Hammerboy's real name is Mangchi, a young child with a sense of adventure most around him think is problematic at times due to his sheer exuberance in carrying out his duties. He flies around Candlestick Island, the home of all he knows of the world, in a makeshift contraption made out of a bicycle and small engine, swinging a magical hammer given to him by his mysterious and gifted grandfather. While the hammer looks like any other, it allows Mangchi to bust up just about anything he strikes with it, in a seeming tribute of sorts to Thor (the Norse God of Thunder). To Mangchi the world is his oyster and he patrols the island's waters in hopes of seeing schools of fish that he can direct his fellow islanders towards for better fishing.

All is well on Candlestick Island until one day Mangchi is attacked by airplanes substantially more powerful than his little gyrocopter, armed with machine guns and men willing to use them to clear the skies of any threat, perceived or imagined, they come across. Apparently, Mangchi stumbled into a fight between two Warring Tribes (a common concept in animation) and they are desperate to regain control over a Princess flying away from them. Her name was Princess Polar and she was the victim of a military coup de tat that sought to control her kingdom either with, or without, her assistance. Like most such stories, it all turns into a generic Quest Film, with Mangchi accompanying his newfound friend to her place in hopes of finding adventure and fun. Little does he count on a combination of bandits and scoundrels that will do anything to achieve their ends with Mangchi's Island next up on the block if things go south. With evil sorcerers like Moonk that wield a great power from their hands (I'm not going to spoil it for you but he's not the only one that can use the power of this force) and a combination of old Earth technology that has been scraped together (not exactly state of the art but a testament to the power of military might and technology), the forces of Good have a lot to battle as the forces of Evil seek to control all in their quest for a fabled jewel.

In large part, the material was all a retread from movies and shows that have come before but the sense of boyish wonder displayed by Mangchi and company did help keep it fresh. Some of the artwork appeared to need the benefit of an inbetweener or two yet the simple fact is that the movie seemed designed for a younger, more accepting crowd, so I didn't think much of it at the time I initially watched it. There was some minor violence, including death, but I don't think it was so graphic as to dissuade me from offering it up as children's fare. I also came to the conclusion that the story was either an introductory point for a series or the result of limited funding and a lot of ideas for such a series. To me, the material, while kind of silly and weak for an adult, was something I could see a child appreciating (just hide your hammers at home before they get any ideas) pretty readily. I rated it as a Rent It since I think most people will either love it or hate it with little middle ground to speak of. It's worth a look to see what Korean anime houses are up to but I found it to be an interesting cross between a Saturday morning American show and a more complex evening show from Japan.

Picture: Hammerboy: Collector's Series was presented in a 1.85:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color as originally shot by Taekun An and his staff in Korea. The colors were consistent, the CGI work well done, and the overall visual appeal better than I thought it would be given the front DVD cover. I saw no compression artifacts or video noise during my screening of the DVD and I have to admit that as odd as some of the visuals appeared (I'm used to more traditional anime), they looked pretty good in terms of detail and quality.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Korean with English subtitles or a more developed 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English track (with optional song & sign subtitles). While I liked the original language track better, the dub had something to offer too but my concern was that the vocals seemed very low compared to the music and effects in the dubbed track. I searched out this issue and found others had similar problems but this will only be a major factor if you like dubs over original tracks. I liked the songs and special effects though and especially in the original track, the characters all worked out well.

Extras: The extras this time included some trailers, an art gallery, and television spots from Korea but my favorites were the two music videos. One was in English and the other in Korean but the resulting montage from the movie in each case was very well done. There was also a double sided DVD cover but no paper insert on my copy.

Final Thoughts: Hammerboy: Collector's Series was a Rent It largely due to the limited replay value of the movie for me but I'm sure younger children will find his adventures endearing enough to watch multiple times for fun. The themes of friendship and growing up are common in literature so I wasn't surprised to see them here either. There was enough creative spark to the movie to make me want to see more Korean animation and I'm told I'm not alone in that desire but the extras were kind of light for a regular movie and many of you will find the show less appealing due to the youthful lead and some of his silly antics. Give it a look as there was a lot to like here, just remember that this is only the beginning for the studios that may well be destined to take over animation as we know it.

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