Universally bemoaned and not very well appreciated here as well, I beg to ask the question, who out there like Roots Search? Honestly… it often tops many lists of some of the worst anime ever made, which of course is subjective, but yeah I am not a fan of this 1986 OVA either. I had yet to watch it until now because of the reputation, but also for other various reasons. Yet this anime does deserve one viewing… and only one.
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. Gall Force: Eternal Story would be my first choice (though the alien invasion was not deadly in the end) and second Lily C.A.T., an anime I abhor due to the violence and misconfiguration towards a certain feline crew member. Both previous examples also have better writing and characters, but I wouldn’t expect anyone of these titles to win a batch of awards for excellence in those categories. Same goes for artwork and design, Roots Search is just downright ugly and sloppy. Of course maybe it could be the VHS transfer quality?… no. Perhaps it was a budget, or timing issue? I can’t say, but this one is not all that pretty to look at.
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 Humanoid, Twinkle Nora Rock Me!… even Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight has a certain charm to it, but Roots Search… not a chance.
Considered a classic in Japan and often read during one’s school days, Botchan was not part of my curriculum here in the States. I got to read The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, but no Botchan. Thankfully the book is readily available including many public domain sources online… but we get an alternative as anime fans. Actually two! Botchan also exists as an animated TV special from 1980 as well as this 1986 version from the meta series Animated Classics of Japanese Literature. Of the many episodes and stories I have explored from this series, Botchan stands out as one of the few comedic stories. Many of the Animated Classics of Japanese Literature adaptations are dramas in one shape of another and Botchan is definitely a breathe of funny fresh air.
Botchan by the way is our main protagonist. From what I can tell this name is more like a title like ‘young master’ so who knows what his real name is as I never seem to catch anything of it from the two episode run. Kind of like The Dude from the Big Lebowski? Botchan is a recent graduate with an education in physics who has been offered a teaching position at a middle school far off in some backwoods town. He leaves his native Tokyo and his trusted family servant to try out a different life so to speak. He arrives, finds the school’s teaching staff interesting (giving them all nicknames), enjoys swimming in the hot springs when no one is looking and likes eating his share of tempura at dinner all to the dismay of his students who constantly ridicule this rookie teacher. Botchan tries to bring up their shenanigans only to find difficulties with the senior school staff.
Questions arise, who does one trust and why are certain senior staff members extremely unhelpful? Botchan is a great tale of bringing to the light the injustices of nepotism and snobbery. Certain times in life we often wish we could stand up for something that seems very wrong and face those who believe themselves to be worthy of setting the rules to favor certain outcomes. With Botchan we have this played out in a very humerous way. Often times we ask is revenge best served as a cold dish? Sometimes, but enjoying shaved ice with a friend and ally can be better! (it’s part of the story trust me).
Protagonist, Miyako Negishi, or Neko, is a literature major at a private university… whoa, an anime about a college student?! I mean I know they exist, but talk about something different from the usual high school, or junior high standard. She is quite the distant type who at times sits by herself in lecture classes and does not have any interest in hanging out with classmates, or meeting any boys. She garners a secret, which only a select few know about and that she keeps hidden due to past troubles with this hidden trait. Neko can apparently do magic, though I prefer to see her as an esper with psionic abilities. She does have confidants to share these abilities with and with them she comes to life. They include Haruka Saiki, a friendly flirt (though he likes to be called a city boy) who can teleport and a newcomer, one of Neko’s classmates, Keichiirou Yamagishi.
Upon a full moon meetup all three of our cast members soon gets whisked away into an alternate dimension transporting them into a medieval like society where Neko is heralded as the much exalted hero as foretold from prophecy. Here she is given the name of Neryulla who was once the heroic princess who vowed to return to avenge her fallen people at a later date. So the other second coming? The welcomed stranger in a strange land is nothing new to fantasy anime, it’s often labeled as Isekai, but really… another one of these? Why not? Sword and sorcery mixed with a coming of age story is a good combination, particularly if coming to terms with one’s level of comfort in terms of romantic relationships. Neko is asked “Do you believe love always fails?” And her expression is something that hit close to home with me.
Tobira o Akete was one of several releases from the Magic Bus studio in 1986. I know three of them at this moment including this movie as well as Grey: Digital Target and They Were 11. This trio is a choice grouping in terms of well made animated features that are not on the top of the well known charts. A nice selection of dark horse choices for 80s recommendations. Visually Magic Bus aways delivers sharp looking quality so nothing new here. Yet again it is the story and characters that draw me in and in particular our heroine Neko who is quite unsure of herself. And yes she begins to grow as a character and marches forth to save the day by the end, which we have seen many, many times, but this time round it felt a little different. I can’t explain how so, but this is quite an appealing fantasy adventure story.
Now we come to the moment where we pick which door to look behind to see which prize we are going to win! This is no game show here and really there is only one choice because well… there is only one choice. Often there is too much selection and deciding which anime to watch next can be a shot in the dark, but this not a new experience for me. I initially watching Tobira o Akete several years ago when I gave a panel on 1986 in 2016 and it was one of those productions I rushed through, but now I am glad I gave it more space to be in my viewing experience this second time around. Tobira o Akete, Open the Door, the title says it all… it’s a simple invitation.
The Classic Anime Museum 
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