The show draws from the wealth of material surrounding the Final Fantasy games that have been popular for years and years but also invents a number of new characters and scenarios so as to keep from forcing the audience from having to know what went on in those long, and often difficult, games. In short, the series is almost more of an homage to the games than an actual spin off. The show is set in the near future where a cataclysmic battle took place between two large monsters that came from a beacon of light. The area was devastated and the beings disappeared but a ghost train appears at regular intervals to transport people to another world, Wonderland, which is a series of interconnected cities floating in an ethereal place. Each city has its own properties regarding the laws of physics and its own set of characters, some of which are friendly while others are quite hostile. The show centered on a trio of young adventurers who were trying to search for people they cared about, as detailed below in my episode breakdowns:

Episode One: Wonderland: Journey Into The Darkness:
This episode established the main characters, Ai Hayakawa and Yu Hayakawa, as a couple of siblings searching for their parents in a fantasy world that was discovered after a dimensional rift appearing twelve years ago in which two powerful creatures fought each other on Earth. Their parents, Joe and Mary, wrote the definitive book on the fantasy world and apparently went back for more information before something happened. The kids are joined by a gal named Lisa who possesses some sort of magic power and is also searching for someone.

Episode Two: Magun: Man Of The Black Wind:
After saving the trio from a certain death in the last episode, Kaze, a man that appeared to be a cross between one of the Clint Eastwood "man with no name" drifters and Captain Harlock, uses a large pistol that converts elements of the fantasy world to fend off monsters from the land. Depending on what combination of elements he uses, the bullets make a defending monster with unique properties. He struggles to regain his memory, knowing that his mission in life is to fight the powers in charge of Wonderland.

Episode Three: Fruit: The Town Of Sweet Scent:
This episode introduced a number of characters in more depth. The ruler of Wonderland, Earl Tyrant, his various minions, such as the four Gaudium Lords (in this episode Herba, a plant-based foe was the main antagonist, and some others that weren't explained in depth. Kaze saves the day using a different combination of bullets but the overall feel for the series seemed a bit offbeat, to say the least.

Episode Four: Makenshi: The White Etude:
This episode introduced Makenshi in depth. He is the right-hand man to Earl Tyrant and major foe of Kaze. Each search one another out, and it was learned that they were the two powerful monsters, albeit in other forms, that fought on Earth twelve years ago. The trio meets an inventor, Sid, and gets to see the consequences of a battle between Kaze and Makenshi as the two destroy an entire world with their might.

Having heard some really negative things about the show, I decided it was best to investigate myself and I admit that the results were a bit mixed. The show looks interesting in almost all cases. The mixture of CGI and traditional style anime is sometimes a bit off putting but after you watch a few episodes it tends to grow on you. The characters themselves are drawn in the simplistic fashion of some of Ralph Bakshi's old work from the 70's and the backgrounds tend to be computer generated. This is not a hard rule but a tendency. The audio contributes a lot to the feel of the various cities the trio venture into and that also contributed to the fun.

On the flip side, some of the story lines were too obscure to follow with a straight face. The director seemed to be creating a whole new place and a bit more exposition might've helped sell it to me without having to watch the show several times to catch a lot of detail that might've been better introduced differently. Further, some of the voice acting on the dub made me wince (and I double checked the actors against other projects, noting that I really liked a few that bugged me here). The general voice acting was okay but not to the level of some of the other projects out of ADV Films. I'm going to give it some more thought though as the stylish differences might work as the story progresses.

So, for an anime buff looking for something way off the beaten path, I can safely give this one a rating of Rent It at this time although it could go higher or lower in the future depending on how the characters grow and what happens with the scenario presented. The cartoony nature of the characters wasn't my favorite style and only time will tell if this aspect colored my perceptions too heavily in the negative.

Picture: The picture was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The look of the show was quite unique in how it mixed more traditional styles of anime with modernistic CGI effects. I wasn't too keen on the limited drawn anime style of the characters (they often looked like low budget quickies) but after a few episodes, it grew on me a bit more than I thought it would. In any case, the picture always looked good and no problems were evident.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of 5.1 Dolby Digital surround English or 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese with optional English subtitles. The English track was superior in terms of the ambiance, special effects and music while the voice acting was somewhat better on the Japanese track. Both were clear and crisp within the limitations of their source material.

Extras: The best extra was the audio commentary track on episode one with director Charlie Campbell with voice actors Jessica Schwartz (Ai Hayakawa) and Shawn Sides (Lisa). I think the commentary was pretty decent and Campbell mentioned they would be a regular feature in later volumes. I just hope he participates in them and that they do more than one per volume. There were a number of sketches and illustrations presented on the DVD as well as the usual trailers and a double sided DVD cover. Lastly, there was a paper insert that a lot of character information as well as a chart detailing some of the relationships. Taken as a whole, the extras were pretty solid.

Final Thoughts: I liked some aspects of the DVD more than others. As the first in a series, I can't say from this one whether or not I'll be getting the rest of the set. I didn't get a copy of the special edition to review but fans of the show will appreciate the T-Shirt and box that come with that one. The technical matters were generally well done and if the story gets moving a bit faster, I may find the series better than the individual episodes. Check it out if you're interested in the videogame origins or for a look at some newer style anime.