Set in a fantasy universe, Monsuno: Destiny is one of the many anime series that follow the trend of Pokemon and Digimon in which kids and adults fight alongside monsters, when you throw you pokeb… er, i mean when you spin your core, your monster is released and a battle takes place.
Story
Doctor Suno (researcher and creator of the Monsuno monsters) has disappeared and his son Chase and friends decide to go look for him, once they arrive at the laboratory they find they are not the first people visiting his father’s laboratory.
Once in the lab Chase finds a legacy his father left for him, a core with a powerful Monsuno that will aid him to find his father whereabouts.
This will not be an easy feat as two major forces are fighting to take control of the strongest Monsuno, Storm and Dark Spin.
The first being a military organization which founded and sponsored Suno’s research and the second a dark organization with unclear origins and goals. Chase and friends will often clash with them as they find clues of doctor Suno along the show.
Especially in the first 5 episodes we see how Chase, Bren and Jinja obtain their Monsuno, learn to control their abilities and meet enemies and allies like Beyal, a young monk that will join them in their travels.
Animation 7.5/10
Most of the animation is fluid and with good design, few details here and there could be better but overall the quality of the production is good, something that’s more than welcomed.
Character Design 8.5/10
Although human characters are nothing beyond ordinary and design is quite common, monster design on the other hand is quite good, detailed and why not.. Impressive!
There are 3 different colors based on manufacturer including red for Klipse (Dark Spin), Blue for Core-Tech (Doctor Suno) and Yellow (Storm).
Audio: 7.5/10
Gotta say some character voices are cheesy and voice acting could have been better but this is expected due to the nature of the show and the younger audience that it’s aimed at. Opening/ending songs are catchy and upbeat, nicely done!
Packaging:
This is where Shout Factory shows they give fans a good product, the packaging for this release uses a standard transparent DVD case and 2 sided art insert, featuring an amazing image of Lock on the back, something Shout Factory do in many releases that’s pretty eye candy.
All five episodes and the bonus content in one disc. A carton sleeve featuring Chase and Lock in the front cover. The back cover displays a summary, character art and a list of episodes and features.
Extras:
The bonus included in the DVD are bios for Chase and his Munsuno Lock, that’s it. I wish there was more extra content on the disc, probably in future releases a behind the cameras, interviews or more bonuses related to the production of the show could be included? We can only hope.
Features:
The DVD features english audio without information of dolby sound or audio features. Running time +/- 110 minutes
What they did right:
Glad to see they cared to give us insights of the origin of Monsuno and how they came to be, i hate when some shows never tell us the origin of the characters or why they fight, (I’m looking at you Redakai…) Monster design is pretty good as stated before and battles can be heated.
What they did wrong:
Someone explain to me what are three teenagers doing in the middle of a forest searching for a secret laboratory, i mean really?… hope this gets explained in future episodes. Aside from that, my only complaint is some of the voice acting.
Overall
Monsuno: Destiny may not bring anything new under the sun and really on the pokemon/digimon clone formula but it works, they did it good enough to stand on it’s own, if you enjoy shows with monster battles this is a show you need to check out, if not.. this may not be your cup of tea.
Truly enjoyed Monsuno: Destiny and can’t wait to see the next DVD release, which i’m sure will just get even better!
Giving it 8 rice balls out of 10!
~Mario
