Movie: Star Ocean EX: Complete Series was set in a futuristic world full of the unknown wonders of a space faring race. The lead character is named Claude and a more appropriate name could not have been chosen for him. He is young, stupid, and lacks the abilities of his hero father (who happens to pilot the powerful warship they are exploring the universe with); giving him something of an inferiority complex. The dynamic of Claude is set up early when he panics during a crisis that his father and crew handles fairly routinely, giving his father pause about including him on the expedition.

Things go from bad to worse when the crew takes Claude down to a planet (Mirokinia) to check out a powerful energy source. Dad gives him his personal handgun, a phaser that emits a powerful beam of light when discharged, just to be on the safe side and failing to follow orders results in Claude being transported far across the galaxy as he disobeys orders and activates a mysterious coffin device that glows green with power when touched. He lands on a planet called Expel and soon hears cries for help coming from a nearby brook, leading him to come to the aid of a young girl with elfin ears called Rena as she is attacked by a huge monster with large claws reminiscent of a grizzly bear. He saves her and she immediately mistakes him for a prophesied warrior of old called the Warrior of Light (the light from his gun and his blonde hair clinch it for her). She brings him back to her home and he denies being the one she claims he is even after seeing an old stained glass window with his likeness on it.

Unfortunately for him, the technology of the planet seems stuck in a medieval times mode, complete with magic and swords; no one knowing exactly how to send him back home (and he doesn't have ruby red slippers to click him home either) so he sets out on a quest of sorts to find out more information and an object known as the Sorcery Globe as they seem to figure in as the only way he's getting back to his life of safety with dear old dad. Rena wanted to go with him and after a few exploits that introduced some other moderately interesting characters, they were off on the road to find him a way home and to stop the powerfully evil force that was corrupting the land and causing so much hardship.

As the series continued, the group ran into characters that seemed more fit for comic relief then anything else (like Ashton, a guy with two large dragonheads attached to his shoulder blades; one breathing fire and the other breathing ice or goofy inventor Precis Newman). Given the fact that the planet continues having violent earthquakes (in this case, maybe best termed Expel-quakes), lava flows, and increasing numbers of rampaging monsters for the swelling team to defeat, you'd think they'd make a straight line for the location of the Stone but they routinely get sidetracked with little missions, errands, and other matters that have nothing to do with the quest. This weakens the story more than a little, belying the fact that some sense of immediacy should have been factored into the plans. When they finally reach their destination, they discover a lot of secrets involving Rena, Claude, and some of the others that have joined up; all while fighting off hordes of futuristic robots with their various abilities. The secret of the Sorcery Globe is revealed and the team fight on two fronts while taking a pounding, leaving Claude to have to decide leaving them when his father shows up in orbit or stay on the dying planet. The would-be cavalry can't help the team and the end result is a message of doom and gloom for Claude and his group. While the ending is foreshadowed by the type of series this is, it still managed to end on a cliffhanger that was left unresolved as a second season never happened (though at least one more game was released for the Playstation 2 if you're that interested in the premise).

The writing and plot of the series could have been written on the back of a matchbook cover in large part but having watched scores of lame cartoon on Saturday mornings, I can't say that this was much different from a number of them in terms of the morality lessons (standing up for your ideals, loyalty to friends, keeping your word, and all the other messages you'd expect of such programming). There was also the appeal of the videogame connection, however tenuous it might have been (and the original game the anime series was based on came out in 1997 or 1998 so few of you will likely remember it, never mind the initial installment on a system from the early 1990's), so I hesitate to say that there wasn't much to like here. The biggest problems I had with the series was the lack of intelligent subplots, the anime style itself, and the overall experience that seemed to be a belated attempt to cash in on the franchise on a very restricted budget yet even I can't seem to fuss too loudly as the show was geared to a much younger audience that will almost certainly appreciate it more than I did so I rated it as a Rent It. Get a copy on sale for a youngster (ignore the "13 Up" rating on the cover as this seemed best suited for preteens) or rent the first volume to see how he or she likes it. The series is riddled with clichés and underdeveloped plots but I've seen worse and watching them all in a single sitting probably helped me keep track of this better then the original releases that were months apart. Here's a quick episode guide for those still interested, noting that the literal Japanese translation was sometimes substantially different:

1) Transport
2) Encounter
3) The Magic Stone
4) Heraldic Magic
5) Kuhazan
6) Two Headed Dragon
7) Tertragenes
8) Teardrop
9) Harley
10) Ghost Ship
11) The Invention Girl
12) Metox
13) Rampage
14) Lacour
15) Suspicion
16) Leon
17) Ruins
18) Fortress
19) Solitude
20) Faith
21) Reunion
22) Friends
23) Lacour Hope
24) Machine Castle
25) Energy Stone
26) Man of Valor

Picture: Star Ocean EX: Complete Series was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as it was shot for Japanese television back in 2001 by director Hiroshi Watanabe. The colors were bright and cheerful when need be and the darker moments were handled okay but the cartoonish manner it was presented bugged me a bit. I know it was based on a videogame (Star Ocean: The Second Coming) that was itself based on an old manga but there was nothing fluid in the movement of the characters most of the time and the backgrounds were very generic. In some ways, it almost looked like a manga illustrated in the best way to knock out episodes quickly and cheaply but again, I've seen worse. There was a lack of detail in most cases that made me wish the covers accurately portrayed the quality of the show but considering what I usually review; I'm used to that concept more than a little.

Sound: The audio was presented with the standard two choices of a 2.0 Dolby Digital track in either the original Japanese or the English language dub. There was precious little separation in either of them when it came to the dialogue and the dynamic range was on the low quality side but during the fighting scenes, the show seemed to be much better suited to test your stereo's speakers out, well at least comparatively speaking. The voice actors from Japan seemed better suited for their roles this time with a number of the secondary roles in the dub seemingly handed out to whoever walked in off the street the day they were recorded (not quite that bad but close enough). There were some sonic differences between the two as well but aside from some variations in the optional subtitles, I didn't notice too many relative differences in what was said/written.

Extras: Most anime boxed sets being released these days lose the extras in favor of lowering the price without pissing off the consumers that already bought the individual volumes but this wasn't one of them. The same pencil boards were included, including the two extra boards that came with the limited edition of volume one, the six discs all had trailers, some artwork or clean openings and endings, original Japanese versions of them, and character profiles. It wasn't much but I applaud Geneon for leaving the releases alone for the boxed set release; fighting against the tide of other companies that serve them up on the cheap.

Final Thoughts: Star Ocean EX: Complete Series was not the kind of mentally stimulating anime series that you'll be openly admitting to watching to your friends but as a recap to an RPG videogame and manga series you may have enjoyed it was still worth a look. There were certainly flaws with the story and how it was handled but it might serve a younger audience better than it did myself and I'd be lying if I said I didn't chuckle at some of the characterizations in the dub (that were over acted for comic relief on purpose). That said, Star Ocean EX: Complete Series might not hold up to many of the far better series that Geneon has released in recent years but aside from the open ending, it wasn't that far off the mark as an introductory anime title for kids to enjoy over some of the drivel they'll watch on domestic television on Saturdays and in syndication.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Best of Anime 2005 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.