The Animated Alias: Tribunal

This short, featured on the third season set of Alias, J.J. Abrams' hit spy show, details something that may very well have happened during the course of the show... and it's presented in a crisp visual style, the way only something animated could look. It's more like a living comic book than the show, as noticed by both my fiancée and I. The animation is quite good, complete with fairly realistic-looking effects and possibly even 3D CGI. It seems to be, or at least to get inspiration from, Animé. The title features Jennifer Garner's voice, and both she and Terry O'Quinn appear on-screen in an introductory clip. The action is good, and the way it's done wasn't bad. The pace was a really good part of this... it moves as it should, pretty much all the way through. The writing varies... not all the lines are great, and I'm not sure the narration is necessary. Some things are too vague, others are spelled out too much. The plot unfolds fine. As far as overall writing goes, it doesn't at any point reach the level of intricacy of the show itself, but it never seems to aspire to. It's more of a story in the universe of Alias... maybe Abrams wanted to do something in animation(taking a note from the Wachowski brothers?), I don't know. It's not bad, and for the fans, it can be a nice enough treat. It's not a vital piece of Alias canon, but it may work as an attempt at filling a void some fans might have felt the show left at one point. I recommend it to fans of the show(it will make no sense whatsoever if you haven't watched enough of it... the set on which it is located is something of a hint) who enjoy Animé and/or want to watch all they can of Alias... even if it's not live action. 7/10