The anime has the same characters and format as the TV series — even the music is the same chugging electro-pop. But there are huge differences in appearances, like hairstyles. Saki's is bright pink, her controller, Jin, has long blond hair! And she's lost her red socks (Jin's lost his nasty bright yellow porsche, too). Perhaps these were the original details of the manga, but it's a big change from the series. With a strangely angular character design, Saki looks more like a trained assassin, rather than a school kid. In the finale, she's not even in school uniform, another enjoyable element of the series.
Picky, picky! I actually enjoyed it, and I don't like most anime. It was action-packed, the story moves along with several surprises, the fights are exciting, there's even humor, pathos... what more do you want? I wanted more yo-yos! Also, it didn't feel as outrageous as the movies, because in anime, anything is possible.
The DVD looks good and runs feature-length, providing the complete story (the anime was made as a one-off, standalone adventure). The original Japanese titles and end credits have been replaced with unsophisticated captions. Also, there's no 'making of' feature that the Japanese DVD had. The English subtitles are good, but not quite in line with the movies, for instance, the 'Dark Director' (Saki's mysterious boss) is here called the 'Dark Detective' and the 'Dark Inspector'. Make up your minds!
Don't worry, there's also an optional English-dubbed soundtrack, in line with the many other anime releases from ADV Films.
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