The X-Men are a hugely popular comic book and franchise from Marvel that has been around for eons. Last seen on the big screen in the impressive X-Men: First Class, they return in this 2 DVD set of the complete series of the anime. The series contains all 12 episodes and a few special features. The animation from the legendary MADHOUSE is first-rate, and while the story is un-even, there’s enough going on to give it a positive review. The character designs are clean and fresh and the action scenes are beautifully animated while the voice work is also top-notch. My only negative is that the female characters are given huge boobs and this can sometimes be distracting. Fans of comic-book artist Jim Lee will probably not mind at all.
After a teammate is killed, the X-Men are recruited by Charles Xavier to go to Japan to confront the U-Men, a crazy cult that steals and transplants mutant organs to further strengthen their own army. There’s some nice twists and turns along the way and the series is engaging and entertaining. The story does drag at times and the action seems fragmented but the excellent animation carries it along at a nice clip. The features include some interviews and a behind the scenes round table discussion with the creators of X-Men and the Blade anime. Picture quality and audio are both very good as well.
X-Men is a must-see for fans of the comics and movies. It’s not perfect, but it is well worth watching. MADHOUSE did a great job animating the series and the colors pop off the screen. The storytelling is just average, but it doesn’t get in the way of an X-Men series that is well worth owning, or at least renting, for fans of the characters.
Grade: B+
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