s-CRY-ed

Publisher
Beez
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2001

s-CRY-ed Volume 1

By Joseph (Joe) Wood
14th Jun 05

S-Cry-ed I’m finding really difficult to write a little introduction for (which is why I’m writing this). You may think that’s because it’s a bad title, not true in fact it’s just at this early stage.

Twenty two years ago Kanagawa prefecture was separated from the main body of Japan by an earthquake and then called the “Lost Ground”. This earthquake also caused unusual levels of radiation which resulted in about 1% of the population born in the “Lost Ground” afterwards gained powers to create or change matter in different ways, these people were called Alter Users, and are still being born due to the radiation. Scared of a possible attack by these Alters the Japanese government setup a special police force called HOLD. Within HOLD is a special unit made up of Alter Users called HOLY. Outside the wall of the major city in the “Lost Ground” live many Native Alters, some who use their powers for good/bad and those who refuse to use them.

Episode 1 introduces to Kazuma, who’s a Native Alter who takes on a number of odd jobs (using his powers) to gain money. Kazuma acts like a bit of a punk but we soon learn that his heart is in the right place. However HOLY come after him and HOLY’s top man Ryûhô defeats Kazuma who is then taken in for questioning. Episode 2 starts at the beginning of the same day as episode one but the focus is on Ryûhô, we learn about his past through another character, and that something has changed Ryûhô. In Episode 3 we continue from where we left of at the end of episode one wit Kazuma in custody, here we also learn of Ryûhô’s trauma that caused him to change. This is one obvious example of anime not conforming to the obvious good guy bad guy situation. We see the damage that Native Alters have done, yet in the fourth episode we se that HOLD and HOLY can do just as much damage.

Whilst the majority of this first disc focuses on Kazuma and Ryûhô the supporting cast are a great mix of funny and unforgettable characters, which hopefully we’ll see more off as the series develops. The animation and visual style of the show is pretty good although unlikely to win any awards for innovation, the music likewise.

The first volume is certainly a very interesting start to a series, and one that most should enjoy, keep your eyes out for this one it looks like a winner.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English/French dub, Japanese with English/French/Polish subtitles, Chacter bios, transaltion notes, trialers.

Release information: Publisher: Beez Release Date: June 6, 2005

Notes: There are a few extras on this first volume, a list of some of the main charcters an bits of information about them, and translation notes and terms used bith of which are explained in the episodes themselves!

-- Joseph (Joe) Wood 14th Jun 05