Alexander Senki

It really all depends on if you liked "Aeon Flux" or not. If you did, then you'll love "Reign" or "Alexander". If you didn't like "Aeon Flux", then you won't. I stumbled onto "Reign" and was immediately taken by it (yeah, I loved "Aeon Flux"). As with "Aeon Flux", it is a bit cryptic at times, but the mashing together of the ideas of Alexander the Great, the great thinkers of the past and the Sci-Fi and fantasy elements were great and very engaging. The depth of the scenery and character design are amazing. My only disappointment was that it ended with only 13 episodes -- at least, that all that aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

This maybe one of the most underrated cartoons of all time. If your are a fan of Aeon Flux. Then you should love this show. The art style of "Reign" is beautiful. Very unique and creative. Not like any other anime out their. Unlike other cartoons, "Reign" has a deep story. After watching one show, you'll want too see another. The plot is alittle too complex at times. But that doesn't matter because everything gets explained throughout the show. You get a feeling of real personality in each character (Good/Bad/Evil). The fight scenes are graphic and slick.

If you're use too cheesy Anime. Then this might not be the show for you. You'll just have too go back to you're Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network. This is how adult cartoons should be. I could only wish their was more.

The Plot (the chronology of the tale, and the way it goes around the Greek world of that time in its philosophy and vision of world and life) of this animation meets the big cycle of Death and rebirth, the need of destruction for a new generation. The Hero, who's demons are his fate of war and thirst of conquest, doesn't doubt about himself when he finally realizes that he's only following a natural impulse, the motive, the energy that (according to Sandor Marai's novel "A Gyertyak Csonkig Egnek") is born in each person and dies when the goal is done. Alexander also died young, at his 32 years old. The oracles, the characters: warriors, assasains, philosophers, they all worship and hate, build, protect, and try to kill the Hero, or as he sees himself, a God. This animation is worth to see for the wonderful sequences of war, psychological conflicts in each character, and the raise of a King: the retelling of the History through the vision of mysticism, Fate, and the natural and necessary Cycle of Life: death and Rebirth.

The English Title of this movie is Reign: The Conqueror

Reign: the Conqeror would have to be the most interesting take I have ever seen on this Historical Figure.

Like Berserk, each episode starts with a voice over introducing the "philosophy" behind that episode and it also has a great Theme song and Score composed by Techno legend Dj Milky.

The creators of Reign took a different approach to handling their version of Alexandar the Great and chose a Sci-Fi/Fantasy approach to the movie. The scriptwriters also weaved in real life characters like Aristotle, Ptolemy, Olympia, Plato etc into the storyline quite well and the script is a thousand times better than the one used by Oliver Stone for his live action version.

While I cannot vouch for the Japanese version I can say that the English version was very well done and thoroughly enjoyable.

If you like movies that are strong on both Fact and Fantasy and that are backed up with a strong plot then you will love this anime.

...in which the art dominates the story. Imagine if Salvador Dali drew a comic book, ha! I bought this series on dvd when it came out, being a Peter Chung fan, and loved the art, but not the story. IMO the writers tried to cram too much ancient Greek philosophy/geometry into the story, distracting from Alexander. Also the very long intro disrupts the flow between episodes. Despite these flaws, I find it a fantastic and fascinating experience. But after rewatching the series, I decided next time I'll turn the sound down, and listen to Joe Satriani while watching, ha! The artwork really is amazing, like a cross between Dali, El Greco, and the great French sci-fi fantasy comics of the 60's and 70's, like Druillet and Moebius, with costumes from Marvel's comic The Inhumans. A very imaginative, creative, and I think unique anime. Worth checking out if you can find it.