique, and not everyone likes it. It doesn't look like what people have come to expect from "anime." It's really sort of a post-anime style. I'm not sure why there are all those other people's names in the credits, because this show has Peter Chung's fingerprints all over it.The plot is decent and makes the viewer pay attention. The show actually makes you think about what is going on. In fact, some of the plot is *gasp* ambiguous. So if Trigun's plot taxed your noggin, maybe Reign is too far in the deep end for you. The one improvement over Aeon Flux is that the plot makes a heck of a lot more sense and hangs together throughout the series. As others have mentioned, the clothing choices are somewhat bizarre (similar to Aeon Flux), and the sexual persuasion of some of the characters is ambiguous (not sure what someone who has a sexual preference for snakes is called), so if you're not comfortable with that, maybe you should move on. A unique and cutting-edge animated series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I can't belive it, I don't believe it. You people are MAD!
Comment: I read some 5-star reviews saying how great this anime is. Great? It's awful. The worst anime next to Beyblade. "Oh it has gorgeous animation and character designs..." WTF?! Yes the character designs are different...I guess Peter Chung doesn't like to see men wearing pants. Oh no, he likes to see his men in METAL THONGS! WTF?!!!!! Of ALL the things he could think of, metal thongs? Wouldn't those hurt like hell? Not to mention how nasty they look x_x I'd rather see them in mini-skirts! Chung ruined Alexander. He made him look like a cross-dresser (o_0) It's all VERY historically inaccurate and 100% disgusting. Monsters crawling out of navels...gross.I have no clue WHAT Chung was smoking when he made this. The anime itself looks like it's on drugs. No kidding, when do you see an anime where guys are wearing metal thongs? Oh and before you tell me, "Dont listen to all those ppl givin bad reviews! Theyre non-otakus (anime fans)!!! this show rox!!" I love anime. I've seen Nausicaa, Trigun, Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop, Princess Mononoke, Inuyasha, Spirited Away, Naruto, and many others. This one is probably the worst (along with Beyblade x_x). DO NOT SEE IT. Not even worth one star. A big fat ZERO from this otaku.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What Can I Say???MORE MORE MORE
Comment: This IS My First Review. But I Own More Anima, Cartoons, And Movies. ON DVD Than Block Buster Video Has Tapes, I Think I can Make A Good Call! THIS REIGN IS THE BEST!! A MUST HAVE "I WOULD GOLD PLATE IT {IF I COULD}" Others have talked about Style Ect. BUT LET ME TELL YOU IT'S ALL GREAT! I CAN ONLY HOPE MORE LIKE IT ARE COMMING. So Quit Wasting Time Buy IT. SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE and forgive the older movies for seeming less GREAT.THIS IS A SET TO BE WATCHED 2,3 TIMES TO TAKE IT ALL IN! So Understand If Some Don't Get-It The First Time. IT AN'T BUGS BUNNY!! {I Do Still Like} BUT REIGN 1-4 I'LL Be Playing For My Grandkids 1 Day......NUFF SAID!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not your typical anime, but still one of the best I've seen
Comment: As other reviewers have said, if you didn't like Aeon Flux then you may not like the artwork of Reign. My wife couldn't get beyond the character styling until I forced her to sit through an entire episode. Now she's hooked! Although different, the styling has its moments where the quality shines through. The English voice track is excellent, and fits both the characters and adult mood. Yes, this is very much an adult-oriented anime; for reasons other than the nudity, etc. Although obviously based on several factual/historical elements of Alexander's life, it deviates in many ways that I'll leave for the viewer to discover. This imaginative reworking and time-forwarding of Alexander's life is still completely captivating. It manages to place all of the elements that made Alexander the larger-than-life historical figure into a completely different context, yet still preserves the essence of his life that has drawn readers to the story of "Alexander the Great" for centuries. Reign is another beautiful facet in the growing collection of world-class anime on DVD that should rank favorably among the other greats like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Hellsing, Vampire Hunter D. It's a highly imaginative and inspiring anime!!!
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