Regular Price $29.98

Starring: Joshua Seth,  Dorothy Elias-Fahn,  Steven Jay Blum,  Dave Mallow,  Wendee Lee, 
Directed By: Toshiaki Kawasaki, 
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Adv Films
Format: Animated,  Color,  Dubbed,  DVD-Video,  Subtitled,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

Amazon.com
Based on a popular video game, Arc the Lad is a curious amalgam of contemporary and medieval elements. Teenage Elk is a Hunter, a member of the guild of bounty hunters, who perform daring deeds for cash rewards. As a child, Elk saw his parents killed and his village burned; he believes Arc was responsible for those crimes--and for the experiments at "White House" that transform kids with special powers into grotesque, shape-shifting chimeras. (Elk has the power to summon fire to destroy his enemies.) When he rescues the passengers on a hijacked blimp, he meets Lieza, a sniveling girl who can communicate with the monster, Pandit. With the aid of his mentor, Shu, Elk protects Lieza, both from his cloddish fellow-bounty hunters and the grisly chimeras that stalk the city--perhaps at Arc's command. Although they wear costumes that recall the Middle Ages, Elk and Shu pass through the modern city of Prodias. The Mayor and his assistant Mr. Clive are plotting against Lieza, and their sinister henchmen are sure to provide Elk with adversaries in future episodes. The characters may be stock anime types, but Arc the Lad offers plenty of swashbuckling adventure. Parental guidance suggested: suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, grisly imagery, minor profanity, and nudity. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews for Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

Arc the Lad is a very good show! I highly recommend it!
This show is very good. I suggest you read up on it before you buy anything so you know all the facts. I really like it, I bought all six volumes on video. It is rated for ages 15+ so it's not anything for your little brother. There is some gore but it doesn't bother me ( I watched it with my mom, she's not that into anime but she says she likes this show). At a point in the story the main character Elk will seem to go crazy (volumes 4 to 5) but I still suggest that you buy them. I don't blame him as everyone important in his life is dead. Don't worry though, he snaps out of it just in time to help his friends defeat the evil threatening the fate of the world. The last tape is the best of the set. There are some familiar voices (the character Clive is voiced by Ethan Murray, the guy who does the American Express commercials). The other voice actors are very good. The intro is almost classical music (trumpets, etc.) and the ending song "Happy Tomorrow" is very good. It changes to "Rest In Peace" as you get towards the end of the season and will change back to "Happy Tomorrow" for the last episode. The story is a little gloomy as the world where the characters live is full of violence and the fate of the world is on their shoulders. If evil can open the arc then all is doomed. The show is great and I would like to spread the word!Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

Forget this show
The main character is Elk and he is part of a group of adventurers. The animation is a decidedly a cute young style and it's pretty good looking, but the monsters are gruesome and terrible, so parents should be warned.

There is some action in the first two episodes on the airship, but not the third. The dialog was lousy, and I didn't care about the characters. The plot was really dumb and slow. The story doesn't grab you in and the music is bad. The intro doesn't really give you a right impression of what the show is really about. Lieza is a stereotypical helpless female, who has some special powers to talk to animals. The characters are clichéd and there's really no DVD special features. Overall I was dissatisfied.

I wouldn't recommend Arc the Lad to anyone. A similar show that is done much better is Escaflowne.Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

pretty darn good
Arc the lad is a good anime just to watch on an evening when there's nothing to do. Don't expect to get super invovled in the plot like you do in princess mononoke and don't expect non stop action But still it has great characters perect voice overs mystery and some okay action.
I probably sdound like I'm critising it more than I'm complimenting it. I personaly loved this movie but ninja scroll fans will probably be disappointed.
One more thing. It says on the back of the cover that its for ages 15+. Personaly I think it's for ages 8+. There's a tad of blood a tad of swearing and some violence. It's not even half as bad as princess mononoke.Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

Worth the purchase!!!
These days, movies that are Action/Adventure tend to focus more on the "Action" and leaves out the "Adventure". What I really liked about this anime is that it has both -- along with a solid story. In terms of storytelling and pacing, it's a mix between a PRINCESS MONONOKE, NADIA: SECRET OF THE BLUE WATER, and BATTLE ANGEL. The pace is not as action-oriented in the first few episodes, and the series itself is not wall-to-wall NINJA SCROLL action, but there's enough excitement and of different types -- supernatural powers, swordfights, guns, and aerial dogfighting. It's not the most romantic movie or the most deep, but what's great about it is that it has a little of everything all throughout, which really touches your heart. ARC THE LAD numbers among COWBOY BEBOP, GASARAKI, and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION as one of the few anime series that I have to get the COMPLETE set.Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)

Based on the Playstation games, "Arc" has a lot of potential
Arc the Lad, the animated series follows the story line of the first two Playstation RPGs, which will soon be released in the US in one huge collection. Until then, ADV gives us this first volume of the anime series, and while it didn't draw me in, it's certainly a step above most anime series based on video games.

Arc the Lad follows Elk, a young "Hunter" (apperantly short for Bounty Hunter) and his master, Shu, who saved Elk's life at a young age. Elk vows to one day hunt down Arc, a mysterious man with a huge bounty on his head who supposedly killed Elk's parents. The first episode starts with Arc and another Hunter trying to save an Airship from a hijacker. In my opinion, the first episode could've easily been turned into 10 minutes. Instead, the first 15 minutes start out pretty slowly, and then suddenly during the last 5 minutes, things start to speed up.

A major complain of mine would be the episode length, 21 minutes. This is absolutely awful. With only three episodes on the disc, this DVD barely lasts an hour... for 60 minutes of video was fine a few years ago, but now it's just insulting.

Animation & Video: Absolutely excellent. This series is only a few years old, so it looks excellent in both animation and video quality. While the quality certainly isn't that of an OVA series, the animation is fluid with a lot of cels used. The transfer is mostly excellent; In fact, I noticed virtually no problems. This is simply a great looking DVD.

Music & Audio: The opening and ending themes sound absolutely great, as does all dialogue and music inside the show. I noticed no problems here either. I'd also like to mention the English dub, which I must say is by far one of ADV's best jobs. All the voices fit very well with the characters, and I congratulate them on a job well done. The dub is very enjoyable to listen to with none of the ADV-type extras with annoying voices.

Extras: What extras?

The Good: Great Video and Animation; Superb dub

The Bad: First volume is a bit boring; Only 3 episodes on the first disc, instead of the standard 4; ... the episodes are only 21 minutes in length each.

This series has a lot of potential to be great, but the first volume of "Arc" might disappoint a lot of people unless it starts to improve quickly, and ADV puts more of it on each DVD.Arc the Lad - Hunters and Monsters (Vol. 1)