#242 : Hi-Speed Jecy

The 1980s OVA boom gave a fresh new perspective to distributing anime to an audience. Free of broadcast restrictions and an open ground for experimentation this avenue had an appeal to older fans who grew up with anime now had jobs and wanted to absorb media for their more mature standards. This wasn’t true for every OVA and there are many that were pure garbage, but by the late 1980s it was perhaps the best way to satisfy a fix for compelling science fiction that not only had action, stories and characters, but also beautiful line work and production value. 2001 Nights, Crusher Joe, Gunbuster, Gundam 0080, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Patlabor were part of this elite crop… as well a name that until now had yet been given a fair chance of viewing by my eyes … Hi-Speed Jecy.

… Just a word of note before I begin, Jecy is pronounced like the name Jesse…

Hi-Speed Jecy has been on my radar for quite a while and it’s not because it was some super popular title that I had missed. In fact I am surprised this never got a release here in the west where I live during the VHS era. It wasn’t recommended by anyone either, nor was it easy to come by for a longtime… I never had luck with a fansub either since that looked like the only avenue left to watch this one. I’ll give you a hint now, look at the characters! Look familiar, they do to me? Anime featuring character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto’s work are a must in my book, regardless of what it is. I loved his work since I was a kid (Macross/Robotech), can you blame me? Many of the so called ‘heroic’ designs are some of the most gorgeous and attractive examples of human rendering regardless of gender. Other examples include Orguss, Gunbuster, Gundam 0080 and Salamander… wait a minute, two of those I mentioned earlier as high class examples, seems quality anime share, great character designs 🙂

Spanning a dozen episodes, several acting as two parters, Hi-Speed Jecy follows the exploits of Jecy Moore, a young man who is after revenge toward the tyrannical clan known as Bismarck… they murdered his parents when he was a child in front of his eyes. He is most likened to a super hero in a way though nothing is much out of the ordinary for his powers except the man is very agile, not keen on weapons and can run, or move extremely fast. Oh, kind of like Sonic the Hedgehog speed? Yeah, but perhaps faster! Joining him is his sidekick, perhaps love interest, Tiana and a priest from the group Heartland, Falk Green, who is a crack shot with a gun. After all it is his mission to hunt down supposed malefic folk by shooting them with his nerve gun… sounds like a strange religion to me, yet how often do people kill for their concept of ‘God’? In any case he is a vital ally. … and then there is Paolon, our fourth protagonist who I will let you find out who that is… don’t worry you will find out in the later minutes of episode one 😉

Much like the roll call of OVAs I listed earlier I would put Hi-Speed Jecy into a similar category as Crusher Joe. Both are dramatic (more so Jecy), at times funny (more so Joe), action packed space opera that are fun and exciting. Both also began as novel adaptations. Hi-Speed Jecy and Crusher Joe also feature a quartet of differing heroic characters that play off each other. Jecy as a character study  is a particular good one, his past and his major chip on his shoulder towards the clan of Bismarck are well represented in a few back story moments, including one whole episode. That being said a majority of the time we are essentially dropped into the middle of the action from the very beginning and asked to fasten our seatbelts and hold on tight, which to be honest… ain’t that bad an idea. Pass the popcorn!

There is just something about a space oriented sci-fi drama from the 1980s. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, or just the fact that I was spoon fed on it heavily as a kid, that it seems when unfamiliar good, or great, productions come into my view I kind of feel like I am at home. Jumpsuits, awesome hair, a synth-pop opening theme song (Please, Please Me no less, but not the Beatles song ), main characters with human flaws, it’s all beautiful. Though a product of another apparent time and place, Studio Pierrot’s work none the less (They do good work!), if you ask what keeps me going at looking at obscure anime, then Hi-Speed Jecy is just one answer I can give. Though my tastes have changed and expanded as I have matured, I always seems to find something to satisfy both the youth and adult in me, like Hi-Speed Jecy.