While the Guardians homeworld is evacuated and the Corps monitor the sun, Hal Jordan - Green Lantern of Earth's sector - tells a nervous new recruit a few stories about the Corps.
The First Lantern - how the Corps was formed and how a lowly scribe became the first to truly understand the power of the rings.
Kilowog - A group of raw recruits are thrown into their first battle.
Laira - a warrior princess turned Lantern returns home to confront her father.
Mogo doesn't socialise - a quirky tale of a warrior looking for a fabled unbeatable Lantern. Unfortunately, he finds him.
Abin Sur - two comrades face a common foe and discuss destiny.
and lastly, the framing story; Emerald Knights. - The Corps faces an ancient evil reborn.
Western Direct to Video animation has a dubious rep due to way too many low quality tv tie-ins and halfhearted sequels. DC seem determined to change that and may well be suceeding. I don't think I've seen a single one of their original animated movies that isn't well-crafted and highly entertaining.
Now I've only a hazy working relationship with the Green Lantern franchise. I've never read any of the comics and I've yet to see the film. Even so, Emerald Knights does a pretty good job of introducing me to the Green Lantern Corps and some of its notable chaarcters.
The animation is consistently good; the fight between Laira and her father deserves special mention as it's handled as well as any anime I've ever seen.The voice-acting is also up to the usual DC high standards.
My personal favourite segment would be Laira's trip home, mainly because of the aforementioned fight but also because the story also manages, within the brief running time, to flesh out the characters and their motivations.
While the individual stories are all entertaining in different ways, the only weak spot would be the framing story itself. After waiting so long for Big Bad Krona to show up, the resulting punchup is good but maybe over too quickly. I suspect that's me being overly picky, though.
Apparently there's an upcoming tv series. If it holds up to the quality of this DVD I shall probably be a big fan.
