Movie: One of my favorite genres of anime is the fantasy inspired sword & sorcery. In Rune Soldier, we get to see the misadventures of a hapless wannabe magician, Louie, and three females-a warrior named Genie, a priestess named Melissa, and a thief named Merrill. There was a lot of humor along with the situational comedy aspects of the show which made me chuckle out loud plenty of times. The box cover stated: "Armed with Merrill's cunning, Genie's strength and Melissa's prayers, this all-female band has no trouble raiding ancient ruins—unless a magic seal blocks the way. As an investment, the girls decide to hire a magician...any magician. But all the available magicians prefer reading to raiding. Swallowing their pride (and several pints), the girls take on the loud, brash novice. In return, the hapless Louie gives them all the adventure they can handle...and then some!"
Episode 1: "Spurred on by the promise of treasure, Melissa, Genie, and Merrill seek out an ancient ruin, but the entrance is sealed with magic. They return to town to find a magician to break the seal. They meet Louie, a magician in training. The girls brush him off, so Louise picks a fight with Genie, but he blows up the town bar in the process. Louie tracks down Melissa the next day to demand a second chance, but she is in the middle of a sacred ritual when he calls. Merrill and Genie try to stop him at the door, but Louie makes his own way in, to Melissa's shock."
Episode 2: "Merrill and Genie scold Louie for crashing Melissa's ceremony, but with no other magician recruits in sight, Melissa reluctantly accepts him into the group. The four head out to the ruin, although Louie quickly finds himself doing more manual labor than magical spells. Despite the girls' initial misgivings, Louie does manage to open the entrance to the ruin with his magic. The party realizes, when they get inside, that any treasure which might have been there has long since been looted. In it's place, they find a nest of angry goblins."
Episode 3: "While fighting the goblins, Louie wields his magic wand like a club and breaks it. To make a new wand, he needs a branch from a 500 year old oak tree. The nearest forest with trees that old is the Tartious forest, believed to be a home to demons. The girls are completely disgusted with Louie and refuse to help. A rival group of adventurers tries to get Louie to join them, but Louie suspects their underlying motives."
Episode 4: "The girls decide to help Louie, who immediately causes trouble with a magic demon-summoning whistle. While the girls are busy handling demons, Louie goes toe to hoof against a wild boar. The group finds a suitable tree deep in the forest, but a beautiful elf named Celecia interrupts them. She promises she can find them a better branch in the elves' village. The girls are skeptical, but Louie overrides them and inadvertently leads the group into a trap. Locked up and facing certain death, Louie proposes a means of escape so stupid, it just might work...
Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 full frame. The colors were very bright and the picture sharp and clear.
Sound: The audio was presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 Japanese. Both sounded crisp and clear.
Extras: trailers, double sided dvd cover, paper insert with episode descriptions and art work
Final Thoughts: Louie the Rune Soldier had all those factors I like in a good anime dvd. It had humor, fantasy, a dim-witted hero and a non-traditional storyline. Throw in a heaping helping of solidly crafted anime and other technical values and I have to suggest this as highly recommended. I think women will appreciate the fact that the female characters were all intelligent, capable, and thoughtfully designed while the male characters were mostly dopey goofballs who acted on baser instincts. It's all in good fun though which is the basis for most good movies.
Buy: