Dark Warrior Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-09-06 (updated 2006-09-06)
• 1 stars out of 5 (?)

Dark Warrior is a good idea done badly. The concept, aside from being every nerd's fantasy, has all the basics: Angst, tragedy, secret plots for world domination, and a programmer with superpowers. Sadly, the writing is weak, the plot is as flimsy as it is filled with holes, and none of the characters are likable enough to care much what happens. It's just as bad technically--underwhelming art, weak animation, and even the action scenes are bad.

In all, a good premise, but the story is a sloppy mess, and it's visually unremarkable. The second half might pick up a little, but there's not much to see in the first other than a superpowered nerd (which does, admittedly, have its appeal).

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-09-06 (updated 2006-09-06)
• 1 stars out of 5 (?)

Dark Warrior is a good idea done badly. Other than being every nerd's fantasy (well, sort of), the concept is interesting enough and the plot could definitely go places. Unfortunately, the production is so poorly constructed that the premise ends up going to waste.

If you ignored the visuals and the specifics of the plot, the basic foundation isn't bad: There's angst, tragedy, secret plots for world domination, and a programmer with superpowers--what more could you ask for? That's the theory, but in practice, the writing is weak, the plot is thin and full of holes, and I never felt much empathy for any of the characters. Even the angst-loaded protagonist just isn't likable. There's also the fact that you aren't too likely to mistake this version of Southern California for the real thing, but then again Hollywood isn't known for its accurate depictions of foreign locales, either.

Technically, Dark Warrior doesn't fare any better. The art is unremarkable, the animation is barely average at absolute best, and the action sequences aren't well done. There are a few decent-looking moments, but none worth mentioning, and certainly not enough to save the production as a whole. At least the character designs are passable, though certainly not noteworthy. The acting in the Japanese version is mostly unremarkable, although the main character has a few decent dramatic moments.

In all, a good premise, but the story is a sloppy mess, and it's visually unremarkable. The second half might pick up a little, but there's not much to see in the first other than a superpowered nerd (which does, admittedly, have its appeal).

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Similar to every other moderately cheesy action movie where a normal guy develops super powers. Probably has the most in common with Guyver and Baoh.