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.
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 (
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 
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.
Often compared to the live action film Alien, Roots Search would not be my first choice for an anime based on the inspiration of a foreign invader out to massacre a crew on a spaceship. 
Roots Search: Shokushin Buttai X, Roots Search: Life Devourer X where to begin? A crew of four aboard a research station encounter a ship that magically came out of warp space and into their general vicinity. Aboard the Green Planet, the name of the ship (for real?… yes) is one surviving human and some kind of a gray alien thing that does not look all that inviting. They soon jettison the alien only to find like a boomerang, it comes back… and with vengeance on its mind. Literally it says to all of them that it plans to take them all out! Of course our stowaway from Green Planet also concours and tells the crew that it prays on their fears and attacks both physically as well as more importantly, psychologically.
Know what this means? Holy crap we got to get out of here? Exactly. Turns out the creature was sent by God to punish humanity and take out each and every one of us as punishment… dude your concept of God sure does not match up with how others see it. Nothing says division like politics and religion. One by one the crew fall prey to the violent attacks of the alien, thing, soldier of God… until we are left with two. The guy from Green Planet and the singular girl character who happens to have some abilities to see and read the future. In the most dire of circumstances these two end up falling for each other, professing love and kissing to seal the deal. After all they have a future together to live happy ever after… but aren’t you two in a life or death situation at the moment. Talk about an awkward date?
Spoilers galore, but I will leave it up to you to experience the last five minutes of this 45 minute OVA. You have total permission from me and maybe even a few others to just fast forward to the end and thank us all later. This is all I will say… talk about a twisted ending with no resolution. Roots Search starts off as a horror sci-fi suspense schlock fest and then suddenly adds a twist of romance into the closing stages, which totally makes sense. If they only included a unicorn into the production I would let Roots Search pass, but of course they didn’t. Um. what did I just watch?… scratch that… never make me watch this again, please! There are many anime classified as ‘bad’ that I think are brilliant and entertaining, 
The Classic Anime Museum 
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