Halo Legends

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.

Halo Legends Review

Video Games are growing rapidly as a medium, and in turn the games are growing larger in their own respects. An example of one of these franchises is Halo. While to many it's just a series of shooter games, it actually has a complex story arch and an incredibly vast universe. Halo Legends explores this aspect of the series through animated shorts. These shorts vary from more serious and dramatic pieces, to more light-hearted shorts. While there is certainly room for improvement, Halo Legends can certainly hold its own as a great staple of the Halo franchise. Each short is directed by a different director that is well known for their skill in animation. The project was led by Frank O'Connor, the creative head of the Halo Franchise. Some of the other directors include Shinji Aramaki, Hideki Futamura, Toshiyuki Kan'no, and Yasushi Muraki. The shorts feature many voice actors, including Josh Grelle, Greg Ayres, Luci Christian, and David Matranga.

Halo Legends allows the viewer to explore the expanse that is the Halo universe from multiple different perspectives. These perspectives vary from an Arbiter struggling with the conflict between his beliefs and the beliefs of his superiors, to a squad of ODSTs (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) following a Spartan on a mission to take out a prophet.

None of these scenarios seem too far-fetched. They all feel at home in the Halo universe, and for the most part it seems as though the directors did their research. Having different directors for each short was the right call. It gives each short a distinctive voice, and makes each perspective feel unique. Something else that I enjoyed about the shorts were the animation styles. Each short has its own distinct style of animation, to help create the unique atmosphere of each short. The animation is beautiful in its own respect, but it also helps accomplish the goal of setting the atmosphere quite effectively. One short, The Duel, fell short in this. The animation itself was fine, but there was a filter over the whole short. This made the short look blurry, and it became annoying to watch after a while. A creative decision that I feel was intelligent was the decision to use the pre-existing Halo score instead of writing new music for the shorts. It helped make the shorts feel more at home in the Halo universe, and gives the viewers who are familiar with the Halo franchise a greater emotional response. That, and the Halo score is some of the greatest music ever written. An issue that I had with the film was how some of the directors ignored integral aspects of the Halo lore. I have previously stated that the directors did their research, which is a statement I stand by, but there were a few moments that left me puzzled. The most obvious examples of this are when certain characters interact that could never have been able to interact based off of the previously established lore.

All in all, Halo Legends is a great film. The directors took great care in producing stories that fit well into the Halo cannon, and it holds up as an animation regardless. That being said, there were some creative decisions that were detrimental to the overall quality of the film. While my opinion may be biased, I would give Halo Legends a solid 7.5/10.

HALO Legends is like Batman: Gotham Knight and The Animatrix in that it is a anthology movie that contains eight episodes chronicling the much beloved HALO video game universe. The tales told include (but are not limited to): A soldier with no emotion fighting off Covenant forces in a badass power armor suit, a group of ODST's and a SPARTAN assassinating a Prophet, the origin of The Flood and The Forerunners, and a SPARTAN down on his luck. All of the episodes are well animated, containing some breathtaking moments, and the many action scenes are pure eye candy. The dialogue is well penned and well voiced, with the strongest episode being the origins of the SPARTAN program. However, the one episode that really sticks out in a "not so god" kind of way is the one about the unlucky SPARTAN, in that it tries to be all jokey and stuff. Problem is, not all of the jokes are funny. But despite the one episode being mediocre, the rest of the episodes are incredible and should be seem by anime fans, and if you are a HALO fan like me this is a must buy.

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.

Content: Most of the Halo Legends movies give a very poor representation of the Halo universe.(based on the books& games) Of the 7, origins one and two are the strongest, giving a good background story. The package has nothing to do with halo, but is an excuse to show off nice graphics. Odd one out is ridiculous. The Babysitter is third closest to the story. Spartans do not talk during missions, and do not try to be cool. The story represents this well, although it is unlikely the spartan female is so feminine looking. Prototype is nice story wise, but unrelated to halo. The dual storyline may or may not be close, but I found it the least interesting to watch. Graphics: The package is the strongest in this respect. Origins 1 + 2, the babysitter, prototype and the package have similar graphics which are in line with Japanese anime. They look average. Odd one out and the dual are the least strong in this respect. Music: Origins one and two stand out as true halo music. The rest are generally good but not exceptional. Overall: Overall disappointing. I would have liked to see stories which represent the Spartans as they truly were. Highly professional soldiers who put the mission before everything else, who do not say cool stuff, but have above all an inner strength which allows them to win. They do not look like heroes(being in that armor after brutal modifications), except for their physique. The anime is reasonable, but nothing exceptional.