Halo Legends (2010) Reviews

• I get it, why don't more people?

  nosonnic2010-06-27

  I watched these as a long-time Halo fan who's managed to get a solid OD of Halo life. I've read the books and seen all the extra content, I've debated back and forth with other fans and, more to the point, I've kept my sense of humour. I loved Legends from end to end, although I despair a little at some of the people who can't seem to get the different aspects of it. Origins; Solid work with a good director and a great narrative. Although for people who've read the books and seen the time lines before, it's nothing new. The Duel; Showing signs of some of the great samurai movies of history, the change in depicting the Elites from vicious enemies to honourable warriors over the course of the games is only strengthened in this short. I loved the style, and I'm a die-hard fan of the 'one strong man against an army', why else would I enjoy Halo so much? Homecoming; What's with all the hate? If you've ever even tried to pick up the books you'll know that this is pretty much another variation on the kind of thing that happened. The Spartans in training really were just angsty kids. Despite the size of Daisy in the flashbacks, she wasn't any older then eleven or twelve at the time. And that kind of thing does have a very hefty effect on you, regardless. The Spartans did escape, they did try to run away, and they most certainly experienced those emotions. So despite the slightly clashing styles in animation between characters and background, I loved it, heck I nearly teared up. Odd One Out; Now this was just funny. What a mish-mash of classically over-done, completely over-the-top anime clichés! Super powered kids, dinosaurs, a stupid lead character who comes out on top in the end... Throw in a few internet memes and you've got the kind of stupidity that made 'Imma Chargin My Lazor!' funny in the first place (and don't pretend that you missed that bit, if you were watching it at all you'd have seen that face). Heck, even the Spartan's call-sign was '1337'. All of you claiming to be serious fans, just why? Why think that nothing about Halo could be funny? Don't tell me that you didn't stick the original game on easy and chase Grunts around with a pistol to make them squeal. It's literally just Halo for the Lulz. Secretly I have the opinion that most of you are people who would describe themselves as 1337 online too. Prototype; Okay, yes, I know it's a cliché plot, and the characters do seem very... familiar. On the other hand, the easter-eggs hidden among both the fight scenes and the flash-backs are worth finding for some classic references. But again, the Halo universe thrives on just this kind of heroism, one person staying behind to hold them back? Using powered armour? And he's an inscrutable, seemingly emotionless man who's a veteran of hundreds of battles? Are we not drawing parallels between 117 here, instead of some other characters named so far? Babysitter; Again I say what's to hate? This is exactly the kind of situation that Spartans were deployed in. It's exactly how they were viewed, and exactly how they would have acted, and how others behaved towards them. I've been waiting for a decent rendition of how the Spartans had to interact with others, the games, especially the early ones, showed the ODSTs as far too helpful. The other marines weren't scared, they were impressed, and the military brass was altogether too happy to see them. The Spartans were freaks, as unlike the rest of humanity as the Covenant were, to some, with their green armour and faceless visors... Read the books kids, they might just open your eyes and shut some mouths. And finally The Package; Brilliant, utterly brilliant. The spin-off game Halo Wars showed a couple of cut-scenes, highly rendered and beautifully directed, of what it was like having three Spartans take on the Covenant directly, including a fantastic case of direct hand-to-hand combat. This gave me the same feeling; the Spartans were unstoppable when they made their move, and particularly when they were led by 117, they never failed. Even if it killed them, they never failed. Plus, cameos are awesome. I rate this highly, because I, much like the guys at Bungee (remember them, game creators?), have watched these shorts and not seen insulting values, but different and open takes on what the Halo universe has to offer. I've laughed with the funny stuff, and appreciated just how tragic the Spartans' lives really have been, and that's all there is to it.

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• Diversity over Quality

  xamtaro2010-02-15

  Halo Legends is an anime anthology series in a similar vein to "Animatrix" and "Batman: Gotham Knight". It consists of 8(but actually 7 since two of them are just parts 1 and 2 of the same story) short animated stories that explores areas of the rich Halo game universe which were previously only the stuff of rumors. Different anime studios and directors worked on each segment as as such, the quality of both the stories and the animation varies a lot from one clip to the next. Some for the better, others less so. Overall, the whole production plays the "diversity over quality" card. There is something for everyone to enjoy but at the same time, something that a anime fan might like, a Halo fan might consider it as a great insult to a great game. It also requires viewers to be well versed in at least the most basic of Halo jargon. Curious little piece but not quite essential viewing for either anime or halo fans. I'll rank the segments from my favorite to the least favorite 1) The Package, Directed by Shinji Aramaki(Appleseed).This one is for the fans of the game as it looks just like one of the in-game cinematic cut-scenes. For the only time in the whole anthology do we finally get to see Master Chief 117 in action. First, an amazing scene of space combat that rivals even Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Then all out Guns-a-blazing action as Master Chief and a team of Spartans attempt to retrieve the titular package John Woo style. So many little easter eggs including a short FPS sequence and an important cameo appearance, easily make this segment a fan favorite for sure. 2) Origins 1 and 2 directed by Hideki Futamura(director of "Genius Party" Key animator of Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust) with animation produced by Studio 4C(Transformers Animated, Spriggan). Cortana narrates out the history of Halo from the ancient time of the forerunners to the events of the game. Though it plays out like some slideshow, the animation is richly detailed combined with the best 3D CGI used for backgrounds and vehicles. They even used a older 1980s animation style for the ancient history segments to give it that aged look. 3) "The Duel". Boasting a graphic style reminiscent of classic Japanese watercolor paintings courtesy of Production I.G (Ghost in The Shell: Innocence, IGPX), it really is refreshing to see an anime studio try something new. With themes of honor and betrayal, the costumes worn by the characters and even the traditional woodwind music, it is safe to assume that the directors, Hiroshi Yamazaki and Mamoru Oshii(Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers) intended this to be a homage to traditional Japanese folk tales and art. We follow a tale of an Arbiter named Fal who fears that the covenant's ways are dishonorable. The prophet uses this to accuse him of heresy and has Fal's wife killed in order to lure him to his death. It is action intense while also giving a glimpse into the Covenant's inner workings. 4)"Prototype" by studio bones (rahxephon, FullMetal Alchemist).Directed by Tomoki Kyoda of "Eureka 7" fame and new comer Yasushi Muraki, it seems that someone got lazy and just edited a story outline of a Gundam episode with new names and Halo terminology. I would have ranked it higher if it weren't so unoriginal. Basically its about a Platoon commander "Ghost" who suppresses his human emotions in battle. He steals a weapon laden mobile suit and attempts to hold off the Covenant forces while the humans can escape. Imagine Gundam Wing's Heero Yui as a Halo marine and you have Ghost. While this was a heart wrenching little anecdote, it suffers thanks to its unoriginality. 5) "Homecoming". another unoriginal story. The main character is a SPARTAN II soldier named Daisy 23. While the story takes place during a mission in present day, flashbacks reveal the sad origin of the SPARTAN program where children are kidnapped to be surgically augmented and trained to be super soldiers. The flashbacks tell the tale of a failed escape attempt by Daisy and some other trainees and how she finally comes to terms with her role in the coming war. Homecoming tries to tug on the heartstrings but ends up a mildly boring mess. The flat 2D art and uninspired character designs clash badly with the beautiful backgrounds. Whats more, the tough SPARTAN soldiers are portrayed as angsty emo teenagers. One of the weakest entries in the whole movie. 6) Odd One out. 1 word summarises it = stupidity.The title not only describes the main character SPARTAN 1337 but the entire segment itself. While other clips focus on dark gritty war stories, Odd one Out focuses more on lighthearted slapstick comedy. It is no surprise that director Daisuke Nishio, who also directed the Dragonball anime, would imbue this with all the staples of those long running Shonen action series. Exaggerated hand to hand combat, quirky characters, super powered kids, cheesy dialog. Even the flaws like repeated scenes and inconsistent animation is present here. A real insult to Halo. 7)"the Babysitter". Not only is this little story one of the weakest in terms of narrative but in the animation too. The story does not have the emotional impact of the previous ones and only serves as a reminder for the Halo fans that the production team has not forgotten about the Helljumpers from "Halo: ODST". Toshiyuki Kanno's animation is flatly colored and clashes with the detailed CGI backgrounds. Character movements are painfully stiff except for one or two shots. In closing, Halo legends has something for everyone and something to put everyone off. Where Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight had constant running themes or common characters throughout each of its separate segments, Halo legends lacks that cohesiveness.

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• The origins stories of Halo are brought to glorious life.

  kevinxirau2011-10-25

  I must say, this was quite a surprise. About a decade ago, Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionized how games, specifically first-person shooters, should be played. What followed was a succession of sequels, each being better than the last one. Inevitably, a movie was not far away. With the possible live-action movie postponed by companies fighting over it, this anime was created help satisfy fans and keep them waiting for the live-action film. It does its job well. In a style similar to "Batman: Gotham Knight", Halo Legends consists of several action-packed episodes, each made by a different studio, having its own unique artwork/animation, and basically revealing a certain aspect of the Halo universe. The episodes are Origins Part 1 and 2 (history of the Halo universe), The Dual (how the Arbiter became a title of shame), Homecoming (the horror of the Spartan II program), Odd One Out (a ridiculous non-canon episode), Prototype (the first Spartan armor), The Babysitter (ODST-Spartan rivalry), and the Package (Master Chief and company go in to retrieve a heavily-guarded package). Odd One Out is the only flaw in this movie. Everything else is excellent. Beautiful animation, wonderful music, awesome action scenes, and great stories. This is as good as the games. Fans will most likely enjoy this and so will you. In the words of the Master Chief, "... we're just getting started," because soon enough the live action movie will arrive.

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• Very Disappointing

  Harlemer2010-02-18

  I'm a big fan of the Halo games, and when I heard that they were going to make an Animatrix-like collection of animated shorts based on the universe, I was hugely excited... And then I got around to watching it, and I felt myself die a little inside. Firstly, let me just say that not everything was bad. I did like how they used the same music from the games, but also added in their own music on occasion, and I thought the English voice acting was very good. However, unlike the Animatrix, Halo Legends is mostly crap, with only one or two good shorts out of all seven. Animatrix, despite some of it's shorts to be pretty mediocre, was mostly a good show. Out of all seven shorts, only three were really good. But since Origins I and Origins II are the same thing, just divided, then let's just say only two were good. The two-part Origins segment is narrated entirely by Cortana, with good animation and music (though it only uses music from the game). It tells the history of the Halo Universe, why the Forerunners created Halo, how they died, how Humans first encountered the Covenant, etc. The other short that's worth watching is the final one, titled "The Package", is CGI-animated and loosely resembles the game cut scenes. It's about a group of Spartans, 117 included, who head into a Covenant fleet to rescue a "Package". This short is awesome because it starts off with a kick-ass space battle, gets you hyped up with a sweet guns-a-blazing race, and ends with a cool cameo appearance. It defiantly makes Halo fans feel like they at least got SOMETHING good out of this catastrophe. And then there are the rest of the shorts... "The Babysitter" is about a small squad of ODST soldiers who work together with a Spartan, who doesn't seem think that TALKING TO YOUR SQUAD is all that important, who are on a mission to assassinate one of the Prophets. This has really boring animation, really stupid characters, and no real redeeming features. When we find out at the end that the Spartan is actually a woman, I get no real shock. Who cares if she's a woman? We get to see the "main" character of the short, who greatly disliked the Spartan, suddenly have a change of heart because, hey, I may not like Spartans, but I can't hate a woman! "The Duel" is a like it or hate it segment. I REALLY didn't like it because of the portrayal of the Elites. It focuses on an Arbiter who is accused of Heresy, so his wife (yes, his WIFE, we get to see what female Elites look like, and let's just say, they don't look anything like Elites IMO) is killed, and he takes out a whole god-damn army of Covenant soldiers by himself. I guess what really irked me about this was how they made the Elites live in some kind of Japanese-inspired environment, wearing really uncharacteristic clothing. It just bothered me, even though I know it's a really petty thing to get upset over. "Homecoming" is a boring pile of crap. It follows a Spartan named Daisy (ugh) who keeps having flashbacks about how she was recruited to be a Spartan in the first place. Omg, where do I start? First off, the kick-ass super-soldiers are portrayed as scrawny, angsty teens who need to serious get on some steroids, and the dialogue is all junk, sounding more like it came out of some cruddy shoujo anime than out of a HALO TRIBUTE. And the little symbolic teddy-bear key chain thing made me want to gag. And to top it all off, the animation was a major bore. "Prototype" even though I kind of did like this one, because it had really good editing, voice acting, animation, and use of music, it just didn't seem like it had anything to do with Halo to me. It felt like more of an original segment from some mecha anime than a Halo tribute. It does a good job of making to feel sorry for the character and all, but by the end of it, all you can think of is, "oh yeah, right, this is about Halo, isn't it?" "Odd One Out" is a parody. This is this worst bag of garbage I have ever seen! Why the Hell would someone make a PARODY of Halo in a collection of SERIOUS SHORTS? I don't care if it's appropriately title "Odd One Out," it's not funny, it has horrible animation, the main character is UNBELIEVABLY annoying, and it serves no significance whatsoever to the whole project. There may be one or two jokes that are actually a little funny, but it doesn't cover up the fact that this is one of the most insulting things they could have added. All in all, you may enjoy this if you're an anime fan, and, you know, you're stupid, but I suggest to fans of the Games to watch Origins I, Origins II, The Package, and maybe Prototype on the internet or something. Don't waste your money on the whole shebang.

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• Shouldn't disappoint any Halo fan. Satisfying experience altogether.

  markus_spain2010-12-27

  I will tell you about every episode and what it's all about. As a big fan of the series I found many things in almost every episode that made me pleased. First of all, I don't understand people who complain about Halo Legend's animation styles or anything related to the fact its animated. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the movie itself, only that not all like animation in the first place. I've always loved the Halo series and I regard myself as a big fan. For a long time I waited for some kind of Halo-related movie that would tell me more about the Halo universe and its history, show Spartans kick some butt, introduce me to other Spartans than John-117 and reveal their mysterious origins and have some comedic relief. Well, that's what I got when I found Halo Legends. ORIGINS: I was pleased to learn about the history of Halo universe. Many "gaps" in my knowledge were filled in. Throghout time I've wondered what kind of weapons the Halos were, and I was satisfied to see it here. These episodes were informative and epic, thanks to familiar music from Halo series. And especially in the Origins II, Cortana is hot. Now that's what you call a bonus. THE DUEL: The artistic value of The Duel is enormous. At first it might feel a bit weird, but let me tell you: It gets better each second. The Duel introduces you more to the world of the Covenant and that there are very humane sides to elites. It also reveals why the "Arbiter" rank is so disgraced in the Halo series. Action's beyond my wildest dreams. HOMECOMING: I loved being introduced to how the Spartan soldiers are "made". There is Halo action, well-written tragic moments and, well, I don't have to wonder anymore why/how the Spartans are so "cold" soldiers and such war machines. ODD ONE OUT: This episode was very good. Not at all corny comedy, I was really amused! And about it being an "insult" to the series, that is just a bunch of B.S.. I'm not the kind of guy who sees a human in a fictional comedy jumping 20ft. in the air and gets angry like "that's not possible!". You just don't have to take it dead-serious. Spartan Thirteen thirty-seven is hilarious. I would like to see more of his adventures.. PROTOTYPE: Kind of lame on the story, comes off to me as a cliché. Its cool to see some explosions and fast action, but it didn't feel as important or interesting as all the other fights with Spartans or ODST. Prototype didn't even tell anything about the Halo universe and feels out of place, but still can be enjoyed as a short action flick. BABYSITTER: This one tells about an ODST squad and a Spartan on a mission to assassinate a Covenant Prophet on a planet full of aliens. If that didn't catch your attention, nothing will. Good action, Spartan shows off and makes every Halo-fan smile and there's a unique twist at the end which I personally liked. It only raises the question what have the Spartans gone through? THE PACKAGE: I don't think anyone will deny, this is the best part of Halo Legends. Fantastic opening flight scene that puts the opening of Star Wars3 to shame, awesome explosions, beautiful "choreography" during fights, FPS, it's frigging HALO. Nothing really disappointed me as a big fan to the series. Halo Legends satisfied my hunger for knowledge about the Halo universe, Spartan action, cool death scenes, comedy and more.

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