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| Why "Record of Next War"? Because Record of Lodoss War did it first, and both Agarest War & Grancrest War codified it. |
On "Thursday", October 3, 1996, the anime adaptation of the manga Those Who Hunt Elves debuted on TV Tokyo at a time slot of "25:45", a.k.a. 1:15 A.M. on Friday, October 4. This was an experiment to see if airing anime on a late-night time slot to act as a long-form, 12-week infomercial for the later home video release would work to gain the attention of hardcore Japanese otaku; today, late-night is the primary way anime is aired on TV in Japan, so I think it was a success. After Those Who Hunt Elves finished airing, TV Tokyo expanded this experiment into other weekdays, with the first "Wednesday" late-night anime being Maze: The Megaburst Space, which ran from April to September of 1997. The week after that show finished saw the debut of Next Senki/Record of Next War Ehrgeiz, which ran from October 10 to Christmas Eve that same year. Considering how few anime were airing in these time slots, that actually made Next Senki Ehrgeiz the first ever late-night mech anime; Maze did include a giant robot, but it's not really a "mech anime". The creation of a mysterious entity known only at "et" (possibly as in et al.), which later conceived the infamously lopsided AWOL -Absent WithOut Leave-, this anime came out, did its thing, & quietly exited... Until DreamFactory, Namco, & SquareSoft released a 3D arcade fighting game named Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring, which had absolutely no relation to the anime, a couple months later in arcades in early 1998, followed by a PlayStation port at the end of 1998.
In between the arcade & home console releases of the video game, the Ehrgeiz anime saw its only home video release on VHS & LD, likely creating a bit of confusion between game & anime otaku in Japan at the time. The Ehrgeiz game then saw release on the PS1 outside of Japan in April of 1999, followed later that year by the Ehrgeiz anime's English release on VHS by AnimeVillage.com, later Bandai Entertainment, likely creating a bit of confusion between game & anime fans in North America at the time. Personally, I knew of the game at the time, but never knew of the anime until I started actually following the medium in 2004, as I remember coming across a listing for it on some random site. Considering the name & the cover art, I started getting curious about Next Senki Ehrgeiz, so from December of 2004 to May of 2005 I purchased all six English-subbed VHS tapes, & the sole dubbed tape Bandai later put out, from the Amazon Marketplace so that I can finally check it out for myself; I only know of the exact time span of purchases because Amazon actually still has records of it. So what did I think of it? Well, it's the third review I ever did for the blog, was included in numerous twelve anime lists & other articles, got pitted against said video game of the "same name", & I even investigated a Japanese blog conspiracy theory about it originally being intended as an anime adaptation of Capcom's Cyberbots... So yeah, I guess you can say that I'm a fan of Next Senki Ehrgeiz. However, I haven't actually watched the anime again in full in a solid decade (even that old review was done a few months following said re-watch), so I guess it's time to finally give it the detailed look I didn't give it 10 years ago, and explain what I see in this "Original Animation Series on TV", as the LD covers say... I can see why "OAS[oT]" didn't catch on.
After all... "If you only live once, anyway, then steal some dreams & see your future... It's called 'Dream Jack', & there's a whole world out there!"
"Crises Upset!" In the future, the people of Earth finally expand out into space, resulting the in the creation of the Next Colonies that people live in. Eventually, the citizens of Next decided to rebel, creating the Next Government & starting a war with the Earth Government, which itself was already dealing with a resistance force named Terra, led by a teenage psychic named Hal. To accommodate these new battles, giant robots named Metal Vehicles, MVs for short, were re-purposed for combat, and Next itself started experimenting with what else could be done with MVs, especially in terms of automation. This results in S.A.C., or "S" for short, an experimental MV that goes rouge & escapes, attacking anything that gets in its way, with Captain Akane Aoi being assigned to recover it for Next; she's told to reawaken "Mr. Arnold", a mysterious man who has knowledge of S's development. S's existence will be what brings into conflict three main ambitions during these times: Akane's obsession with completing what seems to be an impossible mission, Hal's dream of returning Earth to its "ideal state", & the wishes of Jay Striker, one of a group of outlaws on the abandoned & derelict Next 7 colony who want nothing more than to continue their carefree lives, free from the conflicts around them.
First impressions are a strong factor in what makes something (or someone) attracting to a person, and I will admit that Ehrgeiz kind of falters here, mainly because it subtly doesn't follow expectations, which in turn can sour one's first impressions. For example, all of that commotion about a war between Earth & Next, or even Earth's trouble with Terra? It's all literally nothing more than a backdrop, mere window dressing, making little to no real impact on the main plot; in fact, Earth is never seen again after Episode 3, only merely mentioned here & there afterwards. Similarly, while Ehrgeiz does feature MVs in every single episode, & they're how the characters engage in episodic climactic combat throughout the show, they actually aren't really a primary appeal, unlike how giant robots generally are treated in mech anime. For proof of that, I have literally never seen even an indication that there were ever any toys, figures, or model kits made for any of the Metal Vehicles for sale, since mech anime are primarily produced to advertise that kind of stuff, and then there's the fact that none of the MVs actually have any names to them. Yes, while they do come in various designs, they're all just labeled "[Character Name]'s MV" in all of the production materials. Honestly, the giant robots are treated as nothing more than metallic contraptions that the various characters use throughout the story. Indeed, the name "Metal Vehicle" is truly apt, because that's literally what they are; this may be the "realest" of real robot anime. Finally, there isn't a single example of Ehrgeiz ever relying on stock footage, a strong staple of mech anime, across all 12 episodes; truly, this might actually be the "anti-mech anime".
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| "What do you mean we're not really a mech anime? Then what the hell are we?!" |
Amusingly enough, by treating the robots as nothing more than literal vehicles, this means that Ehrgeiz accidentally fits that commonly stated misunderstanding of mech anime, as "this one focuses on the characters". Akane Aoi is a woman who's effectively given an impossible job, but makes it her absolute mission; even when she's demoted & taken off the project, she still looks for a way to capture S. Meanwhile, Arnold's origin is never directly stated, though it does gives you just enough by the end to figure it out yourself, resulting in him being this enigmatic figure that always captures your attention. That being said, he does take some initiative where Akane doesn't (or can't), mainly because S's actions aren't anything that Arnold would expect of it; this does remove him from the story for a little bit in the middle, though. As for Terra, Hal is a truly forgiving & idealistic young man, taking any & all death of his forces as his own fault simply because he wasn't able to psychically sense something like an ambush in enough time, so as to prevent losses. As the show moves on, though, Hal continually seeks making direct psychic contact with S, his own naivete preventing him from realizing how bad an idea that really is; by the end, he's the exact opposite of the person he was at the beginning, madly driven with destruction. Always at Hal's side is Galbraith, a giant older man who believes 100% in Hal, and wants nothing more than to make sure that Hal's ultimate dream can be achieved, as he puts absolute faith in his leader.
Then we have the Next 7 outlaws, who are really the most important characters of all. Jay Striker is a presumed-dead Next soldier who simply escaped & decided to live life how he wants to, far away from the selfish actions of the military; upon meeting Akane, who's in full military regalia, Jay instantly distrusts her. Balzac Zaillian is another presumed-dead Next soldier, though he's eventually revealed to be a legendary war hero, one who abandoned that life after seeing all the death & destruction that war brings about; now, he simply drinks his past away, though he's always there for his outlaw family. Ken & Ann are sibling orphans who actually come from Next 7 itself, having lost their parents during the battle that left the colony an abandoned wreck that only the outlaws live in; Ken is your standard fiery teen, while Ann starts off as a line-copying little sister, but grows into her own. Camel is the only one of the group who is never given any sort of backstory, simply being a selfish jackass of a comms operator for the group, finding out about nearby ships they can then mug for supplies, though he does have a caring heart deep down for the people he lives with, as shown in Episode 3 when he discreetly brings medicine back to cure an ill Ann. Finally, there's Gord & Roddy, two ex-Earth soldiers who sadly don't get much development, though they do help fill out the group, like Gord being a talented mechanic & Roddy being a sort of foil for Camel. The thing with the outlaws' backstories is that, outside of Ken & Ann, none of them actually talk about their pasts, as that's the core of their current lives; they threw all of that away to start anew. You only find out about Jay, Balzac, Gord, & Roddy's pasts as soldiers, for example, via a scene where Akane is told about them via some recon about halfway through; Jay & Balzac's last names aren't even stated, but rather are only shown on screen for a moment. It is also worth mentioning that the outlaws are the only people in the show seen to NOT want to kill anyone in combat, instead merely disabling enemy MVs to force them to retreat.
While on their own the characters can be rather simple in concept, it's when the three groups finally start interacting with each other that things get interesting. I do say "finally", though, because Ehrgeiz does have a slow start, especially for the first half. The first three episodes are more or less episodic stories, introducing the entire cast, & putting them in their own situations, like Akane's initial attempts to capture S, Terra failing to make a major impact against the Earth military (before being forced to retreat to the "neutral zone" of the Moon), or the outlaws needing to rely on dangerously unused ammo when they run of fresh supplies. Episode 4 at first feels like another episodic story, dealing mainly with Ann wanting to prove her worth as an MV pilot after Ken downplays her knack at being a mechanic, but it features the first encounters between the three groups, through Ann accidentally coming across Next & Terra forces. This then leads into Episode 5, where Terra & the outlaws meet up properly, followed by Episode 6, where a subordinate of Akane's named Carl infiltrates the outlaws as a fugitive to record them in action, as a way to support Akane after her demotion, which in turn makes her directly encounter the group in the following episode. At the start of the second half, S finally makes its physical presence known (having previously only attacked ships & MVs from afar), giving Akane more drive to capture it, making Hal more desperate to make contact with the "Immense Power" itself, & showing the outlaws that there's something out there that's going to make isolating themselves from everyone else impossible. By the last quarter of the show, the outlaws are fully splintered, with Balzac & Gord joining Terra (as they want to help a well-meaning cause), Camel & Roddy joining Next (mainly for the change of pace, though Akane has other means for them), & Jay staying at Next 7, especially because of an injury Ken suffers from S. It's admittedly a bit of a slow burn for a notable part of the show, but it allows the cast to show who they are, and it's like a fuse on a stick of dynamite; eventually it'll blow, and that's what you look forward to seeing happen.
Really, the main conflict in Ehrgeiz isn't about fighting against S, but rather it's a conflict of ambitions, all of which are twisted by S. Unlike the Ehrgeiz fighting game, which really only uses the German word for "ambition" likely because it sounds cool, the Ehrgeiz anime actually uses the word in the title because it's the main thematic element. Akane's ambition is to capture S to prove her own personal worth, and as the plot advances it becomes an outright obsession; her very life & existence winds up being solely about fulfilling her impossible mission. Arnold, in comparison, is perfectly fine with his single-minded mission of finding S, figuring out what's happened to it, & even destroy it if need be; he obviously was involved in its creation, so he feels that it's his duty. Hal's ambition of bringing peace back to Earth is a noble one, but his earnest wish to directly contact S, despite knowing how dangerous it is, eventually becomes an albatross, as S winds up using Hal to not only power itself up for the final battle, but also corrupt Hal's ambition into one that matches S's own goals. Galbraith's ambition is nothing more than to follow Hal, and though he initially voices concern over the risk Hal is willing to take, he winds up nothing more than a meek follower. Meanwhile, Jay's ambition is simply to live life as he decides it, not wanting to feel tied down to anything other than the people he cares for, and will take on any anyone (or anything) that causes actual harm to any of them. In the end, everyone handles their ambitions in different ways: Akane is consumed by hers, Arnold is accepting of his (even if it kills him), Hal is willing to achieve his in any way (even being taken advantage of), Galbraith is subservient to his, & Jay is willing to recklessly fight to protect his. I would have loved a second season, especially a prequel that showed how everyone got to where they are.
That being said, it's not like S isn't an important factor in the plot at all; rather, it's the very reason why Akane, Hal, & Jay's sides all start interacting with each other. While it's quickly established as an experimental MV early on (& later its "S.A.C." name is expanded on, "System of Absolutely Conscience"), the show smartly masks what it looks like for the first half, giving it a nice air of mystery behind it. Unfortunately, the show does take it dear sweet time to actually explain what exactly S is, and how Arnold relates to it, only actually doing so near the very end, and in a bit of a matter-of-fact fashion. Still, once it makes its appearance in the main plot, S is definitely the "main villain" of the entire story, with Jay, Hal, & Akane essentially sharing the "main character" slot (Jay more so than the others, though). As mentioned, S is the reason why these three ever interact, as they would have had no reason to meet, otherwise. In fact, I think it's to the anime's credit that these three only actually directly interact & communicate with each other only a literal couple of times (Akane & Hal just once), as it allows the conflict that S puts them all on to not be with each other physically, but rather their ambitions, with S being the unifying object that allows one to win out over the others. Also, S just has a great design to it, both in its original form & its powered up form in the final episode. It truly is a superweapon that has gone out of control, one that people think they can outsmart or control, but don't realize that they're the ones being led.
As mentioned at the start, Ehrgeiz was conceived by the nebulous "et", which I theorized in the AWOL review to be a shared psuedonym for director Toshifumi Kawase (Matchless Raijin-Oh, Eat-Man '98) & writer Atsuhiro Tomioka (BEM [2019], Digimon Adventure:), who directed & lead series composition for both shows, respectively. This show happened in the middle of Kawase's (technically) 14-year directing streak, and actually marked the first time he ever directed an anime not done by Sunrise. Instead, Ehrgeiz is the beginning of Kawase's working relationship with Studio DEEN, one that is still going on to this day, as Kawase most recently did some storyboarding for the new Orphen anime this year. Meanwhile, Ehrgeiz is the first anime Tomioka was ever head writer for, at only 29 years of age, and I think he did a solid job here. There's a neat sense of subtlety in the storytelling (though some aspects could have been more directly stated), allowing the viewer to infer things about the characters by their actions, while having the few moments when Jay, Akane, & Hal actually meet feel relevant, like when Hal reads Jay's mind & is awestruck by the lack of hatred or anger he was seeking. I also theorized that AWOL was originally conceived as a short OVA series that was forced into becoming a longer TV series to adjust to the new late-night TV airing, and that can also apply to Ehrgeiz, as shown with the slow start it also has. However, where AWOL suffered from doing almost-to-literally nothing for the first half of its story, Ehrgeiz at least actually does stuff via the episodic first quarter. Sure, they don't advance the plot too far forward, but at least you actually see the entire cast doing stuff, allowing you to get a feel for them, whereas AWOL literally didn't fully introduce its cast until the actual half-way point, and also never bothered to vocally name one of the villains until Episode 9. Sure, the animation isn't always too hot (Studio DEEN has always been known for DEEN-ing it up), but I will give credit to the fact that Ehrgeiz doesn't really rely on reusing animation (the only example was literally at the very end of the last episode), and I already brought up the lack of stock footage early on.
Also, as a fun bit of trivia, Ehrgeiz was the first anime to receive assistance work by a small Japanese studio named... Ehrgeiz; I am dead serious. And no, I doubt the studio was named after the anime (or the video game), as it was founded in 1995. Other anime Ehrgeiz (the studio) assisted on includes Eat-Man '98, Tenchi Muyo! GXP, Grenadier, Banner of the Stars III, & Black Blood Brothers; in fact, it still seems to be in business to this day.
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| Look, I just really like the design of Jay's MV... Maybe it's the four-leaf clover. |
The character designs were a two-man effort, with Isamu Imakake (now known for directing Happy Science's various movies) doing the original designs & Tetsuya Yanagisawa adapting them into animation; Yanagisawa also directed the animation for Episodes 7 & 12, resulting in them looking the best. Overall, I really like what Imakake & Yanagisawa did for Ehrgeiz, giving the characters straight-to-the-point designs that give you an instant idea as to the kinds of characters they are, while making them all notably distinct from one another; sometimes, simple is best. While the MVs aren't exactly the "stars" of the show, like they'd be in a "traditional" mech anime, the duo of Takahiro Yamada & Takahiro Umehara still gave them some really nice & varied designs, while also giving them all an interestingly "human" feel, which I definitely think is the latter's contribution. While Yamada is renown for his work with mech anime, this is actually the only time Umehara ever did mech designs at all, as he's generally known for character designing, which I'm sure is why the MVs look they way they do; I can see if some don't like the look, but I think it's cool. As for the music, Ehrgeiz is once again a debut work, this time for the duo of Shiroh Hamaguchi (One Piece, Big Windup!) & Akifumi Tada (The Law of Ueki, Tonari no Seki-kun), who I feel really wanted to prove themselves, as it's a simply outstanding soundtrack. Split 2/3 Hamaguchi, 1/3 Tada, the two each deliver a great mix of orchestral, acoustic, big band, rock, & synth, with each song giving a perfect mood, even when listened on their own; some tracks even feature two versions, depending on the scene. Considering the long & fruitful careers both men have since had, even working together on other anime, I'd say that they more than showed their skills with Next Senki Ehrgeiz.
Finally, there are the opening & ending themes for the show, which are both really great. In yet another "debut", OP theme "Dream Jack" marks the first time Yoshiki Fukuyama ever sang the theme song for an anime series as himself, as part of his rock band Humming Bird; they did perform Macross 7's songs previously, but were credited as the in-universe band Fire Bomber. Being a big fan of Fukuyama's work, I have listened to a fair number of songs from his Humming Bird days, but I have yet to hear one that truly surpasses "Dream Jack", a fast-paced song about living in an era that goes between sane & insane on a regular basis, even if it requires you stealing the dreams of others to do so. Honestly, it fits the outlaws perfectly, so much so that I personally call Jay's cloverleaf-adorned MV the Dream Jack, in honor of the song. Meanwhile, ED theme "One Voice for Ehrgeiz" by Mariko Fukui may be oddly named, as the song is technically just "One Voice" but specifically names its purpose of use in the anime's credits, but it's a strong & slow ballad about carrying on through life, driven by a single voice of love that rings in your mind.
On a personal note, "Dream Jack" is responsible for easily my all-time favorite experience as an anime fan. JAM Project were guests at Anime Boston 2014, so I brought my Volume 1 LD of Ehrgeiz to get autographed by Fukuyama. Upon showing it to him, Fukuyama blew up in nostalgic glee, screaming his head off in amazement over the fact he had just been reminded of his "first anime". It's amusing to hear Fukuyama say that, as Humming Bird's "first anime" was technically TV special City Hunter: Good Bye, My Sweet Heart, which aired earlier in 1997, but I won't argue Fukuyama's logic. He was so loud & joyous that everyone in the waiting room next door had to have heard it all, & his band mates in JAM all looked at him in shock & confusion; poor Masami Okui was the unlucky one to be sitting next to Fukuyama, taking the full force of it all. Sure, I'll admit that this certainly colors my feelings on Ehrgeiz to some extent, but one thing no one can fault this anime on is for its music, because it's all great.
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| This is the most you ever actually see any sort of emotion from Arnold. |
When it comes to the Japanese voice cast, you might actually be shocked at just how many notable & legendary seiyuu voice characters in this show, considering how forgotten & ignored it is. Leading it all is Mitsuo Iwata as Jay, who's voice just matches the devil-may-care nature of the "lead" outlaw, while his natural talent manages to let you get a feel for Jay simply through the emotion in his voice. After that is Miyuki Ichijou (Tsukasa in Shin Mazinger), who similarly makes you feel for Akane when needed, even though she's generally portrayed as the most unheroic of the three main characters. Meanwhile, Hal is voiced by Nozomu Sasaki, who does a great job showing the gradual degradation of Hal's psyche, as he slowly becomes more & more driven towards destruction. In the last episode, Sasaki definitely channels some of Akira's Tetsuo, which is amusing as Iwata was the voice of Kaneda in that movie. In terms of major supporting members of the Next & Terra sides, we get Tessho Genda as Galbraith & Yusaku Yara as Arnold, who both also deliver solid performances. As for the Next 7 outlaws, we see Jouji Nakata as Camel, Osamu Saka as Balzac, Urara Takano as Ken, Ikue Otani as Ann, Masamichi Sato as Gord, & Nobuyuki Hiyama as Roddy, who all give their characters the most personality & emotion, alongside Iwata's Jay. Rounding out the rest of the cast who appear more than once, there's Shinji Nomura (Akane's Next Adviser), Mitsuaki Hoshino (Carl), Hiroshi Ito (Akane's Next General), & the late Tamio Ohki (Narrator).
At some point after AnimeVillage.com's 6-tape, subbed VHS release of Ehrgeiz came to an end, once the company turned into Bandai Entertainment, a single dubbed VHS saw release, covering only the first two episodes, similar to the unfinished dubs made for Eat-Man '98 & AWOL. Also similar to those dubs is that it was produced by The Ocean Group, which was synonymous with Bandai at the time, and credits absolutely no one in terms of the cast & ADR staff. Therefore, I can't actually state who was a part of this dub, though it really isn't anything especially notable. While it's nowhere near as good as Eat-Man's dub, it at least actually has vocal performances for all of the major characters, which easily puts it above AWOL's dub. To be fair, the dub doesn't suffer from a glut of lackluster performances, though Camel's actor is easily the most wooden, and I honestly think that it certainly had potential, had the entire show been dubbed; it's just that the cast doesn't get the chance to really get a proper feel for their characters. Though no one is credited, there are some voices that sound pretty recognizable, like Akane likely being voiced by Wendee Lee & Galbraith possibly being voiced by Scott McNeil; Hal also sounds like he's voiced by Brent Miller. Easily the most notable part of the dub, however, is the narrator, specifically during the eyecatches, where he says the anime's title ("Ehrgeiz: The Next War"). Instead of the ADR team simply using the best take multiple times, they seemingly decided to use ALL OF THE TAKES, which results in the narrator saying the anime's title in four different ways, twice for each episode; I wish the entire show got dubbed, just so we'd have 24 different takes to hear!
Finally, I just want to bring up the extras included in the anime's laserdisc release in Japan. Each LD included a fold-out poster featuring extremely well done original artwork of the MVs by Takehiro Yamada, but on the flip-side of each poster was a set of "Data, Draft, Atmosphere, & Others" liner notes, which included various settei used for pre-producion, tons of extra information about the backstory behind the world of Ehrgeiz, comments by Kawase, Imakake, & the writing team (Tomioka, Kouji Miura, Chinatsu Houjou, & Toshiyasu Nagata), & finally an 18-question Q&A with Kawase for the last LD; I wish I had a translation of the comments, but I did personally translate the Q&A for this re-review. Said Q&A is pretty standard, but there are some neat tidbits within, like Kawase wishing he could have done more exploration of Jay's character, feeling that the Next 7 outlaws were the most "unique" part of the show, & finding Ehrgeiz to simply be a good "refresh" for him, as he felt he had gotten used to simply directing & was happy to be reminded how it felt to create something new from scratch. Most interesting of all, though, is when he was asked about his feelings towards late-night anime, as while he found it imperative to "make anime that adults can watch seriously", he also voiced concern that the time slot could result in there being too much anime getting made... Yes, Toshifumi Kawase called out this situation, which has been around since the 00s, all the way back in 1998! Finally, each LD also included a bonus feature called "My Favorite Battle of MV", a.k.a. "The Other Ehrgeiz", 4-5 minute shorts by Kawase & film editor Seiji Morita that simply re-edited specific scenes from the anime into semi-thematic trailers; they're nothing major, but a fun watch nonetheless.
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| In a neat touch, the original VHS covers were all about the characters, while the LD covers were all about the MVs. A later VHS release featured both. |
I'm sure everyone has something that they really enjoy, something that just "clicks" with them in one way or another, that pretty much no one else ever talks about, if anyone else even really familiar with it in the first place; I mean, if everything you enjoy is what's popular & mainstream, then you really need expand your horizons. For me, Next Senki Ehrgeiz is a perfect example of that. It's by no means perfect, and I'll fully admit it's ironic that a series that's all about how ambition affects people in different ways suffers most from a lack of ambition, in & of itself; hell, even Toshifumi Kawase himself gave the show a 65, when asked to rate it. While I fully understand if others have less-than-positive views regarding the show, I've also found others who managed to realize that Ehrgeiz really isn't about the MVs or the Earth/Next (& Terra) war, but rather is about the characters & their own personal ambitions. Is this one of my all-time favorite anime ever? Probably not, but at the same time there's a lot in Ehrgeiz that I just really enjoy, whether it's the characters, the interesting MV designs, the theme of conflicting ambitions, the fact that it almost exclusively takes place in space, the excellent music, or simply S itself; at the very least, unlike AWOL, Bandai Visual continues to offer this anime in Japan via Bandai Channel. I felt this way about it when I first saw it in 2004/2005, I honestly liked it a bit more when I re-watched it a decade ago (seeing it all together, instead of across half a year really helped), & I still really like it in the year 2020. However, I'll readily admit that, in the grand scheme of things, Ehrgeiz is really nothing more than a stepping stone for bigger developments. It was the first mech anime to air in late-night, which opened the door for later giant robot series to do the same, while it marked the first time people like Atsuhiro Tomioka, Yoshiki Fukuyama, Shiroh Hamaguchi, & Akifumi Tada were able to make names for themselves in anime, & it was the start of Toshifumi Kawase's ongoing relationship with Studio DEEN.
Just like that third review on the blog, though, I think "Lord Carnage" said it best:
"Ehrgeiz, while being far from a classic, is still worth watching."
At the very least, I'm sure you'll find no one else in the entire world who'd be willing to say this much about an anime most would simply confuse with a 3D fighting game featuring Final Fantasy VII characters... That's got to count for something, right?
Anime © 1997 et・BeSTACK/Project Ehrgeiz
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