After reading though my first write-up on Lady Death it came to me that it was awfully bias and one sided to the fact that I vastly prefer anime over western animation, I’d got so hung up that much of Lady Death’s content was just lost in an opinionated rant, so here’s my second attempt.
Menus
A break loading animation of a zombie crawling out of a grave, options are marked across the top, skulls, tombs, headstones, ravens decorate the imagery while subtle thunder and lightning effects provide the audio ambience.
Soundtrack
I guess it is technically an “audio option” the Directors Commentary extra can be found within the audio selection menu. Strategically planted? As you see if it wasn’t there would be no need for this sub menu as Lady Death is in English only, with the option of HoH subtitles.
Extras
- Directors Commentary
- Visions Of Hell
- Animating Death
- Websites
- ADV Previews
Episode Contents (This part may contain
Spoliers)
Even just going off of the cover Lady Death looks to have the potential to be a heavyweight for ADV UK, crossing that meta/goth/anime divide and break into other and wider audiences than a lot of other titles on offer from ADV can’t.
First looks can be deceiving however and on playing Lady Death it only goes down hill. Based on an American comic Lady Death is 100% western for its creative-core, screen play by Carl Macek, produced by ADV ect, this isn’t “anime” and it shows right the way through.
The story starts us off with an army of ogres, zombies and general minions of hell marching on a castle; hounds baying for blood snarling and chomping at the bit weave in and out of the legs of a monstrous white horse and its rider Lady Death.
We then find ourselves transported to 15th century Sweden… The young Hope, just wants a simple life with her boyfriend despite being the daughter of the king. When her father finds her he is quick to send her boyfriend who has dropped out of college (lesson here!!) to serve as a medic in his army to aid in the war and rein in his daughter.
Hope tries to plead with her father but discovers that he is in fact Lucifer: the Lord of Lies, when the rest of the villagers discover this Hope - as his daughter is thrown in jail and then promptly burnt at the stake. Death or an alliance with the devil? Hope chooses to go to hell but in front of Lucifer remains defiant as she discovers the extent of her father’s evilness with the imprisoned souls of her mother and boyfriend, thrown into the pits of hell for her defiance, Hope is found by Cremator, a giant of a man and former weapons smith of Lucifer, also seeking vengeance upon the Lord Of Lies, he aids Hope in honing her awakening hereditary demonic powers, in a very 1980’s training montage as over the next few years she becomes the monochrome-coloured “Lady Death” before it’s off for some ultimate weapon hunting and bloody vengeance upon her dad.
Lady Death does indeed appear to be aimed at a decidedly different market to the usual anime connoisseur. Take a look at the screen shots; if only you could see it moving… The character designs are 2-dimentional, flat and lifeless and hideously generic of their types, Lucifer is a pail comparison to Tim Curry’s Lord Of Darkness from the 80’s fantasy movie “Legend”, the character animation is wooden though of quality-production lacks “movement” or “life”. Fight scenes lack any urgency impact or that essential adrenalin boost or “venom” to help you gauge that bloodlust and side with whichever character you prefer, the giant battle between Lady Death’s and Lucifer’s hoards, while I wasn’t expecting an epic “Helm’s Deep” (LotR: Two Towers) while bloody was left severely lacking by even low standards.
Left open-ended for an awful lot more, lets hope they leave well alone, everything about Lady Death proved to be bog standard, why ADV thought this would be a good idea for produce I’ll never know?
Signed
Damian
Ai Says
"
One of the driving appeals of anime for me is its Japanese uniqueness, this is where American money and more so American-sourced ideas will fail and succeed in equal measure depending on your mind-set. The fact that much of Lady Death was mediocre across the board for me just helped to justify why I disliked the idea of it off the back of my general principals, seriously if you’re looking for an animation to draw upon hell and all the horrors that it entails? Spend your money elsewhere. "
