Aquarion Logos, Part 1

In this latest anime series from the Aquarion franchise, the supreme villain is a corporate wizard who has become obsessed with the collapse of language—using his powers to turn words into extraordinary monsters called M.J.B.K. (Menace of Japanese with Biological Kinetic energy—and yes, the acronym is a bit off, but that's the least of problems here). The good guys and gals are the youthful members of the Verbalism Club, a quasi-governmental entity, all of whom have exaggerated personalities. Their leader is the humorless Akira, who refers to himself as the “savior,” but most of the attention seems to fall on the aggressive antics of would-be comedian Tsutomu. While the animation is often imaginative—particularly in the embodiment of the M.J.B.K.—the story is a sprawling mess and the characters are disappointing. Presenting the first 13 episodes from 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, extras include the special episode “Genesis of Aquarion EVOL.” Not a necessary purchase. [Note: Aquarion Logos, Part 2 is also newly available.] (P. Hall)