Product: Xenosaga: The Complete Series (2010)
Rating: 3.0
only for fans of the video game
I really wanted to like "Xenosaga." As sci-fi, the show has a fantastic post-earth premise. The art is well done and the characters are generally compelling. The Gnosis are the type of antagonists that you love to hate. Then comes KOS-MOS. While she may appear to be a vixen, KOS-MOS is really an android super hero who may be the only thing that can save the human race. The mysterious KOS-MOS immediately jumps the shark. For starters, she's an unsympathetic character. KOS-MOS' abilities are entirely unbelievable and her design is clearly a desperate attempt to appeal to the adolescent male demographic. While I could have made my peace with a smaller dose of KOS-MOS, she's a central figure. After watching the first disc, I decided that I couldn't go any further. In the spirit of disclosure, I never played the game so my review is entirely based on the merits of the show. Unless you're watching the show as an extension of your love of the video game, like minded anime fans should first check out something like "Starship Operators." "Xenosaga" has much going for it but in the end, there's better anime out there.