Arjuna: 1-7
Watched 7/13 (2/4) of Arjuna last night.
The episode order is really weird. 3-4-4-2. Most episodes are in the middle volumes. It isn't smart to put a small amount at the start, and putting only two episodes on the final DVD pleases no-one.
Anyway, the series is hit and miss.
Visually it looks amazing considering its age, the art, animation and colour all being excellent. Even the CG, which is the only part that shows age, blends in well with the animation. You wouldn't think it's as old as it is.
Where it falls short is its lack of story. It's more like an information pack than an anime at times, with lots of episodes dedicated to pointing out how humans do what's easy rather than what's good for the world. Because it looks nice and I'm a dummy, I didn't mind very much, but others get really pissed about the director pushing his views on the viewers instead of, you know, using the anime medium to just tell a story.
And, even when it isn't focusing on being informative, certain aspects of the supernatral, magical girl stuff bugs me. For instance, at the start, after a well done introduction where the lead died, she was told as a spirit that she'd be saved if she purged the Earth of the Raaja. So, when shes reborn outsude a nuc plant that's being attacked, with the ability to summon a bow and guardian, she assumes the guy meant to kill the Raaja/worm things - who wouldn't? But, for reasons unknown, he goes back on what he said, acts like she's an idiot and tell her not to kill the Raaja. If anyone was being an idiot, it was Mr 'I know it all, yet explain nothing'. What an arse.
Overall, the series is good; solid but not amazing. Visually excellent, a decent soundtrack and the show has a clear message. The main two characters are even fairly likeable. But it lacks a decent story and, as a result, lacks whaat's needed to contect the dots. And the (as ever with anime) unexplained supernatural stuff does the series no favours. It's better than its MAL ratings suggest (compared to other anime), but it isn't a classic.
7/10 (so far)