Visitors Review

zen-nex-tal (2012-05-24 01:31)

Outstanding

Let me list off my favorite segments from this movie. 1. Prototype The grittiest of the shorts, and it contains one of thecoolest powered-armor suits you'll ever see. Ever. Has the bestanimation quality, best set up, and a touching reminder of what beinghuman is all about. 2. Origins (pt. I-II) Cortana going through the whole history ofhumanity, the forerunners, and the covenant. Some great animation andtouching story work really makes this one a joy to watch. 3. Odd One Out As somebody who grew up on Dragonball Z (and still loveit) I loved this bit. Its slapstick humor, its character designs, itsspartan character 1337 (hell yeah!) and how over the top hilarious thefight with Pluton, the genetically modified Brute, is! 4. The Duel Loved the art style, loved the setting, the music. Didn'tlove how human the elites were portrayed. Though the scene with thearbiter against dozens of elites and hunters was pretty damn amazing. 5. Homecoming I just didn't feel for the main character in this one.I've read Fall of Reach, and think that they made the "horrificexperiments" waaay too tame. Only at the end was I feeling any emotionfor the character. 6. The Package Visually pretty amazing CG work, but the dialogue waspretty horrific and the one-liners were pretty grating. 7. The Babysitter This one was just boring, visually and thematically.

(2012-05-23 06:59)

inconsistent with books and games

This review is from: Halo Legends (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD) I'm a halo fan and have played all the games and read most of the novels. Each of these short stories had Elements that were inconsistent with facts from the other media. Most of the shorts didn't fit the mood of the halo universe. It's a fail.

blockmelater1 (2012-05-21 12:36)

No. No, I refuse to accept this as canon…

1) The Duel is by far the best, and only good short in this disaster.It explains the origins of the Arbiter, and why the rank was made whatit was during the halo games. Personally, i loved the way it waswritten, how it all tied together, but the art style was off. The useof TOO MUCH Japanese art style made me think i was watching a samuraiepic rather than some science fiction story. The Elites' armor were TOOinfluenced by the Japanese samurai armor, and it took away some of thefeel for the elites' own culture. But besides that, this short iswatchable and enjoyable.2) Origins is an origin story narrated by Cortana, explaining how theHalo universe came to be. I like how the animators included views ofForerunner technology and ships, and i love the way the combat skinslooked. But that's as far as it goes. Don't get me wrong, this shorthas all its information in the right place, i just think it may havemistakenly shown us information in a different way. For example, whenCortana is narrating how the Flood returned to attack the covenant andthe Humans, it showed all races fighting the Flood. This may not beentirely accurate, but the way it showed them makes it seem as ifbrutes, elites, humans and all others set aside their differences forthe sake of fighting a greater enemy (and they all lived happily everafter). Besides that, there's not really nothing wrong with this short,except that you can read this on wikipedia rather than shell out a fewbucks for it.3) The Package. I won't deny it, its fun. Its pretty damn awesome tosee the spartans kick major Covenant donkey (bad pun, i know) on theirown turf, but i must point out a few flaws. Arthur and Solomon, forexample, died TOO damned easily. They're supposed to be spartans, theultimate fighting machine, and they died stupidly, with Solomoncharging recklessly into the inside of a Covenant cruiser only tosuffer a stupid death thanks to a Covenant anti-matter charge. Wherewas all the military discipline? I know that time was short, but ALLsoldiers are trained to work as part of a team. If your team loses, youlose, and that's something that apparently Solomon wasn't taking intoconsideration though. On the other hand, Arthur's 'death' wasn'tvisible, and it opens up a few possible stories, such as a capture andescape from Covenant space. I'd like that. 4) Homecoming. Again, where's all the discipline? Spartans are shownhere to be (and i'm paraphrasing another reviewer around here) angstyteens. I know that they still hadn't had their first glimpse of battle,but why suicide? These people were trained to be the ultimate fightingmachines (redundancy, i know) and some of them just killed themselveswhen they found out that they'd been replaced with clones. I get it,its traumatizing, but i think that if you take some things intoconsideration the story is entirely impossible. Most, if not all of theSpartan-II candidates were taken from the early age of 6. A child'smind is so suggestive at that age that with proper conditioning, theUNSC would've made them forget entirely about their parents andwhatnot. More importantly, while i know that going back to yourestranged parents only to find out that you were replaced with a cloneis not exactly a happy thought, its not enough grounds for suicide.Suicide (and i say it as a person who once considered it) is a gradualthing, not something sudden. On a side note, why is Ralph-303 a marine?If he received the augmentations, the training, and the discipline, whydid he not remain a spartan? Was it because of the escape? But in thatcase, then technically Daisy-023 should have been kicked out of theS-II program and made a normal marine as well. Oh and just to put thecherry on this, there were only 150 Spartan-II candidates, with 75being chosen for the actual program. Why 303? Why is this shortdeliberately wiping its opening at the end of the alimentary canalthrough which solid waste matter leaves the body with our belovedcanon?5) The Babysitter. This one had *so* much potential. It is the story ofan Orbital Drop Shock Trooper squadron (ODST; Helljumpers) sent behindenemy lines to assassinate a Prophet. But wait, there's a twist! Theyhave a Spartan. Now, all of you who are familiar with the Halo mythosknow that ODSTs and S-IIs have a fierce rivalry, ever since John-117(the Master Chief) killed three of them in a training fight. So, whereis all this rivalry? Instead, we're stuck with this kid, O'Brian, whowhines like the pre-pubescent teen he is, griping about how the SpartanSAVES HIS LIFE ABOUT 3 TIMES. This could've essentially been one of thebest of the shorts, instead it plays out like that filler episode inanime, where they throw a bunch of clip shows together that addsnothing to the overall storyline. Again, on a side note, why doesn'tCal-141 ever talk to the other members of the squad? Is she sufferingfrom PTVD, as Lucy-B091? Or did the producers want to hide the factthat there are also women serving in the front lines? Because i knowwomen serving in Iraq right now.6) Prototype. There's nothing really wrong with this short, except thatit doesn't add a damn thing to the story. Like most of the compilationas a whole.7) Odd One Out. Didn't happen, disregard it.As a whole, there's not really that many things that are wrong withHalo Legends. I do think though, that they could've made it a whole lotbetter.

(2012-05-21 08:07)

4 out of 5. Great even for the casual fan.

A lot of times when dvd's (or now bd's) are made of a franchise, it is usually so canonized that if you are not a hardcore player, you won't understand the movie. Or, it is so out there that the hardcore fans destroy it. This is not one of those. They have taken an idea that was used very successfully (Batman: Gotham Knights) and made it there own. If you are not a hardcore fan, have not read any of the books, etc..., watch the special feature Up Till Now. It gives a great background of everything. My wife is not a gamer, but she loves Red vs. Blue. My son is a hardcore Halo player. I am a casual one. The background was great for the wife and I. Without it I think she would have been bored and lost after the first couple of episodes. You have a variety of animation styles for the different chapters. The beginning reminded me a lot of Heavy Metal. There is one in there that is so DBZ. My wife fell in love with Spartan 1337. There is a good CG episode and then your standard animation. The episode 'The Duel' is done in one that I have never seen before. Quite good. I gave it a 4 because halfway through it I was really getting depressed. I spent 8 years in the Corps and have seen my share. The director did a swell job inserting Spartan 1337's episode at the right time. It was the light in the middle of the darkness. This movie was very well done and I did not mind spending the extra for the BD version. I would love to see a live version based on that ODST trailer. Maybe one day. But until then, this BD will more than suffice.

SirJun (2012-05-14 11:33)

Hell-No Legends!

Other reviewers here have gone into the plot details each of the 7animated stories so I wont bother. Halo Legends is a mess. From thebeginning of the film up to the point where I pressed the stoppedbutton (halfway though story 3) it's mess.The story telling (narration) is painfully, painfully slow. The Animeis just simply awful. Halo Legends had the look and feel of Ulysses 31[1981] A great animated cartoon in it's time but released as it istoday would look dreadful because technology and animation techniqueshave moved on clearly the artist/animaters involved in Halo Legendshaven't. I just couldn't connect or relate to anything I heard or sawin Halo Legends because the look and narrative pace is so wrong. I gave Halo Legends a go because I'm a fan of the games and thought thestory from the games was impressive sci-fi so hoped to learn more aboutthe Halo Universe.I learnt that Anime feature films suck. (and the technique should onlybe used on the cartoon network) Halo Legends is a blatant cash in thatwas made without care or love.Avoid at all costs.

(2012-05-14 03:28)

Not sure what people are watching

I think the sheer newness of this film has people blinded to the fact that it was not that good. I am fantasy and Manga artist and I am more than in agreement with artistic license, but there was so much of that in this flick that it took away what could have been decent stories. The visuals where at times confusing and totally unnecessary. It was like it was done by students who were allowed to spread their wings with colors and abstract shapes. This is somewhat typical of true Japanese Manga. Just too darn much. If they focused on what the game truly portrays this would have been much better. If you play the game religiously you will be a bit disappointed in this looooong awaited movie.

(2012-05-12 19:19)

expected more

This review is from: Halo Legends (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD) First off let me say,if you're a hardcore or even a not so hardcore halo fan this is a must for your collection. But for the most part I was left with a luke warm feeling for this dvd. Like a previous poster said The two origin stories... gold. I believe it was well drawn, animated, and the story, excellent. Prototype, and the Package also are excellent in it self. I watched those three a few times already. Now the rest like I said- left me with en Eh feeling. The dual despite a unique animation style, whhich impressed me., I felt the director took too many creative liberites and strayed away from halo universe, and for most westerners, the setting, may seem a little to forgein. The babysister, awesome story, I was glad to see the realtionship between Spartans and Odsts- but I was disappointed with the effort put into the animation. Odd man out, very funny, I chuckled a few time but to cliche for my taste. this style should be saved for something like DBZ and not halo. LastlyHomecoming. This story should have been omitted from the dvd- personally I did not like it all. Poor animation, soft story line, disappointing over all. I am a halo fan If I had the chance to buy this again I would, but overall I feel that this Dvd was rushed and could have been better

(2012-05-12 09:01)

halo

This review is from: Halo Legends (DVD) good animation, however, it takes to long, to get to the action...and a good story line.

(2012-05-02 23:30)

NOT worth the buy, maybe a watch through...

OK I have been following HALO and playing it since the initial release. I have read the book, beat all the games and seen all the behind the scenes stuff and backstory content type deals. I had REALLY high hopes for this but was throughly disappointed. One or two of the stories was decent but thats just it, >decent

(2012-05-02 10:52)

Closest thing to HALO movie for now

This review is from: Halo Legends (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD) This is done in the style of the "Animatrix" DVD. Short stories about the HALO universe. Two explain the origin, which is great. The others are all action. Only one DBZ style is silly. If your a fan get this DVD !!!

arorashadow_2003 (2012-04-28 15:06)

A Decent Antholgy Collection With Good and Bad

I am not a Halo fan nor a Halo player. Sure I pick the game up onoccasions when I'm with friends or something. However I am a big animefan and the thought of a Halo Legends anthology anime did interest me.When I found my all time anime directing idol was attached (KoichiMashimo) I was excited and knew I had to check it out. Here is myoverall breakdown of the collection.Origins I&II (1/5): Origins from Studio 4°C was probably the worst ofthe bunch. I found it boring and tedious and the production qualitystrikingly amateurish that no anime fan would forgive from a lesserknown studio. While it is a good idea to give the background of theHalo universe for non Halo players, the choice of doing it in anarration format was just duller than dirt. I could have saved my selfthe $20 and read the history for my self at Wikipedia.The Duel (2/5): animated by Production I.G, I was taken aback by thisone at first. The insane style really threw a curve-ball at me but inthe end it kind of grew on me when I realized it was a very uniquestyle choice and innovative. But the color pallet and visual stylereally didn't do much for the story. Felt like I was looking through aglass window trying to watch a TV. The character designs are ugly andthey look like dinosaurs or something. The final nail in the coffin wasthe all to obvious "NOOOOOOOOO" when he finds the body of his wife. Ofcourse that would be upsetting but does everyone have to scream No infilm and television? It's an innovative and interesting episode towatch but feels more like a Samurai story set on an alien world than asci-fi action story. Not that's a bad thing necessarily either.Homecoming: (5/5) After the continuing disappointments the collectionfinally picked up with this great episode. Animated by Bee Train (withsupport from Production I.G) is one of my favorite segments yet. Afterthe disappointment of The Duel and that storybook they called anepisode (Origins) my hope was withering for these stories to pick it upagain. Having full faith they could do a good job I watched withanticipation. Frankly the dark turn of events was really not somethingI was predicting for anything Halo ever. I'm glad they kept such strongcontrast in the color pallet by not going dark just because it's a darkstory like probably most other studios would have done.The bear might have been cliché but you know, it really worked and itwas a very melancholic touch. The music was great having a bit of aretro feel but still not too retro. People at Bee Train to me havealways been masters of using music to it's full potential and this wasno exception either. The ending bit with Master Chief was really justthe best, while I didn't burst into tears like I have on some othersadder anime series I still felt moved by the story. The animationquality is also extremely well done in this as well the characterdesigns and art pallet are quiet beautiful.Prototype: (5/5) My other favorite of the series! Prototype animated byBONES really caught me off guard. I'm not a fan of BONES they makeoverrated and over hyped series and to many fall into useless clichés(like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0). This episode on the other hand was bothdramatic and action packed as well as sad enough to make a little tearin my eye. A very powerful well written and animated drama was theperfect installment. This episode and Homecoming were my two favoritesand there is no way I can chose one over the other as my 1st andforemost.Odd One Out (5/5): Harking back to the good old day of Anime right?Well maybe. Animated by Toei Animation, Odd One Out isn't well likedhere among the fans but being a non-Halo fan that is probably why Ienjoyed it. Amazingly funny and just felt like DragonBall franchisecolliding with Halo. A lot of fun and a lot of laughs come with thisone and it's just awesome.The Babysitter: (3/5) The Babysitter was the first episode I sawthrough Halo Way Point and I liked it. Didn't have much hopes for thisbeing from Studio 4°C and their usually super deformed style of art butI did like this episode.An interesting bit that provided good animation but not a particularlyengaging storyline. Apparently it's about rivalry between the twogroups but it seems to be playing more to one kid's ego and pride whichhas only been done 30 million times in film and elsewhere. Not the mostingenious or creative but not the worst.The Package: (3/5) Casio Entertainment's Big finale was a pretty funadventure. Really great Sci-fi action and adventure topped off with aspace battle is the icing on the cake. The story sadly suffers fromsome mediocre writing with cheesy one-liners and a predictable plotline.So in the end Halo Legends is another in the collection of animeAnthologies. What I like about projects like these is you get to seeseveral creative minds give their take on a storyline. Halo Legends hasit's good and bad and I think fans and non Halo fans alike will enjoyit.

(2012-04-28 06:11)

Overall, it's not that good.

I like the idea of bringing Halo's side stories out on DVD. But why anime?! It just doesn't fit Halo at all. The episode "The Package" was ok. I didn't like how it went into first person sometimes during the action. Can we please get away from the fact it's based on a video game?! The story of Halo and all the side stories are great enough to stand alone. We don't need to bring in the first person action, or the multiplayer terminology. That is what made the live action movie of "Doom" such a flop. The "Origin" episodes were actually good too. Pretty informative. "Babysitter" and "Prototype" weren't too terrible, but the others were just awful and nothing like Halo. "Odd One Out" should just be deleted from the DVD. It's just goofy and typical Japanese anime and doesn't do anything to help Halo's stories.I gave it 2 stars for "Origins I and II" and "The Package". Other than that, the others weren't worth the money and just plain terrible. Please guys, make a series or DVD that really showcases Halo's intricate stories and really brings the best out of Halo. Many of the Halo games' cinematic scenes are incredible. If they could make a animated or CGI series like those, that'd be ideal. They should have made all the episodes like "Origins" or "The Package". I, like many others, would have rather had that. But these anime shorts with different animation and directors just jumbles Halo around and doesn't really do anything for it. Japanese anime and Halo just don't mix. This did nothing to help the Halo universe.

(2012-04-28 14:54)

Must have for Halo fans

This review is from: Halo Legends [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) If you are fascinated about the Halo universe, this is one piece must-have for your collection. It gives diverse views of people (Both human and Covenant), and you'll be overwhelmed by both actions and emotions.

(2012-04-28 03:41)

love it for what it is

As a huge fan of all the games and especially the books, I enjoyed it. Anime is not my style, but I was still satisfied. I especially enjoyed that Fred, Kelly, Dutch, Halsey, and others showed up in the stories. 'The Duel' helps to explain the role of the Arbiter, and the final episode reinforces the fact that Cortana is essentially an avatar of Dr. Halsey. It also showed Master Chief's feelings for Kelly (something I think many people miss). I didn't care for 'Odd Man Out', but I just think of it as something put in there for fun and don't consider it a part of the storyline. I did expect it to explain how Master Chief was tied to the forerunners (as stated in Halo 3, and implied in the books, he is somehow forerunner), and was dissapointed on that part. Overall, very impressed.

Oliver Thiele (2012-04-25 19:36)

I enjoyed this very much!

Now believe me! I'm not a very big Halo fan and have really only playedthe first Halo very often. I really enjoyed THE ANIMATRIX and expectedthis to be at least good. But I was blown away! Each story (for me) washighly engrossing and kept me interested the whole way through! Andbelieve me they really do save the best till last! The Package (whichis the last one BTW) is definitely my favorite (and everyone's favoriteit appears) If your a fan of Halo or anime this is definitely worthchecking out There's something in it for everyone!5/510/10

(2012-04-25 09:29)

Watching the comentary helps.

The first time I watched it I was completely unimpressed as both a halo fan and an anime fan, since a lot of things just felt like they didn't mesh, whether because of story fitting with existing cannon, visual/sound not matching up with existing visual/sound established by the game, or even just overall atmosphere (in the case of Odd Man Out, which is by FAR my least favorite). After being encouraged to watch the commentary version done by Frank O'Connor and Joseph Chou, I caved in and gave it another go and learned the reasoning behind the choices that they made in production. I have to admit that knowing that information has made me rethink my original opinion about how involved in learning about halo the animation studios were during the whole process, but it still doesn't change how I felt about the movie as a whole.Interesting concept with poor execution. 3/5.Also in Homecoming I finally realized why the humans almost lost the war against the covenant. We obviously ran out of magic bullets that bend reality and make the elites shields not exist. I knew the original pistol was ridiculous, but one shot killing every elite is absurd.

xamtaro (2012-04-25 17:48)

Diversity over Quality

Halo Legends is an anime anthology series in a similar vein to"Animatrix" and "Batman: Gotham Knight". It consists of 8(but actually7 since two of them are just parts 1 and 2 of the same story) shortanimated stories that explores areas of the rich Halo game universewhich were previously only the stuff of rumors. Different anime studiosand directors worked on each segment as as such, the quality of boththe stories and the animation varies a lot from one clip to the next.Some for the better, others less so. Overall, the whole productionplays the "diversity over quality" card. There is something foreveryone to enjoy but at the same time, something that a anime fanmight like, a Halo fan might consider it as a great insult to a greatgame. It also requires viewers to be well versed in at least the mostbasic of Halo jargon. Curious little piece but not quite essentialviewing for either anime or halo fans.I'll rank the segments from my favorite to the least favorite 1) The Package, Directed by Shinji Aramaki(Appleseed).This one is forthe fans of the game as it looks just like one of the in-game cinematiccut-scenes. For the only time in the whole anthology do we finally getto see Master Chief 117 in action. First, an amazing scene of spacecombat that rivals even Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Then all outGuns-a-blazing action as Master Chief and a team of Spartans attempt toretrieve the titular package John Woo style. So many little easter eggsincluding a short FPS sequence and an important cameo appearance,easily make this segment a fan favorite for sure.2) Origins 1 and 2 directed by Hideki Futamura(director of "GeniusParty" Key animator of Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust) with animationproduced by Studio 4C(Transformers Animated, Spriggan). Cortananarrates out the history of Halo from the ancient time of theforerunners to the events of the game. Though it plays out like someslideshow, the animation is richly detailed combined with the best 3DCGI used for backgrounds and vehicles. They even used a older 1980sanimation style for the ancient history segments to give it that agedlook.3) "The Duel". Boasting a graphic style reminiscent of classic Japanesewatercolor paintings courtesy of Production I.G (Ghost in The Shell:Innocence, IGPX), it really is refreshing to see an anime studio trysomething new. With themes of honor and betrayal, the costumes worn bythe characters and even the traditional woodwind music, it is safe toassume that the directors, Hiroshi Yamazaki and Mamoru Oshii(Ghost inthe Shell, Sky Crawlers) intended this to be a homage to traditionalJapanese folk tales and art. We follow a tale of an Arbiter named Falwho fears that the covenant's ways are dishonorable. The prophet usesthis to accuse him of heresy and has Fal's wife killed in order to lurehim to his death. It is action intense while also giving a glimpse intothe Covenant's inner workings.4)"Prototype" by studio bones (rahxephon, FullMetal Alchemist).Directedby Tomoki Kyoda of "Eureka 7" fame and new comer Yasushi Muraki, itseems that someone got lazy and just edited a story outline of a Gundamepisode with new names and Halo terminology. I would have ranked ithigher if it weren't so unoriginal. Basically its about a Platooncommander "Ghost" who suppresses his human emotions in battle. Hesteals a weapon laden mobile suit and attempts to hold off the Covenantforces while the humans can escape. Imagine Gundam Wing's Heero Yui asa Halo marine and you have Ghost. While this was a heart wrenchinglittle anecdote, it suffers thanks to its unoriginality.5) "Homecoming". another unoriginal story. The main character is aSPARTAN II soldier named Daisy 23. While the story takes place during amission in present day, flashbacks reveal the sad origin of the SPARTANprogram where children are kidnapped to be surgically augmented andtrained to be super soldiers. The flashbacks tell the tale of a failedescape attempt by Daisy and some other trainees and how she finallycomes to terms with her role in the coming war. Homecoming tries to tugon the heartstrings but ends up a mildly boring mess. The flat 2D artand uninspired character designs clash badly with the beautifulbackgrounds. Whats more, the tough SPARTAN soldiers are portrayed asangsty emo teenagers. One of the weakest entries in the whole movie.6) Odd One out. 1 word summarises it = stupidity.The title not onlydescribes the main character SPARTAN 1337 but the entire segmentitself. While other clips focus on dark gritty war stories, Odd one Outfocuses more on lighthearted slapstick comedy. It is no surprise thatdirector Daisuke Nishio, who also directed the Dragonball anime, wouldimbue this with all the staples of those long running Shonen actionseries. Exaggerated hand to hand combat, quirky characters, superpowered kids, cheesy dialog. Even the flaws like repeated scenes andinconsistent animation is present here. A real insult to Halo.7)"the Babysitter". Not only is this little story one of the weakest interms of narrative but in the animation too. The story does not havethe emotional impact of the previous ones and only serves as a reminderfor the Halo fans that the production team has not forgotten about theHelljumpers from "Halo: ODST". Toshiyuki Kanno's animation is flatlycolored and clashes with the detailed CGI backgrounds. Charactermovements are painfully stiff except for one or two shots.In closing, Halo legends has something for everyone and something toput everyone off. Where Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight had constantrunning themes or common characters throughout each of its separatesegments, Halo legends lacks that cohesiveness.

(2012-04-25 03:56)

I'm a Halo fan, and this isn't so great

This review is from: Halo Legends (DVD) Halo Legends is basically Halo: The Animatrix, and comparisons are even made during the commentary. Like The Animatrix, it generally places visuals over everything else. It's also likewise very on/off, ranging from big-budget action to intimate character portraits. It's not a bad product, but it is something where you can't help but think what could have been. This review is from the perspective of a longtime fan, and really this product is not a good piece for non-fans anyway, so I'll be speaking in fan terms. Part-by-part, not necessarily in the same order as the disc, minor spoilers ahead:-Origins I&II is solid. The storyline is essentially a recap of known history, told by the Cortana, although she freely admits much of what you'll see is speculation. The story starts from the Forerunner war with the Flood and covers through "present day", at the end of Halo 3. The drawing is okay, the animation very stiff, and Cortana's stand-in voice actress is not up to the original, but it's a compelling story. The canon is mostly kept, although as Cortana noted, you can't take the whole piece literally. 4/5-The Duel has awful art, little story, and is mostly just noir. Ancient Elites, who apparently lived in feudal Japan and had two jaws instead of four, wind up in a duel. And one of them is in samurai armor. Lots of people wind up saying the art grew on them, but I just can't watch it. I can't help but wonder if the graphics didn't come out well during development, so the team got embarrassed and slapped on a dirty filter so you wouldn't notice. 1/5-Homecoming shoots the Halo canon in the face at multiple junctions, and is another character vignette with some action slapped on. The lead female is a (teen, blonde, angsty) Spartan who for some reason wears her hair long in the helmet, and pulls off her helmet in a war zone in front of regular soldiers. This is just a massive no-no, for so many reasons. The story is basically a small remembrance underlying the action, i.e. not substantial. Still, the animation is great. 2/5-Sort of big spoiler ahead: The Babysitter features the long flowing blonde hair of another Spartan lady. And the Elites are back in feudal Japan again. And a Spartan is listed as KIA. But there's at least a tie-in as Dutch from ODST makes an appearance. The story revolves around an assassination mission targeting a prophet, with some great action. The blonde female Spartan idea works a little better here, as it's given more context and saved up for the last act, but it's still a very artistic choice that you can't think too much about before it falls apart. 3/5-Be Human is another character vignette plus action. The action here is really great, and the animation is excellent. The story revolves around a guy trying to regain his lost humanity during war, and frankly this bit is ham-handed. It all wraps up well though, with a great allusion to other events in the Halo universe. 4/5-The Package is a ton of top-notch CGI. However, the voice acting is mostly awful, and the canon is terrible. The CGI during the central battle is amazing and well worth watching. 3/5-Odd One out is basically a Halo version of Dragon Ball Z. It's supposed to be funny, I think. Spartan 1337 (har-har) gets eaten by a dinosaur and spit out at one point (pardon if I guffaw for a bit). It's mostly dumb, and I found it hard to watch. Some story is thrown over the framework, but it's like trying to build a house on a Jell-O foundation. 1/5Too much of the disc is made up of what are basically character vignettes. The Duel is about that era's arbiter. Odd One out is about Spartan-Goku. Be Human is about, uh, that guy. Homecoming is about that girl. You can even extend it and say the whole disc is basically a series of vignettes. Origins features Cortana's reflections after Halo 3, The Babysitter is about the revelation regarding the Spartan, and The Package revolves around one great moment of Spartans fighting together. That makes the great failing of this work, that it just never branches out. It's one character and their take on some aspect of the Halo universe, again and again.You can currently download all of these episodes online, and honestly I have to say you should save your money. The "extra features" include a trailer for Halo: Reach (available online), a DC comics trailer, and a director commentary that's one of the non good director commentaries. Frankie and crew basically recap known items and restate the plot of episodes over and over with little real insight. Oh, Origins is about conflict? Thanks. I didn't get that from the words "conflict" and "war" being used constantly in the dialog. If you're a massively hardcore fan, this is a decent piece to nerd out to. But I doubt even hardcore fans will give this more than one play, maybe two if you'r really nitpicking the content of Origins.

(2012-04-24 17:37)

Awesome new insight into the Halo Universe

This was a great take on the Halo Universe, and an awesome way to explore it a bit more. There are several types of anime in here; some of which I like better than others. That said, I rushed out and bought this the first day it came out (today), and I've watched the episodes on Halo Waypoint. This makes my review 10 times more qualified than those of people giving negative reviews simply because they don't like the IDEA of what Halo Legends is. Negative reviews of a concept have no place in a product review.

(2012-04-24 05:09)

Really Cool!

This was a Christmas present for my dad. He has watched it a few times and thinks it is awesome! I watched it once too and I think it's pretty cool! However, I will say this: if you are not a fan of the Halo video game series, then you might want to play those first. But, it is a standalone collection of animated films and it should be enjoyable, regardless!