The fact that director Shuhei Morita only directed one 25 minute animation prior to this series, goes a long way to explaining why the Freedom Project is all over the place. The futuristic story has epic written all over it: the earth has become uninhabitable due to a massive disaster and a colony of humans living on the moon are humanity's only hope. With such a set up, the finished project is sadly less than half-baked.Freedom has awesome set, vehicle and character design, but as it uses cell-shaded computer models rather than the traditional, hand-drawn method, it lacks the heart and the human touch that makes real animation worth watching. There's a lot of one frame shots … (which to be fair Japanese anime is notorious for) sometimes subtly, sometimes it's painfully obvious.There are 3 main characters: Kazuma, is likable enough, Biz is just outright annoying and Takeru (the main character) rebels against Eden's authorities, risks his life, and travels all the way to earth (with no way of getting back) in order to … try and meet a cute girl! That's the motivation for the whole Freedom story! And if that didn't drag the series down enough, the voice acting in the English dub is terrible (the Japanese version is fine) with the Nissin tie-in easily the most awkward product placement I've ever seen. I'm sorry to say that the 10/10 reviews that Freedom has online are both undeserved, and a bit suspicious.

The Akira (1988) resemblances are inescapable, but this one stands quite well on its own, thanks to the well-made animations. The story and characters are mediocre, but that might just be me, as I'm not exactly a fan of OVAs but I felt like this wasn't rated as high as it should be. What you can expect is the usual over-the-top emotions, loud screams and eyes wide open, but if you can look past that, you will be able to enjoy the beautifully drawn futuristic scenery of Eden. Easily amongst the best recent sci-fi anime films, almost as visually stunning as Marudukku Sukuranburu: Asshuku (2010). Recommended not only for people who enjoy Akira or anime in general, but any open-minded sci-fi buff!

There are actually seven 25min long episodes and a 6min prologue. I don't understand why this anime hasn't been publicised more by the studios or even by the American company which holds a licence and released a blu-ray version in the states.It was created as promotional material for a noodles brand in Japan (which the characters regularly eat), but is still one of the best animes i have seen, comparable to Akira but without being as confusing in places.Keeping the look of the traditional hand-drawn animes but still remaining modern, FREEDOM is a visual masterpiece, and includes character design from Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo. I cant decide if this would have been better off as one long movie or if the episode "cliffhangers" make you want to watch more.You will have to see it for yourselves!