One by one, the Blade Children emerge from the shadows, each bringing a unique set of challenges both physical and mental. Ultimately, corruption is uncovered at the highest levels and truth must be sought at all costs. This Box Set Is Loaded! – Collector’s Box, 25 Episodes, 625 Minutes of Content, Audio Commentary, 5.1 English AudioHigh school freshman Ayumu Narumi, the hero of the fantasy-adventure Spiral (2002), grew up in the shadow of his older brother Kiyotaka, a world-class pianist and detective. But Kiyotaka disappeared two years ago, after announcing he was going to investigate the mystery of the “Blade Children.” Ayumu and his sister-in-law Madoka have been waiting for him to return ever since. Although he’s a gourmet chef and a talented musician, Ayumu believes he’s incapable of matching his brother’s achievements. Against his will, he finds himself drawn into the mystery of the Blade Children, several of whom attend his school. With some assistance from his friend Hiyono, Ayumu outwits both the Blade Children and the Hunters who want to exterminate them. Maintaining that the “the melody of logic always plays the notes of truth,” Ayumu pulls off feats of deduction that would astound Jimmy Kudo in Case Closed.
It’s easy to understand why Spiral is so popular in both Japan and the U.S.: Director Shingo Kaneko keeps the story moving and maintains the suspense from the first episode to the last. But the series ends on a frustratingly inconclusive note: the viewer never learns who or what the Blade Children are or why the Hunters are intent on destroying them. The original manga Spiral Suiri no Kizuna (“Spiral Bonds of Reasoning”) by Kyou Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno ran for 15 volumes, so perhaps a future sequel will resolve some of the mystery. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, alcohol use) –Charles Solomon
Product Features
- 25 Episodes on 6 DVDs
- Blade Children Commentary
- History of Magic Squares
- Character Profiles
- Outtakes
Often overlooked excellent mystery anime Spiral is often overlooked by many anime fans because of the overly popular Cased Closed(Detective Conan) series in the same genre. Not to say that Cased Closed isn’t good or anything but just making a quick pointer. Anyhow, with this series, you get a nice fusion of mystery, action, and comedy. This one is definitely a “thinking man’s” anime. It has you constantly pondering about what is going on or what has happened within the story. You will find yourself analyzing what is or has transpired…
Cheapest set and some episodes were as good as the manga but not all were true to it If you want to see the series yourself, this is the cheapest price for the complete series you can find. Although, I would agree that this is not one of the best anime around, there are still some parts that were as good as the manga because it stayed true to it. For example, Ayumu vs. Rio in the poison challenge, Ayumu vs. Kousuke in a two stage challenge, and the Rio/Kousuke vs. Ayumu/Hiyono to get the tape and Hiyono herself stayed true to the manga. Eyes’ challenge could be labelled…
Ummm, yeah. After the reviews and description I was expecting a decent mystery type with innovative plot twists. If that’s what you want try Death Note. I was expecting edge-of-your-seat suspense. I found myself browsing catalogs while it played instead. There were no real unpredictable surprises here, and the story line was kind of mediocre. The only really interesting parts, who are the Blade Children and who are the Hunters are never even answered. Quite a bit is left unanswered. In some stories that’s…