Burst Angel or Gun Frontier?

[Njr Scrawl]

Both Burst Angel & Gun Frontier seem to have a western theme. Which is the better series for that, & which has better re-watchability?

[BluWacky]

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Wrath of the Njr said:
Both Burst Angel & Gun Frontier seem to have a western theme. Which is the better series for that, & which has better re-watchability?

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Burst Angel doesn't have a "western theme" at all; the costumes are just like that because they look sexy. It's set in the future and has mecha and spaceships and so forth. Gun Frontier is, at least, a western (although, as usual for Matsumoto, Harlock-ified).

I can't really give an opinion on re-watchability; I thought Gun Frontier was boring (and I think even most Matsumoto fans agree on this one!) and Burst Angel was the usual GONZO tripe, so you'd need opinions from other people, but suffice to say Burst Angel is NOT a Western by any stretch of the imagination.

[Ingraman]

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Wrath of the Njr said:
Both Burst Angel & Gun Frontier seem to have a western theme. Which is the better series for that, & which has better re-watchability?

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As has been said, Burst Angel is not a western-themed anime. Don't buy Burst Angel for anything other than the DVD cover art (or you could buy the artbook). I found it to be pretty bad (boring and repetitive, mostly).

I've never seen Gun Frontier.

[Rhodes]

gun frontier has zero re-watch value unless your a harlock diehard who enjoys a show with harlock characters dropped in to it. it also doesnt have a complete "ending". ends with a set up for more that never comes since no more is ever made. the female lead in this show is also treated like trash... so if you like your gals treated like trash and eye candy then this show is for you.

burst angel has some nice costumes for the leads and has a "western" feel to it if you consider that everyone now has a gun in tokyo just like how the japanese sees everyone in the us with a gun cause its the wild west here. sei is a cool cookie, amy is loli and you have the hot lez couple of meg and jo... also mech and the cook and yeah the big robot.

i own both these and since i am not a die hard harlock or herlock fan... burst angel all the way for the win. original jp audio, english dub track and even the commentary... BA also has the jp radio drama/interview? show included on the dvds.

[Puppet Master]

I got about halfway through one Gun Frontier episode at most because it was pretty dull overall. Keep in mind though I'm really not a fan of the characters period.

I wouldn't exactly call Burst Angel a "western" type show but it's better overall I've seen most of it 2x at least and I still enjoy it enough to keep it.

So skip Gun Frontier and if your going to get one of them go with Burst Angel.

[Knewlio]

Not much love for Burst Angel, eh? I was thinking of picking this one up, since I saw the singles for $11 a pop at Best Buy.

Any other opinions on it?

[Captain Impulse]

Burst Angel is a series I have a love/hate relationship. The series itself was very lackluster; uninspired CGI battles, poor animation framerate, a severe lack of character growth, and a very convoluted plot.

That said, I really, really liked the characters. I wished they'd been given a better series to star in, or at least that the series was better written. I can think of at least one arc of episodes that had me gritting my teeth at how poorly executed it was.

I wouldn't recommend the series, even though I own it with no regrets. I just enjoyed the characters too much to hate the show, even with all it's (gaping) flaws.

Here's to hoping the OVA (whenever it gets made, if at all) can redeem it.

[Teiresias]

I thought it was fun--I wouldn't have higher expectations that that. There were actually a few really good episodes--I'm thinking particularly of the episode where <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> we see Jo and Meg meeting up as younger girls </span>. And I enjoyed the ending just fine. Assuming you can afford to blow the bucks, I'd say take a chance on it (it sounds like you really want to anyway /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif).

Funimation did give one of the best presentations of the year with Burst Angel: Great box, great covers, even the dvd labels rocked.

[ADC]

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Knewlio said:
Not much love for Burst Angel, eh? I was thinking of picking this one up, since I saw the singles for $11 a pop at Best Buy.

Any other opinions on it?

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Occasionally interesting, but extremely unfocused with a lot of rambling side stories and a very vague main story arc. And the ending sucks pretty hard. You want to know, so I'll tell you: Best Buy is ripping you off, even at that price.

[Knewlio]

Yeah, I suppose I'll pass on it. It's a shame; those girls are mighty cute. =P But, I have enough girls-with-guns shows, I guess, especially if this one doesn't offer up anything too interesting.

[XenoCrisis0153]

I bought the Burst Angel Vol 1 at Best Buy for $11.99, just as you found. I found the first four episodes entertaining, but it wasn't anything that wanted me to continue with the series. There just seemed to be too much unexplained political nonsense in which the writers just created in order to make an interesting series. I'm sure it's explained later on, but I'm just not buying into it.

Didn't see Gun Frontier, so I can't tell you which one is better. If you're looking to decide on which complete series you want, I can't help, but if you want just one volume to start, I'd say B.A. is good enough.

[Captain Impulse]

Often the problem with certain episodes of Burst Angel was that it seemed the writer's reach exceeded their grasp. They tried to cram too much into a twenty-minute episode (or even a two-parter), rather than try to spread out their ideas across the entire series. At times it felt like they were trying to emulate the feel or Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, but failed miserably.

I will admit, there were some good episodes, like the one mentioned above, but overall the story was too far-fetched and certain scenes/moments too contrived to be enjoyable. Again, that really makes me sad because I really liked watching the characters, even as they drowned amidst a sea of plot-chaos.