Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok Volume 2: Love & War - Active Anime

• Media Source:Active Anime
• Reviewed By:Karen Emch
• Review Date:02/22/06
• Read the original review click here

"...an amazingly fun series to watch. "

"...I would recommend this series to everyone."

"...goofy humor, mystery, and mythology are a winning combination."

REVIEW:
Volume two of Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok finds our protagonists still grappling with the questions and problems from volume one. The second installment of Loki?s story comes packed with a host of new faces. It would seem that every time Loki gains an ally his luck is conversely balanced by the determined Heimdall and his growing group of would be assassins. In these four episodes Loki and his rag-tag group of friends come face to face with a meddlesome master thief, thugs with delusions of grandeur, more of Heimdall?s plots and a strange girl named Reiya, who might turn out to be a bigger piece of the puzzle than anyone realizes. With Yamino, Mayura, and Thor by his side, Loki must sift through the deceit and race against the clock to find the answers he is searching for. Loki may still be forced to inhabit the body of a child, but his mind is as sharp as ever, which is good because the mysteries are flooding in, new gods are showing up and Loki still has no idea what he did to incur Oden?s wrath.

I don?t have much to say for the, ?things that need improvement? category. However, I do have a few words of caution. Any huge fans of mythology, the Norse pantheon in particular, should be aware that this series is playing fast and loose with these deities. I would go as far as to call this a re-imagining of Norse mythology. So, those looking for a dark and exciting retelling of Norse mythology set in an anime format are, in fact, out of luck. While I personally wished they had taken this anime to a darker place, especially an anime starring Loki, as he is arguably the most sinister deity in a pantheon of dark gods. I understand the need for a PG rating, but I have to say this is still an amazingly fun series to watch.

The characters in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok are brought to life by a voice-acting cast of fan favorites. Kira Vincent Davis, Illich Guardiola, Chris Patton, Jason Douglas, Shelley Calene-Black, Brittney Karbowski, and Monica Rial turn in wonderful performances. However, my votes for VIPs go to Shannon Emerick and Greg Ayres. Shannon?s performance as Loki is nothing short of awesome. Greg Ayres adds an ominous timbre to his voice that promotes the shows? eerie undercurrent. I literally could not pull my attention away when their characters were on screen.

EXTRAS
This DVD features an interview with the Japanese voice actors, an art gallery, reverse cover art and ADV previews.

IN SUMMARY:
If you enjoyed the exploits of Loki and his friends in the first volume of Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, you will want to see what happens next. All things considered, I would recommend this series to everyone. Volume two of Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok proves, yet again, that goofy humor, mystery, and mythology are a winning combination.

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 (Archive on Wednesday, March 22, 2006)