Series: Silent Mobius: Complete Collection is set in 2024 and Tokyo has yet to climb out of the greatest earthquake disaster ever faced by the burgeoning metropolitan area. The ecological aspects of life aside, a number of mysterious killings have been taking place that baffle the police, resulting in a specialized division called the A.M.P. to be instituted the year prior. The general public is not made aware of the reality of the killings though since they are at the hands of beings called Lucifer Hawks. These creatures literally sustain themselves by sucking the life forces out of humans in vampiric fashion, much like the main enemy on the Stargate Atlantis series do, resulting in withered away corpses though with a lot of split blood too. The demons are classified into three groups, the least of which can be dealt with by AMP but the others seemingly impervious to harm (the third tier Hawks are stupid and driven by immediate needs while the second tier have some intelligence and the top echelon being extremely powerful, intelligent, and set on a plan to take over Earth).

The show originally came out ten years ago in Japan and was subsequently released in three twin disc sets some time ago. In keeping with modern anime practices, this new set is basically the same thing repackaged and the price lowered to the point where more of us can afford it, though you might want to check it out first. Essentially, a small group of skilled females makes up AMP, the Chief being a woman named Rally Cheyenne. Little is known about her but she gives most people a fright when she opposes them, leading her to set the group up for unknown reasons. See, the future is much like today but with governments a thing of the past and corporations taking over most daily duties for folks, altruism a thing of the past. The corporate board overseeing the police department in Tokyo wants results for their expenses, the series of high profile cases enough to give up funding for the squad. In the past year, attacks have increased and no means to fight the stronger Hawks have come about, a prophecy about a special person being hailed by both the Hawks and would-be saviors as someone special being bandied about.

The team itself consists of a psychic named Yuki, a powerful cyborg with a short temper called Kiddy, a Shinto priestess named Nami, and Lebia (yes, it is pronounced much like a woman's genitalia) a strategic visionary all led by Rally. Their minimal successes aren't enough so a ploy is made to bring in a young lady that is not only clueless about her potential, but also of her role in the coming times, a gal by the name of Katsumi Liqueur. Unfortunate naming aside, Katsumi is descended from a powerful set of parents that are now both dead, the gal never really knowing her Archmage father. At first, the Hawks attack to get Katsumi on their side, using logic and reason to persuade her to come with them to learn about how her father not only invited the Hawks to Earth but also invoked a special shield that prevents them from invading wholesale.

Rally and the team seek to prevent the lies of the Hawks from twisting their latest member, should she decide to join them, the swath of carnage not escaping Katsumi's notice from both sides of the fight. As she comes to bond with her team though, an ultimatum is given and she chooses to stay with them, even though she has the distinctive impression that they are withholding a lot of information from her. As the series progresses, a wide variety of secrets come out about all of the team, their place in the scheme of things, and Katsumi's parents, initially covering the first two discs of the set until she embraces her destiny with a powerful sword that makes her stronger every time she successfully wins a battle against the hawks.

The other members are also kept in the dark until well into the series about their mysterious leader and how the Hawks came to Earth, as well as what is scheduled to happen unless they stop it. Needless to say, the series moves from a set of single battles to stronger opponents that require a great deal more thought into winning against, some rifts in the team apparent from time to time. Katsumi eventually becomes the most powerful member of the team and after nearly dying to protect them, makes a vow to continue the fight, some infighting among the Hawks helping the cause just as similar political woes weaken the resolve of the AMP team during a crucial set of fights. Making it even harder is the revelation that Katsumi's father set in motion the earthquake that nearly ended all life on Earth in order to install his protective barrier; fueling Katsumi's guilt until she learns more about exactly what took place and how he was betrayed.

The kicker is that the series comes from a set of movies I never saw (and weren't included) and how open ended it is with regard to the final assault on the Lucifer Hawks, several of important ones right beside the team in fighting to make the world a better place. The back cover said it like this: "In the future, Tokyo is a desolate place. After a massive earthquake, the city struggles to survive. The old city is in ruins. Acid rain falls from the sky. And worst of all, evil beings called Lucifer Hawk have invaded Earth to destroy humanity. Earth's last line of defense is a secret branch of the Police, the AMP. It's members include the psychic, Yuki, the cyborg Kiddy, the Shinto priestess Nami, the visionaire Lebia, and their chief, the mysterious Rally Cheyenne. But they're about to get a new and powerful new member. Katsumi Liqueur, a woman with strange powers and a dark past, is about to join the fight. The battle for Earth is in the hands of these powerful women...but will that be enough? " For my part, so much of the series was old hat and done so often that even if this predated many other shows that I have already seen, the net effect is to make it less appealing so I rated this one as a Rent It at best.

Picture: Silent Mobius: Complete Collection was presented in the same 1.33:1 full frame color as it was shot by Koichi Ohata for airing on television on Japanese television. The colors were flat, the animation movement largely limited (primarily to panning still shots), and a bunch of aliasing taking place. I wanted to like it more than I did though as the thematic matters taking place were such that absent the supernatural aspects of the story, it could have been an allegory for a number of things. The storyline didn't help matters any but even the colors looked out of skew at times, making this a low budget looking series to say the least (and yes, there was some blocking too).

Sound: The audio was presented with a 2.0 Dolby Digital offering in both the original Japanese and the English language dub using the standard 48 kHz output with a 256 Kbps audio bitrate. The separation shown on the channels was minimal and the majority of sound came from the center speaker, greatly limiting the ability to communicate some of the action sequences into anything that might involve the viewer at home. The basic special effects were weak in the audio department as well with the mix showing a heavy favoritism to the vocals over the score and effects. The Japanese actors did a better job here (at least as presented) but I can't fault the dub talent too much as they seemed to largely be limited to what they were working with (a lot of stilted dialogue but mainly a script that should be revisited someday).

Extras: Most of the volumes had a photogallery and some trailers with a short bit of clean openings and closing every other disc. There was a short karaoke on the last disc too but that was it.

Final Thoughts: Silent Mobius: Complete Collection was not the worse anime boxed set sent to me by my editor pals at DVD Talk but it lacked on several levels so check it out before you drop the dough to pick it up. The clichés were thick here and the grandstanding villains were so over the top in the dub that I felt someone was getting carried away with their direction or lines. If you want to see a future torn asunder by a manmade calamity and an invasion of blood thirsty demons of unknown origin, this might work better for you but it struck me as an early effort with limited replay appeal so check it out before buying.

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, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.