For my original entry for Birth, click here.
Sometimes you have to recover your tracks in order to move forward. In terms of classic anime and in particular, Birth, I have a little more to say…
Now this is what I call a proper cartoon! Action, adventure, screwy comedy and fluid animation, like water, that reminds me of a sci-fi fantasy version of Looney Tunes (hmm? Did you forget about Duck Dodgers?). Unique character designs for the time, a product of Kaname Production… I bow down to this studio with so much love and admiration… life, death, spiritual cosmology on multiple levels, a sword (the Shade to be precise) and, and… well, this is Birth. One of my all time favorite OVA releases from the 1980s, if not one of my top ten, no five, maybe three anime of all time. A true animation playhouse, 1984’s Birth hits me on so many levels: there’s my inner immortal child, my current Zen and Taoist adult self, my high brow artist snob and even my self proclaimed 80s otaku who all enjoy the crazy sci-fi fantasy, the spastic humor, that aesthetic that only Japanese animation can produce and the deeper spirituality of this gem.
Long ago I wrote about Birth right at the beginning of this website’s inception (it was entry #4) and it’s high time I give another shout out to this jewel of an OVA. Some of you may not be a fan of this show and some of you I know are totally passionate about this one-off oddity like me. I am not going to go over the synopsis of this production again, that was the job for my first entry… or was it? Does the plot really matter when the proverbial ride of watching this production becomes the major enjoyment. We do have a story… an alien world, Aqualoid, inhabited by organic life, some are humanoid, and Inorganic invaders who are at a tug of war struggle in terms of survival. This isn’t a war per se, more like opposing forces in nature balancing themselves out via an animated free for all… or perhaps an overdone chase scene set to a battle of life versus death which renews itself without realizing it.
Birth exudes style no question, but it is the more profound looks at life, death and the natural cycles of balance that appeal more to my eye with each viewing. Has my listening to Alan Watts lectures, reading the Tao Te Ching and studying astrological and mythological practices found a way into my viewing of anime? Guilty as charged! The ghostlike Arlia drops the initial clues when speaking to our quartet of protagonists. She states that the invading Inorganics and the native organic life forms are both products of the universe. The inclusion of evil, or destructive… malefic influences are important to continue the cycle of life. We often like to say let’s get rid of war and disease, etc. and live in total harmony and peace, but those more challenging elements are a part of what harmony is all about. How would you know the sweet if you didn’t experience the bitter and the sour. Sometimes we have to let go of something even if it is painful.
And now for an even bigger topic… death. Much like Space Runaway Ideon (awesome show), everyone and everything gets annihilated at the end of Birth. Yet out of this heavy destruction returns the possibility of life. A new ‘birth’… now the title makes perfect sense. Our heroes truly did not die, they just changed, evolved, or transformed and from the look on their faces they seem to be in a state of joy being free of their 3D bodies… but wait this is a cartoon… would 2D be more appropriate? This anime among other influences has really left an influence on me in regards to viewing death. It is not a terrible end, only a possibility to start over yet again. Freedom!
Finally let’s look at cosmology. The universe from my understanding exists on many levels, perhaps dimensions, and each is interconnected with the others. Harmony on one level can create chaos on another and vice versa… thank you Alan Watts. Could these life forms on the planet Aqualoid actually exist as a lower level to say the ethereal character Arlia? We zoom out at the end to find this was all in Arlia’s eye, or perhaps her mind. Could the Aqualoid population be part of her internal organs and bloodstream? Or perhaps it was only just a dream? Either way life and conciousness are much more complex than than tangible surface we witness with our five senses. We may have an Aqualoid inside of all of us, or perhaps we are an Aqualoid for a higher level of being?
Time to get off the high horse now. I also love that pop/electronic music soundtrack composed by future Studio Ghibli collaborator Joe Hisaishi. It is a nice showing off of his talents beyond his epic orchestral scores that he most known for. All in all Birth is a perfect package to satisfy my eclectic interests. The more you watch Birth the more you get out of it, but then again my interests in astrology, cosmology and spirituality have continued to grow alongside my passion for Japanese animation. So perhaps it is a fresh viewing each time I watch Birth because it seems like everyday I see the world through another filter of consciousness.
Thirteen year old Yuu Tagami is in for a big adventure. After the passing of his father he travels to New York City to meet one of his father’s colleagues Dr. Wave. He also meets Dr. Waves sister Doris and their Great Dane Argos. We begin to learn about the mysterious Austral Island, a place where Drs. Tagami and Wave both did research on, when all of a sudden they are attacked! Fleeing for their lives and also making headway towards Austral Island, they meet the Skipper who acts as their strongman of the group. They trek their way across America and eventually the Pacific where they sail the rest of the way to Austral Island. Again they are attacked leaving Yuu separated from his comrades when soon he encounters a new friend. This is someone much taller and more metallic whose size is threatening, but whose eyes and outreached hand shows a very compassionate demeanor.
Imagine this… if Hayao Miyazaki could have made a mecha series, Giant Gorg would have been a close possibility… and I mean close. Released in 1984, Miyazaki was busy working on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Giant Gorg on the other hand was created, directed and designed by the one and only YAS. That’s Yoshikazu Yasuhiko folks, the guy who designed the characters for the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the director of the Crusher Joe and Venus Wars movies and the manga artist and overall director of the OVA adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Yeah that guy! Giant Gorg is a unique part of YAS’ portfolio as this was his lone auteur project produced for television. As stated earlier Yasuhiko had a hat and say in many areas, but it was definitely not created by him alone… or was it? Either way what you get is one sharp looking, well polished release from a studio well known to many of us, Sunrise.
Giant Gorg may remind me in many ways of Miyazaki, but this 26 episode TV series belongs totally to YAS. Certain elements appearing in Giant Gorg would never appear in a Miyazaki production. Yet my reference of Miyazaki for Giant Gorg is due to the fact that Gorg reminds me so much of Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan. A boy on a quest in the South Pacific joined by friends and going up against adversaries are similar to both shows. Maybe YAS also drew some inspiration from his work on Brave Reideen, a series from a decade earlier? This was a show that featured a found artifact type of mecha from an unexplainable origin. Yet in reality we have to go back to the giant robot origins appearing in the 1950s and 60s where the robot was more of a guardian for a kid than a piloted machine. No matter the influence, Giant Gorg was a modern retelling of classic ideas brought forth into a 1980s aesthetic.
There is that old saying that a dog is man’s best friend. In terms of Giant Gorg I think we could say that a guardian like giant robot is a boy’s, or girl’s, best friend. A metallic angel strong and brave with eyes as kind as a warm hug could be the best friend we all wished we ever had. Giant Gorg brought many of the elements of classic mecha tropes back into circulation that were left in the dust years prior. I must say… I like the change. There is something magical about Giant Gorg, almost wholesome in a way, that appealed to me from the start among other things including ending every episode on a cliffhanger… Tune in to the next, The same Gorg time, The Same Gorg Channel.
1984 would be the year of this first season for The Transformers, though in all honesty I was not exposed to our robot heroes and villains until the next year when season one was combined with season two to fill the 65 episodes count for syndicated release. The first season is like a nice tidy package… basic and compact. Autobots versus Decepticons… Optimus Prime versus Megatron… Cybertron and Earth… all the basic elements for a show about an eternal war that now has come to a stalemate. Energy is needed on both sides to strengthen their reserves as Cybertron is now depleted. A search mission is initiated which leads to The Transformers crashing onto Earth. Four million years later our robotic friends awaken to the then modern world of the mid-1980s, which means that giant transforming robots now exist among us. Exciting!
What I love most about season one is the simplicity. We get a basic grouping of Autobots and Decepticons at the beginning adding in a few more as the season progresses. Everyone has a moment to shine in some fashion and for the most part reveal their character. That is a strength which was lacking somewhat in later seasons. While yes, many new faces down the line got to be seen and enjoyed as the show progressed, some others just got brief cameos. We get to know everyone here like a family, despite faction, which makes you ending up having certain preferences to favorite characters, including those of the human faction as well. Now what makes our characters so great as well? They are drawn mostly well in this first season, everything was sent to Toei for animation purposes. No I see, or perhaps hear, another factor. I proclaim this honor belongs to the voice acting talent. We got to know many of Los Angeles’ talent pool at the time who voiced a lot of other shows as well, but came together like a fine recipe with The Transformers.
Imagine if this would have been the only episodes of The Transformers. Does the original 16 still stand up on their own as a stand alone? Absolutely. Fortunately, The Transformers would continue on for a long time… four seasons and 98 episodes, plus an animated feature film. Very impressive for what some might see as basic half hour toy presentation material for marketing purposes. In terms of mythologies, The Transformers was one of the creations during the 1980s that left an impact for many of us and showcased another storyline to enjoy. After all how many times has The Transformers been reinvented? Too many? Yet the fact it has shows the longevity of the basic mythology… but from this and stalwart, nothing and I am mean NOTHING(!) ever replaces this original series. …and it all started way back in 1984… who knew?
The Classic Anime Museum 
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