Product Description

Experience the next generation of anime with Freedom in HD DVD/DVD twin format!
Get strapped in and hold on for the first anime ever released on HD DVD in North America! Simultaneously released in Japan, Freedom unleashes a revolution in next generation animation, seamlessly combining 2D and 3D graphics to weave an epic tale of repression? and revolt. Directed by rising superstar Shuhei Morita (Kakurenbo), Freedom?an award-winner at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair? Will be released in six volumes.
In the 23rd century, mankind has fled earth and emigrated to the moon. The last outpost of civilization is the Lunar Republic of Eden, where the omnipresent Citizens Administration Council grants residents everything they need? except their freedom. His mandatory education complete, 15-year-old Takeru is in a six-month period of freedom while the Council determines his social status. Uneasy about the future, Takeru and friends decide to race their customized Lunar Terrain Vehicle in the ultimate tube race!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92432 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, Widescreen
• Original language: Japanese, English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 24 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the first anime properties released in the U.S. in high-definition format, the OAV Freedom (2006) is set 300 years in the future, when Earth has become uninhabitable and humanity is restricted to the lunar megalopolis of Eden. Frustrated by its programmed existence, Takeru and his friends Kazuma and Bismark try to break into the illicit world of "tube racing." His jerry-rigged all-terrain vehicle can't compete against champion racer Taira's machine, but an alcoholic eccentric has given them some old equipment that can supply the necessary power--if Takeru can learn to steer at such high speeds. A mixture of 3-D computer graphics and 2-D drawn animation, Freedom features blended shadows that look very different from conventional anime. In the racing scenes, the filmmakers try to re-create the biking sequence from Akira, but director Shuhei Morita fails to match Katsuhiro Otomo's brilliant cutting and camera angles. Only 25 minutes long, Freedom 1 is the first episode of a longer continuity: releasing it alone on a disc seems premature--and pricey. (Unrated, suitable for ages 12 and older: minor violence, street racing) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Frustrating, wait for the compilation
This is part one of a six-part Japanese anime series that was released direct to video in Japan starting in October 2006, with the last episode released in July. That's about one episode every six weeks. The studio, Bandai, for some reason is releasing the series in the U.S. at an even slower pace, with part one released in June 2007 and part two scheduled for September. It is a bizarre choice. Who is willing to wait over a year for a series that clocks in at about two hours long? And who is willing to pay nearly $180 for that series, even if it is in high definition?

Various reviewers have already complained about the price. Some have said that you get both DVD and HDDVD formats on a single-sided disk. But I don't see why it is worth extra money just so you don't have to flip the disk over for the HDDVD format--if you have an HD player, you are only going to play one side, if you don't you will just play the other side, right? Why does it matter that both formats are on the same side?

What the reviews have not made clear is that the "special features" are not on the disk itself, and cannot be accessed on a regular DVD player. They are apparently all online and can only be accessed if your player is hooked up to the net. If you don't have HD, or if your machine is not hooked up to the net, then all you get is a single 22-minute episode for a lot of money, and then a long wait until the next release. Why Bandai thought that this was a successful marketing strategy is beyond me. My guess is that at some point they will realize that this a) is not the way titles should be released in the US, and b) is stupid, and will do the smart thing and release the entire series as a single collection.

Nobody has yet reviewed the story, so allow me. The story follows the exploits of a bunch of teenagers who live in a moon colony. They get into some minor trouble and are sentenced to community service. There's also a motorcycle race in a tunnel. That's about it for the story for episode one--with one important twist at the end (which I'll get to in a moment).

Katsuhiro Otomo designed the characters and the technical look. Otomo was responsible for the highly-regarded 1980s animated movie (also manga) Akira, and the look for Freedom is similar. The first episode is beautifully illustrated and nicely-paced, but it features a number of typical anime cliches such as the teenage bikers (taken from Akira), the crazy older man, and the girl in the short skirt who is the object of affection for the socially awkward boy.

It was only the colorful animation and the tantalizing glimpses of this high-tech colony on the moon that kept my attention and by the end of the first episode I wondered if this was enough to make me watch more. However, right at the very end there was an intriguing hook--a hint that Earth, which humanity abandoned centuries ago, may not be empty after all. This also hints that maybe the government is hiding something from its citizens. This mini-cliffhanger ending did indeed leave me wanting more. But it also means that I'll have to wait a long time for the next installment, and the next after that. I'd rather be able to buy the entire series at once--and at a reasonable price. Right now, I'm waiting for it to show up at Netflix.

Your best bet is to wait and hope that Bandai comes to their senses and releases this properly, as a complete series, with extras, and at a decent price.

Umm, seriously...
A friend of mine dropped 30 bucks on this so I watched it (if you had a chance to watch a $30, 25 minute anime show for free wouldn't you?). Repeat this in your mind: one disc, one episode, 25 minutes, 30 dollars. Red Alert! As for the show itself it was decent with nice animation. My question is who is the target for this? I'm guessing it is the over 40 Wall Street types with a penchant for watching anime in their Rolls Royce limos. I know that was a little over the top, but I'm venting. Honestly, who is going to spend roughly $180.00 to buy the entire "series" which is supposedly 6 eps long? I know I won't and my friend isn't buying anymore either. Think about it and you'll realize that you're paying over a dollar a minute for about a 150 minute series. In today's DVD anime world where you get at least 3-4 entire episodes in one disc for $20-$30 this is just ridiculous. Just when I thought iTunes was nutty for charging $1.99 for individual 11 minute episodes of Adult Swim cartoons these guys have gone and surpassed them. I mean it's a HDDVD-DVD combo disc, but who does that really help? Most likely them since they save on packaging, charge an over-the-top price for the disc and then get the people who don't have HDDVD to pay the (more than) HDDVD money for it. I hate to see any good anime flop, but if they're trying to start a new trend with this junk I hope it does. Bravo guys, bravo!

The price is high, but it's worth it if you have an HD DVD player.
The price on this episode is high, but it is worth it - at least at Amazon's $27.99 shipped. If I paid the full $39.99 msrp for this I'd probably be unhappy, but at 27.99 this offers some great entertainment value. While the episode is only a bit over 20 minutes long, the production values are top notch, the characters are likable and the video quality is superb. The HD DVD HDi extras including the resizable & movable PiP windows and internet downloads are very cool, but you do need an HD DVD player to access these extras.

If you do have an HD DVD player, give this one a shot - you'll be happy you did if you enjoy anime. And if you don't have HD DVD, this is probably too pricey for you, but think of it as a disc you won't have to rebuy in hidef in the future :)

So, a five star product for sure which I dropped a star due to its price.