Saber Marionette J

Imagine, if you would, a world inhabited only by men. 

Propagation can only be carried out by genetic manipulation and cloning. Despite the greatest efforts by the world's most brilliant scientists, the creation of a living female clone has proved impossible.

Attempting to compensate for this tragic loss, female robots, called marionettes, were created. However, these female automatons were but a pale substitute for the real thing as it is impossible for them to feel love and empathy for the men that they serve.

These original six men founded six separate cities, each representing their respective countries from earth; Gartland (Germany), Xi'an (China), Romana (England), Peterberg (Russia), New Texas (United States) and Japoness (Japan).

Three hundred years after this forced colonization of Terra II, a young man named Otaru from Japoness stumbles onto a sleeping marionette. His presence awakens her and she leaps into his arms swearing her eternal love. Thus we are introduced to Lime, the first of three very special marionettes. Unlike any of the other marionettes the men of Japoness have ever seen, these three are fully capable of expressing the full gamut of emotions including the ability for love, empathy and sacrifice. This special ability is made possible by the addition of a very unique device called a "Maiden Circuit".

These three marionettes each manifest a unique aspect of womanhood.  Lime - childlike and exuberant, displays the characteristics of naivety and innocence. Cherry - wise and mature, is the best cook and the group's tactician. Bloodberry - strong and sensual, provides the strength and drive for the group.

Saber Marionette J is a wonderful story of love, growth and sacrifice. It starts off as a comedy, but gradually takes on a more serious tone as the mystery and purpose of these special marionettes is gradually revealed and Otaru learns what he must do to save the civilization of Terra II.

Bandai has done a great job with the DVD presentation. We have three volumes, each volume has two disks. On each of the volume covers, we have a picture of one of the marionettes. On the first is Lime, the second is Cherry and the third is Bloodberry. If you look at the disk itself, you'll see that it is imprinted with a design that makes it look just like the Maiden Circuit installed in each of the three marionettes. The cases and disks are accented with the signature color of the featured marionette (Well, actually, they got the signature color wrong for Lime. Lime's signature color is green and yet the disk and case is accented with yellow. After getting so many of the little details right, I don't understand how they got this one wrong.)

Unlike many stories of this genre, this 25 episode series does not have many filler episodes. Instead we find a sequence of smaller arcs, each building upon the previous stories. 

In the first DVD volume, we have 9 episodes on two disks. These nine episodes introduce us to the primary characters and lay the groundwork for the first of Otaru's tasks. The DVD extras are pretty sweet. We get a character profile of three of the main characters and a music video dedicated to Lime.

In the second DVD volume, we have 8 episodes on two disks. In this series of stories, we get to know Otaru and the marionettes better. We also learn just what an inhuman monster Faust, the dictator of Gartland, turns out to be along with his backstory. While some may consider it just filler, included in this set is the obligatory swimsuit episode. ^_^ As before, we get another music video, this one dedicated to Cherry. I would recommend leaving the character profiles until the end of this set as they contain spoilers.

In the third DVD volume, we have 8 episodes on two disks. In this set, the conclusion to this particular storyline is played out. With each episode, we come to know and love these special marionettes more and more as they, themselves, develop and grow. The final confrontation is emotionally wrenching, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. With the extras, we get our third music video, this time dedicated to Bloodberry.

Personally, I have found Saber Marionette J to not only be very enjoyable the first time through, it is one of the few series that I can watch over and over and over again. Even while there are series still sitting on my shelf waiting for their first viewing, I have watch the entire 25 SMJ episodes 3 times already. I give it my highest recommendations.