Rockman EXE
JC

Here's the Pitch:

Based off the hit Game Boy Advance game and the latest alternative universe of the Rockman franchise, Rockman.EXE follows Netto and his Net Navi, Rockman, as they attempt to foil the evil mechinations of the demented Dr. Wily and his dastardly cyber-gang.

The Story:

In the not too distant future everyone is online. The World Wide Web is surfed by use of PErsonal Terminals called, PETs and artificially intelligent virtual friends called, Net Navis.

In this alternate Rockman World, a boy named Netto(Lan to you GBA owners) strives to be the best in digital competitions called, Net Battles, where Net Navis go head to head in virtual showdowns to the finish. Each Navi has its strengths and weaknesses, but the edge is given in the form of Battle Chips(digital weapon upgrades sent by way of collectable data disks).

The plot kicks in to high gear when Netto recieves a much needed upgrade, to his often outmatched Standard Net Navi, from his father who happens to be a world reknowned scientist. Netto wastes no time to load the upgrade and in the middle of the night the upload finishes and his Navi's reformatted into.... Rockman!

What follows is a light hearted fast paced techno-adventure as Rockman and Netto attempt to avert a series of suspicious accidents orchestrated by the mysterious World Three orginazation, who's lead by none other than Rockman's signature villian, Dr. Wily!

Netto, Rockman and their friends are thrust to the front liine of defense against Wily and his gang of cyber-criminals. The reward for victory is the saftey and stability of the internet. The price of failur: total... system... crash!

The Animation:

It's the impressive new cel-shaded animation that's so hot nowdays, baring a striking resemblence to the level of quality found in the collector anime, Digimon. Scenes shot in the internet have more of a blatant CGI look, remenicent of the film classic Tron with an anime sheen to it. The mesh of the two different styles work seemlessly and hardly, if ever, look or feel jarring. Fight scenes, I feel, are a step above Digimon and come closer in comparison to they hyper-martial art choreography style of Medabots. Those familiar with that collector anime series know this to be a definate good thing. Design of the characters and the world around capture the look and feel of the video game comletely and lovely. Fans need not worry about losing anything in the transition of medium. Overall, the quality ranks just above average. I'd give it a B+

My Opinion:

Rockman.EXE is a collector anime, akin to what one might get if you combined Digimon and Medabots. Digimon in the style of animation, it's use of the digital world as the plane of combat, and that the story revolves, mainly, around the bond developed between Navi and User. It resembles Medabots in the respects of its hyper-martial art choreography and that wins hinge largely on "all" of the aresenal of rare battle chips that a given team's "gotta catch" througout the series.

This isn't for everyone. Much like its collector anime brethren, Rockman.EXE is geared more toward the young audience demographic. Still, to the wealth of Digimon fans I know, this attribute doesn't phase them in the least. So, if you happen to be a fan of collector anime or of the GBA game itself, this series will not disappoint.

Install, Rockman.EXE! TRANSMIT!

<< Keith "JC" Hayward >>