THE PLOT THUS FAR
This series pays homage to Frank Miller’s legendary Wolverine graphic novel from the 1980′s. The series begins when Mariko, the love of Logan’s life, is forced back to Japan by her crime-lord father, Shingen. Logan vows to get her back at any cost. He is plunged into a chaotic world of corruption and violence, forcing him to team up with young assassin, Yukio, to battle their way through the Japanese criminal underworld.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Wolverine” serves as a season long riff on the classic Claremont/Miller tale. You get to see Yukio, Mariko and the usual clan crime activity. However, there are robots and other junk thrown in to keep the kids happy. It’s neat to see how the Eastern world adapts the material. It’s just that I can’t say it’s amazing. However, it still beats “Pryde of the X-Men”.
Logan appears younger and not as rough around the edges as he’s portrayed in the comic books and movies. It feels like we are taken back to see how he was in his youth. Maybe that was the intention of the animators and writers of the show. The material wants to tread into mature territory in the worst way. While Madhouse tries to pull on Asian monster myth from across the continent, the results don’t really pan out. We get amazing visuals, but little in terms of story development. What do you do?
The DVD comes with a ton of featurette about developing Wolverine for the Asian market. The show and the character both experience minor changes, but it ends up working out in the end. However, it just seemed like that the plot wasn’t strong enough to stretch to a full season. The A/V Quality is on par with the past Marvel anime releases. In the end, I’d recommend a rental.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
