Arjuna, Vol. 1: Rebirth
Chikyu Shojo Arjuna("Earth Girl Arjuna," 2001) mixes heavy-handed ecological preaching with story elements that recallBlue Seed,Silent Möbius, andGate Keepers. Arjuna, a normal teenage girl, dies in a motorcycle accident. As she floats through the ether, a mysterious entity named Chris tells her she is "The Avatar of Time" and if she agrees to fight the Raaja, evil demons that will soon destroy life on Earth, he will bring her back to life. She awakens and boards a helicopter from S.E.E.D. the Earth Defense Institute. She's sent into battle with no training, then is insulted when she needs help to overcome a Raaja that resembles a cross between a snake and a sea anemone. Director Shoji Kawamori combines drawn animation with motion-capture, CG, and live-action footage, but the elaborate visuals can't disguise the holes in the plot. Rated 13 Up: Violence, nudity, grotesque imagery.--Charles Solomon