Bandai's DVD release of the sci-fi cum sorcery show Silent Möbius is one of the best releases so far this year in both looks and content.

Silent Möbius (SM) is one of the mainstays of the anime scene in the U.S. Originally released as a manga, unfortunately colored here in the States, the popular Kia Asamiya series also spawned two animated movies. There was a large gap before SM made the leap to television.

Of the myriad anime and manga spawned by Ridley Scott's seminal film Blade Runner, Silent Möbius is arguably the second best (the first being the original Bubblegum Crisis OAVs, in my book - I did say arguably). Kia Asamiya took the style of future Tokyo and police directly from the film; everything from the design of the buildings to the constantly falling acid rain to the perpetually present dirigible billboards. The most obvious homage was the theft of the ever cool flying police vehicle, the spinner (which gets a special moment of notice in the TV series).

This turns out not to be a negative, as SM develops quite distinctly from Blade Runner. The introduction of sorcery and magic, as well as an extra-dimensional enemy, creates a unique world on top of the familiar backdrop.

Katsumi Liqueur becomes the most recent addition to the AMP as she awakens to her powers during a Lucifer Hawk attack.	Like all members of the AMP, Kiddy Phenil has a secret behind her incredible strength which she uses to battle Lucifer Hawks.

The SM movies were excellent, but something was definitely missing. There was very little time to actually develop characters and no time to take the plot anywhere. They were created, with love, for the fans. While the first film stood well on its own, the second was lost to those who did not read the manga. As well, the films attempted to capture the imagery of Blade Runner while changing the essential feel of that dystopian view.

The reason for the background is that the SM television show fixes all the problems while creating something fresh for readers of the manga.

The series opens up in 1999 where a mixture of magic and science seems to have opened a portal to a world called Nemesis. Gigelf Liqueur attempts to seal the portal with disastrous results. Most of the world's population and environment is destroyed in what becomes known as the "Silent Crisis."

In 2024, the remaining population has rushed to inhabit the major cities of the world, overpopulating most urban centers. Tokyo now has the highest crime rate in the world. Beyond that, entities known as Lucifer Hawks are preying on the population, using people as a food source.

Rally Cheyenne lobbies the now private police force to create the Attacked Mystification Police or AMP (pronounced as a single word). Made up of a special group of women, they are meant to be the front line against the Lucifer Hawks.

Lebia Mavelich (I still prefer the old spelling of Maverick) is the field commander, as well as the computer and technical mastermind. Kiddy Phenil is the brute force, a woman of immense strength. Yuki Saiko handles many of the background situations, but seems to have the ability to sense powerful entities and anticipate their moves. Nami Yamiguno is a shinto priestess with the ability to erect spiritual barriers and shields. Their direct superior is Mana Isozaki, a formidable and serious woman.

The first episode finds AMP racing to protect Katsumi Liqueur from a Lucifer Hawk attack, only to find Katsumi awakening to her own power. Katsumi is quickly recruited to AMP, something that was planned by Rally all along.

The nine episodes on this DVD have an excellent mix of stories. There are several about how AMP comes together as a team to fight, as well as several nice Lucifer Hawk battles. Another main character, Roy, has a great episode with Katsumi in one of the seedy areas of Tokyo. As well, several could be considered origin episodes for individual characters.

One of the strengths of Silent Möbius is that the episodes are both true to the manga but told in a different manner. Kiddy's episode in particular uses a totally different narrative technique from the manga, keeping it fresh for even the longtime fan.

Two things do seem to be missing. First, the show has not yet created any major empathy for Katsumi, or, rather, Katsumi does not seem real enough yet to deserve empathy. She's like a ghost, there but not there. Second, the threat of the Lucifer Hawks does not seem palpable enough. There should be more fear and horror. The manga did a better job at establishing the horrific murders the Lucifer Hawks commit. There is one horrible one, but then the fear just fades. There should be a feeling of constant fear of these creatures and their intentions.

The subtitles are another issue altogther. They are written well, but the translators took some liberties. Some are simple such as a moment when Katsumi plainly says, "Roy" while the subtitlers typed "Ro ... Robert." However, in one episode, they repeatedly replaced the Kirin spirit of Nami's dagger with a griffin. Griffin's have nothing to do with kirin; more importantly, there is a huge spiritual significance to kirin that does not exist with griffin's. The subtitles deserve a mediocre rating.

The animation and artwork are both superb for a television show. The character designs are great and hold excellent detail in both action scenes and downtime. The movement is fluid and well-directed. The quality seems much closer to an OVA than television. As one would expect from a recent show, the visual quality is a real treat, and the DVD transfer is excellent.

The sound is very clear, although the sound effects are not particularly amazing. The voice actors do an excellent job on the Japanese side. The American actors are radically different, so your preference may come from which you heard first (note: Grospoliner sounds like a wimp in English).

The music is excellent and not overpowering. One of the problems with the SM films was the overpoweringly theatrical music. Vangelis understood the need for a certain level of subtlety when the visuals were already so strong. Fortunately, the composers chose the same route here, the music is slightly reminiscent of Blade Runner, but I would hesitate to call it a rip-off. More than likely, the composer came to the same conclusion: a classical sounding piano behind this immense city of technology that is decaying from within is just so much more powerful.

The packaging has production values worthy of the animation. The DVD case has a reversible cover with artwork of Katsumi on one side and Nami on the other. Inside, you get a mini-comic, a mini-poster, and a folded full-color insert with profiles of Nami and Katsumi. As a bonus, the back includes all the original credits, including the Japanese cast. Volume one is a two-disc set with the second disc being held securely in a connected DVD plate in the interior.

All in all, Silent Möbius is an amazingly solid show with some truly excellent production values. While the cost is a bit more, the price evens out when you realize you only have to buy three volumes for the entire 26 episode series. I personally prefer to buy the larger sets, so I applaud Bandai's choice here.

Silent Möbius is an excellent choice for anyone who likes a good mix of science fiction and the supernatural. This is one of the highest quality releases and definitely worth a purchase.

Distributor: Bandai
Creator: TV Tokyo / Sotsu Eizo
Released: 1998

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