Iron Man Anime Review

The iron man anime is a class above most of the other animated Marvel and DC shows on the market. The animation is fluid and the story is good. It also boasts a sprinkling of techno-thriller themes. This 12 episode series features a good mix of hand-drawn and computer aided animation. The characters look great and the fights are strong. The character of Tony Stark is well portrayed and the story has a real sense of drama. The villains are a bit faceless but that’s typical of the genre.

After the events of the first film, Stark decides to focus on pursuing world peace with his Iron Man technology. He does this by establishing a facility in Japan called Lab 23, home of the world’s first Arc reactor. However when his latest armor, Dio, is stolen by an evil corporation known as Zodiac, Stark is forced out of retirement to use the suit again and defend Japan from the sinister organization.

The Japanese setting adds a lot of cultural flair to this version of the character. This makes for some fun and interesting action and comedy scenes. The main cast of characters are decent although Stark is a little too downplayed and not as memorable as his other counterparts in this genre. The lead scientist Dr. Tanaka and reporter Nanami Ota are very likable though.

This series takes a different approach to the world of superheroes by showing them in a more grounded and human way. As such the stakes are a lot higher than you would expect. This iron man anime doesn’t shy away from showing how the suits can be used to hurt and maim. Despite this it never becomes gruesome or over the top. This adds to the drama of each episode and keeps things from being too much like a typical anime series.

A big part of the appeal of this iron man anime is the action and fight scenes. There are some good and exciting battles that help to keep the episodes from getting a little slow at times. The effects are done nicely and there’s a nice blend of hand-drawn animation and computer aided animation for the combatants. The fights are strong and exciting but still look fairly realistic.

It also adds to the drama of each episode that the bad guys are a bit faceless. This can be a little frustrating to some fans but it helps to make the battles feel more real. There’s also a bit of a mecha feel to the combat that really adds to the overall feel of the show.

The extra features on this dvd set are pretty decent as well. On disc one there is a ten minute Re-Imagining Iron Man featurette with acclaimed comic book writer Warren Ellis talking about the show. There is also a five minute interview with the voice actor who plays Stark that’s also pretty solid. The rest of the extras include a blooper reel, theatrical trailer and two tv promos.