Sands of Destruction
Anime DVD Review
There are two kinds of anime fans in the world, kuma. Those who will watch Sands of Destruction, and those who will not, kuma. And those who will not are missing out on a good thing, kuma.
Based on the best-selling SEGA game for the Nintendo DS, Sands of Destruction takes place in a world where mankind has lost the war to the Beast-men, and as such, anthropomorphic critters run society, and we're second-class citizens.
 First we have Morte Ashela, a member (or rather, the *only* member) of the so called "World Destruction Committee". She's a curvaceous cutie with killer credentials, fights with what can only be described as a Klingon Battlith, and carries a Magic-8 ball called the "Destruct Code" which she's hoping to end the world with, if she only knew how to use it.
She is being mercilessly hunted by the "World Salvation Committee", and minutes into the first episode is forced to hold hostage a mere beast-man cook, Kyrie, who turns out of be a human in disguise (and also turns out to be the key she needs to activate the Destruct Code) in order to escape certain death.
Filling out the trio is Taupy, a Pokemon-look-alike, teddy-bear pirate-mercenary (who ends every sentence (annoyingly!) with "kuma") who gets caught up with the two completely by accident and is mistaken for a member of the World Destruction Committee, and thereafter must remain on the run with Morte and Kyrie.
 Although every episode follows a familiar pattern (our heroes get into an adventure, save someone, and move on to the next town), it's a pattern we enjoy because it's "classic anime" and you don't have to get too deep into what it is to enjoy the action. I mean, Pokemon was no different, hell, 99% of anime follows that tried and true formula.
Except this time the guys we're rooting for aren't trying to save the world, they are trying to DESTROY IT!!!! And that's just cool on a level I can't even tell you about. I mean, the bad guys they run into every episode are pretty bad, and deserve what's coming to them, but seriously, our heroes are trying to DESTROY THE WORLD!!!
If you've played the game, we do need to warn you that the characters, situations, motivations and just about everything has changed, so you'll either love it or hate it, kuma. But if you haven't played the game, you'll find the anime to be awesome and a good time in front of the TV, kuma.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, March 2010
Below: Scenes from Sands of Destruction.
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