Sequels, common place for being completely unoriginal (so much so now a days with endless releases of large franchise properties, anime and otherwise), or perhaps a followup chapter to something from before. An epilogue perhaps. Often a sequel can give extra closure, an alternative perspective, or something completely out of left field. For Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston we have a little of all three.
After the total all out massacre of the original 1983 TV series, the question remained what happened to the fantasy land of Byston Well? Aura Battler Dunbine was a show I enjoyed dearly in terms of the medieval European like scenery, the organic insect like mecha designs blessed by a supernatural (if not metaphysical) connection between their pilots, the intense passionate drama and the cast of heroes, villians and everyone else in between. It is in my opinion one of Sunrise’s best mech shows from the 1980s and one of four shows I hold dearly by creator Yoshiyuki Tomino (the other three being original Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Ideon). So why not make a small release three episode OVA as a sequel… ok, well what further tales does the land of Byston Well have to share?
Almost more of the same except this time 700 years in the future. Wow then perhaps this is a side story because that is quite a distance from the original? That’s until we learn of one survivor from the previous wars, the brilliant and conniving Shot Weapon (yes that’s his name, lol). And there is also one Ferario of Silky/Silkie Mau, who bears a very similar name, if not the same (seems the spelling goes back and forth between both series?), to another of Byston Well’s mystical cast members. Ferario is a fancy word for basically a fairy (I like it) and little Silky, at the very beginning of episode 1, has been caught by our main protagonist Shion… who bears a similar name and appearance to TV series main man Sho Zama. Hmm, interesting an interesting tidbits of info, what’s next? Well you have a coming conflict between two factions, piloted mecha, a captured princess, an evil warlord, a little backstabbing and most importantly the coming of the next ‘holy warrior’ to pilot the Dunbine.
While the plot is very generic in many ways, can’t expect much from three episodes… eh actually I do, lol… I found the story to be sort of interesting and kind of dull. The artwork on the other hand is very enjoyable for my love of cel drawn animation. OVA’s usually have a little more budget than a TV series and this is a good example except sometimes it can fell a little stiff and rigid. The designs on the other hand are gorgeous if not almost post apocalyptic, no no, more ancient looking. The world of Byston Well seems more lush and magical this time round, if not more grounded… and again, ancient. The titular mecha Dunbine and the landscape itself, seems fossil-like now. A nice touch indeed! After all seven centuries have apparently passed.
Perhaps no where near the radar for many of you, this OVA for me was worth the minor effort since this is like a second ending to a TV series I loved… I had to try it since it’s an 80s anime!… afterall, that’s what I essentially do here! Of course there are those side stories released later like Wings of Rean and Garzey’s Wing, which I don’t have much interest in watching. The clips of Garzey’s Wing are enough for me for a general laugh. And can you believe to this day I still have not seen Garzey’s Wing proper. Perhaps that is best. Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston on the other hand is a good short sojourn back into Byston Well that is by no means a joke, but not something I may go back to… maybe. Though didn’t Cham Huau survive from the TV show? That would have been an interesting story to see what happened to her.
The Classic Anime Museum 