Mongolian Chop Squad: Box Set [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

In many ways I shouldn't give 'Beck' more than four stars. Objectively that's what it's earned, and yet...? So, yeah, Beck five stars, what the hell? Why five stars? I guess there's two answers to that, the first is the answer based on potential to move the viewer emotionally, by that criteria it's pretty simple, Beck is great. By the second notion I'm judging by a complex mixing up of that potential, with style, shere enjoyment and a desire for more shows of this type. With that sort of evaluation it's far more difficult to be accurate and fair, even on sober reflection I have to give it 5 stars, because it moves me and I can appreciate its style and the pleasure it brings in equal measure. Here then is the question, if I do I love Beck? And hell yes I do, then... Why? In terms of basic plot, Beck is not particularly special: a seemingly ordinary kid, through a chance encounter, discovers that he has an extraordinary gift for music. He practises and practises and practises playing the guitar until he becomes good enough that he's invited to join his new friend's band. From there we're treated to all the elements of the hero's journey, humble beginnings, slow rise, troubles encountered and overcome, humiliations, potential break up, until the ultimate triumph. Indeed in Beck this journey is never fully finished, and yet, I still hold it in the highest esteem. I revere Beck this highly because in the ground it does cover it manages it as well if not better than anything else on the market of this type, and because the show functions as a love letter to rock music from the 1960s through to the current times. The Beatles, The Stones, The Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, they and another dozen like them are all here, if you have the wit to look. And I loved every second of it. The music itself is gorgeous. Gorgeous, extravagant, baroque and utterly entrancing. I honestly can't think of another series where I have adored the stages through which the protagonists go on their journey to the same degree as I do in this production. In this show there are little character moments, which are so grounded in real human behaviour that they feel totally natural. It gives the twelve or so hours of Beck the feeling of a high quality indie film, rather than your standard, slice of life anime. I could go on extolling Beck's virtues, but honesty compels me to have a look at the flip side. First, the animation is spotty at best and downright poor at worst. Secondly, both sub and dub have certain problems, in the sub the singing voice of Koyuki is subpar, where as in the dub, Maho, the female lead, has a great singing voice but her acting is not up to scratch. (While Brina Palencia manages the character's sassiness, she's poor at the more tender, romantic elements) There are several other places where this happens. Over all though, I vastly prefer the dub, which is not a usual occurrence. Finally and worst of all, the series just isn't finished. The extended epilogue of a final episode atempts to hide the huge swathes of material that the studio either didn't have the budget to cover and or felt were unnecessary. God's this is so disappointing. I wish all of it was here, I'd have adored seeing the details of their American tour, their Japanese tour, their cutting of a full scale album and their rise to global stardom. Yes it would have doubled the length of the series, but given how good it already is, you can only imagine the triumph that would have made it. However, that didn't happen. With all these flaws I still give Beck a five star rating, not because it's perfect and not because it is a unique product, but, rather, because it takes an old formulae and presents it to us in a manner which grips me, in my mind, heart and soul and squeezes till I had not one single drop of emotion left to spare. I love this series in a manner I can barely think of the words describe and definitely more than than almost any other anime, so I'll leave off writing this review with one of Beck's own song titles: watching the series is the absolute' finest and enjoyable 'Brainstorm' you could possibly imagine.

If you like music, anime and watching the main person develop and learn who they are, then this is a fab series :D

This is a great series with good quality subs up until the greatful sound part where Funimation royally screwed up and out and out replaced the lyrics, vocals and subs to "I've got a a feeling" which well and truly peeved me off prompting me to quit out of episodes 23 and 24 to watch the fansubs which thankfully have the audio intact. This is not the first case of funimation screwing up something but it is the first case of them out and out changing the audio and subs and at a pivitol point in the anime. to this point I'm glad i held onto the fansubs I downloaded. I even bought the soundtrack to this anime which is something that never happens unless i really like something to warrant it which also contains the unchanged audio. http://bestanimes.tv/beck-episode-23/ go here to see the unaltered version of the song

one of the best dubs for an anime out there, with great music and an interesting story line. this is a good buy, the dvd was fine and dilivery was fine.

A great series, very happy with the fast shipping and perfect condition it came in. Worth every penny.

"Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad" is easily one of the finest animated series I've ever watched. In many ways, it may actually be the best. I don't believe I've ever seen a work of fiction that captures the energy, emotion, and passion of rock music in a more authentic way. Every person who had a hand in creating this show and bringing it to America should be extremely proud of themselves. If you've ever truly loved music, then don't hesitate to check this show out. Koyuki is a puny, shy typical geek with no passion in his life at all until the day he meets a jacked-up dog named Beck. The dog's owner happens to be a shining star of the local rock scene and introduces him to a band named Dying Breed. It changes his life. The pop idol fanatic is instantly struck and begins learning to play guitar. It will be one hell of a journey. Beck's owner Ryusuke's (Ray for short) band has just fallen apart and the wannabe pro is on the lookout for the members to build "the ultimate band". Koyuki tags along and immerses himself in the local music scene, meeting Ray's gorgeous, charming, jet-setting sister Maho, who is a singer. The two hit it off, and the relationship will have it's ups, down, and hot and cold spots throughout the series. Eventually, the band BECK comes to be with a ragtag lineup that is impossible to resist. Ryusuke: the hot-as-lava lead guitar phenom. Taira: the ice cold pro on the bass. Chiba: local maniac with a rap-influenced vocal delivery on the mic whipping crowds into a frenzy. Saku: self-taught drummer and Koyuki's backbone. Koyuki: green as grass beginner whose vulnerable rhythm guitar and emotional singing will make BECK a sensation....if they can stay together. The cast of characters in the is series is amazing. There's even a rockin' cockatoo ( I call him a rockatoo) who shrieks "A$ZHOOOOOLE!!!!" constantly. Gotta love that. Each character is brought to life in the art, animation, and performances as lovingly as each beautiful musical instrument featured in the show. And once you see the close-ups of Ray's bullet-ridden Les Paul (which has a wild subplot all its own), you will see the artists are very much in love with guitars. I can relate. If there is a single weak spot in "Beck", it's the anime cliche of a romance that never goes anywhere. I don't know how these things go in Japan, but where I come from, you don't only kiss a girl twice in three years and pretend nothing's there when there's almost instant electricity between you and nothing to stop you. There are other love interests, but they never go anywhere meaningful either. I was really excited by the prospect of a more mature look at romance from a show that is extremely mature in every other sense, but it didn't pan out that way. But I can say that I was pretty riveted by the whole thing which is to say that even the one negative turns into a positive when the storytelling is as effective as this show's and the characters are so fantastic. Honestly, I was amazed at how realistically the music scene in "Beck" is portrayed. Anybody who has been in a band or had friends in bands and sat in on practices and gone to the local gigs should be floored by how the whole vibe is captured so perfectly. This show was very obviously created not only by music fans, but by serious musicians. It brought back a ton of great memories for me and made me wish more then I have in years and years that I had had the talent and commitment to start a band. Some of the best music you've ever heard is likely being played in front of a dozen or so drunks a few blocks from your house in a garage or bar and the band will probably break up with only a select few ever knowing how great they were together. That's the scene that this show portrays and the cast of characters could have come from any city in the world. It's ridiculously relatable. After a staggering series of events "Beck" eventually climaxes at Japan's biggest music festival in one of the greatest performances I've ever seen from a band. And considering this band is animated and I couldn't begin to count how many non-animated performances I've watched that is saying a hell of a lot. The energy and passion is just amazing and I couldn't even stay in my seat; I really felt like I was watching a legendary performance from an amazing rock band. I've never, ever gotten that from a television show, live action or not. BECK hit it out of the park. I was sad to see it end and I can't wait to watch it all again and again. The English dub on the American DVD's is better then the Japanese track. I said it. It's true. While the subtitles are a more literal translation and much of the dialogue is actually in English which leads to some issues with characters who speak different languages speaking the same language on the dub, the American cast, writers, and producers did a phenomenal job at punching up the dialogue to sound very natural and adding a lot of extra swear words to boot. Some may take offense, but the fact is that's how these sorts of people talk so it only adds to the realism in the end. There are some commentaries with the cast that are completely off-the-wall insane as well. Almost as funny as the show is. Each disc also has a BECK music video, all of which are sweet as hell. "Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad" is everything an anime should be. It's anything any show can strive for. It strikes every chord perfectly, lays down a beat that'll make you want to follow it anywhere, and screams "WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU!" At the top of it's lungs. It ain't lying, either. It's jam-packed with references to legendary bands and even has some cameos. The band shares a dream at one point featuring the likes of John Lennon, Sid Vicious, and Freddy Mercury among others. If you love rock music and are open in any way to animated entertainment then there is no excuse to pass this by. And yeah, the music ROCKS. Japan is seriously kicking our a$z right now.

It was such a relief to see realistic struggles in music industry and friendships. Great movie great music recommended for all music lovers

One of my favorite genres in film, television, and even books is the coming of age story; the main reason I fell in love with Mongolian Chop Squad is how elegantly it handles this classic story. Most anime you watch has some angsty teenager develop some crazy power that they use to fight some bad guy on a regular basis, and maybe they have some wacky sidekicks team up with them every now and then. But this show has nothing to do with the supernatural; it's a grounded story of a young man who comes to befriend some aspiring rock and rollers, even becoming one himself. This is a story in which a down on his luck kid finds friends and fame as a musician; it may be a cartoon but when you get down to it, this story feels unmistakably real. Our main protagonist is one Yukio Tanaka, known to his friends as "Koyuki." He's 14 at the start of the series, and he deals with the issues many of us dealt with at that age; bullies, academic pressure, not quite fitting in, etc. However, his life changes for the better when he meets Ryusuke Minami, an aspiring rock musician who has returned to Japan after spending most of his childhood in New York City. Koyuki also develops a crush on Ryusuke's younger sister Maho; the two share a chemistry and rapport that feels genuine, something you can't say for too many anime couples. Koyuki comes to discover he is a talented singer and guitarist, so Ryusuke recruits him for his fledgling rock band "Beck". (In case you're wondering, they change the name to Mongolian Chop Squad when they come to the States because of a well known recording artist of the same name.) The show focuses largely on music (they are in a band) and I must say, much of it is pretty damn awesome. From the opening track to the closing song and everything in between, the many songs performed in the show suck you in and keep you entertained. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the dub voice actors are quite pleasant to hear sing; the first thing I heard Greg Ayres in was Deadman Wonderland, and I had no idea he could pull off some of these vocals. The soul of this show lies in its music, and it most definitely doesn't disappoint. But while the music is good, I think most people can agree with me that an anime's true strength lies in its story and characters, and I'm happy to report that Mongolian Chop Squad delivers on both fronts. Koyuki is sympathetic and easy to relate to, especially for those of us that weren't at the top of the social hierarchy in high school; he's an anxious yet determined young man who does his best not to sweat the small stuff, and his friends are there to back him up when he can't handle something alone. The band members also have a unique charm in each of their personalities, and I couldn't help but smile at how genuine their friendships seem; they laugh together, they argue, they back each other up in a fight, it just feels real. You want to keep watching because you hope this all turns out okay for them in the end; becoming a popular band is pretty hard work (especially if you're not in America), but you root for these guys because you feel like they truly deserve it. In terms of visuals, everything looks great, if simple. Remember that this a realistic portrayal of a band trying their hardest to make it big; there are no Super Saiyans or Soul Reapers running around in this one. I got to say it; this show is not to be missed. If you want to watch an anime that does a great job of depicting the teenage outcast turned hero, look no further. Koyuki's story is one that I feel doesn't receive much attention in the wider anime audience, but it should. It really should.

以前、視聴した作品だが新たに新鮮を感じた。 自分も音楽をやってきてるので60を過ぎてもう一度挑戦したいと感じた作品である。

Hubo un problema en el envío y la carátula llegó partida en la esquina. Me puse en contacto con el vendedor y sin problemas me lo solucionaron, me dieron la posibilidad de que devolviera el producto y me devolvían el importe o quedármlo y me devolvían un 30 por ciento de la compra para poder comprar una carátula y sustituirla. Busqué la carátula que me servía en amazon, les pasé el link con el precio y al día siguiente me ingresaron en el banco lo que costaba para comprarla, sin problema ninguno. No elegí la devolución porque la serie merece mucho la pena, y quería tenerla en perfecto estado. Cambié la carátula y como si no hubiera pasado nada! =) Muy contenta con la compra