Archetypes Forces Review

story 9/10

It is true that Archetypes Forces is only 15 minutes in length, but I am not exageratting when I say that the storyline is superb. Think of it like being in the vein of Alien, or some other thriller sci-fi flick. It's difficult to say what it's about without spoiling (the description above doesn't spoil, trust me), so I'd suggest NOT reading the AnimeNFO description. I will say that there is a really big twist at the end which is open ended, but still totally satisfying (I say that as a person who HATES open ended things). Honestly, it would have been great without the twist too... lots of creepy monsters (I won't say how they are related, but I will need to mention them because of the visuals section anyways), a neat spaceship, and just a great sci-fi plot in general. Short and maybe shallow? Yes. Interesting idea for a plot? Absolutely.

animation 8/10

The absolutely horrendous excuses for "reviews" at AnimeNFO all seem to talk about how awful the graphics are in this short OVA. I'll start by saying that this is 100% CG, and yes, parts of it are not that great. Only one part, really, the characters. Although at times, they look fairly real, most of the time they appear to be a bit misshapen. Eyes, for example, are as large as the mouth, taking up a lot of the upper part of the face. The bodies appear to be almost childlike compared to the heads. Movement also (of the humans only) is not very fluid or realistic looking at times. Definitely the low point of the animation.

BUT, that being said, the REST of the animation is great! There are two things that are used that make the CG a success: the lighting on everything (including explosions, reflections off the monsters, etc), and the camera panning effects that really make you think you are watching a movie. For example, the camera pans sideways and around a corridor, to give you the impression of how dire it is to be running away from what is running down it. Truly, the monsters steal the show. Anything that looks like a giant porcelain baby head with giant snakes in it has to be good, especially since the CG really give it depth and scariness. The robot space suits look real, and move/jump down the hallways with ease that looks genuine. Like I said, the ONLY part about the animation that is questionable are the human characters. The rest is fantastic, and I don't understand why people say otherwise.

sound 8/10

Most music is generic, and uninteresting. Other times, music is chosen that compliments the tone and feel of the series. This was one of those. The majority of the time, there is no music, just creepy sound effects. When there is music, it's a synthesized techno type beat, which fits VERY well with the thriller/sci-fi feel that's going on. Truly a compliment to the series, though not so overwhelming that it overpowers the action.

characters 7/10

It's hard to rate this section, due to how short the OVA was, combined with how non-character driven the plot was. In general, the people fit their roles well, but I think the twist at the end is what made the score be higher than average in this case. Without spoiling, I'll just say that the character development aspect goes way up in the last few seconds of the viewing. ;)

overall 8.5/10

I really, really enjoyed this. Sci-fi and horror is my favorite, so maybe that helped with the score, but I really felt like I was watching a cross between Alien, Blue Gender, or any other great sci-fi thing I've watched in the past. The story was actually thrilling, and that's unusual for me! The animation, while sometimes flawed, still pulls through, leaving you with a visual and auditory thrill ride of an experience, in only 15 short minutes. I'd check this one out if you like this sort of thing!