Silent Möbius Collection 2: Twists of Fate (1998)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Kia Asamiya
Directed by Hideki Tonokatsu

Features:

• Mini-comic
  
• Clean ending
  
• Reversible cover
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Scary monsters
• Violence
• Relationship angst
• Betrayal
• Nasty family strife

Released by: Bandai
Region: 1
Rating: 13+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Get it!

When last we left the heroes of Silent Möbius, the war against the Lucifer Hawks was becoming harder and harder with no sign of victory. Katsumi learns a bit about why the Lucifer Hawks are after her, and it’s not at all what she thought, or even hoped, it would be. Roy continues attempting to have a relationship with her, even knowing her parentage, but Katsumi has begun to question what she knows about herself and her world. We also learn more about Rally and her sister Rosa, as well as what really happened when Gigelf acted to unleash the Lucifer Hawks.

These episodes do a great job of keeping the action moving, while not neglecting character development just because we know who everyone is by now. There are plenty of twists and surprises, and even a few plot innovations to the sci-fi/horror anime genre. The tension between the Lucifer Hawk half of characters and the human half is getting more interesting. The characters are all wrestling with some serious ethical issues, with each other and with their place in the world, which makes for some dynamic characterization and some interesting ways to view the action on the screen. Each character, as before, gets some good screen time, making the fans of any and all characters happy.

The audio quality is good, and while the Japanese cast is a bit more skilled in bringing out the characters’ personalities here, the English cast does a great job of creating a persona to match the visuals on the screen. The music and soundtrack are also very well done. The art and video quality is pretty good here, too, though the first couple of episodes were noticeably crisper than these are. Good, just not outstanding.

The features are nice, if not overwhelming. We get a nifty reversible DVD cover, a mini-comic that shows off the graphic novels Viz carries, and a textless ending. It would have been nice to have had a few more goodies given that this set includes two discs; there would have been room for some specials. On the other hand, for a relatively low price, we are getting two discs and almost four hours of anime.

In short, if you like science-fiction or horror, then you’ll enjoy Silent Möbius. The plot is creative without being weird for sake of being different, and it combines good, deep characters with interesting action and complex villains. There are solid female leads here, as well, who are strong and smart without being alienating to male viewers, and there are also some good male characters who reach beyond the usual bishonen or "older wise male" prototypes. Check it out today, and you’ll be glad you did.