Plot: What’s it about?
Meifon is just a sixteen year old girl, but she has a lot of important tasks in her future, to be sure. Her grandfather has passed on, but he left her with a request to form a special group, one to offer free protection in the space lanes. In these space lanes, various commercial and other ships pass through, but are often hassled by pirates. This means money is lost, folks are afraid to travel the space lanes, and all sorts of other problems surface. So with the resources her grandfather left in her hands, Meifon decides to fulfill his request and form this important team. She has a massive, state of the art ship, a number of workers at her command, and a large office building, all of which she will need to make this team happen. Other firms offer protection to the travelers, but at a premium and as such, they will dislike the competition Meifon represents, especially since she is offering the services at no charge. Can Meifon form & train an adequate group to accomplish her goals, all while surviving the tough world of the pirates and her competition?
This four volume series kicks off here, with the first installment in Pioneer’s Angel Links series. I had the slight setback of watching the series a little out of order, but once I viewed these opening episodes, things fell right into place. If you’re a fan of the Outlaw Star universe, then the series will be a little more familiar, but even if you’re not, you won’t have trouble slipping into Angel Links, I wouldn’t think. A total of four episodes have been included here and as they progress, the story begins to unfold somewhat, but this is more of an introduction set of episodes, as it should be, since the series is just getting started. The animation is kind of old school and looks terrific, with some interesting character design choices, such as Meifon’s massive breasts. In addition to the animation, the series itself is quite old school and while I think it works well, some might not like it, especially newcomers to the anime realm. But if you’re interested, Angel Links Vol. 1 is a very good set of episodes and if you ask me, this is the best disc in the series. It’s fun to watch as things develop later on, but I really enjoyed these first four episodes. I recommend this disc to those in search of old school style anime, or anyone who loves a lead character with an incredible rack.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. These episodes look terrific, very clean and colorful, with minimal errors to report. I saw some slight edge enhancement and a few color issues, but these were minor scraps, without a doubt. On the whole, the image is clear and looks very good, colors are bold, vivid, and true and that’s important in a series like this, where vibrant color is so omnipresent. No errors on the contrast side, as black levels are deep and rich, but never bury detail in the least. All in all, a very impressive look batch of episodes and I doubt anyone will be let down in the slightest.
Audio: How does it sound?
A basic, but effective couple of stereo tracks are included here, with Japanese and English language options. I scanned both tracks for review’s sake, but I recommend the Japanese choice, as per usual. I liken this mix to a clean, sharp television presentation, as there isn’t much in terms of dynamic presence, but the elements still sound very good. The music is great in this series and it sounds wonderful here, while sound effects are limited in this stereo mix, but come through as well as possible. I was pleased with the vocals also, as dialogue is clean and never out of balance. This disc also includes optional English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes footage of the Angel Links from Outlaw Star, as well as a textless opening sequence.
