Final Fantasy: Unlimited (TV Series 2001–2002) Poster

(2001–2002)

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7/10
For fans of the games...
mysteryboy2k13 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Warning: Review may contain comments about the plot that some may consider to be spoilers, but it is not my intention to spoil the plot.

Like most who have seen this series, I'm a big fan of the games and bought the series because of that. However, I never expected for them to make an Anime of any of the games for every Final Fantasy has a different story, and Unlimited also has a new setting.

But, Final Fantasys do have similar characters or plot twists and that is what makes something a Final Fantasy. Unlimited does exhibit some of these elements, however they are not as easy to spot.

Like the games there is a magic-wielding women whom the narrative centers around. This is Lisa, who can use her Kigen arts to help those she loves, much like Aeries from FFVII or Yuna from FFX. This character is supported by man with a troubled past and is Kaze: The Black Wind. He is much like Squall or Auron. However, this relationship is complicated with the characters of Yu and Ai. Other character types make appearances here but are diluted from those of the games.

Other elements are present, including a Cid character, Chocobo and even Cactuar. It even has a system that explains how people can use magic: Soil, which is similar to Mako in that sense.

The plot contains many intricate sub-plots that en-richen the story and characters like the Final Fantasy games and some of the these sub-plots are inspiring because they are so out of the blue that you feel some respect for the writers.

This newfound respect can be short lived however, for after viewing the entire series it becomes apparent that some story arcs are unfinished, even ones that are the focus of some episodes.

Even the final twist at the end (oh come on, its Final Fantasy there had to be one) is a little disappointing because it was not hinted at during earlier episodes.

Even despite these shortcomings, FF:U is quite rememberable (in a good way) and contains some elements of the other final fantasys and I can recommend it, though only to those of you that are open minded.
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7/10
Amazing anime for real Final Fantasy fans. Based on the Final Fantasy game series. It includes summons, big monsters and a good story-line. This is a great anime if you compare it with legend of the four cry
melzas_8 February 2002
The story about Lisa, Ai and Yu who are searching for Ai and Yu´s parents in the inner world. In the inner world they meet Kaze who is equipped with a demon gun which summons creatures. In the inner world they also meet up with Chobi who is of course a chocobo. Omega is taking over the inner world and someone has to stop him...
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A Classic and highly appealing Anime
Ryan_E4 March 2006
Final Fantasy Unlimited, the previous comment was made after watching only one episode, and he said it was a terrible anime, personally i don't comment on IMDb, but after hearing him rip into this i had to act. Around a year ago i first watched "FFU", i was blown away by it from the start. It has everything you would look for and love from the final fantasy series, and adds its own unique and great touches along with a strong story. True the ending leaves many unanswered questions but it leaves space for a hopeful sequel. The story mainly focuses around Ai and Yu a pair of twins searching for their parents in an alternate universe known as wonderland. On their journey alongside a young woman Lisa, they repeatedly cross paths with a man without a name who is searching for someone, one of the twins affectionately refers to him as Kaze who wields a powerful magic gun known as "MAGUN". While they are constantly attacked by a group of people for reasons unknown to them. I cannot highly recommend this anime enough. If you consider yourself a fan of the final fantasy games or are a anime fan looking for something unusual this is the anime for you ********(8) out of 10
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2/10
Looks somewhat promising from the start, but ultimately Pokemonish
nzilla26 October 2002
I am an otaku and a fan of the Final Fantasy games. I liked the Final Fantasy movie, but hated the old OVA series. This is in many ways worse than the old series. From the begining this series looks like it might be a somewhat decent and entertaining fantasy, but after a few episodes you will see that this is not much better than Pokemon. The digital cell animation is cutesy and digital-looking. The 3D is blocky and out of place; much worse than the awful 3D in Candidate for Goddess. The characters are one-dimensional, whiney, and annoying. The voice acting, while pretty good, isn't anything particularly special. The story is cliched, much more "like a videogame" than the video games. Deffinately geared towards children. The only redeeming qualities are some surreal landscapes and semi-interesting homages to the games. 3/10
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1/10
Mediocre and a shame on the FF series
ureshinamida11 June 2005
I couldn't wait to take a look at Final Fantasy Unlimited after reading the article in Newtype magazine. Silly me, I assumed that the games' great characters, interesting plots and beautiful art would be present in the anime. The number of positive reviews for Final Fantasy Unlimited on IMDb.com is mind-blowing. Granted I've only watched the first episode, but it was repulsive and filled with clichés. Normally I'm the type of person to stay with an anime long after it goes bad, but lately I've completely lost my patience. I guess my main disappointment is that I expected it to live up to the games.

In all fairness, it was brash of me to drop this series after the first episode. But you have to be one hell of an anime to make a person go through these stages in twenty minutes:

1. "Well, this is alright."

2. "What?"

3. "Ugh! Wait, maybe it's a comedy!" (And it worked alright as an unintentional comedy)

4. "Life is too short." *Fast-forward, peek at next episode, turn off TV*

*Shrug* And I'm no FF expert... But I notice that in the beginning of the FF games I've played, you usually see the main character doing *something* really *cool* or nice. Here, we just have a bunch of random people freaking out over a huge light in the sky. So what? Who cares? Then we meet our protagonists.

The characters are nothing new. The bad-ass of the series, whose name I didn't learn because he's *so* MYSTERIOUS, seemed like he was crammed with every trait a dark loner could ever want: He has a dark cloak, long matted hair, unusual tattoos, broken glasses that obscure one eye AND amnesia! The twins, who appear to be the protagonists, are annoying even for anime kids. Some of their lines seemed to be ripped out of a bad fan fiction: "You're the ghost here lady!" "Ai! Remember your manners! Sorry, my name is..." And last but not least is a large-busted female we meet in the first episode, who the girl twin hates for some reason. When we first meet her, she speaks a few cryptic lines into a cellphone. In retrospect, this could have made for an interesting character. But somehow I completely forgot about that. I never attached to the characters because nothing about them sticks out to me.

The animation was as mediocre as the characters. I mean, sure it's colorful and digital, but the designs just lack that spark. I know that every additional line adds up real quickly in animation and that a TV show could never have the detail of even the FF sketches, but this is *really* minimalist. I've heard comparisons to Digimon's animation; all I can say is that even that had more detail than this. And besides, the Digimon designs always struck me as full of energy; these just look... typical. Maybe the lion's share of the animation budget went to the crappy 3-D special effects?

I dunno. Maybe I have really bad taste and no patience. But I would only recommend watching it so you're familiar with what people might bring up in conversation.
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10/10
Excellent, only shot down too soon
ai_no_kareshi23 May 2006
The creators of Final Fantasy: Unlimited made only one mistake, in my opinion, and that is not completing the all 52 episodes.

I must say that it is laughable that, when people hear "Final Fantasy", they expect to see characters from the games. Every installment of the Final Fantasy game series has its own unique plot and characters, and so does the anime series. FF:U does feature all the usuals – including chocobos, moogles and summon creatures – although it doesn't need these elements to make it a great series.

Although the series starts slowly and falls into something of a monster-of-the-day pattern early on, its every character is given special attention and will never cease to entertain you (especially Ai). Every episode packs its fair share of drama, comedy and action. As another reviewer has commented before me, it is when you get to the later episodes that you realize how great FF:U actually was. The plot is imaginative and detailed, and the further you advance into the story, the more exciting it becomes.

It is a shame that FF:U was cut down to 25 episodes, as this stands even more true for the rest of the story that was never told. I speak as one who has read the Japanese books in which the untold parts of the story have been published when I say that the best was yet to come. I think no one has the right to bash Final Fantasy: Unlimited until they know the whole story. Unfortunately, it does not seem as if an English adaption of the After series will ever be made.

Still, though FF:U might not be for everyone, anyone who is willing to watch this series with an open mind is likely to find himself pleasantly surprised.
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8/10
Final Fantasy: Unlimited
andreasvillarreal13 August 2005
Although the lines of the characters are awful most of the time (kuroi kaze is so full of himself!!), I must say that some of the characters are unforgettable, for instance Earl Tyrant, the death lords of Gaudium and, of course, Makenshi. But, what truly makes FFU a great anime is the soundtrack. The music is sumptuous and sometimes epic (the theme illustrating Makenshi's fighting scenes is truly incredible) and also provides some comic relief or accompanies battle scenes, for instance the one where Kaze loads the Demon Gun, with fast-stripped beats. Honestly, it is the main reason for the high grade that I am giving to the show because, in my point of view, the action is too repetitive and the same scenes are reused far too much. Despite that, I think the fans will be delighted to discover that an anime has managed to recreate the unique atmosphere of Final Fantasy.
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The Magun!
rehdrulesny29 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The Magun. what more needs to be said> the most powerful weapon the world has ever known! imagine to be its wielder and then have its power stripped away,for it no longer to be in your control. well i don't have to imagine for indeed once the ma gun was mine to command! even the earl tyrant himself lived in fear of it! the story of the ma gun and the man who wields it a story still unfinished,a story still waiting for a end a happy end! for indeed who could deny the power of the soil? the answer: No one! for indeed soil is my power! power to shake the capitols of the world!the alpha power that even brought the end to the omega the ma gun and the words no one wished to hear hurled into the wind The soil charged doom has been decided!!!
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10/10
Worthy of the name Final Fantasy
Jason_Norcross8 October 2004
I've seen a lot of bad reviews about this anime from what I like to call "Anime Snobs." As with any product there will be those who refuse to accept any deviation from the tradition (ie Star Wars fans hating the newer prequels coming out). Here is the truth of the matter: Final Fantasy: Unlimited had me excited from beginning to end.

Sure it had a lot of slow moments in the beginning where it was trying to find itself, however the characters suck you in a refuse to let go. If you can get past the animation (which could've been better) and the mix between hand-drawn characters and CGI graphics you'll see FFU for what it is: A Masterpiece!

Rating 10/10
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Yes it is Final Fantasy, but...
OUKnight9913 January 2004
Warning: Spoilers
*I'll try and keep the spoilers to a minimum* Being a huge fan of the Final Fantasy Series and Anime, when I found out a Final Fantasy Anime was coming out, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to watch it. Needless to say I was disapointed. Those of you who are looking for the deep moving stories usually found in Final Fantasy games, or the intense well animated battles usually found in other animes like Rurouni Kenshin, then don't look here.

What we have here is a promising start, a few interesting Ideas (well one actually, and his name is Kaze, and even he gets old) and a bunch of boring villains, and then about twenty six episodes of sheer boredom.

The animation is similar in quality to that of Pokemon, or Digimon (etc.) , and probably aimed at a similar audience. Every once in a while, usually when one of the bad guys shows up, a computer graphic type animation will occur, but instead of looking stylish, it just looks stupid.

The story is, as I already said, very shallow and you really don't care about what's going on. It's not quite as bad as the last Final Fantasy Anime...but it's close.

There is one cool thing about this show though, whenever Kaze, the black robed gunman "summons," I could feel the hair on my arms rise. Of course that's only three seconds out of a twenty minute episode, so it hardly makes the series worth watching.

I watched it because I love final fantasy...but I can't recomend it to others.

I'd give it * out of 5 (and it gets the star because it's final fantasy)
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one out five stars???? What a pathetic review!!!
dinobrya25 March 2004
I saw the previous review and found it laughable. Okay... so it does not have DBZ or Samurai X fighting sequences. That does not make it deplorable as that fellow suggests. I find it to be an interesting cross between Batman the Animated

Series, Trigun, He Man, Pokemon, and Alice in Wonderland. I will have to admit it seems to be geared for children 7-12 than for teens. It almost has the quality of bed time story. Even at 29, though, I still found enjoyable. I would say that is somewhere between 4 to 5 out of 5 stars. I love how the writers blend the struggles of the lost children and Lisa with that of the Black Wind.
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Not the best, but fun nonetheless (semi-spoiler)
BalineseKittyn27 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
What do you get when you mix a pair of fraternal twins, a magical subway train, a girl with control over most types of energy, a man with a mystical gun, a puppet-master, and a chocobo with a taste for human hair? FINAL FANTASY UNLIMITED!!!

A cute show, and if you're a big fan of Final Fantasy you'll either love it or be saying "WTF?" by the end of the first episode. Fans of the game series will also recognize several things within the show (chocobos, sylkis greens, malboros, summons) that come straight from the games.

The story itself is rather simple: twins Ai and Yu Hayakawa have lost their mother and father. They own a book written by their dad which tells of a mystical land that you can only reach by riding a magical train at a certain time. As they begin to explore, they meet Lisa Pacifist, a young woman who uses a type of martial arts to control energy; and Kuroki Kaze (translated: Black Wind), a man with very little recollection of his past, an ability to die and reappear in the oddest places, and a very large gun.

i rate this anime a 7/10. Love it or hate it, you can't deny it's fun.
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Great introduction to Final Fantasy...
nachothecheesyone5 July 2004
The basic storyline is that Ai and Yu, two twins, are seeking their parents who disappeared in a rift 12 days ago. This rift takes the twins to Wonderland, a series of worlds with one ruler: Duke Tyrant, a cruel child who seeks to be the most powerful of all in Wonderland. Ai and Yu must find their parents and stop this Duke from invading their homeworld with strangers they meet along the way... First of whom, Lisa (a young sorceress) meets the twins on the "Ghost Train" that takes them around Wonderland. There's also Kaze, a strange fighter with amnesia and no charisma whatsoever, who defends the twins and Lisa (unintentionally) from the beasts and bosses of Wonderland using a strange and legendary "Magun" that appears to be permanently attached to his right hand that uses powerful colored bullets he calls "Soil". A wide assortment of other characters also exist...

This is a great introduction to the Final Fantasy series of video games for new players. It introduces the elements that are present in almost all of the games: Cid, the summoned monsters, what opposes which, etc. and it doesn't do it in a stubborn manner, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, where concepts build upon each other.

Many people look at the recent games, and decide that this anime is inferior to the quality of stories that are present in the recent titles. This isn't geared towards that at all; Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II/IV were very simple in storyline as well, and are hailed as classics. Could more have been done with this OAV? Sure, but this does have value in of itself in the way it was made.

Of a four star scale, I'd give it two. It has originality and imagination, it could be better, but thankfully it's not the original Final Fantasy series anime. If the introduction was more solid, however, such as clarifying the significance of the Day of Conjunction, and how their parents released a book about it 12 days after the rift opened before disappearing... that would make this a candidate for three stars.
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Best.Anime.Ever.
mod_prophet27 October 2002
This show is fantastically awesome. If you're a big Final Fantasy nerd, then you'll fall in love with it. It's a shame they cancelled the second season, but it's good they did so before the last episode was made, so they could finish it all up within a season.
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