Broken Blade: The Complete Film Series

This six-part anime series, based on the same-titled manga by Yonosuke Yoshinaga, takes place in a dystopian future—specifically, on the continent of Cruzon, where children are born with the ability to control magical quartz that enables both the power of levitation and the ability to guide oversized mobile battle suits called Golems. As luck would have it, a Golem built by the “ancients” (folks who lived in the utopian past) is discovered just as impending war threatens the stability of the Kingdom of Krisna. King Hodr, acting on the advice of his wife, Sigyn, seeks the help of an old friend from their days at the military academy—Rygart Arrow. Rygart is an “un-sorcerer” and outcast who does not possess the quartz-manipulating talent, but Sigyn suspects he may be one of the few who would know how to activate the outdated Golem and thereby save Krisna. Some viewers will need a scorecard to keep track of the various parties and countless fights populating this noisy, chaotic offering. However, Broken Blade is ultimately redeemed by the brute force of its visceral action sequences presented with stylish animation and uncommon imagination. Presented in a dual-language set, rated TV-14, this sheer adrenaline rush is recommended. (P. Hall)