▪	RELEASED BY:		ADV FILMS
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		4:3 FULL SCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		ENGLISH DD 5.1 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		100 MIN
		▪	RATING:		TV PG
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		09/11/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		08/26/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		ROMMEL SALANDANAN

Let the battle for the Zohar begin!

In a time when mankind has abandoned its home world, a battle between humans and the Gnosis are brewing. When the Federation Fleet, Commanded by Andrew Cherenkov, retrieves the Zohar, a monolithic type bright object, he knows that his entire fleet will be annihilated by the Gnosis, an alien life form from another dimension that fluctuates in time and space, thus making it hard for humans to defeat the enemy.

To combat the enemy, a 100-Series Observational Unit must be on-board a ship to neutralize the enemy's ability to flux in and out of the space-time continuum. But for the Commander Chernekov and the crew of the Woglinde, and the Galaxy Federation Fleet, it is not meant to be. The ship's 100-Series Observational Unit was intercepted by the despicable and evil Albedo, who happens to be searching for that particular Observation Unit, also known as Kirschwasser.

But all is not lost when the anti-Gnosis weapon, named KOS-MOS activates and frees herself from all of her restraints when her engineer Shion is endangered during the battle. While KOS-MOS manages to save Shion, Allen, and Virgil, and give the fleet a last fighting chance, it was a little too late. Gnosis has already overwhelmed the entire fleet, and the Gnosis has gained possession of the object. However, all is not what it seems, as the true whereabouts of the Zohar is located somewhere else.

KOS-MOS is now running with her own directives and commandeers a light cruiser known as the ELSA and its crew. There Shion meets a Realian girl named MOMO, and a cyborg, Ziggy, who are on the run. They happen to be heading in the same direction, the Second Miltia System. However, the freighter is under attack once it goes into hyperspace by what is supposed to be an extinct organization, U-TIC. They're after MOMO who might have the data or key to gain control of the Zohar.

From feather floating around in a circular motion to the angelic face of KOS-MOS fading away to the background, and all accompanied by Gregorian type music with a rhythmic beat, the series will grab your attention right away from the very beginning.

The series, which is based on the first Xenosaga Video Game, Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht (The Will to Power), is a reference to the German Philosopher Nietzsche's concept of teleogical force. His theories of morality are based upon the actions which a person performs. The game sees some changes within the anime story line where it is condensed to a 12 Episode series. However, one should not worry about how the Nietzsche concept is played out in the series, as the anime has tons of plot-driven action all over the first volume. You don't have to be familiar with the role playing game, but will have to pay close attention to everything that is happening. Once you piece it all together, the story will eventually fall into place.

However, since the game itself is based on a German philosopher's concept, German names that were used in the game are also in the animation series.

The animation is smooth and the designs are very distinctive. One thing that blows me away with the series was the way KOS-MOS communicated with the crew of the ELSA. While she was outside of the ship and in the vacuum of space, she touches the glass of the cockpit to transmit her communication to the crew. Another scene that I also enjoyed was when the mighty ship Durandal made a 180-degree turn as it fires its boosters in all the right parts of the ship to conduct the turn during battle against the Gnosis.

As with any games, soundtracks play a major role in a series. The tracks used in this series also live up to expectations, as the music flows very well within each scene.

ADR Director Christopher Ayres (Nerima Daikon Brothers) once again does a phenomenal job with his voice actors. Newcomer Stephanie Wittels landed the lead role of Shion Uzuki, and does an exceptional job with her role. Luci Christian, who shows off another aspect of her voice talent and range, is nearly unrecognizable as the voice of KOS-MOS. And John Gremillion, who plays the antagonist Albedo, successfully makes his character very despicable,. From time to time, he sounds like actor Kevin Spacey in his role as Lex Luthor in Superman Returns - only much more wicked and disturbing.

Xenosaga The Animation is a gamers' orgasm in the world of anime.

EXTRAS:
Clean Opening and Closing Animation, Previews and DVD Credits.

IN SUMMARY:
A series that is as explosive as it is plot driven. Xenosaga The Animation is one series that will bring non-gamer and gamers into its world.