Review: Halo Legends

One thing that seems to become more and more popular these days among western companies is to produce a compilation or anthology of short animated films based on a certain franchise, usually made by various Japanese animation studios. It began with Animatrix and  recently we've seen Batman: Gotham Knight and Dante's Inferno following the same concept. And now the Halo universe can be added onto that list with the (sort of) recent release of Halo Legends which sees seven different short movies based on the universe. All created by well known animation studios.

Now I like the Halo universe. I find it a surprisingly solid universe that isn't massively tangled clusterfuck like what the Expanded Star Wars Universe is. While it lacks some depth of detail that is more apparent in the Mass Effect universe it's still a surprisingly solid universe that is a good basis for some (admittedly) decent to mediocre games. Aesthetically the universe feels like a mix between hard Sci-Fi in terms of human design while it also has a very space opera angle when it comes to the alien designs and the general theme of the universe.
But enough of that, let's move onto the meat of the review. I'll be going through the stories in order of appearance. 


 Origins
Studio 4°C
Synopsis: Onboard the ship Forward unto Dawn Cortana narrates to herself and a cryogenically frozen Master Chief what she has learned of the Forerunners and the events that leads up to the end of Halo 3.

As a opening story Origins does the work well of narrating just what has happened in the universe from the beginning to the current end of it. While it admittedly glosses over some minor points regarding the Forerunners and their war with the Flood it still serves it's purpose well with setting down the foundation and also telling the viewer about things that aren't too apparently in the game.
Studio 4°C's art style and animation for this episode is good and crisp. The design for the very prevalent Forerunners looks very much like what has been seen in the games, and even the very Guyver-ish designs for the Forerunners themselves looks good and fitting. And the Flood themselves look disgusting and biologically inhuman enough to really make the contrast clear.
Really my only little complaint for this story is that they didn't have Jen Taylor return and do the narration as Cortana. While the voice actor that does Cortana's voice does a good job it still doesn't feel quite the same. Except for that is is a very solid episode.

The Duel
Production I.G
Synopsis: The Elite named Fal does not want to follow the Covenant religion and comes into conflict with the reigning Prophet and another Elite sent to kill him and his wife.

This episode I have very mixed feelings about, on one hand the art style is very interesting but at the same time it's obvious that I.G has had some liberties in the design as it literally reeks of Samurai fiction over it. From the main bad guy being dressed as a Samurai and the many appearances of kimonos and other very distinct Japanese things. It clashes a bit with what you otherwise see of the the Elites. It's apparent that its their way to tell that the Elites are a warrior culture. But to me it just rubs wrong. The story is also the first one showing of female Elites, but now in hindsight they look oddly like Avatars from that movie with their very catlike faces.
This episode wasn't really my favorite, I felt continuously annoyed by the Japanese influences in it, but I suppose some might not find it as annoying and probably can be viewed as a nitpick. All in all it's in my eyes one of the weaker episodes.

Homecoming
Studio Bee Train
Synopsis: On a colony world somewhere, Daisy, a Spartan II is fighting for her life, while at the same time she is coming to terms with her past.

Now this episode is one of the better ones, as it takes up one of the really dark aspects of the so called saviors of humanity. And that is the fact that they were forcibly taken at a young age into the Spartan II program. The main character in this case is a female Spartan (yes there were female ones as well. Shock!) called Daisy as she fights against the Covenant while at the same time remembering her attempts to flee the training facility she has grown up in in order to return to her family.
I genuinely like this episode, while the artstyle is a bit generic anime and the voice acting can be a bit flat at times it still one of the better stories as it takes up parts that are really never mentioned at any point in any of the games. Its slightly alluded at times but never fully mentioned of the very dark way these soldiers were made.

Odd one out
Toei Animation
Synopsis: Spartan 1337 suffers from two things. A huge ego. And horribly bad luck. After crash landing on a planet after falling out of his transport he finds himself facing the Covenants newest secret weapon, the enhanced Brute Pluton. But he get's help from a couple of kids in his fight.

If anything, this episode is really hit and miss. At points it is very funny with the overblown and egotistical rantings of Spartan 1337 and the very Snidely Whiplash way the Prophet of Truth acts in his scene. (If actually had a mustache he would have been twirling it.) I was genuinely laughing at some places (Surprise Dinosaur!). But then it does sorta take a turn and becomes a little too much when it suddenly involves teenagers going Dragonball on Pluton. It should've kept the more slapstick comedy for 1337 throughout the episode instead of suddenly switching gears and the ending does go back on that a little.
The animation is very fluid and very reminiscent to Dragon Ball compared to the more restrained animation from before. And it fits very well, even if I don't really like the way the human characters look. But then I don't generally like the art style in Dragon Ball anyway so it might have something with that. The fight scenes are ridiculous, let's just leave it at that. It very much harkens back to Dragon Ball, power charge ups and everything. However it ends a bit too much on a Deus Ex Machina, which feels very cheap.
The voice work is okay to good. 1337 sounding as boisterous as he should be. Both Cortana and Master Chief have lines in this episode but sadly neither of the original actors return. Which is a bit of a shame.
All in all it is an okay episode, if anything it should've kept the slapstick comedy instead of doing Halo Ball. (*shudder*)

Prototype / Be Human
Studio Bones
Synopsis: The Covenant attacks the planet Algolis and the UNSC research base, in order to ensure that everyone gets away safely a Sergeant nicknamed Ghost goes against direct orders and commanders a prototype of heavy powered armored suit.

Mechs? In my Halo? It's more likely than you think.
Very much like Homecoming I like this episode. The animation is good and the story as well. Unlike that episode this just an action romp and nothing else. But at the same time its a good one, things explode and stuff dies violently. Although making the mech suit look like an over-sized Spartan feels like an odd move to do. But otherwise there isn't that much to say about this episode other than I actually liked it.


Babysitter
Studio 4°C
Synopsis: A squad of four Helljumpers or Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are tasked, alongside Spartan Cal-141 to assassinate a Covenant Prophet.

I felt torn for this one. On one side ODSTs are awesome and should really be seen more. But at the same time this episode suffers a bit from what The Duel had with the animation studio getting some design liberties with what they can do and instantly go for Japanese design. Seeing Forerunner ruins that look like Japanese pagodas when they usually look very more industrial does feel annoying. And the female Spartan for some reason looking like Sheryl Nome from Macross Frontier, hair and all. Anime hair is also something that appears in the episode, guess regulation haircuts have never been heard of before. Other than that the episode is okay, the animation is good and the Spartan fight against a Brute at one point is very impressive. Even if the Spartan looks way too bulky and compressed than what otherwise seen. The episode even manages to get unintentionally hilarious when the only black guy in the group is the first one to bite the bucket.
All in all a decent episode with some minor issues.


The Package
Casio Entertainment
Synopsis: Master Chief and three other Spartan are tasked to retrieve a very important package onboard a Covenant ship. Unaware that they are stumbling into a trap.

Another of the good episodes in this collection, this one in very well rendered CG to boot. Very much like the Prototype this one is just an action romp filled with explosions. That part is good, even if it does the same thing as the Babysitter with the black guy of the group getting killed first. Which is unintentionally hilarious. My real beef with this episode comes with the reveal of what the package is. It's Dr Catherine Halsey, or the mother of all Spartans.  Looking almost like Samus Aran or Deunan from the Appleseed CGI movies.
It just feels wrong as she is described as much older in the books, here she looks to be around 30-ish or something while the book places her at least around 40-ish or something.
Of all the good episodes this is the one I'd rank the lowest, the CGI is good but the issue I have with it's portrayal of how Halsey looks and it feeling a bit too over the top at times makes it a bit distracting. Having four Spartans attack a Covenant fleet on space motorbikes is cool and all but it felt a bit too much after a while. Especially when it suddenly started incorporated slow motion into fight scenes, and Itano Circuses really don't fit in Halo. Also, whoever voiced Master Chief for this episode made him sound like Solid Snake, which sounded really silly. But at the same time it was fun to see Kelly and Fred as they've only been mentioned in the books.
While it is good, The Package feels lacking compared to other good stories such as Origins and Homecoming.

To Long Didn't Read it section:
Halo Legends is a bit hit and miss, some stories (Origins, Homecoming, Prototype) are good  and very enjoyable while others (The Duel, Odd One Out) feel a bit lackluster and could have needed some improvements or changes.