While the fighting genre of anime has had its ups and downs in the past, there is still that occasional diamond in the rough that deserves all of its hype. s-CRY-ed is an excellent example of this rare specimen. Placing plot and character relations before the actual action, the series tries to bring the genre in a new direction. By using real problems like prejudice, hatred, and fear of the unknown, s-CRY-ed brings the series on a more personal level that helps the atmosphere greatly.

Twenty-two years ago, a massive earthquake decimated the Kanagawa prefecture of Japan and threw the country into turmoil. The region was abandoned by the country and labeled as the "Muraji Special Economic District," or the Lost Ground. Within the Lost Ground, a small number of people known as "Alter Users" were discovered. Naturally, crime began to rise without government police in the area. Therefore, a special force known as HOLD was created to keep the peace in the area. While HOLD was very efficient at handling normal people, they still couldn't compete with the Alter users - this led to the creation of HOLY, a division of HOLD made up of various Alter Users.

The first two episodes primarily introduce the characters. The first episode revolves around Kazuma, a sixteen year old resident of the Lost Ground who has the ability to use a mechanical familiar of sorts called an Alter. Being a child born outside the city, though, he must struggle to survive, taking whatever jobs he can. Living with his "sister," Kanami, Kazuma makes do with what he earns from normal jobs. However, it is not uncommon for Kazuma's friend Kimishima to offer the alter user a better-paying job where his powers will also be put to good use. On what looks to be a routine affair, everything goes awry. Kazuma, who has been hired to stop a gang uprising, meets an unexpected adversary in HOLY troops that were dispatched to the area. One member in particular, named Ryuho, dishes out more than Kazuma can take, and detains the lad.

Meet Kazuma: average AoE and Alter user for hire.	You know what they say about guys with big guns....

Episode two does a total 180 degrees and focuses the story around Mimori, a normal scientist who is assigned to HOLY for alter user research. The reason she took this position was to see her friend, Ryuho, whom she hasn't seen in seven years. After an "exciting" car ride, courtesy of HOLY member Cougar, Mimori finds herself at HOLY headquarters. Expecting a cheerful reunion, Mimori is crushed when her childhood friend refuses to even acknowledge her. She notes a strange coldness in her comrade that was never there before. She remembers him being a kind, happy child, and is astounded by the change. That night, a call to HOLY members is sent out over a fight between alter users. Mimori, who still has yet to see an alter battle, is given an express ride to the site courtesy of Cougar. However, what she sees is a grisly image of Ryuho mercilessly bludgeoning a rogue alter user into submission.

The third episode begins with Kazuma in custody. After the usual interrogation, Ryuho asks Kazuma a few odd questions that have nothing to do with the incident, but rather to do with his past. When Kazuma refuses to answer, or rather doesn't know, Ryuho beats some sense into the free-willed lad and has him sentenced to life labor. Meanwhile, Kimishima sneaks into the city and plans an escape for his captured comerade. Mimori, feeling pity for him, visits Kazuma's cell. Little does she know that she will be used as a hostage during Kazuma's escape.

The beginning of the series is quite standard, but also sets the scene quite well. Instead of cardboard cutouts, we are given real characters with histories and motives from the start. None of the characters are truly hateable, nor are any truly likeable. The requisite fanservice is given by Scheris, a member of HOLY that can legally be classified as jailbait. The show itself seems to harken to the Sunrise of old, with a "battle of the week" formula that breaks up the story with regular battles between Kazuma and another Alter user. However, unlike most of the Sunrise classics in the same hue, Kazuma is a VERY defeatable character, as he gets his head handed to him several times throughout the course of the disc. The dual viewpoints of Mimori and Kazuma give a clear idea of the differences in lifestyles of the city-dwellers and the residents of the world outside of the city walls. The prejudices between normal humans and alter users is apparent at all times, as is the constant struggle of the characters to make a living. Sadly, among the wonderfully unique characters, there are also a few "me too" characters that fit into the bunch, most notably Kazuma. Kazuma is possibly the sore thumb of the group, sporting a look that is quite similar to the already-famed Orphen of Sorcerous Stabbing fame. Of course, looks are where the similarities tend to end, and other than Kazuma and the one to two other "wannabe" characters, the cast is quite varied and full of personality.

Being a 2001 series, s-CRY-ed has had an excellent transfer to DVD. Cross-coloration and rainbows are nonexistent, as is macroblocking. Aliasing is not an issue, nor are artifacts or color bleeding. There are a few cases of background shimmer, but nothing that would detract from the experience. Many smaller details, such as the lettering on a small logo, or facial markings on a character's body are very well-presented. The animation is standard television fare, with a few "jerky" moments every so often. However, outside of these few instances, s-CRY-ed is quite fluid and helps to further flesh out an already impressive cast.

Sadly, the same high praises cannot be sung for the audio section. There were no cases of distortion or dropouts on either track. A nice stereo mix worked for both with decent use of direction. However, the English track has a glaring flaw. The prologue for episode five is totally silent. By "silent" I do not mean just music, but rather dead air for the entire track. Such an error is inexcuseable and a serious demerit to the final product. In terms of acting, the Japanese cast put out a good performance, with great use of emotion for the characters. The English track, though, is only slightly better than the usual Bandai dub. All of the characters sounded a bit old for their parts, with a few even sounding completely wrong for their characters. In the end, everything seems to be "the same old schtick and less" for Bandai, with a good Japanese track, mediocre dubbing and the missing English episode five prologue.

Following Bandai's recent trend, s-CRY-ed will see a dual release, one with just the disc, and the other with a collector's box, three collectable cards, a poster, and a replica of Mimori's pendant. Those who didn't purchase the limited edition needn't feel like they are missing too much, since the disc itself is already filled to the brim with extras. Since each opening to the show is different, Bandai has opted to give all five in creditless form. Complementing the creditless openings are the requisite textless ending credits. Also included is the "Lost Ground Express", which is a multipage explanation of the Lost Ground, and the people within. While this may seem impressive already, the true spectacle is the 64 page design gallery that gives information and conceptual art for all of the major characters that play a role on the disc. Rounding out this smorgasboard of extras are the requisite trailers and DVD credits.

In the end, s-CRY-ed has a giant glaring technical flaw that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. However, the series itself has me begging for more. Everything from the well-choreographed fights to the interesting storyline keeps my interest piqued. Technical issues aside, anyone interested in fighting anime, or just a change of pace should take a long hard look at s-CRY-ed.

Afternote: the audio issue explained in this review only affects the prerelease screeners. The commercially released version has apparently fixed this problem.

Distributor: Bandai Entertainment
Creator: Sunrise
Released: 2001

Video Quality: B+
Audio Quality: C-
Presentation: A
Content: B+
Overall: B-