Halo Legends
No, this isn’t a review about the game Halo, but rather a collection of anime short stories revolving around the universe of Halo.
Like the Animatrix DVD which was released after the Matrix movie trilogy, Halo Legends is comprised of stories produced by some of the best anime producers in Japan, such as Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4°C, and Toei Animation.
But unlike the Animatrix, the anime in Halo Legends is more like a hit or miss affair. Some of the stories and animation is great but some are not so. I think what the producers did is to cater to a wide range of anime styles, which is why there are some episodes that are very artististic, serious and has great production values while there are some that tries to be funny and is targetted to a more younger audience, like the one produced by Toei Animation that has a lot of Dragonball elements, such as super-powered beings. Just imagine Goku hanging out with a Spartan! 
The gems in this DVD is “The Duel” and “The Package”, which was done by Production I.G and Casio Entertainment, respectively.
The Duel follows an Arbiter named Fal who does not want to follow the Covenant religion, which irked one of the Prophets, who accuses Fal of heresy. The Prophet then sends another Elite to kill Fal’s wife in order to drag him to a trap.
This episode is classic Production I.G, having very strong action scenes and a stylized approach to the animation. It’s like watching a water-colored painting come to life. Very cool! 
The last episode is The Package and is purely 3D CGI animation. Although the animation of the characters is sometimes stiff, the non-stop action more than makes up for some of this episode’s shortcomings.
All in all, this DVD would really cater only to the Halo fanboys, but if you still want to watch this and skip some of the lamer episodes and just watch the good stuff, then I highly recommend The Duel and The Package.
Rating: 5/10
March 21st, 2010 at 3:02 am
This is a BAD review.
First of all, I’m pretty sure whoever made this entry hasn’t played at least 2 of the Halo-related games. He knows nothing about the series, the central theme, and the key players. He’s right when he said this anthology was made specifically for Halo fanboys, so I don’t see any reason why someone who has no knowledge of the mythos, would even attempt to review it. Secondly, two words; “half-baked”.
He didn’t even understand why the episode made by Toei was made that way (Dragonball-like). It was supposed to be a parody of the Halo universe as imagined by an otaku. And for crying out loud, Toei made the Dragonball series, so they have all the right to incorporate it with anything they can get their hands on.
And “skip the lamer episodes”? That didn’t sound right. You’re invoking the rage of probably millions of gamers out there. For them, this is like a dream come true. Microsoft tried their best to expand the Halo Universe’s horizon by collaborating with some of the biggest production houses; Bones (Soul Eater/Eureka Seven/Full Metal Alchemist), Casio Entertainment, Production IG (Blood/Ghost in the Shell/xxxHolic), Studio 4*C (Animatrix/Detroit Metal City/Tekkon Kinkreet), and Toei Animation (Dragonball/SlamDunk/Hana Yori Dango/Galaxy Express 999). Shinji Aramaki (creator and director of Appleseed) was the project’s creative director. I wouldn’t say “lame” after taking those into consideration.
But I definitely appreciate the time and effort the reviewer took to examine Halo Legends. I definitely respect your work, you just have to be a bit more objective when you try to do a review.
March 21st, 2010 at 3:06 am
i heard they are coming out with a blu ray release anyone has idea how i can get one
March 21st, 2010 at 9:19 am
@Johnson
thanks for your comment but I did play Halo 2 and the beginning of Halo Legends already summarizes the whole series for those who hasn’t played Halo and just want to watch Halo Legends.
my review is not just for those who played Halo but for all those who watch anime too since Halo Legends was made by a lot of great anime production houses. a lot of anime fans might want to watch Halo Legends too without even playing a single game in the series.
and I did say that there are a couple of “gems” in Halo Legends, didn’t I? these episodes to me, represented Halo really well. I just wasn’t that enthusiastic about the other episodes. I shouldn’t have called those “lame” but the truth is, I found myself getting drowsy watching those episodes.
I appreciated Toei’s effort to make that Halo episode Dragonball-like, but for me, it just didn’t fit with the whole Halo universe. don’t get me wrong though, I like Dragonball, but the mix of Dragonball + Halo didn’t work for me.
anyway, I really do appreciate your time to do a lenghty comment.
thanks!
March 25th, 2010 at 1:02 am
My apologies, I also shouldn’t have commented that it’s a BAD review.
It just feels wrong after watching the anthology. I really thought the producers made a good job putting up an epic compilation.
Nevertheless, I think it’s just a matter of personal taste. I like the fact that the Halo universe is expanding much like how Star Wars crawled out from anonymity to legendary status throughout the last decade.
When doing a review though, one should always be careful of wordplay and biases. We never want to look like we’re antagonizing the subject of the review. It should be presented in a very logical and objective fashion.
Thank you. I appreciate the fact, that you did a review to a relatively unknown franchise here in the Philippines.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:42 am
@Ikabod Crane
the only stores I see selling blu-ray discs are video stores in malls such as Astrovision. or maybe you could try Greenhills or Virra Mall. your best bet though would be to buy it from online stores such as Amazon.
@Johnson
no prob. thanks again! ^^
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