Venus Versus Virus Anime Disc 1

Overall Rating: D
An anime series based on the manga of the same name, Venus Versus Virus follows Sumire, a school girl with the ability to see Viruses. These Viruses are demons who devour the souls of humans. She has teamed up with Lucia and the Venus Vanguard, a team dedicated to fighting the Viruses, and can even turn into a human anti-virus to fight them. Unfortunately, this power is a double-edged sword, and in her berserker state, she is also a threat to her allies.

Some of you may remember when I reviewed the manga here, and gave it a glowing review. When I heard they were making an anime of the manga, I was excited to say the least. That excitement quickly turned to disappointment and confusion less than five minutes into the anime.

The anime version of the series doesn't introduce the characters, drops you into the middle of plot with no explanation, and has inserted a random small girl into the story for apparently no reason other than to pander to the audience. The characters you recognize from the anime (the leads Lucia and Sumire in particular) act nothing like their manga counter parts, and are far less interesting.

The result is a pretty anime, that leaves a lot to be desired from fans of the manga (speaking of which, the second volume is out, and it's great!).

I gave it a D instead of an F, because it wasn't devoid of promise, and I think that if I hadn't read the manga I would have given it more of a chance. As it is, I only made it through 2 and a half episodes before deciding I was just going to get more frustrated the longer I watched.

If you haven't read the manga yet, and watch the anime, let me know what you think, and then read the manga. It's a lot better in my opinion.